The Best Personal-Finance Products and Services of 2015

When it comes to personal finance services, there are always those better than others and those that simply do not make it onto the list of beneficial services at all. However, the great people over at Kiplinger have given us a list of great financial services that were their top picks for 2015. If you are looking for some financial services to get you through the New Year, allow us to recommend some of the most highly recommended financial services of the past year. If they were this good last year, imagine how great they’ll continue to be in the New Year.

Best Resource for Selling a Home

Traditional real estate agents are expensive, which is why financial experts now recommend that you forgo using their 6% commission services in favor of something called www.owners.com. It’s a wonderful resource that allows sellers to pay a flat fee for services you might want to use through a realtor. Everything on the menu is a la carte, so you can customize it to your liking, choosing services that are within your budget and needs. From preparing your sales listing to negotiating, you can buy any service through this program, without paying huge commissions.

Best Resource for Buying a Home

If you want to save money and still get the house of your dreams, hire a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. This an agent that has nothing to do with sellers at all, so they are committed to ensuring that you get what you want and need as a buyer. It’s the best possible resource for this type of activity and this type of major purchase. Buying a new home is one of the most expensive things you will ever do in your life, so you might as well make it as seamless, simple and profitable as possible.

Best Resource for Vacation Planning

Believe it or not, many people do not use the services of a travel agent. In fact, I’ve never used one never understood why anyone would. I have a friend who uses a travel agent to book her trips every year, and she pays entirely too much. Not only for the services of the travel agent, but for her trip. After booking a trip recently through her agent and then inviting us along with, I took a look at the information despite the fact that we are unable to go due to other travel plans, and I was floored at how much she’s wasting. I took a few moments to look into the same trip, same airline, same flight, same hotel and same everything else and I could have booked it for a third of the price she’s paying for her family to go. With that in mind, TravelZoo is the best resource for booking an planning a vacation. With vacation packages that save you thousands of dollars on each trip, it is a no-brainer to go with this option instead of another.

Best Resource for Banking

We say it all the time over here; online banks are great resources. They’re convenient, they take the hassle out of banking, and they often have better rates on checking and savings accounts, as well as more comprehensive ATM reimbursement fees and other beneficial account options. If you are looking for a new bank that’s going to pay you impressive interest rates, why not check out DepositAccounts.com for that need? It allows you to find the best banks based on interest rates, location and other important factors. Good luck and happy banking.

Best Cash Back Credit Card

The best card for cash back in 2015 was the Citi Double Cash card. You get to earn 1% on all your purchases. Additionally, you earn another 1% on all the purchases you pay off in full, too. We love this card because it allows you to earn more for being financially responsible, and we cannot think of a better card to have in your wallet. If you want to be financially responsible, you can be. You buy things, you pay them off, you earn money back for doing both. It always helps to get paid to do the spending you would do regardless, doesn’t it?

Best Travel Credit Card

If you’re looking to earn major rewards with travel, the BankAmericard Travel Rewards card allows you to earn 3 points for every dollar spent booking travel. Additionally, you also have no annual fee, and you get statement credits on purchases and other options when you use this card. It’s great for travel, and looks to continue to be great for travel in the New Year. Travel cards make it very easy to earn rewards and free travel, and that is why so many people prefer to use them on a regular basis. Go ahead and allow yourself to use a card of this nature so that you can earn more points, more rewards and enjoy your travel more frequent.

Best Balance Transfer Credit Card

If your New Year’s resolution is to become debt free this year, you’re going to want to transfer your credit card balances to the Chase Slate card. You get to move the money over in a timeframe of 2 months, and you have no interest on transfers for 15 months. Additionally, the card does not charge an annual fee, so you’re saving money left and right with this one. What makes this card so worthwhile is what it provides to you in the long run. You have 15 months to pay off debts that you have. If you have a credit card balance of $5,000 to pay off, you can do it without paying a dime more than you already own for 15 months. Instead of paying off that balance for hundreds or thousands more depending on your interest rate, you can pay a flat fee of $333 per month and pay it off before there are any interest charges. It’s a less expensive way of becoming debt free as quickly as possible.

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