But how can you accumulate real wealth? Well, the answer lies in the #1 rule of personal finance: Spend less than you earn. Living within your means is the first step to being rich. Rather than focusing on whether or not you look wealthy, focus on living within your means so that you are comfortably able to grow your wealth. This will ultimately help you improve your situation and see a higher net worth.

Indeed, Thomas J. Stanley, author to The Millionaire Next Door and Stop Acting Rich…and Start Living like a Real Millionaire, points out in an interview with Bankrate (and featured on Yahoo! Finance) that most millionaires in this country are not the glitzy, free-spending celebrities that we see. Instead, they are regular people with the discipline to live within their means.

That’s something to think about. Most millionaire households live in homes valued at less than $300,000, according to Stanley. So while you are trying to look as though you have a great deal of cash, the guy next door may actually be a millionaire.

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Want Real Wealth? Stop Acting Rich!

The good news, though, is that if you give thoughtful gifts, they don’t have to cost very much. Indeed, you can give inexpensive gifts, as long as you manage to make them more personal. This has its own set of challenges. However, an inexpensive gift that shows your thoughtfulness will be more appreciated than a pricier gift that is impersonal and poorly thought out.

Just remember: For most of your loved ones, it really is thought that counts. So make sure you give it your best, and any gift you give will be a success.

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Video: Peyton Manning Gives Bad Gifts

Coupons and Promo Codes

The following web sites offer you access to printable coupons that you can take to the retailer in person, as well as coupon and promo codes that you can use when shopping online.

1. Coupon Sherpa: Find coupons for thousands of retailers. Deals and coupons are tested to make sure that they work. Coupon Sherpa even has an iPhone app that you can use, allowing you to present your iPhone to the cashier to scan the barcode. Shipping deadlines for Christmas delivery are also offered, so that you know whether your gift will make it on time.
2. RetailMeNot: This is a full-on community where you can find coupons and promo codes, as well as get money saving tips from other members. Sign up for the coupon email service, and have popular money-savers delivered to your inbox.
3. CouponWinner.com: Compare different deals from up to five retailers with the Coupon Scout. You can find these coupons according to category. Another great coupon site is Coupon Shoebox.
4. Alex’s Coupons: If you want to do a little good while you shop, you can get coupon codes through Alex’s Coupons. This site donates money to fight childhood cancer. Your use of these codes actually provides money for charity.

Getting the Lowest Price

If you are interested in the lowest prices on a variety of items, these web sites can help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

5. PriceGrabber.com: This popular web site allows you to compare prices from several merchants at once. You can also sign up for email alerts on deals related to preferred products and brands. Read reviews as well.
6. Dealio.com: Use downloadable tools to help you locate low online prices, as well as visit the web site to compare prices on different projects. You can also get coupon codes for products that you are looking for.
7. Google Product Search: This used to be Froogle, but people didn’t really get it. Now, it is a little easier to make the connection. While you won’t see things like a shopping guide on the Google Product Search, you will find straightforward information and reviews. And you can even use an option to help you find products at local stores.

Deals

Instead of just looking for lower prices, you can visit sites that offer you the inside scoop on the hot deals happening right now. Visit these deal sites to scoop up something amazing today — something that might not be there tomorrow.

8. CheapToday.com: See the latest deals for today, and when they expire. You can also get an idea of how big a discount you are getting. The focus, though, is mainly on apparel and accessories.
9. dealnews.com: Hordes of deal hunters watch for the hottest deals on the hottest products. Like CheapToday, the deals are hand picked and updated throughout the day. You can sign up for alerts, and feel confident knowing that dealnews bans stores with poor customer service.
10. DealsofAmerica: If you are into electronics, this is the place to go. Find the latest discounts on technology and gadgets, get coupon codes and get email alerts.
11. Gift Card Granny: This site aggregates discounted gift cards. Gift cards go for less than their remaining balance as retailers and private parties alike try to get rid of them. Makes a great gift — or a great way for you to get more for less.
12. FreeShipping.org: Save money on shipping by heading to this site for discount codes on free shipping at nearly 1,900 retailers.

