Frugal Fridays: Frugal on the Web

I often hear, "Frugal Fridays is great, but where can I get information on money saving tips, living frugally and general information about personal finance issues the other six days of the week?"  [Well, maybe I only hear this in my own head, but I still hear it, OK??]  I've found lots and lots of good websites and today I wanted to share some of them.  This way, in the future, if you are jonesing for some financial advice in the middle of the week, you will no longer have to wait till Friday to satisfy your craving.  This list includes some sites that I don't really use myself, but others have recommended as useful.

On-Line Magazines
There are a lot of sites devoted to financial news and information.  Some of these are part of larger news organizations while some are devoted to this one topic.  Many of the articles include timely and helpful tips and advice.

MSNBC Money is one of my favorite sources for current financial information and helpful advice.

CNN Money is another one of my favorite source for general financial information.

Kiplinger has advice primarily geared towards investing activity, but there is a lot of good information on budgeting and other financial advice.

Motley Fool is mainly a site for investment advice, but their Personal Finance section often has interesting articles as well.

Yahoo! Finance has a section on personal finance with articles and columns.

Reuters Personal Finance department often has really helpful articles.

Money Saving Tips and Frugal Living
There are many websites out there devoted to helping people learn new ways to live more frugally.  Many of these have discussion forums where you can share hints and get suggestions from other like-minded people.

Hillbilly Housewife has lots of advice and comes highly recommended from many users.

Fly Lady is a site and a system that  has been highly recommended to help people organize all aspects of their lives, including their finances.

Debtors Anonymous has some very good information for those facing large debt.

Tightwad Central is a site filled with money saving tips and ideas.

iVillage is an on-line community with information addressed towards women.  However, their financial advice is applicable to everyone.

The Simple Living Network has a lot of resources including a free newsletter.

Dollar Stretcher has advice on saving money in all sorts of aspects, including everything from your home budget to your investment strategy.

Living a Better Life has articles, links to resources and other household financial information.

Frugal Living on about.com has more hints and tips.

Financial Blogs
There are some people like me out there who like to write about financial stuff, but rather than piggy back on a high traffic site like this, they actually try to build their own site.  

The Finance Buff is a techy nerd after my own heart.  Many of the posts are geared towards investing and savings analyses.

The Consumerist is somewhere between a consumer activist and a gossip site for consumer affairs.  If you are having difficulty getting a dispute resolved, or if you just like seeing what bad (and good) actions some companies have taken, check them out.

Life on a Shoestring Budget is a blog devoted to passing on money saving ideas.

Frugal For Life is another blog with money saving ideas.

Frugal Families has tips that are directed more towards families, rather than individuals.

Free Money Finance has information that is intended to help you grow your net worth.

My Money Blog is another site with information about growing your net worth.

Blogging Away Debt is the chronicle of one woman's family's attempt to dig their way out of massive debt.

Update [2008-5-16 15:39:51 by sarahnity]: I just found one more:  The Simple Dollar.  I love the tag line "Financial talk for the rest of us."

Newspaper Columnists and Radio Shows
There are some people who actually get paid for handing out weekly financial advice.  What a concept!  I've found really interesting stuff from each of these guys, some of which I may have even borrowed once or twice for these diaries.

The Savings Game: Humberto Cruz is featured weekly in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The Color of Money:  Michelle Singletary writes a weekly column on household financial advice for the Washington Post.

Everyday Cheapskate by Mary Hunt is a weekly column syndicated in newspapers.

Clark Howard has a syndicated daily radio show.  You can also listen over the web.

Book Sites and Other For-Pay Sites
While there is a lot of great info available for free on the web, sometimes it's nice to have information off-line and there may be other helpful information it is worth paying for.  Here are some websites that market books either I've found helpful myself or others have recommended.  Many authors include extensive resources on their websites you can access for free.  I've also included some websites that sell services or advice here.  I haven't paid for any of the information on these, so I can't judge that, but they all do have some resources available for free.

Consumer Reports is one of my favorite off-line magazines.  Their web site has a lot of information for free as well as some you must pay to access.

Money and Happiness is the companion site for the book of the same name by Laura Rowley.

Nolo Press is the first place I look if I want to but a book on any legal or financial topic.  They don't always have what I'm looking for, but I've never been disappointed with any of the books that I've found.

The Simplicity Resource Guide is the companion site for books by Linda Breen Pierce on Simple Living.

Frugal Fun is the home site of Shel Horowitz, author of The Penny-Pinching Hedonist.

Minyanville is primarily concerned with investment advice and information.

Money Instructor has lesson plans to teach children and adults money skills.  Much of this is available for free.

That's all I have for now.  Be sure to share your favorite links in the comments below.

Frugal Tip of the Week: Gas prices have skyrocketed and the summer driving season is fast approaching so we are all looking for ways to improve our cars' mileage.  Unfortunately, not every great tip you hear really works.  Don't get fooled by these Gas Saving Myths.  Pay close attention to #4 on this list.  While proper tire inflation will help improve your mileage, over inflating your tires is a really bad idea.