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.”

1. Want to spend more time together after a movie? Try a cafe or get ice cream.

After a movie, you’ve probably spent well over $35 dollars on tickets and popcorn, a hefty amount considering that a standard appetizer- entree- drink dinner can run you a minimum of $50 at an average restaurant like Cheesecake Factory or BJ’s. That’s going to come close to a Benjamin a date, including the gas. Although your significant other is definitely worth it, there are other ways to enjoy a night together without wasting money. You can save almost 80% of the restaurant bill by choosing to substitute the dinner with a stop at a cafe, bakery, or ice cream shop. These places are more intimate and you can spend more quality time for less money.

2. Save some money and ignite some romance at the local Botanical Gardens.

I’m genuinely surprised that more people are not visiting these wonderful parks, especially in the midst of this economy. Botanical gardens are very affordable and a great place for a date for any couple. They offer refreshments at affordable prices and are a great way to get in touch with nature.

Huntington Botanical Gardens

3. Visit a Park or Local Beach and take your own food

A barbeque picnic at a local beach or park, peaceful and in nature’s arms, is a great way to spend time with your sweetheart. Take your own food and it will cost you a fraction of what it costs at a restaurant or bar for the same thing and you will have the comfort of making your food healthy and to your liking.

4. Enjoy eating at home with a Redbox Movie

For under $50, you can cook at home for your date, buy great wine or champagne, and get a Redbox movie ($1). By staying at home, you have the liberty of eating whatever you want, watching however many movies you prefer, and if needed, stepping out later for a coffee or ice cream. Not only that, but people feel more comfortable at home!

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,

1. Atlanta, Georgia

Home of large cultural institutions and affordable hotels, Atlanta was given the highest ranking on the Travel Value Index. It is full of entertainment and discounts and should be considered for any vacation.

Destinations:

• The World of Coca-Cola Tour (Free to $15)
• CNN Studio Tour, a tour of the news service ($8 to $12)
• Centennial Olympic Park, a magnificent park where the 1996 Olympic Games were held (Free)

2. Huntington Beach, CA

Located just minutes from Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, downtown LA, and the Sunset Strip, Huntington Beach is one of the most popular surfer destinations in California and boasts affordable hotel rates.

Destinations:

• Museums
• Main Street Shopping
• Boat and Kayak in Huntington Harbor

3. Halifax, Nova Scotia

An outdoor escape, Halifax is an affordable destination because most of the tourist spots are natural outdoor areas. Only a 90 minute plane trip from Eastern United States, Halifax has become one of the popular American destination spots in recent years.

Destinations:

• Peggy Cove’s Lighthouse (Most photographed in the world)
• Saturday Brewery Market with arts and crafts.
• Point Pleasant Park (Free forest adventure)

4. Solomon’s Island, Maryland

Solomons Island is a beautiful Gardens of Eden tucked away next to Maryland. People enjoy the peaceful wilderness in the islands, including lush and dense forests. Tourists enjoy numerous outdoor activities, including kayaking and swimming.

Destinations:

• Calvert’s Art Museum ($7)
• St. Mary’s City
• Calvert Cliffs State Park

5. Riga, Latvia

A historic city in Eastern Europe, this former Soviet Union country has modernized its historic centers but kept its beautiful folk traditions. The country has lowered the value of its currency in hopes of joining the Euro. Rated one of the best values for traveling in Europe.

Destinations:

• Majori or Dzintari sea side escapes
• Architecture of Independence
• Jugenstil

6. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Considered the most European of the South American travel destinations, Buenos Aires is a crown jewel for tourists. It has beautiful cultural events, with large Italian, German, Jewish and Armenian populations, a flourishing night life, and the exciting outdoor excursions.

Destinations:

• Tens of inexpensive museums in different parts of town.
• Japanese Gardens
• Buenos Aires Fisheries

7. Panama City, Panama

Panama City is a very affordable travel spot that is getting more attention as drug wars in Mexico scare away tourists. With an economy very much used to American dollars and American tourists, more and more people are visiting during their Spring and Summer holidays.  Airfare is under $100 from some cities in the country, which already saves thousands for a small family.

