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Erin Scottberg, Lemondrop.com, for Lemondrop's Cheap Week
Part of living on less is making your money go farther, and lowering your bills and keeping a basic budget can both help. Luckily, much like sending greeting cards, remembering birthdays and spelling basic words, the Internet can do it for you. Or at least that's what some sites promise. But could they help me, a girl who's ready to swipe her credit card the second her wallet's empty, actually stay on track? I tried some out to test.
God bless technology.
Site That Lowers Your Bills
BillShrink finds better credit card or cell plans for you. How? It keeps a massive and always-up-to-date database of credit cards and cell phone plans -- the fees, the rewards, the works.
It worked for me: I fly a lot, so I'm always looking for the credit card that's going to give me the most airline miles. So I went to BillShrink, told them what credit card I currently used, whether I keep a balance, and what I was seeking. (In my case, travel rewards, but you can also choose gas points, cash back, lower fee, etc.) BillShrink then spat out a list of credit cards to consider, showing how much I'd save with each one. It's pretty rad.
It was even easier with my cell phone plan. BillShrink just imports your bill and automatically analyzes your calling patterns -- what times you use your phone, who you're calling and the carriers they use (so they can look for those "Pick 5" deals and such), how many texts you send, etc. -- as well as any the usage habits of any other lines on your account (in my case, a family plan). It then determines if there's a better plan that will give you the same quality coverage at a lower price. It even factors in the termination fee if you have to break a contract with your carrier to move to another.
Create a Budget
We've told you about Mint.com before. The site connects to your credit card, bank and investment accounts. It tracks your spending habits, categorizes your purchases and hammers out the data to make a realistic budget. A few of my favorite bells and whistles: You can get spending alerts, budget for infrequent expenses (like insurance payments or a vacation) and "roll over" unspent money to the next month.
It worked for me: Like a lot of my friends, I signed up for my company's 401(k) and never looked at it again (especially in this economy).One new feature I really dig helps you decipher those long-term investments by looking for the type of account that's going to make you the most money. There are a lot of fees that are associated with 401(k)s, some of which your company might not disclose. Mint compares your retirement account against other mutual funds and IRAs, and about 75 percent of the time, there's a better option.
Another new feature on Mint determines your "Financial Fitness" by rating your finances in five different areas. The feature is currently being tested, but Mint is hooking up Lemondrop readers! Just email your Mint.com email address (the one you use to log in there) to Lemondrop-GetFit@mint.com. The first 500 responses will get "Fitness" activated.
Erin Scottberg is Lemondrop's community editor. She has no problem throwing her budget out the window when the right pair of leather boots catches her eye.
From strange news to celeb gossip to riveting first-person accounts, Lemondrop.com features the stories, videos and links that people are talking about. We get the conversation started about pop culture, relationships, topical issues, politics, fashion and more, curating the best of the web to entertain and inform in the rapid-fire, conversational style of today’s twenty and thirtysomethings. Laura Gilbert is managing editor.
