The great part of saving is the potential of using your creativity to revamp the usual good-times into a cheaper version of the same great times. Planning on a budget friendly alternative to your usual nights-out are a great option (unless you are lucky enough to have one special friend who has more money than everyone combined and can float all of you, every weekend, for the remainder of the year). Activities at home are always less expensive than going out and by doing this you are saving money that you can use towards the meals, beverages, and other evening activities. A game of charades, a bottle (or two) of some great wine, and a group of your best friends can make for a night that you’ll remember for a long time. Use your imagination and creativity to come up with some good ideas for weather-appropriate activities. Ask around the group to see who has an updated Wii system, see if anyone has a transferable volleyball net, have your BFF bring her folding ping-pong table for a sweet all-night tournament; the options can get really sweet once you start recognizing all of the items and options that you have on hand.

You do not have to make a point to advertise the reason for bringing the hang-outs to your pad, just initiate the first gathering, make the date and set it at your pad, ask around for some entertainment gear (ex: mini karaoke machine), put together a beverage ‘fund’ or make it a BYOB get-together, buy some dollar-store streamers, have your BFF help you whip up some cheap dishes and finger-foods and then have a sweet night with friends. This initiation may provoke the next friend to offer the next weekend of activities at their pad, and so on and so on. Saving money can be a blast; and being people you care about is always a win-win situation.

This first recipe is for a decadent hair-removing body sugar (2 cups). You will need: 2 cups sugar, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup water, 1 tbsp almond oil, cornstarch, and muslin cut into about 40 2”x4” strips. Now you will need to stir together sugar, lemon juice, and water into a pot. Cook on medium heat until it is boiling. You want to allow to boil for 15 minutes; mixture will bubble up and will need to be removed from heat for a moment to prevent over-flow.

When the mix has turned to a warm, caramel color, then remove from the heat. Allow to cool shortly. Oil a cold, non-porous surface (marble or baking sheet) with the almond oil and pour mixture onto surface. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, stirring toward the center of mix with wooden spoon. Pour mix into aluminum bowl and allow cooling to continue until a paste consistency has been reached. Lightly dust the area to be used with the cornstarch, then use wooden spoon to lay out sugar 1/8” to ¼” thick.

Lay muslin strips over the sugar to collect a reasonable amount of mixture for use. Stroke the strip firmly down in the direction of the hair growth. Remove the strip away from the direction of your hair growth, this will allow the strips to work twice as well then pulling strips in the direction of the growth. Store the left-over mixture in your refrigerator, and re-heat the container in a bowl of hot water by allowing it to sit for several minutes. It will be perfectly adequate for a second use.

If you have a blind date coming soon, or a special event sneaking up on you and you just don’t have the right shade of eye shadow to go with your outfit you can always improvise. Most department stores offer make-over’s with no appointment. Slap on your evening outfit, clean your face of any other cosmetics, and head over to your local department store. You can get the full facial, choose your specific colors, and be done in less than fifteen minutes.

Don’t be bias when it comes to generic perfumes. These ‘off-brands’ can equal big savings and usually provide more sprays for your money. The scents are usually close equals and no one will know the difference.

Do not let your old hair stylist scare you out of buying a box of hair coloring. Buying hair dye from a specialty salon will only cost you more. You get a good and equal quality product of hair dye when you purchase a box from a retail store. As long as you follow the directions you are set for the maximum amount of time that most salon hair dye’s offer.

Don’t spend hundreds on a one day spa treatment when you can buy a bath conversion kit for much less. Retail stores offer bath jet’s for spa quality massages in your own bathtub. Most cost less than fifty dollars and come with a warranty.

Pre-existing conditions are important in the process of underwriting insurance, as this is how an insurance company determines how much risk an individual poses.  Each policy or group of policies can only accommodate so much risk.  Too much risk, and there’s the possibility that too many claims could be filed that it would bankrupt the reserves for that policy.  Lower risk means that premiums can be lower and the cost savings can be passed along to the customers.  However, as someone who’s shopping for private insurance, expect to pay more overall for your policy.

If you’re shopping for private insurance and you have a pre-existing condition, you’ll find that some insurers will cover you and others won’t.  Again, this depends primarily on the underwriting guidelines for each company and policy.  An independent agent who represents a number of companies may have an easier time helping you find some options than an agent who works with a single company.  You should plan to talk with several companies and agencies to find the best deal for you.

