Free Web Sites For The Budget Conscious | www.canarsiecourier.com

When it comes to using your home computer, however, free Web sites and services are springing up all around us. And with people nationwide striving to save their hard-earned cash these days, many are rushing to take advantage of free Internet offerings.

If you know where to look you can do just about everything for free online — such as setting up a family Web site, getting tech support or managing your finances.

"According to Consumer Reports, consumers spend an average of $100 offline to fix a computer problem, and only 42 percent are satisfied with the results," said Lisa Alderson, CEO of CrossLoop, an online tech support resource. "For the budget conscious, every dollar counts. Turning first to free or low-cost online services is a great way to get access to experts and solve your technology issues."

Here are several Web sites offering valuable free services:

•Free Personal Finance Services: Managing your money shouldn't cost a bundle. Mint.com is a free personal finance service that takes only five minutes to set up. It automatically pulls together your bank, credit union and credit card data, and provides views of your financial life. It helps with family budgets and bill payments. The service even provides personalized money-saving and money-making suggestions. It also alerts you when you're exceeding your personal budget, have a low balance, need to pay a bill and when there's suspicious account activity.

•Free Computer Help and Tech Support: When computer problems hit, instead of dealing with manufacturers' impersonal call centers or lugging their computers to costly tech support retailers, many users are flocking to CrossLoop (www.crossloop.com), a free desktop sharing application that connects computer users with trusted, tech-savvy friends or qualified service experts. If you turn to friends and family, they can walk you through your tech support needs by remotely taking over your computer to fix the problem on the spot for no cost.

"My 70-something parents have trouble explaining the computer problems they are having, so logging on remotely makes my job so much easier," said CrossLoop user, Rick Yates.

If you need additional support for a more complicated computer challenge — such as learning how to use new software, removing a virus or setting up a personal blog — more than 12,000 trusted Helpers in the CrossLoop Marketplace are available to provide low cost, qualified help anytime, anywhere.

* Free Family Web Sites: Creating a family Web site sounds like a good idea, until you're faced with actually doing it. Not only can the technology be difficult to master, maintaining one can be costly with significant privacy issues to consider. A free service called MyFamily.com seems to have these issues under control, enabling users to make private family Web sites for sharing stories, photos, videos, events and private family discussions. Family members even can leave voice messages directly on their sites or narrate photo slideshows by phone.

"Families use their sites to share what's going on today and also to reflect on past experiences together in a more meaningful way than email and more secure than public sharing sites," said Michael Graff, senior vice president and general manager of myfamily. com.

So get out there and get surfing. Who knows what free gem you may unearth the next time you take to your keyboard.