Personal Services
Ratings & Advice
The latest ratings and advice for Boston area personal services.
Advice
- 30 Tricks Sellers Use to Make You Pay Up
- 60 Travel Booking Tips
- 65 Things You (Probably) Shouldn't Pay For
- About Checkbook: Why We're Unique
- Aging In Place
- Airlines that Allow Free Stopovers Let You Design a Vacation with Variety
- Buy Nothing, Get What You Need Anyway
- Buying Used Stuff
- Cell Phone Services
- Checkbook’s Top Shopping Tips
- Child Care: Tips for Saving
- Closet Organizers
- Clothing Rental
- Clothing Resale Options
- Complaining: How to Get Results
- Computer Backup Options
- Computer Problems: Can You Get Your Data Back After a Device Failure?
- Computers & Devices: How to Keep Yours Safe
- Consumers’ Notebook
- Credit Cards Provide Strong Protections for Consumers
- Credit Cards: Selecting the Best
- Cruises: How to Get the Best Deal
- Dealing with Your Digital Clutter
- Decluttering Strategies
- Defective Products: Strategies to Get a Refund or Replacement
- DNA Ancestry Services
- Elder Villages
- Email Addresses for Temporary Use
- Emergencies: Many 911 Centers Now Accept Texts
- eRead for Free
- Extended Product Warranties: Should You Buy Them?
- Facebook Privacy Settings Checkup
- Fitness Industry Changed by COVID
- Free Perks You Didn't Know You Have
- Getting Home Repairs During the COVID-19 Outbreak
- Getting Rid of Your Unwanted Stuff
- Grilling Safety
- Grocery Delivery
- Help at Home for Seniors
- Hotel Intel: How to Find the Best Rates for Rooms
- Hotels Gouge Guests With Absurd Resort Fees
- Hotels’ ‘Refundable’ and ‘Flexible’ Rates Often Not What They Seem
- How to Make a New Fitness Plan
- Identity and Cyber Theft: How to Protect Yourself
- Kids' Activity-Kit Services
- Medical Alert Devices
- Nannies: Hiring Tips
- Online Privacy: How to Guard Yours
- Organizers
- Parking: Finding the Best Rates
- Passwords: How to Choose Safe Ones
- Payment Apps: Avoiding Trouble and Scams
- Price Matching: What's the Deal?
- Recycling Electronics
- Rental Car Insurance: Should You Buy It?
- Restaurants Pay Steep Commissions and Fees to Order-and-Delivery Services
- Right-to-Repair Fight
- Sale Prices Are Rarely Real Deals
- Self Storage Facilities
- Smartphone Photos Apps and Tools
- Social Media Headshots: Do's and Don'ts
- Stop Unwanted Calls, Mail, and More
- Tickets: Saving on Seats for Shows and Sports
- Timeshare Exit Companies Deserve a Time Out
- Tipping Tips
- Travel Insurance
- Travel Websites Mislead by Falsely Declaring Few Hotel Rooms Remain
- Travel: Health and Safety Info for International Trips
- Travel: Help Finding Cheap Flights
- Vacation Home Rentals
- Vehicle Service Contracts
- Water-Saving Tips
- Wine Prices
Current Issue
-
Insuring Your Home
Are you covered? Are you paying too much? Many homeowners will save $1,000 or more each year by switching companies.
-
Primary Care Physicians
Ratings to help you find essential help for your health.
-
Hotel Intel
We searched 25 travel sites looking for the lowest rates for 75 stays.
- Hotels Continue to Gouge Guests with Absurd Resort Fees
- Hotels’ ‘Refundable’ and ‘Flexible’ Rates Often Aren’t What They Seem
-
Window Shopping
Want to improve your outlook? We have ratings of local installers for quality and price.
-
Appliance Repair Guide
Fridge on the fritz? Oven burnt out? Our ratings will help you find a repair rescue.
-
Buying Appliances
Getting what you want for the lowest price.
-
Work Out Without Getting Worked Over
How to find the right fitness center.
-
How to Make a New Fitness Plan
Strategies to help you make a commitment and stick with it.
-
How to Get Better Sleep
40 tips for 40 winks.
-
Bicycle Peddlers
How to choose the right bike and shop to get you rolling.
-
Resale Revolution
Buying secondhand stuff saves money and helps the environment. Here’s how to do it.
-
Buy Nothing, Get What You Need Anyway
The good, the bad, and the weird of the gift economy.
- Dealing with Unexpected Medical Bills
We aren't loyal to businesses, we're loyal to you.
Easily find ratings, reviews, and advice on local service providers.
Checkbook is nonprofit, independent, and provides unbiased information.
We don't run ads or take referral fees from business that we rate.