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"  If you add up how much you pay in bank fees, pricey insurance premiums, and other finance-related expenses per year, you&amp;#039;ve probably got enough money to underwrite a much-needed spa vacation. So let me help you start saving: With its incredible reach, the Web is your key, but it can be a maze of not-always-reliable offerings. I&amp;#039;ve done the heavy lifting (and hours of online searching) for you. These top-notch sites will help you preserve your precious cash.  Cut Bank Fees Unless you keep your money under a mattress, you&amp;#039;re probably familiar with the high cost of banking. The average monthly service charge on a noninterest checking account is now $5.48, and at some banks, the average consumer who incurs overdraft and insufficient-funds charges pays $298 per year, reports the government office of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There has to be a more affordable way, and there is: Shop for fee-free banks online at the trustworthy bankrate.com. Also, if you have an iOS or Android device, consider simple.com; it&amp;#039;s not a bank, but a mobile and Web bank &amp;quot;replacement&amp;quot; that \u2014 in part due to its low overhead (no brick-and-mortar branches) \u2014 offers free checking accounts. Your money is held in an FDIC-insured account at a partner bank \u2014 think of Simple as the customer service manager who greets you at the front door, and the partner bank as the back-office operations. You do need some tech savvy to use this: In addition to a debit card, you get mobile and Web apps to help manage your account and move your money around. Another option: Credit unions. More than 70% of the country&amp;#039;s credit unions offer free checking accounts \u2014 the kind that don&amp;#039;t require a minimum balance or direct deposit of paychecks. Find out where to join one at mycreditunion.gov. Invest Well Did you know that ignoring your retirement savings can cost you a lot? The stock market has generally recovered its losses since 2009, but you may have seen your portfolio stagnate because you&amp;#039;ve been too scared or too busy to update your investments. In addition to opening up a Roth or traditional IRA, you may nab higher returns with betterment.com. What it lacks in eye appeal (lots of navy and white here, and not much snazzy design), it makes up for in simplicity. When you sign up for free with a minimum investment of $100 per month (any less, and you pay $3 per month in fees), you&amp;#039;re asked questions about your time frame for retirement, goals, and risk tolerance. You&amp;#039;ll receive a recommended portfolio of low-cost exchange-traded funds (known as ETFs, these are investment funds that are traded like stocks), which you can opt into, tweak, or bypass. Betterment also rebalances your money automatically if your portfolio&amp;#039;s allocations move too far away from your selected allocations. There are no extra monthly account fees or minimum investment requirements \u2014 you pay only an annual asset-management fee, currently capped at 0.35%, and the ETF fees, which average 0.14%. Need to talk to a human?  It&amp;#039;ll be pricier, but communicating one-on-one with a person may help you make better investment choices. Personalcapital.com can provide just that kind of advice from registered investment advisers \u2014 over the phone, via e-mail, and through video chat. There&amp;#039;s no pushing product for commission here; fees are based on how much you invest, not where you put it. The cost is 0.95% per year when up to $250,000 is invested, and less if the amount is higher, versus the 1% to 2% of assets higher-end financial planners charge. Pay Lower Premiums You&amp;#039;re not the only one getting hit with higher insurance costs: A study by bankrate.com found that more than a third of U.S. consumers saw overall spending rise in this realm last year. Some smart sites that can help you save: - Auto Coverhound.com offers a simple way to shop for auto insurance. Type in basic info about yourself and your car \u2014 and what you&amp;#039;re currently paying for auto insurance and who provides it. You&amp;#039;ll get quotes from multiple insurers in your area. The site even told me that my current insurance was actually the best deal, but I&amp;#039;d be e-mailed if a better offer came around. And unlike at many other sites out there, it&amp;#039;s possible to purchase whichever policy you choose directly through CoverHound \u2014 no clicking over to the plan provider&amp;#039;s site and entering information all over again. Last step: Check the insurer&amp;#039;s complaint history at the site of the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org) and with your state&amp;#039;s department of insurance (go to ican2000.com/state.html). - Term Life Though it won&amp;#039;t win any design awards, term4sale.com is a useful and simple site that cuts through the clutter of offers out there. It lets you one-stop-shop for quotes from more than 100 life insurance companies. I plugged in a search for a 20-year term policy with a $500,000 death benefit for a female of exceptional health and was shown a $425 premium from A++-rated Guardian along with cheaper quotes from lower-rated companies. A link takes you to the plan you want to purchase. - Home You can save hundreds of dollars a year in premiums by shopping around. A secret weapon for searching out lower rates is the comprehensive but super-simple-to-use site insweb.com. Enter the basics, and you&amp;#039;ll be offered quotes from up to eight insurers. Sure, you can use the intel to make a switch\u2014or, you could take it to your current insurer and say you&amp;#039;ve found some great deals. That company just might give you a discount to keep your business. Reduce Your Prescription Costs It&amp;#039;s shocking how expensive prescription meds can be. Here&amp;#039;s a clever way to pay as little as possible: Goodrx.com lets you compare prices at local pharmacies for thousands of medications. Just enter the name of your prescription drug and your zip code. Here&amp;#039;s what I found: For the popular allergy medicine Singulair, Target had a coupon for $22.68 in my area, while the same 30-day supply was $53.50 at Walgreens. I also really loved its mobile app, for on-the-go comparisons, and how well GoodRx can help me save before I reach my prescription deductible and my coverage kicks in. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/money/advice/a19058/best-money-saving-websites/>