But first, a word of caution.  You may be tempted to avoid telling a prospective insurer about any pre-existing conditions you have.  This is a very bad idea.  Lying on an insurance application is insurance fraud.  Furthermore, if it’s determined that you lied on your insurance application, your coverage will be canceled and you may have to pay back any amounts that have been paid out on your behalf.  When it comes to insurance applications, honest isn’t merely the best policy – it’s the only one you should follow.

If you have a pre-existing condition and you’re switching to private insurance from a plan you’ve had through work, obtain insurance as quickly as you can.  If there’s no gap in your coverage, your pre-existing condition may be covered.  You also have the option to extend the coverage you had through work under the COBRA program.  This can be expensive – less so than it used to be – but may be a good choice for you until you can secure other insurance.  And currently, if you were fired or laid off from your job, you may qualify for a government subsidy that will pay 65% of your COBRA premiums.

Unless a medical condition is an absolute bar to coverage, you may find a policy that will cover you for all conditions except the pre-existing condition, but will provide coverage for the pre-existing condition after a certain period of time has elapsed.  If you find more than one such policy, compare them carefully to see which is the better deal.

In addition, if you have a pre-existing condition, you may have better luck finding private insurance if you belong to a group.  The more insured people that the risk is spread across, the lower your premiums will be and the greater the likelihood that you may be accepted.

If you’ve worked with a number of agencies and insurance companies and haven’t been able to find any insurance coverage, you aren’t completely without options.  Some companies offer discount plans that can get you reduced rates for doctor’s visits and medications when you choose providers within a specific network.  Although this isn’t full insurance, it can mean a substantial savings over having to pay for these things out of your own pocket.

Years ago, it was common tradition for the bride’s family to pay the tab for the big day.  However, those standards have now changed, and many couples are finding themselves scrambling to pay the bill.  If you and your new spouse will be paying for your wedding, it may seem like a great idea to take out a loan or finance the event on credit cards.  However, consider the sad fact that over fifty percent of marriages fail due to financial stress.  In recent studies, over half of married couples have stated that the biggest reason for marital discourse is debt.  So ask yourself, do you really want to start your marriage already in debt?

The larger issue to consider when deciding whether or not to opt for financing is how long it will take you to pay off the debt.  What are your short term plans as a newly married couple?  If you’ve been together for a long time and plan to buy a house or start having children soon, paying off a large wedding loan could cause delays.  Think about all the things you could do with $20,000 dollars in the days after the wedding – do you really want to throw the money away on a one-day event?

Choosing to cut back on your spending doesn’t mean that you can’t have a beautiful wedding service.  Start saving up your money as soon as your engagement begins.  If you have a one year engagement, you could have substantial funds to plan your wedding if you start pinching pennies now.  You might also consider taking the amount you would have to pay back in a loan payment and placing it in savings each month.  Better yet, double the amount, and see if it’s financially feasible to take out a loan at the six month mark.  If at that point you decide it is, then you’ll have the first year’s payments in savings.

For some people, financing a wedding isn’t an issue.  If you’re currently paying for two living spaces, you’re likely anticipating a reduction in your monthly expenses after your wedding, although your income will remain the same.  The monthly payments on a wedding loan may be substantially less than monthly rent or a mortgage payment, so paying off the loan shouldn’t be an issue.  Just make sure you sit down and hammer out a firm wedding budget, and a strict after-wedding payback schedule.  Defaulting on the loan is enough to drive all the newlywed bliss out of your relationship!

Two of the biggest issues you’ll face in marriage are communication and understanding the other person’s opinions.  Planning your wedding budget is the perfect opportunity to get off on a sound financial plan together as husband and wife.  Sit down, crunch the numbers, add in a few what ifs, and see what course is best for you.

Shop Around

Most people think of shopping around when it comes to big-ticket purchases like cars, houses or expensive technology, but very few apply the same consumer-savvy behavior to their medical care.  In fact, doctors and hospitals can vary widely in the rates they charge for certain procedures.  If you’re planning a major surgery or have a long-term condition that requires frequent medical attention, ask the different hospitals covered by your insurance to quote you their rates.  You could save several thousands of dollars just by switching to the hospital down the street.

