My Subscription Addiction spoilers section is my go-to bookmark when I can’t physically wait to get monthly makeup box from Sephora. But this site is so much more than that. It’s a massive directory of subscription boxes you can search by gender, categories, and countries. As well as reviews, there are promo codes and a free forum for swapping items. — CD

For my tastes, the best holiday gift guide is the annual catalog of cool books, games, toys, and DIY tools put together by The Kid Should See This website. Ordinarily the site hosts the best video clips your kids should see, but during the holidays they compile this long and annotated list of cool stuff that is aimed at active kids, but also works for adults with young minds. — KK

This brief, succinct blog post has great advice on how to find what you want (at least with used furniture) on Craigslist. For instance, don’t forget to search for common misspellings of your target. These tips match my experience in buying used tools on Craigslist. — KK

When I have an idea of what I want, but don’t want to go searching for it at the mall, I use my ShopStyle app (iOS, Android). I can filter my search according to keyword description, color, size, price, brand, department store, etc. The “Tailored Shop” updates daily and personalizes a store based on past searches and favorites — perfect for virtual “window shopping.” — CD

I take full advantage of the Request a Quote option on Yelp. Once you type out your request, Yelp gives you the option to submit the same message to similar businesses nearby. I click the max amount available (up to 10), and find that most people start responding right away! I’ve used this recently to find the cheapest and fastest phone screen repair. — CD

Amazon’s Interesting Finds will give you pages of really cool, surprising stuff. I don’t know how they are curating it, but I particularly like the Fun option. — KK 

Amazon now has a section where they sell originally Kickstarted projects. Bottom up retailing. — KK 

SpyCloud is a scary and useful website. Scary, because it showed me how many times my passwords have been hacked from website databases. Useful, because I quickly changed those passwords to protect myself. A personal account is free. Do this now. — MF

As part of my regular digital hygiene I type my email into the website “Have I Been Pwned?” to see if my email/password has been leaked to hackers by a sloppy company. They will tell me if and when a breach occurred which yielded my email on a list for sale on the dark web. This is an indication to change my password for that login. The check site is free, instant, no signups, and specific in needed action. — KK

Visit Webkay to see what any website you visit knows about you including your location, the device you are using, your IP address, social media accounts you are logged in to, and more. It also tells you how to plug these information leaks by using various services. — MF

If you spot police officers doing something wrong, you can record them with the free Mobile Justice app from the ACLU. It sends the video directly to an ACLU server so even if the police illegally confiscate your phone they won’t be able to delete the incriminating video. — MF

I’m keeping my Facebook account, but for educational purposes I downloaded all the data Facebook has on me. I highly recommend you do the same, just so you know what the bargain is. Start with this link, and follow the directions. You’ll get an email with a new link that will enable you to download a zip file. The folder with the most goodies is the Index page. Go back and adjust your privacy settings as desired. — KK

If you don’t have a Ring doorbell or security camera installed, you can still be alerted of nearby crimes and theft using the Neighbors by Ring app. Once you set up the parameters for your neighborhood you can watch video footage of suspicious activity posted by neighbors (up to 5 miles away). I already own Ring products, so I set up the free Neighbors app to alert me of crimes in my Dad’s neighborhood that I can then forward on to him.— CD 

Privacy is a browser extension that generates a virtual credit card for each online purchase you make. It offers different options when you create a virtual card — you can make a one-time-use card, a card with a limit (so that it expires once a certain amount is spent), or other kinds of limits. This seems like a great way to protect yourself from getting scammed by one of those sites that trick you into unwittingly signing up for a nearly-impossible-to-cancel monthly fee for something. — MF

Edward Snowden recommends the free encrypted chat and call app Signal. It works on Android, iOS and the desktop. Built by volunteer Open Source contributors and a group of grant-funded developers, Signal is slick and solid. I’m asking everyone I know to start using it. — MF

Few things in life are as satisfying as getting handwritten thank-you notes from school kids for helping them learn. DonorsChoose is a non-profit that features thousands of public school teachers seeking basic school supplies, or extra gear for special projects (rocket kits for science!). The teachers post their pitch. You choose a project. When it gets fully funded they post verification pictures of the kids using the resource which your funds provided, and later they’ll send you a fistful of amazingly detailed (and endearing) letters from the students themselves. You’ll want to do this. — KK 

I’ve been making micro-loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world via Kiva for 10 years. I loan small amounts (less than $100) to say, women in Africa hoping to buy a sewing machine to start their own sewing business, or herders in Bolivia needing some equipment to make cheese, and soon enough they will repay the loan, so I can re-loan the money again to someone else. I’ve gone through 4 cycles of loans for my first money, and there is less than 0.1% delinquency — a rate any bank would die for. 100% of my money goes to helping the individuals I select; Kiva’s operating costs are funded separately. The money keeps going around. It’s one of the best bargains in the world. — KK

I’m liking the new Mint much more than before. Now that it’s merged with Mint Bills, I can manage both bills and accounts in one place, and it was a lot easier to connect to all my accounts than before. Also, being able to view all my transactions in one place and categorize them permanently makes budgeting painless. — CD

I’ve been using Smarty Pig for years. It’s a website where you create a savings goal by specifying a date and an amount of money that you want to have saved by that time. Smarty Pig will transfer funds from your bank each month so that you meet your savings goal. I’ve used it for vacations, computers, insurance premiums, and holiday shopping. — MF

This website is a dashboard view of national debt, student loan debt, budget items, tax revenue, jobs, and dozens of other rapidly rising numbers. It also has a page of debt numbers for other countries. It’s alarming to watch the numbers rise before your eyes. What can be done about it? — MF