Get Rich Slowly

It’s the end of another year, which means it’s time for most of us to reflect on what happened in 2011, and where we’d like to go in 2012. I had a good year — though not without a few bumps along the way — but I’m eager to face the future too.

As I always do at the end of the year, I spent some time yesterday poking through the statistics to see what people came to read over the past twelve months. GRS had 11.5 million visits during 2011 from over seven million unique visitors. That’s a lot of readers, and a big increase over 2010. Most of those folks came to explore pages in the site’s archives (we’ll see which pages in a moment).

But regular readers — you folks — are what keep the site running every day, and what keep me enthused about this project. And it’s the regular readers that determine the day-to-day popularity of individual articles. Based on the stats, these were your favorite articles of 2011:

• How to learn a foreign language without spending a cent by guest Benny Lewis: “I’m here to tell you that money has nothing to do with learning a language. In this article, I’ll give you several steps to learn your target language and reach a good spoken level — maybe even fluency — without spending a cent.”
• How to cheat on your taxes (legally) by guest Richard Close: “When people learn I used to work for the IRS, they want in on the secret. What’s the silver bullet that will help you save the most when you file your taxes? We all know about tax deductions, but which ones are worth the trouble? In my opinion, you should look at all of them.”
• What are the differences between the rich and the poor?: “I think both authors are too quick to dismiss systemic causes of poverty. And perhaps neither of them has ever actually been poor. Some of their criticisms make sense, but some are grounded in a mindset of wealth.”
• Is an MBA worth it? by guest Gal Josefberg: ” As the holder of not one but two MBAs (it’s a long story), I have a somewhat negative view of the degree. An MBA often costs a lot of money and provides very little return.”
• How to save on your cell phone plan with secret no-contract deals by guest Laura Roeder: “Secret phone plans? No contracts? Unadvertised payment plans with no interest? These are all available. But you’ll never know until you ask.”
• Consumer Reports auto issue: Best and worst cars for 2011: “This year, the Consumer Reports website — even the part that’s not behind a paywall — has more useful information than in past years. In fact, there are video reports on each of the magazine’s top cars, plus other video content scattered around the auto section. Nice!”
• Why I hate “new, unique” money tips: “I get a lot of requests from reporters who want quotes for their stories about personal finance. That’s fine. I’m happy to help when possible. What bugs me, though, is that nearly every single reporter pitches her story with the same caveat: ‘I need tips about saving, but I don’t want the same old stuff. I need new, unique ways to save money.’”
• How to lend money to friends without ruining the relationship by April: “Lending money to friends and family is a generous act — one that could easily backfire and even ruin your relationship. But when it’s someone you care about, logic only plays one role in the decision-making process.”
• Tax prep costs: How much will it cost to get your taxes done? by guest Richard Barrington: “One of the basic choices you’ll face is whether to use an online service or visit a tax preparer for some in-person advice. In each case, costs vary greatly. But as you’ll see, online services are often a lot cheaper.”
• Hourly vs. salary: Which is better? by April: “In short, don’t assume that salary pay is necessarily better. Every job and every employee’s personal situation is different, so crunch the numbers and weigh the benefits for yourself.”
• The lottery: An investment for fools (with bonus lottery simulator!): “There’s no question: Playing the lottery as a strategy to gain money is a fool’s game. Play the lottery for fun if you want, but don’t do it because you think it’s going to help your financial situation.”
• Reader story: How I learned about frugality from de-cluttering by guest Claire Brown: “I’m writing to you today from sunny London about how I learned frugality by throwing things away. This may sound counter-intuitive; if being frugal is about economy and not wasting things, then throwing things away could be seen as a big admission of defeat.”
• Ask the readers: How much do you spend on food?: “What does your family spend on food in a month? How much of this is for groceries? How much for dining out? Do you make an effort to control food spending, or do you simply buy what you feel like? Do you use coupons? Do you grow your own food? Is eating organic important to you? What other considerations do you make when spending on food?”
• Reader story: How I built my house without a mortgage by guest Ian: “Most of the financial advice out there is geared towards building up a big account to retire on. I figured that I would enjoy taking a different route — reducing the total income I needed to live on. With a significant reduction in expenses, it becomes feasible to live very comfortably on a part-time income, or even just income from hobbies. How do you reduce your expenses that much? Live off the grid.”

