Recession Hot Spots: Part Three
This is the third installment of the series “Recession Hot Spots,” which gives you an idea of some places you might like to frequent in these unstable financial times. Each article is pretty much a stand alone post so if you like this edition of “Recession Hot Spots” make sure you check out part one and part two.
Google Books/Google Video
Summary: We’ve all heard of Google but some people don’t know what the folks at Google do besides creating an awesome search engine. There are a lot of features that Google offers and a vast majority (if not all of them) are free to use. Two of the coolest features that Google offers is Google Books and Google Video. 
Google Books is exactly how it sounds – books by Google. Well, not exactly. Google has created a massive database offering a ton of free books to whoever wants to read them. A majority of the books are specialty books that are written on one specific topic but you can often find novels and magazines as well. Google Video can be compared to YouTube (another great recession resource). Google Video offers videos for anyone to view and collates videos found on different sites on the Internet. Most of the time the video will be hosted on YouTube but there are videos that are not.
Economic Benefit: I think this one is pretty cut and dry. If you can get content for free, then why not? There are some limitations when using Google Books (i.e. the book may not be totally viewable online) but it is worth a shot. I recently found one of my school books for this semester on Google Books and if I would have checked the site before purchasing it, I could have saved some serious money. Google Video is great for finding how-to videos and for looking up interviews and documentaries.
Other fish in the sea…: Google Books is not the only place you can find free books. Check out this article that details many more options for your ebook viewing pleasure.
PriceGrabber
Summary: If you’re an online shopping buff, you’ve probably stumbled upon PriceGrabber throughout your journey but I’ve found that a lot of people don’t use it. It’s a great tool to find the lowest prices on a product and offers a ton of other features for shoppers, such as rebate information, a deal of the day, and product reviews. The site is worth the 30 seconds it takes to check to see if you’re getting the lowest price available. If you aren’t, you can take your business elsewhere.
Economic Benefit: Obviously, if you find a cheaper deal using PriceGrabber, it can save you a lot of money over time. One of the greatest features of the site is the ability to set up lists and email alerts. When you set up a list (somewhat like a wish list on Amazon), you can select to have price updates on your products sent directly to your inbox. Instead of having to stalk PriceGrabber manually each day to see if the product you want has dropped in price, the site will stalk you automatically. It is well worth the effort if you’re interested in saving.
Attention FireFox Users: If you are using FireFox, there is an add-on that will save you a lot of money, too. When you install the PriceAdvance add-on, it will bring you price comparisons directly to your browser no matter what you are looking at. If you’re looking on Best Buy’s site at an iPod, it will automatically find your item and compare it on other sites. An essential for serious price comparison.
Restaurant.com
Summary: If you’ve ever visited my blog, you know that I’m practically obsessed with Restaurant.com. I think that they have great deals even without their discounted certificates but when they have their 80% off sales, I’m an even bigger fan. If you’ve never been to the site or have not heard me reference it, it is definitely a cool concept. 
The site offers restaurant gift certificates for fractions of the price they would normally be sold for ($25 gift certificates are typically $10). They do not sell gift certificates for national chains, such as Chili’s or McDonalds, which supports local businesses. Each certificate also has a minor stipulation attached to it. The stipulations are usually stating how much money needs to be spent in order to use the certificate. Even with the stipulations set in place, the gift certificates are a great deal, especially for people that like to eat out.
Economic Benefit: You are obviously going to save some money when you purchase the gift certificates, even if your bill has to be certain amount. If you get a $25 gift certificate for only $10 and are required to have a bill over $35 at the restaurant, you’re still saving $15 on your trip out. It’s well worth it.
Always a steal: Oftentimes Restaurant.com will have a special running where their gift certificates are marked down even further than what they normally are. If you frequent sites such as SlickDeals and FatWallet, you’re bound to find the deals listed. I also try to list the deals as often as I can.