Ancestry.com is the most extensive online resource for genealogy research. If you do not have the money to pay for a subscription, you can still access a large number of resources to help with your research. I recommend that you at least sign up for a free trial and get as much information as possible during a period where you have plenty of time to take advantage of the resources.  When you cancel the subscription (which you must do if you do not want to pay after the trial), you will still have your account.  Note that many of the resources will be indexes only.

• Free Online Family Tree – start by entering everything you know about yourself, your mother, your father, your grandparents, etc.  Ancestry.com will take that information and match it to some of their databases and other peoples trees and provide you with ‘hints’ (the leaf).
• Ancestry.com Wiki
  • The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy
  • Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
  • Content added by members
  • Federal Census Records
  • State Census Records
  • Reconstructed 1790 Census Schedules
  • Census of Native Americans
  • African American Census Schedules
  • Census Substitutes
  • A variety of Census references
• A variety of tutorials and learning tools in their Learning Center
• WWI Civilian Draft Registrations
• Milirary Records
• Message Boards
• U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes
• American Biographical Library
• Ancestry World Tree (rootsweb)
• Charts and Forms
• Discover the meaning and history behind your last name
• England and Wales Birth Marriage and Death Indexes 1837-2005

Even with the free subscription, you have access to a variety of great resources.