allaboutwomen

There's a bit of disagreement over whether Monday 17th or Monday 24th January was officially the unhappiest day of the year.

Whichever one you go for, I can see the point: We're all skint, fat, worrying about our jobs and already beating ourselves up over failed New Year's resolutions. And what do we have to look forward to? Oh - February. Never mind. Here are ten websites that should make you both happier and richer...
1. PlentyOfFish
New Year, new love. PlentyOfFish is one of the few online dating resources that's completely free to use. You're bound to come across a few loonies, but then there are... plenty more fish, right?

2. MySupermarket
MySuperMarket is a specialist comparison site that allows you to compare the price of items at Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Ocado. It could help slash your household budget - and you can shop online via the site, too.

3. PetrolPrices
PetrolPrices is another comparison site, completely focused on finding you the cheapest fuel in your area. It currently compares prices at 11,045 petrol stations, and issues 8,000 daily updates.

4. Freegle
Freegle - a UK offshoot of Freecycle - is a community freebie site. People post about things they no longer need, and you can ask for them. Simple!

5. Turn2Us
This handy resource helps you pinpoint the benefits and other financial assistance you're eligible for. Turn2Us provides a particular lifeline for people who are unemployed, on a low income, retired or have an illness or disability.

6. HotUKDeals
HotUkDeals bills itself as 'deal anarchy for the masses'. Essentially, community members (normal members of the public) post about particular freebies, deals and bargains they've come across - so other can benefit.

7. SayNoTo0870
Dialling an 0870 number - or certain other customer service numbers at big companies - can be a notoriously expensive business. SayNoTo1870 lists equivalent, cheaper geographical numbers for many big firms.

8. MyVoucherCodes
MyVoucherCodes is one of the biggest and best voucher sites around. It brings together thousands of retail discount codes and vouchers, so you can get money off in every area of your shopping.

9. Skype
If you need a cheap way to chat to friends and family, Skype software could be the answer. In a nutshell, voice and video calls between two Skype users are completely free. You can find out more about how it works right here.

10. Free Tetris
What better to take your mind off the misery than a game of Tetris? It's totally mind-numbing/all-consuming, depending on how you look at it. You can play it online, for free, right here. No downloading needed.

If you book tickets on the UK versions of airlines' websites you often end up paying more for your flight than if you used their overseas versions.

There is also evidence that there are fewer special deals available on UK sites. This means it's always worth having a look at a carrier's .com site to compare flights with those available on its UK site .co.uk.

Customers using the UK sites for United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand have noticed differences in air fares between the carriers' UK and overseas websites, suggesting this is common practice in the industry, according to the Observer.

One explanation is that many airlines give preferential treatment to what they regard as their "core" markets. The practice is certainly not illegal.

The only problem is that if you find a better deal on a .com site, you may have trouble getting your booking done. For example, united.com does not accept non-US credit card details.