Top 15 Failsafe Tips for Saving Money in 2012

Losing weight used to be the numero uno New Year’s resolution, but the ugly economy has shoved this lofty goal down to second place on 2012 lists. A survey commissioned by Fidelity Investments found 46 percent of respondents said their highest priority was to save more money.

Eating right and exercising are straightforward, however, in comparison to paying off debts and socking away rainy-day cash. Of late, it feels like slipping on a Walmart sidewalk is the only feasible retirement plan; yet the top long-term goal cited in the survey was to make retirement a financial reality.

If solvency and savings are at the top of your resolution list, you’ll want to give a gander at these 15 tips for 2012.

1. Cook It!
It’s the same thing every noon: The gang troops out to pick up lunch from the nearest deli or eatery. Then they get home from work and order out for dinner. What a senseless waste of money! With restaurant prices on a five-year increase in excess of 26 percent, cooking at home is truly the way to go.

Spend a little time on Sunday (perhaps before and during the football games) to cook for the rest of the week. It’s fairly easy to throw together a pot of spaghetti sauce that will translate into multiple meals throughout the week. Besides, one can only eat so much pizza.

2. Be Smart About Your Smartphone
Data and text-message plans eat up budgets faster than 4G connects you to Facebook. If you’ve already teamed up with relatives, call a family meeting and decide what you can live without, then cut back your plan when it’s time to sign another contract. You might even try creating a family plan with friends and neighbors, if the provider will allow you to do so.

3. Cut the Cable
Every year it’s another rate-hike email notification: “Due to increased overhead, we’re jacking up your cable/satellite bill another 15 percent.” Cut these money-hungry mongrels out of your life by switching over to free, streaming videos, sports, movies and television shows.

4. Coupon It Up
Thanks to TLC’s “Extreme Couponing,” all of America knows you can cut your bill with coupons at the grocery store. What you many not realize is these money savers can be used for nearly everything from hotel accommodations to office supplies.

Mobile coupons make the process even easier. Coupon Sherpa, for example, has an app that allows you to access coupons from your smartphone for use right there in the store. When grocery shopping, this same app lets you search for a preferred supermarket by ZIP code, then download coupons directly to your loyalty card. The savings are then deducted at checkout.

5. Use the Public Library
Modern libraries now have DVDs, CDs, video games, e-books and Internet access — all provided for free. Many allow you to place an online hold for an item you want and receive it within days. Naturally, you can also peruse the stacks, but that’s so 10 minutes ago. Check with your library, as well, for discounts on passes to museum, zoos, and other attractions.

6. Go Guttenberg
We’re not talking about the actor Steve Guttenberg here: This is a plug for Project Gutenberg, where you can download thousands of free e-books from a single website. You won’t find recent titles here as only copyright-expired books are posted, but surely you can find something in their 36,000 book selection to catch your interest. Books are downloadable to your PC, Kindle, Android, iOS or other portable devices.

7. Discounts through Gift Cards
There are a couple ways to save here. First, you can go to sites like GiftCardGranny.com and buy discount gift cards, sometimes saving as much as 50 percent off the face value. Secondly, you can exchange gift cards you don’t want for cash at the same site. That way, those cards don’t sit amoldering at the back of your dresser drawer.

8. Gift With Daily Deals
Daily deals are everywhere, from Living Social to your local paper, and they’re a great way to save on gifts, if you use your smarts. There are a lot of deals for spas, teeth whitening, restaurant meals, etc. that are so cheap it must pain the provider to provide these offers. Make sure you read the small print, however. You’ll want to consider expiration dates and whether add-ons are included, like restaurant tips and desirable services that aren’t included in the package.

9. Swap Stuff
There are tons (well, pounds) of websites where you can swap everything from books to children’s clothing. Swap.com is the mother of them all, but check here for a comprehensive list.

10. Sell Your Stuff
Consignment shops are ready to start laying in stock for spring and summer, so now’s a good time to get your gently used clothes, shoes and accessories ready for resale. You can sell other items on Craigslist or, for higher-end items, auction them on eBay. Make sure you read the selling tips for both websites so you can unload your belongings with the least amount of muss and fuss.

11. Host a Garage Sale
Garage sales aren’t just a form of entertainment for the shoppers — They’re a good way to clear out household clutter and make a few bucks. Since larger sales draw bigger crowds, begin organizing your neighborhood now to team up for a Godzilla-size event. Advertising is the most important aspect of a successful sale, so don’t forget to figure in the cost of a newspaper ad. Also check into promoting your sale at websites like YardSaleSearch.com and GarageSalesTracker.com.

12. Get With the Program
Heating and cooling accounts for 42 percent of home energy costs, some of which is pumped into empty spaces and empty houses. Installing a programmable thermostat helps control the temperature and your bill, with savings from 10 to 30 percent. Try turning down the thermostat by just 1 degree during the winter or up 1 degree during warmer weather months to cut an additional 5 percent. Space heaters can also help reduce the amount of heat used in empty spaces.

