The 100 most useful Web sites

Best sites for really cheap travel

CouchSurfing. CouchSurfing is more a movement than a simple travel site, with a goal of making connections between budget travelers and the communities they visit. You can offer and look for free accommodations, which range from the aforementioned couch to guest rooms to guest houses.

HomeExchange.com. The house-swapping site featured in the movie "The Holiday," HomeExchange connects people who want to save on lodging and get a feel for local neighborhoods by trading homes on vacation.

Less Than a Shoestring. The authors define a travel budget as about $10 a day. Not only will you find out about potential deals, you'll get the scoop on any airlines that are charging extra for services, find out where to get a tourist guide to any state and any other travel news that crosses their radar.

Best sites for charitable giving

Charity Navigator. This charity evaluation site has somewhat tougher standards than most.

DonorsChoose.org. This online charity helps you match a gift to a classroom in need.

GuideStar. This recently redesigned Web site helps you research a charity before you give.

Best sites for productivity and careers

The Blog of Tim Ferriss. The best introduction to Ferriss is his best-selling book, "The 4-Hour Workweek," but his musings on productivity and "lifestyle design" are fun reading even if you don't know your virtual assistants from your virtual reality.

The Brazen Careerist. Its tag line: "Define your career. Control your life." Work/life balance is a defining topic here, but a team of outspoken bloggers and an active commenting community touch on virtually every job-related topic imaginable.

Lifehacker. Founding editor Gina Trapani built a site that focuses on using technology to get things done smarter and faster, but also includes offline solutions for streamlining your life.

The Thin Pink Line. I briefly blogged for this site, but these days I'm just another reader regularly checking in for the sage career advice of Lois Frankel, Carol Frohlinger and Lindsey Pollak, as well as the personal-finance musings of Valerie Coleman Morris.

WebWorkerDaily. A team of writers offers productivity advice and other tips for people who work primarily by or on the Web. Recent posts debated BlackBerrys versus iPhones and offered tips for speeding up a slow hotel Internet connection.

Zen Habits. Writer Leo Baubata aspires to simple productivity, and his own turnaround story is pretty darned inspirational. (Short version: He went from being a fat smoker to a thin marathon runner, all while raising six kids and launching a successful blog that replaced his day job.) Baubata's Write to Done is a writing-specific blog that's also worth a look.

Best sites for free entertainment

Fancast. For free, watch full episodes from network TV (including "American Idol" performances) and movies online with minimal commercials.

Hulu. Hulu offers a variety of TV episodes, movie trailers, food show recipes and documentaries. It's worth perusing to find those videos that are not necessarily mainstream.

Pandora. Not only does Pandora give you free radio, it sets up a "radio station" that plays only the music you like to hear. Registration is free, and the music begins to play almost immediately.

Best site for freebies

Freebiewatch. If you're on the lookout for a particular product, sign up here, and this site will keep track of it for you. Many of the freebies it has tracked down are samples, but others include free exercise DVDs and a seven-day pass to Bally's Fitness.

Free Stuff Times. This site scores points not only for the offers and coupons it presents, but also because of the solid, un-self-promoting advice it gives in its tips section. The links are sound, and the site is updated daily.

Hey, It's Free! This site is entertaining and full of information about freebies, from the running blog by "Goob" to the ads that top the site. Goob claims to spend his day looking for "100% legit, non-spammy freebies" and updates frequently, including noting which offers have expired.

Best sites for swapping stuff

Freecycle. Launched by a guy in Tucson, Ariz., who hated to see perfectly good stuff wind up at the dump, Freecycle connects people who have things to give away with those who want them.

PaperBack Swap. More than 3 million book titles are available here, and they're free. Members list books they're willing to swap. You pay postage on the books you send out, and members who send you books return the favor.

TitleTrader. If you have boxes of books and, well, just stuff, you can swap it or sell it here. As soon as you send an item to someone else, you earn credits to buy other things on the site. It's free. In addition, you can set up a wish list and be notified when something on your list becomes available.

Best sites for free tech stuff

5 Star Support. This site offers tech support, articles and forums for computer security, tutorials for free computer support, troubleshooting FAQ and a self-help "Tips, Tricks and Tweaks" section.

OnlyFreewares.com. From utilities to graphics to desktop products, this site offers free downloads to meet your computer needs.

Mozy. Give yourself peace of mind. Back your computer up online, so if your house burns down, all your music, pictures and data won't be dust in the wind. Mozy offers 2 gigbytes for free. For more space, it's $5 a month.

Tech-Recipes. More than 2,000 step-by-step free tutorials are available at this site, mostly written by users, and cover topics including BlackBerrys, Internet browsers and Kindle.

Wi-Fi Free Spot. Find a fast, free Internet connection wherever you are.

Zoho. Get an array of online applications, including presentation tools, Web conferencing, database applications and project management software. It's free for individuals with a subscription fee for organizations.

Liz Pulliam Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "Your Credit Score: Your Money & What's at Stake." Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Published April 20, 2009

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