Destinations:

• Old Town – Mi Puebliti
• Metropolitan National Park – protected rain forest.
• Colonial Panama Cultural Sites

There are many other great spots for vacationing. Everyone should take some time and do some research – there will always be a beautiful spot to fit your budget.

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.

The video begins by describing how advertisers and companies have targeted Congress into deregulating children’s advertisement and marketing and how there was an 840% increase in children’s spending in the past 25 years because of this deregulation. This is a growth about 7 times more than the inflation.

Currently, children have the spending power of the combined GDPs of the poorest 125 countries, worth a total of $700 billion, in America alone.

The documentary then describes how clever advertisers are creeping into children’s lives one area at a time – starting from small cartoons aimed at selling toys, to online games (including adver-cades) and websites, and now into brazen promotions of their products in numerous TV shows and movies.

Furthermore, these advertisers are using the fiscal crisis to purchase billboards and large advertisements in schools – where they promote unhealthy products and wasteful spending. An example of this was a donation of a scoreboard with Coca-Cola logos all over it to a certain school. Not only is this brainwashing children to spend money on unnecessary products and forcing their parents to make unwise financial decisions to seem “cool” and fit into their altered social standards – most of the stuff they try to sell is completely bad for the kids- chips, sweets, and processed foods.

Advertisers have hired many researches in order to get their science – including following kids in school and supermarkets, while they are talking to friends, and even in the bathroom to promote beauty products and studying their reactions to different shapes, colors, and voices. They have even exploiting friends and family – nothing is out of reach.

Another scary method used by advertisers is neuromarketing, which allows researches to see what areas of a child’s brain lights up when they see something exciting. All this is used to entice everyone to spend more money money and make the wrong decisions.

With years of extensive studies, marketers have perfected nearly all aspects of advertising – speeds and sounds, ethno and geotargeting, and even changing the shapes in their advertisements based on children’s responses as they grow older. Marketing has also evolved in recent years – not by exaggerating the product but by changing the mentality of kids to “You Are What You Have.”

The documentary also talks about how children are getting younger faster by citing examples of the makeup brand Tween, which used to be for 8- 12 year olds, but now is being used by six year olds girls. These social changes have altered the dynamic of being a child. Kids ages 12- 14 now spend 94% less time in creative games and activities than 15 years ago – a staggering figure.

In order to make a change in the world so that our children and grandchildren grow up in a society where people are not classified based on their material possessions For example, limiting children’s television and Internet time is a great way to stop this thirst for products and wasteful spending.

Children should not have to have things to be happy- surely an Ipod does not grant happiness. Kids are slowly getting older, faster. They aren’t enjoying the things that little children used to enjoy before – like spending time with their parents or reading a book.

The most horrible exploitation is that of young girls with sexuality and look preferences – so much that preschoolers are wearing mini shorts and skirts based on their favorite Bratz dolls. For males, the ideas of becoming a man and being able to dominate have begun creeping inside video games – where killing someone after a conflict is seen as the only alternative to a reasonable solution.

I can go on and on summarizing the this very educational film, however I rather my readers watch it and come back to me with what they learned and what they will do to ensure kids are not brainwashed and manipulated. How can we provide a healthier future for everyone?

Please watch this video and let me know. Click this link for the video.

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.

How to Save in Vegas

1 ) Pick a Hotel at Least 3 Weeks Ahead of Time

Save money before setting foot in Vegas by shopping for hotels ahead of time. Popular websites such as i4vegas, vegas.com, and other third party reservation sites have great volume discounts and can save you a load of dough. Commonly, a few of the well known casinos, such as Luxor, Mandalay Bay, and Tropicana offer great deals, some as low as $50 a night for a 4 star hotel. You can get the 5 star, 4 diamond Mandalay Bay for no more than $100 a night on special discounts. The key is to book ahead of time.

2 ) Take a few drinks and snacks.

You will be surprised at how often you will get thirsty in the dry environment of Las Vegas. You’re going to be chugging a few liters a day and still feel dehydrated. A bottle of water can cost almost $3 at any Fast Food store or in-hotel mart. Taking some drinks will save you a considerable amount of money. This also holds for snacks and fruits.

3 ) All day buffet passes can save you tons of eating costs.