13. Transfer Your Money Out of Sight
A great way to avoid spending your entire paycheck is to have funds automatically transferred into some sort of savings account. Out of sight is out of mind, right? If you never see the cash, you’re less likely to spend it.

14. Spend Cash Only
It’s so easy to swipe your way to the poor house. Instead, hide those debit and credit cards and give yourself a weekly allowance. It’s human nature to part less easily with cash, so you’re less likely to splurge on little (or big) extras.

Of course, this means you’ll have to make regular trips to the bank, so make sure your account is housed at an institution that doesn’t charge extra for personal services.

15. Ask and You Shall Receive
If you have a credit card, ask for a rate reduction to trim those painful monthly interest fees. Simply call the customer service hotline and tell them that you want an interest rate reduction, or you’ll take your business elsewhere. If the customer service rep is unhelpful, ask to speak to a supervisor who has more authority over such requests. With a $5,000 balance, even a 3 percent rate reduction saves you $150 a year. Do the math to realize the savings potential of a quick call.

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Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli Inc., and has been featured among such top news outlets as Good Morning America, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more. She is available for in-studio, satellite or skype interviews and to write guest posts or articles.

Seven Tips for Making the Most of your Family Videos and Photos

From soccer games, birthdays and graduations to talent shows, holidays and vacations — families today are more active than ever. And everyone seems to be having a great time capturing their memories on mobile devices and digital cameras but despite having high-tech tools at their fingertips, people are still often at a loss as to how to make their videos and photos better.

Robert Vince, writer-director-producer of Disney’s Buddies movies, offers seven tips to help make the most of these “shoots,” no matter how sophisticated (or not!) the family camera:

1. Watch your lighting. Natural light is best, but if you’re indoors, it helps to turn on several lamps so the area is well lit. It’s also important to be mindful of any light behind your subject. If the camera doesn’t adjust, this could obscure faces and turn your subjects into moving shadows.
2. Prepare in advance. Professional photographers always create a list of shots they know their client will want. You can do the same by thinking ahead rather than trying to capture everything on the fly. For example, if you’re filming a birthday party, you can guess there will be a moment when the guest of honor blows out the candles. Plan ahead and scout the best place to stand before the cake comes out, candles blazing. The best shot would then run from beginning to the end of that off-key “Happy Birthday.” Likewise, decide before the event what else you’d like to capture: greeting guests as they arrive, opening presents, any special decorations, testimonials, etc.. Once the party is over, you’ll have a nice sequence of highlights from the event.
3. Steady as you go. Nothing makes a home video look more polished than the clean control of a tripod. No matter how steady-handed you may be, there are inevitably shakes  and lack of focus that accompany a handheld shot. Sometimes a monopod serves the same purpose and is more portable. Other tricks for steadiness include leaning on a wall, placing your camera on the ground (along with yourself) and drawing your arms close to your body. And finally – something few people know – in a pinch, a conveniently placed lamp can serve as a tripod as the thread on its harp is the same as a tripod’s!
4. Avoid LP mode. LP stands for long play and although it allows you to record longer, it takes away from the quality of the video. Less is more, after all, and when you look back you are going to want the clearest picture possible.
5. Point of view. Look for any unusual angles to shoot from – high, low, off-kilter. When photographing children or animals, get down to their level.
6. Maximize storage. Capturing the image can be the easiest part but once the images are uploaded, they can get lost or forgotten. Yellowing photo albums are now a thing of the past, jump drives are easily lost and some hard drives get too crowded too fast. Many savvy parents have discovered that recordable Blu-ray discs will solve the problem. Blu-ray allows the most storage space (and thus the highest quality) for those special moments families will want to cherish for generations to come. Transferring your older videos and still photos is easier than ever today, and now everything can be conveniently accessible (and safer) anytime you want to revisit a happy occasion. Simply pop the disc into any Blu-ray player or computer with a Blu-ray drive and watch the memories unfold.
7. Make quality time! The best home videos capture quality time that family members spend with one another. It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as the time is well spent, so make a point to tune out outside distractions (phones, texts, TV) and set aside time to bond. You can do anything: a family hike through a local park, a trip to get ice cream cones, or even a miniature golf tournament. More important than any technical tips is the essence of your adventures.

