List of online Shopping Helpers

In economic difficult times like now, every buck saved is important. Checking out prices online before heading to the store is therefore a must for me.

After we moved to the US, I learned quickly that here prices can be very different. For example, recently I bought a new digital camera that was offered at $ 230 in one store and at almost $ 400 in another. In both cases, the price was only for the camera body, no extras involved.

Like many people, I don't like so much buying online (though I do it); it's for safety reasons and because I like to see what I buy. However, price comparing websites help me to find the right stores - and sometimes, after having seen the product in a store, I still end up buying it online.

Some of my favorite websites:

www.pricegrabber.com

www.bizrate.com

www.pricescan.com

www.pricingcentral.com

www.bestwebbuys.com

And for those of you, who are hitting the road during the summer, check out the best gas prices at www.gasbuddy.com

High gas prices: Good for the environment

It’s sad that it needs an economic crisis to get people rethinking their driving habits. However, it seems this is the upside of the financial worries many people have right now: it’s good for the environment.

Almost daily, one can read in newspapers that people try to exchange their gas-guzzlers against smaller cars. The sale of new SUVs and trucks has clearly dropped and private sellers of used big cars are offering them below their listing in vehicle valuation books. In Boston, public transportation is up by 10 %, and I just read on CNN that Chrysler offers new buyers to cover for gas costs beyond $ 2.99 for three years – desperate times require desperate measures. People I know try to carpool, or start biking to their workplaces – just to save some money.

Maybe one day soon, most people will drive cars in the US like the one we left behind when we moved from Austria to America: A car that made more than 25 miles/gallon. That was 10 years ago and many cars in Europe can do much better nowadays. According to Automotive Digest: “In Europe, cars on average get 40 mpg, compared w/ 20.4 mpg for US cars”. (http://www.automotivedigest.com/view_art.asp?articlesID=21658).

For many people here in the Boston area, recreational boats become an unaffordable luxury too. Today on craigslist, there were more than 100 new sales postings. One person even offered a boat for free!