Personal Services
Ratings & Advice
The latest ratings and advice for Chicago area personal services.
Advice
- 30 Tricks Sellers Use to Manipulate You
- 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
- Amazon Floods Search Results with Ads
- Buy Nothing, Get What You Need Anyway
- Buying Used Stuff
- Cell Phone Services
- Cell Phone Services: How to Avoid a Big Bill When Traveling Abroad
- Checkbook’s Top Holiday 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: How to Choose the Best One
- 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
- E-Read for Free
- Elder Villages
- Email Addresses for Temporary Use
- Extended Product Warranties: Should You Buy Them?
- Fitness Industry Changed by COVID
- Free Perks You Didn't Know You Have
- Getting Rid of Your Unwanted Stuff
- Grilling Safety
- Grocery Delivery
- Help at Home for Seniors
- Home Title Monitoring Services Mislead About a Rare Crime
- 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 Theft and Fraud: How to Protect Yourself
- Kids' Activity-Kit Services
- 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
- 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
- Shopping for the Best Deal? These Retailers Price Match or Make Price Adjustments
- Smartphone Photos Apps and Tools
- Social Media Headshots: Do's and Don'ts
- Social Media Privacy Tips
- 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
-
Plumbers Who Won’t Drain Your Wallet
Use our ratings to find the area’s best drip doctors.
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Saving Energy at Home
30 ways to cut your costs and help the planet.
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Insulation and Air Sealing Projects
The dynamic duo for home energy savings.
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Pest Practices
How to rid your home of bugs and other critters.
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Straight Talk About Nutritional Supplements
Most are deceptively marketed and poorly regulated.
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Amazon Floods Search Results with Ads
We searched for 50 products on Amazon; half of what it showed us were paid promos.
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Guide to Buying Hearing Aids
Affordable new options, ratings of sellers.
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Florists
Ratings of pros, where to save on stems.
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Sofa, So Good
How to buy quality furniture.
- How to Shop for a Mattress
- Getting the Right Tires at the Best Price
- How to Redo a Bathtub or Shower
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