Most of the major casinos offer all you can eat buffet whole day passes for a fraction of the cost more than the single time price. Let me be honest with you, if you’re eating at buffets, you won’t get hungry more than twice a day, but you will still save a lot of money. Luxor and MGM have all day buffets for $30 and Excalibur’s is $25. I wouldn’t recommend eating anywhere cheaper because the food quality drops rather fast. Don’t forget to tip the servers a few bucks, because they try their best to do a good job for you.

4 ) Purchase show tickets online or with a hotel package.

If you’re going to see a show, prepare to spend over $100 a ticket and close to$200 for a decent seat. Luckily for you, you can purchase show tickets online for up to 70% off using online show vendors. It would be even better if you can get your show tickets for cheaper or free with a hotel package. Hotel packages usually discount shows in the same hotel by up to 50% or give you buy one get one free deals.

5 ) Going to gamble? Leave the plastic at the hotel room, take only cash.

I urge you to follow this rule religiously and fanatically. If you take your credit or debit card with you to play, you’re going to lose a lot of money, very fast. Taking cash allows you to budget your losses. Play for entertainment, not to win, and you’ll actually enjoy ‘gambling.’ Set a daily limit and follow it. Don’t spend all your time in the casinos- there’s so much more to Vegas than gambling.

6 ) Do not shop for clothes, even at the city outlets.

Vegas is really expensive. Unless money is not an issue, don’t buy anything except souvenirs because you will definitely be getting ripped off. As great as those Dior sunglasses look, they will look even better when you find it for 75% off back home. The Vegas outlets are pretty pricey too, so unless you’re visiting the Tangier Outlets around Barstow, don’t even bother looking.

Remember, those beautiful casinos are built with loser’s money.

You can spend much less than you imagined and still have a wonderful time in Vegas. There’s great night life (as if I needed to tell you this), dining, and sight seeing. Don’t get bogged down shopping and gambling. Remember, plan everything before you visit and you will be rewarded.

If you have been to Vegas or are planning to visit, tell me how you try to spend less money. I visit the city three or four times a year and could surely use some advice. How much is your gambling budget?

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.

Looking good does not mean you have to leave a hole in your wallet. There are many things you can do to dress like a million, but for only a fraction of what you spend. Follow me on these guaranteed to work (and already experimented) tips to save you money.

1) Try surplus outlets for amazing prices, especially during holidays.

You won’t believe the kind of discounts you can find at outlets, for example… Kenneth Cole outlet or Nordstrom Rack. Last week, I stopped by the Tangier outlets on my way back from Vegas (many of you might be familiar with this one – its always full of people).

I’m into dress shoes, so I decided to stop by Aldo to buy myself a new pair. I know that a decent set at regular Aldo can cost around $85 to $110. I got a very slick black pair for only $38.99. A savings of $50 for one pair of shoes is almost unimaginable, especially when its not on sale.

Outlets are great because they have all your favorite brands side by side. I recommend them for sunglasses, purses, and designer watches the most.

2) Buy versatile clothing that can be worn in more than one place.

A website I read cleverly said, “People wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time.” I couldn’t agree with this more. Why not buy clothing that can be worn at work and while your out? Men- some of the nicest dress shirts you can buy are perfect for this. Women- black shirts and sweaters are great for you because they can be formal and also casual.

3) Buy in the off season.

Buying in the off season for any kind of clothing is a great way to save money. Buy your winter clothes in the summer and your summer clothes in the winter. This will save you a lot of money because most clearances in department stores are because of seasonal issues. Last year, I bought a leather jacket valued at $350 for only $75. This winter, I bought 5 short sleeve shirts from Macy’s for only $60. The possibilities are endless- explore them.

4) Shop at Ross.

I don’t want to seem like I have a hidden agenda because I don’t. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you how much I love shopping at Ross because they have great products for a fraction of the cost. Sometimes the quality of the product is lower, but its not like your buying packed meat, you can always check for flaws. You can find great casual shoes with brand names for only $20!

5) Shop Online.

Stores love putting their older stuff online because their selling space is limited. Go to any department store site and click through straight to the Sale and Clearance section. You will be positively surprised at what you find. It’s also faster because the price is right under the product image- so you can just browse for prices that fit your budget.

