Between, paying your monthly bills and filing your taxes, personal finance can be costly and at times confusing. Luckily, there are lots of online tools and calculators to make these tasks easier. Filing your taxes online using websites like HR Block and TurboTax can sometimes be easier and cheaper than using an accountant. Websites like mint.com, provide free services to help you create a budget, track your expenses, and save your money. Using these online tools can enable you to make informed financial decisions, while saving you a few bucks.

• Taxes
  • HR Block
  • TurboTax
• Budgeting
  • Mint.com
• Financial Calculators
  • RetiremenTrack Calculator
  • Small Change, Big Savings
  • 14 Great Planning Tools

Fees, especially hidden ones, are everywhere. Unfortunately, many Americans incur surprise charges for banking services, credit card transactions and loans. One of the easiest ways to avoid these costs is to simply be aware that they exist. If you use a credit card, make sure it doesn’t charge an annual fee and that you’re making payments on time. If you use ATMs often, be sure your bank doesn’t impose monthly transaction limits on their use, or, worse yet, charge a processing fee each time you withdraw money. Fees like this could add up in a hurry. For example, a 2013 bankrate.com survey found that the average ATM transaction fee in St. Louis was $2.50. If you visited the ATM just two times a week, that’s $260.00 a year on transaction fees alone! You could possibly avoid these surcharges by using network ATMs or getting cash back at a grocery store or gas station. Late payments and overdraft and monthly maintenance fees are a few other hidden charges you should understand and avoid at all costs.

• 5 Common Bank Fees You Can (and Should) Avoid
• How to Avoid Paying Bank Fees While Traveling
• Avoid Hidden Bank Fees: 5 Easy Ways to Hold Onto Your Money
• What You Need to Know About Bounced Checks
• How to negotiate with your credit card company

Reducing non-essential purchases is the obvious way to save money.  However, it’s important that you regularly look at the essential things you use daily, such as utilities, to make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck.  Websites, such as whitefence.com, make it easy for you to compare prices on your landline phone, TV, internet, electricity and other various utilities.

• http://www.whitefence.com/
• Households Abandoning Cable and Satellite for Streaming
• How to Break Up With Your Landline
• How I saved big bucks on my phone & Internet bills – and you can, too!
• How to Reduce Your Energy Bill with No Cost or Sacrifice

While most people prefer to drive separately, carpooling with a neighbor or coworker has its benefits. Taking turns behind the wheel not only saves you money, but can also reduce commuter stress, decrease air pollution, minimize routine car maintenance, and cutback on road congestion. Check out the links below for additional information on carpooling.

• Commute Cost Calculator
• Benefits of Carpooling
• Let the Savings Begin: Starting A Carpool
• Commuter Carpools Save Time and Money