I wish there were an easy way for me to collate re-tweets and Facebook likes — those would be another way for me to gauge which articles resonate with people.

Blasts from the past
Out of curiosity, I also checked the stats to see which posts from prior years remain popular. These are articles that continue to see tens of thousands of visits every year. Here’s what keeps people coming back to this site:

2010

• The best time to buy almost everything
• How to find unclaimed money and unclaimed property online
• Make more money: How to supercharge your income

2009

• Good-bye, Microsoft Money: 16 powerful personal finance programs
• How I cut my Comcast bill by 33% without losing any service
• How to buy a mattress

2008

• A do-it-yourself Christmas: 34 great gifts you can make yourself
• A free and simple budget planner
• How to win the lottery

2007

• 16 ways to eat healthy while keeping it cheap
• More money: 5 ways to earn extra cash in your spare time
• Which online high-yield savings account is best?

2006

• How to get out of debt
• Basic tips on tipping: How much and to whom?
• 27 money tips for college students

Notice a theme there? Long-term, the most popular articles at Get Rich Slowly tend to be about how to do things or where to find the best financial options (savings accounts, credit cards, CD rates, whatever). Though I like that Get Rich Slowly has a behavioral and psychological focus, I’m always wishing that I (and my writing staff) were writing more hands-on stuff. But I always worry about repeating myself. Ah, the dilemmas of a blogger…

Further reading
If you’re looking for more money-saving goodness, check out the greatest hits from the first five years of this site:

• The Best of Get Rich Slowly: 2006 Edition
• Get Rich Slowly’s Greatest Hits: 2007 Edition
• The Best of Get Rich Slowly: 2008 Edition
• Get Rich Slowly’s Greatest Hits: 2009 Edition
• The Best of Get Rich Slowly: 2010 Edition

Which are your favorite Get Rich Slowly stories from the past year? (Or of all time?) Your feedback will help us improve this site.

Happy new year, everybody!

This post is from staff writer Sarah Gilbert.

I started wrapping my gifts in old newspaper years ago. I know. It sounds so cheap it’s almost bah, humbug! Please don’t roll your eyes and stop reading now. Wait!

I started doing it because I couldn’t stand the silliness of it all. Most Christmases I wrapped my gifts hours before they were opened, often late at night on Christmas Eve. I’d have a bag full of those huge wrapping paper rolls — I’d obsessed over finding the best ones, as I like a beautifully-wrapped gift, and I have a rather snotty aesthetic — and I’d have spools of fancy ribbon (one year, before I had kids, I spent $50 at a specialty ribbon supplier — my parents still re-use that ribbon on gifts to me).

And I’d sit there, eyes drooping, frantically wrapping my gifts so beautifully so my little boys could wake up at the crack of dawn and rip them open. Usually I couldn’t even recycle it, because it was foil paper or something equally expensive. One year, we were really broke and it snowed right before Christmas. I didn’t want to go out and spend my dwindling pile of Christmas cash on whatever wrapping paper could be found within walking distance. Instead, I started looking through the pile of newspapers and found a few “home and garden” and “travel” sections with lovely full-color photos. The presents still looked great, and a tradition was born.

Set expectations low-ish
Little did I know that I wasn’t just being environmentally conscious and frugal: I was smartly setting expectations low for my gifts. A professor at Yale University’s Center for Customer Insights conducted a study in which he discovered that pretty packaging raises the receiver’s expectations — and decreases the receiver’s pleasure with the contents of the package. In an interview on American Public Media’s Marketplace program, Nathan Novemsky summarized:

“…one of the interesting findings was that if you wrap a gift, you raised people’s expectations and the liking of the same gift goes down. If you wrap a gift that, you know, is really just meant to be a little something, it might behoove you not to wrap it — or if you are going to wrap it, to not wrap it so nicely.”