Keep Track of Time

Few people realize that a doctor’s visit is measured in the number of minutes spent with the patient, as well as the level of complexity associated with each visit.  In some cases, a doctor or nurse may not spend enough time with you in order to qualify for a specific type of visit as defined by your insurance provider.  Conversely, as you examine your medical bills, you may find that there was no justification for charging your insurance carrier a specific price.

Therefore, it’s vitally important to obtain copies of the billing records pertaining to each medical visit.  Study them carefully for accuracy, as well as in terms of justifying charging a specific fee.  If you feel that something is overstated or exaggerated, notify your doctor that you don’t agree with the billed amount.  In some cases, they’ll request an adjustment on the bill sent in.  If you don’t see these adjustments on your bills, you may want to alert your insurance carrier’s fraud unit to any instances of overcharging.

Audit All Bills

Every time you attend an appointment with a medical professional, you have a right to obtain a list of all services performed, as well as the amount charged for each type of care you received.  If you have health insurance, this information is usually provided by the insurance carrier.  In particular, if you or a family member has been admitted to the hospital, it’s important to review the entire bill – you may find that you’ve been accidentally charged for services you never received.  While it may take some research and work to understand these bills, you may find thousands of dollars in discrepancies.

Regardless of whether or not you have health insurance, audit all your medical bills carefully – you may find that you were billed for services that weren’t actually rendered.  In other cases, you may find that a particular billing code doesn’t accurately match the care you received.  While these bills may be difficult to decipher, if you suspect something is wrong, you should speak to your doctor about it.  If you don’t get anywhere using this route, it may be time to speak to your insurance carrier or consumer protection agencies regarding medical billing fraud.

Vegetarian Diets

While many people advocate a vegetarian diet, it’s not for everyone.  Not everyone processes plant proteins as efficiently as animal proteins, while some vegetarians suffer from edema caused by animal protein starvation.  At the same time, others may suffer from depression, as well as many other anxiety issues and psychological problems.  Unfortunately, every one of these ailments may be directly liked to the biochemistry of animal proteins and proper nutrition.

That said, many people have achieved an enormous amount of benefit from these diets. Adopting a primarily vegetarian diet may cause your allergies to go away and your high blood pressure to move into a normal range.  In some cases, you may find that adapting yourself slowly to a vegetarian diet makes a difference by helping your body to adapt gradually to the lack of animal proteins.  This will help prevent cravings, as well as other health-related issues.

Plant Protein Substitutes

Even though strictly vegetarian diets may have certain risk factors, they can still be helpful for anyone that wants to reduce meat consumption.  By studying these diets, you’ll learn a great deal about plant proteins, and how they compare to animal ones.  In many cases, you may even be able to cut your meat consumption by 70 – 80%, which can save you a lot of money at the grocery store.  That said, you’ll need to make sure that you follow food suggestions very carefully to ensure that you receive enough protein from plant sources.

While you may have to buy a number of different plant-based foods to substitute for meat, most of them are fairly cheap.  For example, kidney beans, lentils, and chickpeas are great sources of protein that can be purchased cheaply in dry weight bags.  If you place these items in a crock pot or simply set them to boil on a weekend, you’ll be able to create delicious, filling soups that will last all week long.

Protein Drinks

Chances are, if you visit the health section of a department store, you’ll see all kinds of protein drinks and snacks.  In some cases, these formulations are for body builders or others who participate in athletic events.  Unfortunately, these supplements aren’t very effective as meat substitutes.  The proteins and amino acids found in these products are typically only dedicated to a specific set of bodily systems, while you need a more complete set of proteins to address every area of your health.

If you want to save money on food, substituting plant-based proteins for animal ones can help you achieve this goal.  Aside from eating foods that may be healthier for you, it will also give you a chance to take advantage of a number of sales.  For example, when your supermarket puts dried beans on sale, you can stock up, knowing that they won’t go bad any time soon.  Combined with the already lower prices of plant-based protein sources, you’ll wind up saving a bundle off your grocery store bill.

In a perfect world, we’d all stay in the four star resorts with private balconies and breathtaking vistas. But being on a budget doesn’t have to mean compromising on the vacation of your dreams. You can save money by booking well ahead of time or taking your vacation during the off-season when there aren’t as many tourists. You can save even more with a self-service rooms or condo unit available for weekly rental. With a little legwork, you can save money and vacation in style at the same time.