Deals without tracking: Download your grocery store’s app for the best possible prices. No one says you have to use your real email address and phone number if you’re not into the data collection. Make a burner account!
Free online financial calculators to get debt under control, plan for retirement and see your net worth

If you need help managing your money, you’ve come to the right place. We have tons of financial tips for investors and small business owners. Case in point: Here are 10 free spreadsheet templates to help you get a handle on your money.
Scroll down for some of our favorite free online financial calculators brought to you by our sponsor, NetSuite.
1. Wrangle your debt with one of the web’s best free online finance calculators

NerdWallet has helpful tools you should check out. If you want to pay off debt, you’ll want an idea of a realistic timeframe. With NerdWallet’s tool, you can enter things like types of debt, remaining balances, taxes owed and gross annual income.
This calculates your debt load so you know what you’re dealing with. Comparing debt load to income can clarify your path. Underneath the calculator, you’ll find a few helpful debt strategies and links to a quick quiz to help you find a faster way to pay off debt.
2. Plan for retirement

Want to get a personalized snapshot of what your finances will look like if you retire? AARP has you covered. It has a retirement calculator that lets you know if you’re saving enough.
Just answer a few questions about your salary, savings, household status and more. You’ll find out how much money you need to live a comfortable retirement.
3. Net worth calculator

Reader question: 'What can I use instead of QuickBooks?'

If you’re a business owner, you don’t need us to tell you that running a business is tough. Don’t let QuickBooks and spreadsheets slow you down, making things more complicated than necessary. It’s time to upgrade to our sponsor NetSuite.
Making money in podcasting: It’s not easy. Spotify wants to lure creators away from YouTube. Their plan? Pay hosts of popular shows and let premium subscribers watch ad-free (paywall link). YouTube pays creators 55% of ad revenue; Spotify estimates a show pulling in between 1 million and 2 million views a month would earn about $50,000 with them. That’s not a bad return, btw.
1 free day at Disneyland
For Disney+ subscribers. The catch: You have to buy two days to get the third day free. That’s $330 total if you visit one park per day from now until Jan. 6. I guess they really need to get their subscriber numbers up.
💰 Your go-to rideshare app may not offer the best deals, depending on your location. Type your pickup and drop-off points into RideGuru to get a comparison of rideshare options in your area, including Uber, Lyft, Curb, Ola Cabs and DiDi Rider.
Smaller or regional options (like those names above you probably don’t recognize) can be a lot cheaper than Uber. Try Wingz, too, if you’re scheduling a ride to the airport in advance.
Speaking of, many airports add an expensive rideshare fee that gets passed along to you. I know someone who takes the airport shuttle to the nearest hotel or parking area instead of directly to the airport, and they catch an Uber from there to their destination instead.
Job site comparison: LinkedIn vs. ZipRecruiter vs. Craigslist

Where do you look for your next career move? There are several job boards, but which is right for you?
Let’s look at a few places job seekers go online and find the right one for your needs.
Fed up with Quickbooks? Try this out instead

Trust me when I say I know the pains of running a small business. When you’re the owner, you might also be the marketer, accountant, IT person and every other role under the sun.
When you’re doing it all, you need the right tools. This is especially true as your business grows and you have a team to take on all those jobs.
Got this question from Sharon in Chicago: “How much can I make selling books on Amazon?” Be careful how you price your books. For e-books priced between $2.99 and $9.99, you’ll get 70% in royalties. Anything above or below that range drops your royalties to 35%. For paperbacks, you’ll get 60% of the list price (minus printing costs, which depend on page count, size and color). What a novel way to make a living!
☕ Yum, a $25 latte: You can now order delivery directly through the Starbucks app. Brace yourself for fees: A $1.99 delivery charge, a $2 small-order fee if you spend under $10, a 15% service charge and sometimes an extra $4.99 for wages. Oh, and don’t forget to tip!
🖊️ Ever write checks? Use a pen (4-pack for $10) with specially formulated ink that gets trapped in paper, helping to prevent criminal check washing and other document alteration.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
A new credit card fee: Several credit card companies, including Citibank and Synchrony Bank, are charging a $1.99 monthly fee for paper statements. Printing and mailing costs financial institutions $600 million, so they want us to pay for it. Call your card company and ask them to email you the “Schumer box.” It’s an easy-to-read table of all their fees.
🖨️ Printer smarts: Turning off your printer can trigger maintenance tasks when you turn it back on, which sucks up expensive ink. Instead, let your printer go into energy-saving mode when it’s not in use.
Up to 15% tax refund
When you buy something while on vacation in Italy. By the way, this article says 22%, but that’s not quite right. Still, what a deal. I’d look for a designer handbag; they’re way cheaper there compared to stores here in the U.S. I always have Trevi saying goodbye to Rome.
Search smarts: Next time you’re eyeing a European something-or-other online, type “[price] euros to dollars” into your search engine of choice to get a quick conversion, like “55 euros to dollars.” The exchange rate updates in real time. Neat.
$1,000,000 prize
Through the Microsoft Rewards sweepstakes program. Use their products, like Bing, Edge (a sacrifice, I know) and Xbox Game Pass for points. You can earn up to 200 entries. Sign up here for five. Bing is like store-brand cereal; it barely does the job, and you never want it again.
🤑 Amazon’s secret 20% discount: Send your old tech to Amazon through its Trade-in Program and get a gift card for the value. They’ll take just about anything — it doesn’t even need to work. But if you trade in Amazon gear like a Kindle, eero or Fire TV Stick, you’ll get 20% off a new, qualifying device. Nice.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Leave your printer on: Turning off your printer can trigger maintenance tasks when you turn it back on, which sucks up expensive ink. Instead, let your printer go into energy-saving mode when it’s not in use.
Up to 23%
That’s the discount you can get on houses listed as “priced to sell.” Sellers, don’t forget buyers are also drawn to the term “energy-efficient.” Those green features can boost your listing’s value by around $8,200. So smart to know.
Need extra cash? If you really want to get scammed, search on Google for “make money fast.” For a safer bet, head to my site and take a look at all the best side hustles to make money on your schedule. I’ve got your back!