The principal at work here, that I’m calling expectation bias, is not just appropriate for Christmas gifts, but for just about anything that involves an initial impression of an experience. Professor Novemsky used the example of a nice, complimentary glass of champagne that a fancy restaurant brings you before the meal. “If you’re setting expectations high and you’re not delivering on them,” he says, “you’re going to be worse off than if you hadn’t tried to set expectations at all.”

Lower your expectations, increase your happiness.

The prettiest package
I found this at work at a recent food swap. Inspired by a frugal friend, I’ve been attending these for awhile now, and I love analyzing the items that “sell” and those that are the last to go. There’s always a trend item (this month it was drinking vinegar and caramels; in the summer it was jewel-colored jellies and raw milk ice cream) that will find its dance card overflowing with eager swappers. And then there’s the prettiest package.

Assisted by my sister-in-law, I found pretty little bottles for my pine syrup (pine needles chopped and simmered in honey and water), tying them with twine and including handwritten card stock tags along with my photo business cards. Honestly, this was the first time I’ve ever made pine syrup, and it was a total experiment. I had no idea if it would actually, as I hoped, be a great mixer for cocktails. (Think of pine syrup and gin and soda! Pine syrup and cranberry-infused vodka!) It was too early in the day to test.

But everyone was so eager to exchange whatever I wanted for my simple little syrup because it looked fantastic. I went home with lots of caramels and a delicious pear blossom drinking vinegar. I found it really hard to unload the super-crumbly rosemary tangerine shortbread, though I was positive it was delicious, because it just looked lumpy and messy. I fear that the packaging on my syrup set their expectations too high; my swap partners may just have been disappointed. I’ll never know.

Make this work for you and your money
The key takeaway is that you need to make sure the experience — the gift, the restaurant meal, the shortbread — is roughly equivalent to the presentation. Or, if you’re just not sure, have the experience equal the presentation; don’t wrap the gift, serve your guests a meal without a fancy first course or menu cards or beautiful table settings.

You also can use this as a receiver and a consumer in to save money and relationships. The following are some examples to illustrate what I mean:

• Think about your expectations as you receive a gift, year-end bonus, job offer, or negotiation opening. Have you decided the gift is surely a four-carat diamond ring because of its package and the glow in your boyfriend’s eye? Dial down that expectation before opening it so you won’t look crushed when you open the lovely opal pendant. (Maybe you’ll be surprised!) Are you sure your year-end bonus will be six figures because your boss gave you such glowing praise in your review? Think about all the other factors that could affect your bonus — company performance, the economy, office politics, your boss’s tendency to gush — before you go into the review meeting and find a nice-but-very-small check. If you’re aware of your expectations, it will be easier to manage your reaction when they’re met, or not met at all. (And please, don’t spend that bonus until the check is in your hand!)
• Going into holidays and other classic gift-receiving occasions with modest expectations can save you from that desire to treat yourself afterward. I see the advertising starting Christmas Day at about noon (or earlier if you’ve opened the Christmas paper with breakfast): “Get what was missing under the tree!” I’ve felt the desire myself to go out and spend when my parents/boyfriend/husband failed to get me the moon. In the past few years, with my husband overseas for Christmas, I’ve known what I was getting as soon as I got his big box of gifts to wrap for me and the boys (international customs is terrible for surprises). Instead of ruining the moment, it allowed me to pretend delight when I opened the gifts along with the boys — and in knowing what I was opening, I actually felt delight. And I had no desire to shop on “Boxing Day,” nor the day afterward.
• Associate with people who expect the same things you do. If the expectation amongst your group of friends is that everyone goes out to a four-star restaurant on New Year’s Eve, followed by tickets to a concert and visit to a bar where you’ll toast one another, buying rounds of pricey Scotch, well, you’ll always be disappointed if you can’t afford it. If your friends expect that you all will send your kids to private school, you’ll feel that you’re a failure if you can’t (or don’t want to) spend your money that way.

