Personal Services
Ratings & Advice
The latest ratings and advice for Puget Sound 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
- CarBargains - Checkbook's Shopping Service for New Cars
- 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
- LeaseWise - Checkbook's Shopping Service for Leasing New Cars
- 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
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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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