Courtesy of the Blu-Ray Disc Association

Valuable Coupon Codes for January 2012

1. Heels.com
Now through Feb. 28, get $25 off orders of $100 or more by applying coupon code WINTER25.

2. JCPenney
Take $10 off orders of $90 or more by Jan. 27 using JCPenney promo code 10JCP90.

3. Shutterfly
Get free shipping on orders of $30 or more before Jan. 19 using code SHIP30.

4. Disney Store
Use code SHIPTODAY before Feb. 1 and get free standard shipping with orders of $75 or more.

5. Bath & Body Works
Save 20% on any online order through Jan. 15 with Bath & Body Works coupon code 20SEMIANNUALSALE.

6. Karma Loop
Take 20% off orders of $75 or more by Feb. 1 using promo code JAN20.

7. HP
Use coupon code SAVE15HP before Jan. 31 to save $15 on orders of $75 or more.

8. Avenue
Take 30% off your highest priced item with coupon code AV121016 when you order three or more items by Feb. 1.

9. Justice
Enjoy 40% off already reduced merchandise before Jan. 10 with coupon code 745.

10. SkyMall
Save 15% on any order before Feb. 2 with code LSA57.

Courtesy of CouponSherpa.com

Temper Tantrums: What Your Toddler is Trying to Tell You (and How You Can Help)

When your toddler is melting down, it’s easy to chalk the tantrum up to anger or frustration (and to get angry and frustrated yourself). But a new study that analyzed the sounds that tots make when they are pitching a fit shows that there may be more to a tantrum than just a lot of screaming — and may offer parents a way to cope.

In the study, which was published in the journal “Emotion,” scientists recorded the sounds toddlers make during tantrums and discovered that not only does each type of sound (screaming, yelling, crying, whining, and fussing) have its own “distinct acoustic features,” there’s a definite pattern to the vocalizations as well.

“Screaming and yelling and kicking often go together,” study co-author Michael Potegal, an associate professor of pediatric clinical neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, told NPR. “Throwing things and pulling and pushing things tend to go together. Combinations of crying, whining, falling to the floor and seeking comfort — and these also hang together.”

So, what’s really going on when a toddler is having a meltdown? “Frustration certainly is a trigger,” James A. Green, head of the department of psychology at the University of Connecticut and a co-author of the study, told Yahoo! Shine. “Blocked goals can results in frustration, which leads to anger. Same is true of adults, actually.”

But the scientists also discovered that, contrary to popular belief, toddlers aren’t just melting down out of anger, they’re also feeling sadness at the same time.

“The impression that tantrums have two stages is incorrect,” Potegal said. “In fact, the anger and the sadness are more or less simultaneous.”

Certain conditions can make it more likely that a toddler will melt down, Green points out. “Fatigue or illness can lower the tolerance for frustration,” he points out. “Toddlers, or so the conventional wisdom goes, simply do not have as many cognitive ‘tricks’ up their sleeves to deal with these situations.” (Older kids, however, should be better able to deal with such situations, which is why their angry outbursts are called rages, not tantrums.)

1. Wait it out. If your toddler is having a tantrum, there’s little you can do other than wait it out, experts say. “My colleague and collaborator, Mike Potegal, talks about ‘standing back’ during the periods of most intense anger, and I think he means both physically and emotionally,” Green says. “Trying to give more information to a child who has already lost control may not be very helpful.”

“Best to scoop up your tyke and take her to a place where she can calm down without being disruptive to others,” suggests Michelle Nicholasen, a mother of five and the author of “I Break for Meltdowns: How to Handle the Most Exasperating Behavior of Your 2- to 5-Year-Old.” “Is it a drag for the parent? Oh, yes, and tiring, too. But wait out the storm and it will pass.”

2. Don’t threaten, cajole, or bribe. You might not be able to control the tantrum itself, but you can control how you react to it, Nicholasen points out. “Parents can make tantrums much worse by yelling at their child to stop, or by threatening them,” she says.

Instead of asking questions or trying to reason with a 2- or 3-year-old, simply acknowledge that they’re upset. “Toddlers who are in the middle of a meltdown are incapable of hearing our message (reasons, reassurance or warnings) until they’re sure we understand and respect their message,” says Dr. Harvey Karp, author of “The Happiest Toddler on the Block.”

3. Offer comfort. Once children have gotten past what Potegal calls “the peaks of anger,” they’re more willing to be comforted.

4. Find the humor in the situation. Many parents end up just as frustrated and angry as the child during a tantrum, but as Green points out, tantrums are completely normal — up to a point. “This too shall pass,” he says. “Tantrums are normative events in development and usually decline after age 4.”

While you’re waiting for your tot to get over his or her anger, having a sense of humor can help. “Imagine a grown-up acting like your child, and you will soon have to stifle a smile,” Nicholasen says.

5. Don’t take it as a personal failure. “As parents, we are much more self-conscious about being judged when our child is misbehaving in public. The things that go through our minds are: Am I raising my child to be a wild animal? Have I not taught him enough manners? My child is acting like a little brat; what am I doing wrong? But even when you do your best, sometimes a collapse will still happen.”

Information courtesy of Yahoo! Shine

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