I’ve come to hang out with friends who expect to go shopping at thrift stores together and meet for coffee at my dining room table (way cheaper than the coffee shop!). I’m thinking about inviting some families over for a fondue party for New Year’s. We’ll toast with apple cider. Cheers!

April’s note: Like Sarah, I have an appreciation for a beautifully wrapped gift. (If you could see my mother’s Christmas tree and gift wrapping skills, you would understand.) But I’ve seen some creative ideas for newspaper-as-gift-wrap, such as these presents with monogram tags and baker’s twine — an idea you could use year-round for birthdays and other gift-giving occasions.

This is a post from staff writer Robert Brokamp of The Motley Fool. Robert is a Certified Financial Planner and the adviser for The Motley Fool’s Rule Your Retirement service. He contributes one new article to Get Rich Slowly every two weeks.

It’s that time of year — the time when everyone makes resolutions in hopes that a year from now, we’ll be thinner, wealthier, smarter, more productive, and better-smelling. As I ponder my own resolutions for 2012 (wow, is it really almost 2012?), I thought I’d relate how I was actually able to follow through on a goal from several months ago.

As loyal readers may recall, in the summer of 2010 I began to try to lose weight. I clocked in at around 205 pounds, and my clothes were starting to no longer fit. As I wrote back then:

“You may be wondering why I’m telling you, the money-minded GRS audience, about my jiggly parts. Well, I think money management and blubber management have a lot in common. They both rely on smart consumption and good habits that, frankly, aren’t a lot of fun. The effects — both good and bad — aren’t noticed immediately, which makes the bad habits seem not so bad, and the good habits not-so-instantly rewarding.”

The thought of having to replace my wardrobe with bigger clothes would have been a blow to my wallet and my ego. So I decided to go on a diet.

A year and a half later, I weigh 180 pounds and feel the similarities between fiscal and physical health are even more numerous. So here’s how I was able to disperse 25 pounds into the universe (since matter can neither be created nor destroyed, that 25 pounds went somewhere — my guess is Goldman Sachs turned it into an investment and sold it to an unwitting client). Regardless of what you’re trying to lose or gain, I think these principles will apply to any of your efforts to make 2012 more jingly or less jiggly.

1. Go extreme
In my post from 2010, I bemoaned the fact that after three weeks of less food and more exercise, I had lost just three pounds. I questioned whether I shouldn’t get extreme with my plan — essentially eat nothing but vegetables and lean protein, and exercise my butt off. Many commenters to that article gave the very sound advice that an extreme diet doesn’t work; it’s unhealthy and unsustainable.

That’s all true. But I eventually found that I needed to kick-start the weight loss just to feel like I was getting somewhere. So for a few weeks, I went extreme — and lost 10 pounds. It felt much more rewarding, and much more encouraging.

As for money, I’ve known many people who try to get out of debt or build up their savings by making small changes to their spending habits. These small changes can be powerful when compounded over many years, but at first they can seem like they’re not making much of a difference, which can lead people to think, “Why am I making these sacrifices when there’s such little progress?” For some people, a period of completely new habits — even if they’re extreme — are the jolt they need to break old patterns, and provide enough progress in the beginning to maintain the motivation they need to keep going.

2. Don’t go extreme forever
All that said, I eventually worked ice cream, French fries, and cookies back into my diet. I just couldn’t give them up forever. But, given the progress I already made, I wasn’t going to let them bulk me back up to 205 pounds. So I’ve been able to limit them.
In her book The Beck Diet Solution, Judith Beck discusses all the weird ways we have of thinking about food. One particularly fattening train of thought that I found myself conducting was “Well, now that I’ve eaten that, I’ve blown my diet for the day, so I might as well blow it for the rest of the day and start fresh tomorrow.” Now, I eat the occasional crappy treat, but I don’t let it open the floodgates.

