10 Ways to Save Money on the Internet

Before the Internet, finding ways to save money was a lot harder. But now, all you have to do is fire up your computer and use comparison sites to save money on a whole host of things. Here are 10 ways to save money on the Internet.

Compare Credit Card Rates

Are you paying a high interest rate on your credit cards? A lower rate is just a few mouse clicks away. Compare credit card rates on a price comparison website to find a lower rate. Such sites can alsohelp you find cards with rewards and special offers on balance transfers.

Lower Your Mortgage Rate

With interest rates at all-time lows, it may be time to refinance your mortgage to take advantage. Drop your rate by 1 percentage point, and you could save $20,000 or more over the term of a 30-year mortgage. You can use online comparison sites to find the best mortgage rates and terms.

Save on Insurance

You can go on the Web to save money on all kinds of insurance products: Life insurance, homeowners insurance, auto insurance — even health insurance if you need an individual policy. You can also use the Internet to save money by finding which companies give the best multipolicy discounts.

Buy Stuff

You can save money by buying electronics, clothes and other items on the Internet. Online sites such as Amazon and Overstock often are able to sell items cheaper online than competitors can sell them in stores because of the lack of overhead.

Find Coupons

Couponing used to involve cutting out dozens of paper coupons from the Sunday newspaper and then buying more papers or begging your friends and relatives for their papers if you wanted extra coupons. Nowadays, though, you can simply go online to get your coupons and save money at the stores. There are hundreds of coupon sites on the Web, and many companies provide their own coupons on their websites.

Classified Ads

It used to be that if you wanted to sell something such as a car or furniture, you had to pay to advertise in your newspaper or a local ad publication. Now, though, there are many free classified sites on the Internet where you can advertise your items for sale for free and save money.

Read Your Favorite Publications

Instead of paying for newspapers and magazines, read them online. Many publications put some or all of their content on their websites for free, meaning you can read the articles you want without having to pay for them.

Use Daily Deal Sites

Since Groupon got things started, daily deal sites have proliferated on the Web. Now there are not only additional national deal sites, but there are local ones as well that are targeted to specific cities.

Save on Bank Fees

It costs banks money to issue paper statements and build branches and maintain ATMs. Many banks will give you discounts on fees or free stuff by agreeing to do at least some of your banking online. One of the biggest discounts offered is for agreeing to receive your statements by email rather than snail mail.

Cut the Cable Cord

You can get many of your favorite movies and shows now through online streaming services, which cost much less per month than cable or satellite TV.