4 Great Ways to Save Money on a Date (Without Looking Cheap)

A list you can actually follow

Sociologists have proven time and time again that when the economy is in a recession, the number of marriages goes up. What might seem like an anomaly can be easily explained by the fact that repetitive dates with one person cost less than one date with numerous people. This list is aimed at couples (aspiring and well-entrenched) that want to keep the passion strong without leaving a hole in the wallet. Saving money should be everyone’s lifestyle, but you don’t want to overdo it to the extend that it might cause your partner to doubt your long term chances and labeling you as a “cheapo.”  Read more...

7 Beautiful Vacation Spots for Traveling on a Budget in 2010

How To Vacation for Less without Compromising Luxury

In the past couple of years, people have been concocting innovative techniques in order to save money while enjoying their vacations. This has led to the rise in popularity of staycations, local trips, and more emphasis on the quality of time spent rather than the city with great things like road trips, family picnics, and nature journeys.

However, there are still great places to vacation at a fraction of the cost. In this article, I will include some national and international vacation spots that will offer you the most luxurious and enjoyable vacation memories without leaving you with a hole in your pocket. To help you further,  Read more...

The High Cost of Profit: Consuming Kids Documentary

This is my first ever review on SmarterSpend and it came about rather spontaneously.

Today, I saw a documentary about advertising and marketing that really got me thinking about the mentality behind businesses today in the United States. The name of the documentary is “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood” and brings to light the very troubling tactics employed by huge corporations to market their products to young children.

Consuming Kids is one of the most amazing documentaries I have ever seen.  Read more...

Tips on Saving Money on Your Las Vegas Vacation

Why Las Vegas?

Las Vegas is one of the largest tourist destinations in the world – attracting over 40 million tourists a year from every country. Each tourist spends, on average, about $1000 dollars each visit, a whopping sum that contributes to the many high rise casino hotels in the city. Las Vegas is a capitalist bastion. Around every corner, large advertisements beckon and people try selling you things you don’t need.

When traveling to Vegas, it often feels like money is wasted left and right. However, if you plan ahead of time, have a well – defined itinerary, and follow some of these steps, you can save a lot of money.  Read more...

Save Money at Home: Part 4 – Save Money on Clothes

This is the fourth installment in our “Save Money at Home” series. Refer back to the other posts for more ways to save money at home.

This series consists of the 4 posts below:

Part I- Save Money on Electronic Bills
Part II – Save Money on General Utilities
Part III- Save Money on Groceries
Part IV- Save Money on Clothes

Save Money on Clothes

I have made a habit of beginning these articles with the amount the average household spends on the topic being discussed and this article will be no exception. The average family of four spends $187 a month on clothing – a significant investment for items that could last many years.  Read more...

Save Money at Home: Part 1 – Save Money on Electronic Bills

Save Money at Home Series: Introduction

After several investing topics, I have decided to return to writing about saving money with a series about “Saving Money at Home.” As many of you know, I have been writing about saving money for over a year now, and believe this would be a great way to give great tips on building smarter spending habits where the most money is spent- at home.

The series will consist of 4 posts:

Part I- Save Money on Electronic Bills
Part II – Save Money on General Utilities
Part III- Save Money on Groceries
Part IV- Save Money on Clothes  Read more...

Ten Money Saving Fast Food Promotions

The average American spends $7.58 on fast food per day- translating to close to $2500 a year per person. That’s a lot of money (and probably a lot of calories). Assuming we can’t change our eating habits, we can try really hard to change our spending habits.

I have searched the Internet and local magazines for the ten best fast food promotions (and coupons) that will surely save you money.  If you know some more, please let me know and I will incorporate them into a future article.

1) Wienerschnitzel – Special Offer Coupon: Free Medium Drink

URL: http://wienerschnitzel.com/email/coupon.html  Read more...

Money and the Olympics: The Adjusted Medal Count per GDP

The Winter Olympics is another event where athletes around the world can showcase their abilities and nations can flaunt their strong programs in every field. The Canadian team spent $100 million on a federal program to train athletes for the Winter Olympics they were hosting, hoping to win their first gold medal in a Winter Olympics on home soil.

In the Summer Olympics, the United States Olympics Committee committee spend half a billion. Similar heavy spending has allowed the US to rank number one in the overall medal count in the last 4 Olympics.  Read more...