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The internet was invented for the sole purpose of providing the masses answers. Answers to what ever question one might come up with, if you can think it, it must be there.

 

If may come as no surprise then, that because people have no idea what to do in these desperate times, the internet is being scoured for answers. People are now trying to find the answers to questions like: How can I afford my [Insert anything here]? To ways they can save money.

 

Gas, a huge topic and concern for the American public, can be found on the Internet. Websites dedicated to finding the lowest gas prices in your area are causing major server overloads and crashes. Internet tracker comScore says visits to www.gasbuddy.com, are up nearly 30 percent and it expects to report spikes in traffic to finance and bargain-hunter websites when September statistics are calculated later this week.

 

"Investment pages are just red hot right now with people wanting to know what is going on with stocks," said Yahoo Finance general manager Mark Interrante. We have been impressed by the traffic. People are not just diving down into stocks but asking what is going on, how it affects them and where it is all going."

 

Advice is being thrown darted about message boards as people, through the Internet, console one another and ask for help. Yahoo Finance message boards where people chat online about cash, finance and other personal money matters and the website's Tech Ticker video news program is getting millions of daily visitors.

 

"The editorial team at Tech Ticker is working around the clock to find the right stories for people to understand the crisis," Interrante said. "This is going to be a record month for us."

 

The Wall Street Journal recently reported an unparalleled two million visitors in a single day.

 

Websites, dedicated to saving you money, like SavingAdvice.com says it has seen "a significant amount of traffic" for information about shopping coupons, deals on gasoline and troubled banks.

 

"That increase in search engine traffic may indeed have something to do with the economic issues," said Jeffrey Strain of SavingAdvice.

 

"The forums have had some change in focus with the changes in the economy as well. Questions about the stock market and changes taking place there have increased as the financial meltdown has taken place."

 

Self-help startup PeopleJam.com has seen interest in personal finance tips multiply nearly eightfold in the past month as people seek ways to save money or find reliable investing advice.

 

"Our audience is clearly worried about their retirement savings or waking up in the morning wondering if they can put gas in the car, pay their mortgage or cover a child's tuition bill," PeopleJam chief executive Matt Edelman said. “They want ways to eat healthy on a budget; ways to exercise for free as opposed to joining a gym... day-to-day activities that people want to keep in their lives but don't have the money to afford."

 

Dave Smith, President of FindHow.com, a website created as a resource for people that want to fix or build things themselves instead of paying for professionals, sees a tsunami of interest heading its way due to the financial markets meltdown.

 

"If I were a betting person, right now I would bet that do-it-yourself is going to get very big in the coming months," he said.