Lately it seems like my money runs out before the month runs out and I have been looking for ways to economize.  Being the geek that I am, I turned to the web and did some searching.  Here are some interesting web sites that I think will help you save money and maybe even put a few bucks into your pocket.

Since Halloween just happened, can Christmas be far behind?  Normally that would be good news for all of us, but this year it could be a bit tight.  Wouldn’t it be great to know about all of the coupons and rebates available at our favorite stores?  When I heard about this next site I got very excited as I have two grandsons looking for some pretty expensive gifts this year.

Check out RetailMeNot to search a database of over 20,000 online stores.  You can search by the store’s web address or by keywords.  You’ll get back a listing of any available discount codes that you can apply at the checkout page for an instant discount.

They also have print coupons that you can print out and take to a retail store.

This one is called BillShrink and this is also very exciting.  They will analyze your cell phone bill and help you make the right choices when it comes to which plan you should be using.  They also help you pick the right phone.  I started by allowing the site to upload my bill from AT&T (which they did once I gave them my login and password to the AT&T site).  30 seconds later they were showing me how to save over $700 a year based on the usage that my bill showed!  They also offer a similar service for your credit cards.

Whenever I teach my “Technology Tools for Realtors®” class and do the show and tell of all the tech tools that I have accumulated someone invariably asks if they can attend my next yard sale!  The problem is that I have never held one and my cupboards are overflowing with gear that I once used, but don’t use anymore.  This is where Gazelle comes to my rescue.

Gazelle will give you an instant quote on any tech gear that you want to sell.  If the gear qualifies (in other words they really want it) they will ship you a box to send your gear in and they will pay the shipping costs.  Once they receive it and it is in the condition that that you said it is, they pay you.

I realize that you could put the stuff on eBay or Craigslist and sell it, but this is so much easier!  I  found out that the T-Mobile Dash that I retired in favor of the iPhone is worth $73.00.  Now that is a tempting offer!

Who knows, if I sell all my old gear to Gazelle and let BillShrink save me some money on my credit cards and cell phone bills, maybe I can use RetailMeNot to save some money on my Christmas shopping this year!

Ho Ho Ho!!!