Surprising Ways You Can Save Big Bucks In Bad Economy (NAPSA)—Are you wasting your money? You? No way, because you shop the sales, you’ve right? Wrong. Unless you’re an uber-geek, you may not be using some simple, free Web sites that can save you hundreds of dollars a month from the comfort of your own living room. So get ready to save wads of cash with these good sites for bad economic times. This week we recommend Become.com (www.become.com). Comparison Shopping 2.0 If you tried a comparison-shopping site in the early days, you might have found the early shop bots a little frustrating—like unruly toddlers. Bad search results and out-of-stock products weren’t uncommon with the young SSeS switched from premium brands to store labels, and you’ve even given up your $4 Starbucks lattes, The new generation of comparison-shopping sites makesit easy to find the best prices. selling for $124 at one online retailer and $169 at another. Score Big Savings “I’ve probably saved $800 since I started using Become.com,” says Paul Templeman of Minneapolis, Minn. “My biggest savings was on a new T'V and TVstand. I found a technology, admits Michael Yang, who created mySimon, one of the way lower price than at mylocal But the new, grown-up generation of comparison-shopping Web including shipping and handling to make an exact price compari- first shop bots, in 1998. sites really rocks. Yang founded Become.com in 2005 to take advantage of radical advances in search technology. Here’s how you—and your wallet—can take advantage, too. Become.com searches over 5,000 legitimate retailers whosell everything from appliances, books and clothing to zebra-print towels. Type in the product you want and click “Shop.” You'll instantly see whosells your product and where you can score the lowest price. Andif you think the Internet chain stores.” Since you'll need the total cost son, Become.com automatically adds in any shipping fees based on your zip code. Many merchants today offer free shipping to be competitive, notes Yang. “T recently needed to buy a new stroller and I saved $40 using Become.com,” said Lisa Barber, an emergency technician in San Ramon, Calif. “The ease of com- parisons surprised me.” So add this surprisingly easy money-saving strategy to your bag of budget-stretchingtricks. If like other Americans, you're feeling has leveled the playing field on the pinch of rising gas and food tical juicer for the kitchen was with the click of your mouse at Become.com. product pricing, think again: The savings are astonishing. An iden- prices, you can geta little relief