Many bloggers write about more radical methods of saving money – such as visiting charity stores, buying used, and wearing clothes double sided. I am more conservative in my approach and I feel like you don’t have to sacrifice yourself to look good.

I highly recommend reading one of my older articles – 15 Secrets to Department Store Shopping for more tips.

I want to know what you do to find great clothes for cheap- any particular stores or websites you visit? How do you feel about buying from garage sales or charities?

Where are some places you like to shop?

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

——————————————————–

Part 1 – Save Money on Electronic Bills

With the first decade of the 21st century officially over, most households have subscriptions to technology that they mostly didn’t have twenty years ago- cell phones, Internet (DSL or Cable), and Cable TV. Nowadays, every kid that can walk has their own cell phone line with text messaging bundles.

Slashing bills on Internet, cell phones, and television can add a lot of money to your budget. I have compiled a list of the best ways to save money in this area.

1) Find the ideal cell phone Family Plan:
What do I mean by ideal? This: You can have 1,400 anytime minutes or 2,300 minutes for a family of four and still never talk more than 1,000. Find the lowest minutes your provider offers that is suffice for your family. Check your old phone bill statements – what’s the most you’ve talked in the last year? A little more than this should be your plan’s allowance of minutes.

Compare providers: Verizon offers Unlimited Talk & Text for 2 people at $150 and another $50 for each extra line ($250 for a family of four) while T-Mobile offers the same thing for only $140 for two and $35 for each additional ($210 for a family of four).

Total Savings: $40

2) Do you really need a home phone?
Paying for cell phones for a family of four makes land-lines obsolete, since everyone has their own phone. AT & T”s second most basic home phone service costs $23.99. If you don’t drop them now, they will drop you later. AT&T has already contacted the FCC about discontinuing the service.

Total Savings: $24

3) Cable TV – A relic of the past.
Unless your a true sports fan who has to watch all sports games on a Plasma TV, Cable and Satellite TV are relics of the past. Check out my article on great websites where you can find streaming television, news, and sports for free.

With prices for such services ranging from $40- $60, why not pay $10 to get real streams online?

Total Savings: ~$40

4) Take advantage of competition between Internet providers

That’s right- The Government passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Law for a reason: To increase competition between large companies. In the 1910s and 1920s it was sugar, steel and petroleum. Now, its communications and media. Use this to your advantage… call your Internet provider and tell them about other offers from rival companies (e.g. Call to At & T: “Your 29.99 is too high for basic Internet, Verizon is offering the same service for 19.99, can you lower the price for me?”)… tell them you like them, but want to quit. They will give you a special promotion- I do this every six months and save about 15 bucks a month on my Internet.

Total Savings: $15

5) Inquire about Corporate, Government, and Student Volume Discounts

Another path I have taken using my T-mobile Service. UCLA offered a volume discount for T-mobile. Even the workers there didn’t know about it, but it saves me 15% or roughly $10 off my phone bill. There are larger discounts for larger corporations and groups and you can save a wad of cash if you apply it to a family plan for a cell phone bill.

Total Savings: $10- $25

The Big Picture

Overall Savings: $120- $160 a month.

Add it up and we save… $140 a Month just cutting bills on three popular subscriptions. Most of the money was saved by reducing waste. Even if you follow only a few of these tips, you can still save $100 bucks a month.. or $1,200 a year.  Think what you can do with that much money- a 7 day Cruise on Carnival lines is about $800 for two.

I hope you come back for the second part of my series – saving money on general utilities to add to your savings.

In this article, I highlighted some of my personal steps, but I know there are things out there that I’m not aware of. What do you guys do to save money on these bills? Do you think this article was useful? Let’s talk!

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

Click Here for Printable Coupon

2 ) Carl’s Jr. – Special Offer Coupon: Grilled Cheese Bacon

URL: http://www.carlsjr.com/promotions/coupon/one-dollar-off-gcbb-combo/

3 ) KFC. – Special Offer Coupons: Several Coupons

URL: http://kfccoupons.cre8.com

Enter your zip code and enjoy 6 free coupons.

