Fatten that Wallet: How to Have More Money in 2012

Happy Holidays! 2012 is treacherously close. Are you ready? counting down? I know I am.

I've started making personal goals for 2012- yes goals, not resolutions. Personally, I don't make new year's resolutions because I'd rather implement changes NOW instead of perpetuating bad habits until January 1st. 

One of the goals I recently created is to cut back on my spending by 50 percent (a daunting task, I know). Since I'm not exactly Suze Orman, I reached into the blogosphere for some help. In my explorations, I found some useful and interesting personal finance posts for Bon Vivant + a Budget readers who want to save money, spend wisely or get out of debt in the new year. 

I've shared a few of them below: 

• And Then She Saved: Having Style on a Budget Part 1 & Part 2
• Budgeting the Fun Stuff:  6 Cheap Ways to Sweep Each Other Off Your Feet 
• Careful Cents: Tips for Dealing with Social Media and Digital Hoarding
• Dumb Little Man: How to Prove You are Worthy of a Raise
• Frugal Beautiful: Your Education Has Failed You
• Financial Samurai: How to Make Six Figures at Almost Any Age
• Forbes: How To Take A 100% Tax Write-Off For A New Porsche, BMW or Cadillac
• Get Rich Slowly: The Art of the Potluck
• Money Saving Mom: Income-Earning Ideas
• Money Sense: Online Banking
• Stop Buying Crap: Seven Websites for Fast, Easy, and Free Entertainment & 10 Simple Ways to Feel Rich Without Materialistic Means
• The Jenny Pincher: What is a Good Credit Score? & Do-it-yourself Tips to Improve Poor Credit 
• You Have More than You Think: How to Make the Most of Daily Deal Websites &  The First 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Anything

*And don't forget Bon Vivant+ a Budget's own posts: 6 Small Luxuries that add up to Big Money ;  7 Easy Tips for Reselling Your Clothes  & 20 Money Saving Travel Secrets

20 Money-Saving Travel Secrets!

'Tis the Season for latkes, egg-nog, and travel of course! 

Whether you are a student with a month long winter-break or an overworked employee with a few days off, you are probably aware that this is prime travel time. It seems everyone is going somewhere and if you are too, it can get expensive. In the face of skyrocketing prices, it helps to be equipped with strategies for bringing your travel costs back down to earth.

Bon Vivant + a Budget's 20 Money-Saving Travel Tips for any Time of Year:

Packing

• Research the weather at your destination before you leave for your trip. This will allow you to pack smart and you won't find yourself buying last minute boots, sweaters, scarves, bathing suits, shorts or umbrellas. Above all, you want to be prepared!
• If you are taking a road-trip, prepare meals and snacks ahead of time and pack them in a cooler. This will be a lot cheaper (and healthier) than rest stop fare. If you are headed to the airport, pack snacks that don't require refrigeration. 
• Pack a carry-on bag only, whenever possible. The average cost each way is $25 per piece of checked luggage. Here is a chart of the different fees by airline for domestic flights within the US. Checking your bags saves you about $50 round-trip (enough money for dinner for two) and affords you the freedom to walk straight off the plane and out of the airport.

Getting There

• Purchase tickets on Tuesday afternoon around 3 pm eastern time. Research has shown that this is the cheapest time to buy tickets. In addition to the usual airfare comparison websites (orbitz , CheapOair, etc) Websites you want to check are
 twitter.com/jetbluecheeps and airfarewatchdog.com. 
• If your schedule allows, do your actual travel on a Tuesday or Wednesday. With the exception of major holidays, the middle of the week is always cheapest to fly because most people are usually working.
• Figure out if it is cheaper to drive or to fly. Use website calculators like Travelmath.com 
• Try megabus.com and boltbus.com.  If you buy your tickets a month or so in advance, these companies often have tickets available for as cheap as $1. 
• Utilize Craigslist.org. Many people list travel vouchers that are about to expire on this website. You can find them by going to the For Sale section and typing in "travel voucher." The search results will yield a range of vouchers for different prices and airlines. I would suggest you find one that interests you and make an offer for 50% or less of the price they are asking. If no one else responds, they will often take a fraction of the price (your offer) as opposed to losing all the value of their voucher.

Where to Stay

• Priceline.com  is useful for bidding on hotels for steep discounts. I once paid $50 a night for a 4 star hotel through this site.
• If you can't find a decent price for a hotel, do a vacation rental. My boyfriend and I took a trip this past summer where we sublet an apartment for a week that saved us hundreds of dollars. We were able to cook many of our meals, utilized free wifi, and stayed in a great area. You can use Craigslist or look on sites such as airbnb.com

Food

• Utilize Yelp.com to find restaurants within your price range and then immediately check restaurant.com to see if they offer discounted gift certificates. Often you will find $25 gift certificates for $10 and under.
• Find a hotel with a kitchen if possible and whip out that apron. Cooking tends to be cheaper than eating out, so try to eat at least one meal per day inside your hotel.
• Expand your palate- restaurants in areas with a lot of immigrants (Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Italy, Little India, etc) tend to be most affordable
• Since beverage costs can add up quickly, carry a reusable water bottle with a filter like the one featured in my holiday gift guide post.