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12 Web Sites to Help You Find Holiday Deals

Villareal suggests that you can stock up free T-shirts, bags and water bottles by filling out credit card applications. Don’t worry; he realizes that having a bunch of credit cards can be detrimental to your financial situation. It’s why he recommends using an alias, or filling in the wrong address, or making up a Social Security Number so that you walk away with the freebies, but don’t actually end up with a new credit card.

He also has very practical advice, such as avoiding wasting money on a watch when your cell phone keeps time just fine, save money on sin taxes and health costs when you quit smoking, and looking for “kids eat free” nights when you eat out with the family. He also has a really cool section on signing up for those free money offers banks have when you open a new account, as well as a section about the stupidity of diamond jewelry. (As someone whose wedding band is set with two emeralds on either side of a small created diamond, since I think diamonds are mostly boring and the way they are obtained and marketed is horrendous, I thoroughly enjoyed that.)

In the end, the book is a fun trip through money saving tips and ideas. Some of which you might even being willing to try out.

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Book Review: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel

Post from: EveryJoe

Sony Commercial: Watching Sports

There are many things I am thankful for. Here are a few things that I feel glad of this year:

• Family
• Friends
• A job I can do from home
• Home
• Food
• Social media ;)
• Faith

It’s worth noting, of course, that many of these items on the list do not necessarily have to do with money. Sometimes it is good to focus on things that are not tied to income. Looking beyond the money can be a way to change your focus and find a deeper richness in life. It is especially helpful in these economic times to focus on thankfulness beyond the monetary.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

1. Delete your cookies: Redeeming Riches suggests that you delete your cookies and avoid saving credit card info on web sites. This way, you will think twice when you have to go through the hassle to put in all of your information in for each purchase.
2. Use the $25 rule: Redeeming Riches points out that many times, we see something else that we want when we are making credit card purchases. Instead of springing for it, have a firm rule that you will not spend more than $25 than originally planned. If you see a $26 accessory, too bad. It violates the rule.
3. Come up with three reasons to buy: Instead of just purchasing something, Redeeming Riches suggests that you list three reasons to buy the item using a credit card. He points out that “I don’t have the cash” doesn’t count. In fact, that should be the overriding reason to avoid buying the item with credit.
4. Take it out of your checking account: This one’s mine. I like to deduct the money I spend on my credit card from my checking ledger. I write a check each month to cover what I spent on my credit card, and taking it out of my checking account lets me keep from spending more than I actually have.

Do you have any tricks to limiting what you spend on credit cards?

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4 Ways to Limit Your Credit Card Charges

• Leave me and our son home: Obviously, he is getting me gifts, so I can’t come along. But our son stays home, too, because he would just get in the way. You should leave unwilling shoppers behind so that they don’t slow you down.
• List the sales: He looks at sales fliers ahead of time, and lists out what is where. He also has a back-up list, just in case they’re all out at one store. Included on the list are special discounts, and places where he has coupons so that he can save a little money.
• Plan a route: My husband plans out a route, based on what is most important for him to get. He hits the most important stores first, and then goes down his list in order of importance, so he has a better chance of getting what he really wants to buy.

Here are some more Black Friday shopping tips, in video form from iMommyTalk:

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Black Friday Shopping Tips

1. Economic forecasting is difficult.
2. Financial market forecasting is more troublesome than economic forecasting.
3. The financial sector in this country has lied a great deal.
4. The government cannot predict the economy or financial markets.

These are, of course, very good lessons to learn. It is important to realize that neither the government, nor the financial “experts”, have all the answers. No one can predict what any market is going to do, nor can anyone see all of the economic consequences of policy measures. So it is important to consider your own financial situation, and make the best decisions you can.

One way to do that is to look at things for the long term, and change your financial habits so that they reflect prudent behaviors that help you prepare to weather the down cycles. Because they will always come.

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4 Lessons Ben Stein Got From the Recession

One in four (25 percent) say they would like to be less reliant on credit and debt in the future, 21 percent plan to keep a lid on spending on non-essentials, and 18 percent think they will save and invest more. Fifteen percent say they will now develop and stick to a financial plans.

This is an interesting development. If the recession really does result in a change to overall financial habits, then that could be seen as a definite silver lining. Now is a good time to take a look at your own financial habits and see what can be done about paying down debt, and reducing credit card use. And, of course, it always helps to make a financial plan. It would be even more encouraging to see more people decide to make use of financial planning.

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Do You Plan to Change Financial Habits?