Financial Services
Ratings & Advice
The latest ratings and advice for Puget Sound area financial services.
Advice
- 30 Tricks Sellers Use to Make You Pay Up
- 65 Things You (Probably) Shouldn't Pay For
- About Checkbook: Why We're Unique
- Budgeting Websites
- Buy Now, Pay Later Often a Debt Trap
- Car Buying Strategies
- CarBargains - Checkbook's Shopping Service for New Cars
- Cashback Shopping Portals
- Complaining: How to Get Results
- Consumers’ Notebook
- Credit Cards Provide Strong Protections for Consumers
- Credit Cards: Selecting the Best
- Credit Score Boost Offered by Experian Likely Not Useful
- Dealing with Unexpected Medical Bills
- Dealing with Your Digital Clutter
- Estate Planning Tasks & Tips
- Extended Product Warranties: Should You Buy Them?
- Financial Documents: Create a Paper Trail for Your Heirs
- Free Perks You Didn't Know You Have
- Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees & Annuitants
- Home Warranties
- Homeowners Insurance
- Identity and Cyber Theft: How to Protect Yourself
- Identity Theft: Are You Protecting Your Kids?
- Identity Theft: Are Your Investment and Retirement Accounts Protected?
- LeaseWise - Checkbook's Shopping Service for Leasing New Cars
- Life Insurance
- Online Privacy: How to Guard Yours
- Parking: Finding the Best Rates
- Passwords: How to Choose Safe Ones
- Payment Apps: Avoiding Trouble and Scams
- Pet Insurance
- Phishing Scams: Is Your Financial Institution Helping Cyberthieves?
- Price Matching: What's the Deal?
- Prices: Where Have All the Bargains Gone?
- Sale Prices Are Rarely Real Deals
- Savings Apps
- Stop Unwanted Calls, Mail, and More
- Timeshare Exit Companies Deserve a Time Out
- Travel Insurance
- Vehicle Service Contracts
- Water & Sewer Line Warranties
- Wills and Living Wills: Help with Preparing Yours
Current Issue

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Insuring Your Home
Are you covered? Are you paying too much? Many homeowners will save $1,000 or more each year by switching companies.
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Primary Care Physicians
Ratings to help you find essential help for your health.
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Hotel Intel
We searched 25 travel sites looking for the lowest rates for 75 stays.
- Hotels Continue to Gouge Guests with Absurd Resort Fees
- Hotel’s ‘Refundable’ and ‘Flexible’ Rates Often Aren’t What They Seem
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Window Shopping
Want to improve your outlook? We have ratings of local installers for quality and price.
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Appliance Repair Guide
Fridge on the fritz? Oven burnt out? Our ratings will help you find a repair rescue.
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Buying Appliances
Getting what you want for the lowest price.
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Work Out Without Getting Worked Over
How to find the right fitness center.
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How to Make a New Fitness Plan
Strategies to help you make a commitment and stick with it.
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How to Get Better Sleep
40 tips for 40 winks.
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Bicycle Peddlers
How to choose the right bike and shop to get you rolling.
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Resale Revolution
Buying secondhand stuff saves money and helps the environment. Here’s how to do it.
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Buy Nothing, Get What You Need Anyway
The good, the bad, and the weird of the gift economy.
- Dealing with Unexpected Medical Bills
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