Planet Hollywood USA

URL: http://www.planethollywood.com/partners/entertainment_coupon2.htm

5 ) El Pollo Loco. – Special Offer Coupons: FREE Steak & 3-Cheese Quesadilla with Any 9 or 14 Piece Feast

FREE-Quesadilla-Feast-Promo

URL: http://www.elpolloloco.com/whatsnew/promotions.html
6 ) Donut Connection – Various Printable Coupons (Small Free Coffee with any purchase, Buy one coffee get another free, etc)

URL: http://www.donutconnection.com/NewFiles/coup.html

7 ) Godfather’s Pizza – Various Printable Coupons – Buy One Medium Pizza Get another free and MORE

Godfather Free Medium Pizza with Purchase of Large

URL: http://www.godfathers.com/coupons/

Boston Market – Catering Special- $10 off a $60 or more purchase

Boston Market Catering Special

URL: http://www.bostonmarket.com/specials?page=coupons

9) Jack in the Box- Printable Coupon – $1 off Grilled Sandwiches

Jack in the Box $1 off Coupon

URL: http://www.jackinthebox.com/coupon/grilled-sandwiches_20100201.php

10) Panda Express – Printable Coupon – Free Firecracker Chicken with Purchase

Free Firecracker Chicken

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.

As a website geared around finance, we like to see things in terms of monetary efficiency. Of course, countries with more resources, population, and money will do better as more funding is available. It has been proven as a country modernizes, they will win more medals. In fact, Colorado College Professor Dan Johnson uses pure economics to predict the number of medals countries will win with a stunning rate of accuracy in the 90s (although neglecting numerous Post-Soviet countries which combined for almost 80 medals).

However, we collected a list of countries that performed the best and worst compared to their GDP? Our findings are amazing and we can attribute significant patterns to the rankings.

2008 Summer Olympics by GDP ranking:

1) Zimbabwe – 4 medals. 2008 GDP: $4.2 billion
GDP per Medal: $1.05 billion per medal

Before the economic destabilization of the country in the second half of the decade, the country had a GDP of about $32 billion.

2) Mongolia – 4 medals. 2008 GDP: $5 billion.
GDP per Medal: $1.25 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

Armenia at the 2010 Olympics

3) Jamaica- 11 medals. 2008 GDP: $15 billion.
GDP per Medal: $1.4 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

Democratic Socialist / Communist from 1972 – 1983.
All in track and field.

4) Armenia- 6 medals. 2008 GDP: $11 billion.
GDP per Medal: $1.83 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

5) Georgia- 6 medals. 2008 GDP: $13 billion.
GDP per Medal: $2.16 billion per medal (Former Communist Country)

During the Soviet Period, Armenia and Georgia combined for over 60 medals.

6 and 7) Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan. Each had two medals and a 2008 GDP of 4.5 Billion
GDP per Medals: $2.25 billion per medal (Former Communist countries)

Kyrgyztan still practices seasonal semi-nomadism and its largest city has 750,000 people.

8 ) Cuba- 24 medals. GDP: $55 billion
GDP per Medals: $2.30 billion per medal (Current Communist country)

Fidel’s country has always outperformed expectations in the Olympics.
9) Belarus – 19 medals. 2008 GDP: $60 billion

Cuba Gold Winner

GDP per Medal: $3.05 billion per medal (Former Communisty country)

Belarus is the second largest country in terms of GDP in the top ten of the rankings.

10) North Korea- 6 medals. GDP: $26 billion
GDP per Medals: $4.33 billion per medal (Current Communist country)

Many people claim that North Korea’s only strong suit is its army…however the athletics program must also be pretty good, as a top ten ranking in the world only attests to success.

The Bottom:

- India is last, with one medal for $400 billion dollars.
- Venezuela had one medal total, and a GDP of $332 billion.
- Japan had a lot of medals (25) but a GDP of 5 trillion, for a GDP per medal of $200 billion per medal.
- The United States had the most medals (110) but a GDP of 14 trillion. GDP per medals for United States: $129 billion
- Israel, Austria, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt rounded out the bottom, ranging from 130 billion to 300 billion per medal.
Surely, something interesting is going on here. Why do nine of the top ten countries have communist backgrounds? Why are the bottom countries the most capitalist ?