It's a well-known fact that saving money can be cool, and in many cases, especially with the nation's current rocky economic climate, saving money on everyday items like food and travel needs can make an important difference.
Even if you're looking for a deal, though, it's not always easy to find the best ones. Never fear, as we've found some Web sites out there that can take care of the deal searching for you and find you free stuff. That's right, free stuff. Dealmakers.
First of all, ever wonder how to get around the age-old question of how to take your own money out of the bank without losing money to surcharges? Type your zip code into the Allpointnetwork to see if there are any ATMs in your area that waive the extra fees and surcharges.
How about some dealmakers at local restaurants? Before taking your family out for a meal, search through kidsmealdeals.com to see what places around have free or discounted meals for children. Make sure to check out the site's restrictions, though, as an unnamed source who works at NBCChicago.com knows it's pretty embarrassing to be almost thrown out of a restaurant for refusing to provide ID to eat from the kid's menu.
Maybe you don't want to go out but don't know any new dishes to cook up? Check out allrecipes.com for a variety of recipes, free demonstration videos and more.
If your entertainment budget is running thin, then check out NBC Universal's Hulu, where you can check out countless hours of television shows and clips from hit shows on NBC, Fox, USA, F/X and other entertainment providers.
What if you want to try to get out of town for a few days but don't want the hassle of a deal breaker price tag? Search around Homeexchange.com for opportunities to temporarily swap houses with someone somewhere in the country or around the world. Yeah, it's a lot like that movie The Holiday but Jack Black probably won't crash into your upcoming vacation plans.
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Now let's say you find the perfect vacation destination, find a housemate with whom to swap, locate the best ATM's to use and even find a restaurant with sweet deals but they don't speak English at the prized destination? That's okay because the BBC is on the case and may provide a few free language lessons to help you out.
Good luck with your travels and purchases. Here's to good, smart shopping, Chicago.
