SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 31, 2008 (AFP) -
Legions of people with budgets battered by turbulent US financial markets are reaching out to a freshly-launched website specializing in cutting credit card and mobile telephone expenses.
Visits to six-month-old BillShrink.com have surged 25 percent as the US economy was pounded in recent weeks and continue to rise as Americans grow fearful that their jobs could be at risk due to company belt-tightening.
Northern California -based BillShrink provides a free online template that lets US users figure out credit card or mobile telephone plans that could save them hundreds of dollars a year in comparison to what they currently pay.
"We're helping people in a time of need," BillShrink chief executive Peter Pham told AFP on Friday.
"It is always a good time to be smart about how you spend your money, but people are more sensitive to it now. Given where we are headed for the next two to four years, every dollar counts."
BillShrink compiles information about credit card offers and mobile telephone service plans in its data banks and then matches people to optimal deals depending on their needs and qualifications.
The website boasts that it saves users an average of 1,600 dollars annually on the cost of credit cards and 340 dollars a year on mobile telephone service.
BillShrink continually monitors the market and alerts users by email when better deals come along.
"Most people are just fundamentally on the wrong plan," Pham said. "They are just a little too lazy to look into it and it is kind of difficult to figure out."
The financial crisis has people flocking to the Internet for the latest money news along with tips on how to salvage investments and save on the routine costs of living.
Visits to websites such as the business-centric Wall Street Journal and economy-focused Yahoo Finance set new records as the US Congress grappled with its 700 billion dollar plan to stop credit markets from imploding.
Activity is up 40 percent at Yahoo Finance message boards where people chat online about cash, finance and other personal money matters. Yahoo's Tech Ticker video news programme is getting millions of daily visitors.
Meanwhile, a website for penny-pinchers, SavingAdvice.com, says it has seen "a significant amount of traffic" for information about shopping coupons, deals on gasoline and troubled banks.
Self-help startup PeopleJam.com has seen interest in personal finance tips multiply as people seek ways to save money or find reliable investing advice.
"I think people feel poorer now than they did a year ago even if they make the same amount of money and have the same job," Pham said.
"You can't turn on the TV or radio and not get bad news about the economy. Hypersensitivity and awareness has shot through the roof."
BillShrink's creators include a founder of Yodlee, a software platform used for online banking and bill payments. Despite miserable credit markets, BillShrink recently scored eight million dollars in venture capital funding.
"We saw where the economy was headed last year and that everyone has been giving information without personalization when it comes to credit cards," Pham said.
"Building this site was really important. How you spend your money, how much you have, and where you spend your money have a lot to do with what card you should get."
BillShrink gets paid by credit card or mobile phone service companies when people sign up for some of their plans.
Pham is adamant that plan recommendations are based on computer algorithms that deliver rankings that are best for individual users, and not influenced by whether BillShrink gets a fee.
BillShrink plans to expand its services to other financial arenas and beyond US borders.
"In this economy people need a service that helps save real money," Pham said. "It's not just for 'technoratis'. Anyone can come in and in a few minutes save real money."
gc/pmh