While in Rome (or Wherever You Go)

• Utilize FREE guest-passes to workout at local gyms
• A few weeks before you embark on your trip, subscribe to flash sale sites like Groupon and Living Social for the cities you are visiting. You will get great deals for dining, entertainment and more. 
• Wear comfortable shoes so you can walk around and check out all the spots! 
• Google maps will direct you how to walk and/or take public transportation. This can save you hundreds of dollars. I was in the traffic nightmare that is LA in February and remember one cab ride costing $60 for two and a half miles; if I had taken the bus it would have been $1. I wanted to slap myself for wasting that money... I could have bought a new pair of shoes!
• If you research ahead of time, you will find that there are tons of free and cheap activities in many cities. If you search the tourist bureau website of your destination before leaving home, you can make an itinerary that will allow you to do a lot without breaking the bank. If you are visiting NYC, definitely check Bon Vivant + a Budget and  nycgo.com/free
• If your hotel charges $10 a day for wifi (many do) and you want to use the internet, figure out where in the area you can get it for FREE. Some common sources are: McDonalds, Starbucks, Apple Stores, Staples, Barnes & Noble, public libraries and even local parks.  Here is a listing of a few FREE wifi areas in NYC (it's not an exhaustive list by any means)  

How to Access all the Vogue Digital Archives for FREE [ $1,575 value ]

One week ago something monumental happened in the fashion world that you may not be aware of! 

Vogue Magazine digitized the entirety of its archives dating back to 1892. The archive is a living, growing database that includes every American issue EVER published by the magazine--every page, every cover, every article! Individual subscriptions to the archive are now offered for an insane price of $1,575 a year. 

I know Vogue is theeee fashion equivalent of the bible, but that's still an insane amount of money just to read a magazine. So I'm excited to share a big money saving secret: The New York Public Library just purchased a subscription to Vogue's Archive. This means the public (that means you) can access it for FREE on any of the library's computers throughout Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx (Queens and Brooklyn are not NYPL). Perfect for Bon Vivant + a Budget readers who live in and around NYC!

Think Outside the Jewelry Box!

Many of us have baubles, gems and jewels that are tangled and hidden away in the recesses of dark dresser drawers. More often than not, this out-of-site jewelry remains unworn. 

So, what's an accessory fiend to do with all her hidden treasures, you ask?! Well, for one, don't run out and buy an overpriced jewelry stand that doesn't speak to your aesthetic (or budget). Try to think outside the jewelry box. 

One creative yet affordable storage solution is to re-purpose porcelain tea cups, drinking glasses and sauce dishes. If you don't already own a few, you can buy these pieces in household stores, thrift shoppes, and your local Chinatown for a very marginal cost (about $1 each). Bring them home, clean them and fill them with all your lovely jewelry!

I'm sure many Bon Vivant + a Budget readers will try this at home and I'd be delighted to see the visual displays that result. I encourage you to email your pics to helene@bonvivantandabudget.com.

*images via pinterest

Free Body Butter from The Body Shop

Gotta love the freebies! Click here for a printable version of the coupon for a FREE full-sized body butter(lotion) at The Body Shop. (Expired December 24, 2011)

facebook.com/bonvivantandabudget

$1.32 for a Real Hermes Bag @ Buy the Bag!

A couple of weeks ago I attended Housing Works Buy the Bag sale once again (remember my 1st excursion). This time I was with Carol and my dapper friend, Jamar. I brought home a lot of great pieces, but haven't had a chance to take pics of my stuff yet. 

You can read Carol's post about it on her blog, El Brooklyn Taco. 

With Carol's help, Jamar was able to add an authentic Hermes menswear tote-bag to his wardrobe! And that's not all- he stuffed 19 items into his $25 paper bag, which means the average cost of each item was $1.32. Wow!

 

 

 

This Saturday, December 10th is another Buy the Bag sale. Carol and I will definitely be in the house because we simply can't beat $25 for a large bag brimming with clothes and accessories! And we're shopping for a great cause.

If you see us definitely come chat; I'd love to meet more Bon Vivant + a Budget readers! 

Don't forget my Buy the Bag Tips.

facebook.com/bonvivantandabudget

These are a few of my favorite things { Budget Holiday Gift Guide }

With Hannukah, Christmas and New Year's Eve all on the horizon, every blog and magazine under the sun has created a gift guide. I won't be any different. Here are some cool, functional & affordable gifts that I love: 

Rose salve- retails for about $5.  It smells lovely and is a miracle worker on chapped lips and dry skin. You can find it at Sephora or Bath and Body Works.

The pop-phone headset retails for $30. You simply plug the retro-chic headset into your cell-phone or pc (also skype compatible) and talk hands free. You can find these online at Barnes & Noble and in many stores.

Beautiful classic novels like these really can be judged by their covers. You can find them at bookstores such as Barnes and Noble for around $20 

Reusable water bottles with a built in filter pay for themselves in no time (adios Poland Spring) and are great for the environment. These retail for about $10 each and can be found in stores like Bed Bath & Beyond. 

Headphone earmuffs allow you to keep your ears warm while listening to your favorite tunes. You can find a pair similar to these at American Eagle Outfitters (ae.com for about $20).