Financial Reflections

What better way to start off the new year than by taking care of some personal finance matters?  OK, that might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but by summer, you’ll be more likely to spend a worry free vacation knowing you’ve handled a few of the basic issues back in January.

I’ve compiled a short list of good personal finance links I think most everyone should visit, separated into both free and pay links.  I think they are all worth paying a visit to.  Here’s the list:

Free Links

• Do Not Call List: Keep the telemarketers at bay by registering your number here.  Registration is permanent and should curb most calls.  There are loopholes, such as political campaigns and surveys, but I hardly get virtually no sales calls now.  https://www.donotcall.gov/
• Opt Out Prescreen: Sick of the credit card offers?  You can opt out of the pre-screen list, getting you out of most of those mail credit card offers.  It might also be a way to fight off one source of identity theft. https://www.optoutprescreen.com/
• Annual Credit Report: You can get one report per year for free.  I think that it’s not a total solution, but it’s worth checking what’s on your report so you can correct errors and see if someone’s been using your report for their credit. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
• Mint: Mint is personal finance tracking software and it’s pretty slick.  They’ve updated since my Mint review, including a new iPone app. http://www.Mint.com

Pay sites:

• Identity Protection: With identity theft on the rise, it’s smart to have a solution that works for you 24/7 to make sure thieves are at bay.  The annual credit report I mentioned is great, but a LOT can be done with your identity in far less than 12 months. ProtectMyID is run by one of the biggest credit agencies out there, so they have a lot of experience behind them.  Try it free for 30 days and see if it makes a difference.
• Big Crumbs: I started shopping at BigCrumbs a while back and think it’s pretty slick.  The idea is simple - they offer you a rebate for things you buy though the site.  Think of it as a coupon site, except you don’t need to search for the right coupon, you just shop and get money back.  Tip: sign up as a CrumbSaver and you’d get more money back on what you buy.  Unless you’re really going to get a lot of referrals, it’s the best route.

That’s the sites I have so far.  What sites do you know of?  feel free to comment below.