GeekSugar

Would Text Message Reminders Help You Save Money?

GeekSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:33:36 -0800

In tough economic times, saving money is on everyone's mind, and maybe soon. . . on our phones? A group of economists recently conducted a study in Peru, Bolivia, and the Philippines that involved sending text messages to people encouraging them to save money in a savings account. Occasionally, participants would get a text message reminding them to save toward a specific goal.

Researchers sent a variety of messages over the course of the study, both positive and negative:

"'If you don't frequently deposit into the Gihandom Savings account, your dream will not come true,' warned one message in the Philippines."

Well, when you put it like that - who can resist saving?

Researchers claim that although the study was conducted in third world countries, they would expect the results to translate similarly to the US. I think this sounds like a great idea and could be the perfect small reminder to keep my mind on my savings account. What do you think?

Do You Pay All Your Bills Online?

GeekSugar — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:15:42 -0700

It must be tax season, because I'm in a money mood; combine that with the recession, and it's one of the main things on my mind lately.

One thing I've tried to do is streamline the way I manage my money, and I accomplish that with technology; in addition to some great websites and services for managing money, I've tried to move all of my bill-paying online. If the place I need to pay has an online service to pay my bill, I use that, and if they don't, I simply set it up with my bank. In addition to being green, I have an electronic record of things I did pay or didn't.

Of course, I still have a bill I have to pay the old-fashioned way: my rent. Other than that, I have almost no use for my checkbook anymore.

What about you? Have you moved toward paying all your bills online?

Source

Website of the Day: Buxfer

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:42:01 -0700

I am a huge fan of Mint to help me keep track of my money, but another awesome option may be Buxfer, which allows you to see your financial situation (whether good or bad) at a glance. Like Mint, Buxfer shows you your recent purchases, gives you a pie chart so you can visually see where your money goes, view budgets, and gives you mobile access to your account.

But something unique to Buxfer will come in handy for those of you with roommates: you can set up group access to shared expenses and keep track of who owes what to whom. For example, if I buy groceries for the house, I can split the bill and list what my roommates would owe me so I (and they) don't forget later. Cause these days, who can afford not to get back what they are owed? Not me, that's for sure.

Got a cool website you want to share with everyone? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Geek Tip: Save Money by Contributing to Google's Tip Jar

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:04:37 -0700

I've professed my love for Google time and time again, and now with their new venture Tip Jar, they're helping me save some money.

Tip Jar allows you to post your most tried and true tips about saving money while traveling, babysitting, or commuting, and share them with the world. Have a tip about how to get the best rates when traveling abroad? Or perhaps how to entertain your kids on a dime? Leave it in the Tip Jar, and get plenty of free tips in return. Personally, the one about never grocery shopping on an empty stomach really hits home with me. I always put junk in my cart I don't need just because I'm feeling ravenous, and end up spending more than I should. See? Already helpful.

6 Websites to Help You Get Through the Recession

GeekSugar — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:03:59 -0800

The recession is in session and everyone needs all the help they can get. Thanks to the Internet, there are so many free resources that can be of great assistance - I've compiled my six favorite websites for trying financial times, whether you need to save money, manage your money, or find a new job to make money. Source

View Slideshow ›

Website of the Day: De-Bee

GeekSugar — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:00:06 -0800

Don't let splitting bills among your friends and having someone owe you money get awkward; get De-Bee.

De-Bee is a free website that will organize casual money transactions and keep track of who owes whom.

Make groups for things like rent or vacations split up among people, invite the people involved, and De-Bee will figure out the logistics.

Beats an awkward conversation - that's for sure!

Source

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Website of the Day: Price Protectr

GeekSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:30:57 -0800

In these financial times, everyone wants to save a buck or two. I used to balk at my grandmother for clipping coupons, but now big savings at the store (by store, I usually mean Best Buy, Amazon, or Target, naturally) mean that I'm a happy camper. Plus, with so many sales going on right now, it's hard to keep your head straight. Thankfully, Price Protectr is here to make your bargain shopping a little simpler.

Tell Price Protectr when you are wanting to buy an item, and it will alert you when the price drops. It's quite similar to Shopstyle's Sale Alerts, in that it will save you money and keep you updated on the sales. Plus, Price Protectr will even help you save after you've purchased your item. How? I'll tell you when you read more.

Some stores offer price guarantees, meaning if the item you just bought goes on sale within a certain amount of time, you can get paid back the difference. Price Protectr offers email alerts to keep you on top of any items you've just purchased - so if they go on sale, you can get some of that hard earned money back!

Have a website you want to see featured on geeksugar? Just follow these steps to submit your favorite sites to our Website of the Day group:

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Geek Tip: Text Mint to Get Your Bank Account Balance

GeekSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:45 -0800

I regularly sing the praises of Mint, a free site that makes it easy to manage your finances online, so when I heard about their latest feature - text message alerts of your account balances - I couldn't wait to try it out.

If you're already signed-up to Mint, just text BAL or BALANCE to MyMint (696-468) and Mint will send you the balances from all of your bank accounts that you track in your Mint account.

Now you won't have any excuses about over-spending when you're out shopping!

Website of the Day: Beat My Price

GeekSugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:00:23 -0800

The creators of the awesome sites Retail Me Not (online coupon code source) and Bug Me Not (for bypassing unnecessary registration to view websites) have done it again with Beat My Price, an online price comparison site. With Beat My Price, you can find out if you're getting the best deal on something by entering the name of the product, the URL where you found it, and then see if anyone else found it cheaper. Results are shown from a variety of sources, and it even shows coupon codes and promotions from sites like Retail Me Not. And if you don't really care for results from sites like Ebay, just scroll over the item and click "Hide all from this store" and all Ebay results will be gonezo.

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Website of the Day: Live

GeekSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:35:34 -0800

Remember when I asked if you would switch from Google to Microsoft for your searching needs if you were paid? About three-quarters of you swatted away the idea like it was last year's Blackberry, but after using it myself, I urge you to reconsider. Not for keepers mind you, but handy if you want to save yourself some cash.

Microsoft has partnered up with Ebay to bring you Live - the search engine that fetches you some pretty sweet deals, among thousands of search results. Just enter your search at the top of the page, and Live will tell you how much you can save if you buy from participating Ebay stores. I just bought my boyfriend's Christmas gift and will be getting back 30 percent from my buddy Microsoft. I can't tell you what the gift is (never know when he's reading), but I can tell you it's something of the gadget persuasion. Who woulda thought, right?

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!