There have been two big announcements about personal finance tools this week, but I’ve been too busy to write full posts about them.

First up, Quicken Online is now free. I previewed this personal finance tool in January. Back then it cost about $3/month, but in a market with great free tools like Wesabe [my review], Mint [a GRS user review], and Yodlee MoneyCenter, that was $3/month too much. I still use desktop Quicken. It’s been a while since I tried any of the online tools — maybe I should test them all again and report my impressions.

Second, Tip’d launched today. Tip’d is a community for sharing financial news, ideas, and tips. It’s sort of like Digg, but for money. I had hoped to talk with Muhammad, the community director for Tip’d, but we’re having trouble connecting. Maybe later this week.

Meanwhile, here’s some other personal finance news from around the web:

First up, in a guest post at Being Frugal, ABC writes that a little bit of investment knowledge goes a long way. Amen. I wrote yesterday that education is the most essential component of any investment plan. Like ABC, I believe that knowledge equals power. (You can check out ABC’s home site at ABCs of Investing.)

Some Get Rich Slowly readers have complained that The Consumerist sometimes goes too far in siding with the consumer over corporations. I’m generally pro-consumer myself, so this bias doesn’t bother me. I think everyone can agree that this story of the worst tip Consumerist has ever received does a good job highlighting how not to behave when faced with a problem. Being a smart consumer means standing up for your rights — it doesn’t mean being a jerk. Never become abusive, especially when you’re wrong.

The New York Times dug into their archives to provide some interesting coverage of the financial panic of 1873. “While the 1929 stock market collapse is widely perceived by economists to have played a role in the economic contraction, the stock market collapse in 1873 — much like the one now — came after a building boom created by easily obtainable mortgages and an ensuing banking crisis.” Interesting stuff.

Finally, Ask Metafilter has some tips on how to cut costs without feeling the pinch. There are some great tips here. Some are obvious, but others less so: “Get an apartment unit that is centrally located, heat should radiate from adjacent units, so you can use less of yours.”