With finances, it’s important to allow some “fun money” back into your life, and if you blow your budget, don’t let that be an excuse to continue your old spending habits.

3. Change your associations
I intentionally use the term “crappy treat” since I’ve come to see all the bad food for what it really is: unhealthy, fattening, teeth-attacking, and not a particularly good way to spend money, but still a treat (which, in my book, is something you can still enjoy but only once in awhile). One example: I loved soda, particularly Mountain Dew. Even as I drank it for decades, I associated it with being a kid and visiting my grandparents’ farm in Ohio (where I had more freedom to drink what I wanted). But then I began to do more research into healthy foods, and really began to understand how bad soda is. In particular, I heard a story on NPR about how meth addicts love Mountain Dew, and how it contributes to them losing their teeth (which the taxpayers have to replace for the meth addicts in prison). Now, I can’t have a Mountain Dew without feeling like my teeth are going to immediately fall out.

Watching several food-related documentaries — such as Super Size Me, Forks Over Knives, and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead — also helped me better appreciate the long-term health effects of a bad diet. Given my family history of heart disease, I began to see a healthier lifestyle as not just a way to be only slightly embarrassed at the pool during the summer, but as a genuine way to stave off death for as long as possible.

When it comes to finances, the important change of associations I’ve made is seeing responsible habits not as self-denial but as a way to provide for my family, afford college for my kids, and a secure old age for me and my wife (especially my wife, since she’ll likely live longer than I will, regardless of my diet).

4. Use the right leverage
If changing your associations doesn’t get you to change your habits, then you might need some external motivation. Sites like RescueTime.com, QuantifiedSelf.com, Xpenser.com, StickK.com, and Fatbet.net will help you monitor your use of time, money, and food, and encourage you to lay some money on the line to encourage you to follow through on your resolutions. Or maybe you need to put your ego on the line. In their book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, John Tierney and Roy Baumeister discuss the “public humiliation diet” of Drew Magary, who Tweeted his weight every day. As Baumeister explained to me in an interview, “I think we are shaped by nature to work together with other people and therefore to care what other people think of us. The basic biological strategy of human beings is we survive and reproduce by cooperating and working together with others in these small groups, so success with them is very important.”

The Motley Fool’s internal financial fitness coach has decided to use this leverage to get me to the gym more often. He took a picture of me with my shirt off, and he has the right to put it up on the screen during a company meeting if he feels I’m not making enough progress. Now, if you knew me, you might be surprised that this means anything to me, since I’ve taken off my shirt and/or pants at several company meetings (you don’t really want to know all the details — such as announcing the new company 401(k) match by having “8%” written on my underwear — but it suffices to say that The Motley Fool is just that kind of place). But there’s something motivational about knowing that my picture could be held up before the company as an example of a guy who could use some work and isn’t getting it done.

If public accountability is the secret to your success, inform a group of people (friends, family, coworkers, government spies who monitor all our emails) about your goal — financial, physical, or otherwise — as well as when you plan to have it accomplished and how you’ll prove it. Or follow in the spirit of Drew Magary and post on your blog a picture of your scale or account balances every day, or use sites like Tweetwhatyouspend.com.

Or send us a picture of you without your shirt; we won’t judge.

The following guest post is by Craig Ford. Craig blogs at Help Me Travel Cheap where he helps newbies turn credit card sign-up bonuses into free travel.

To entice you to sign up for a credit card most credit card companies offer a sign-up bonus.

The sign-up bonus is the life blood for a growing population of American travelers. They scour the web looking for the best credit cards with sign up bonuses. They get the cards, get the bonuses, and turn a single credit card application into a vacation that most of us only dream of taking.

The objective is simple: try to collect and redeem many frequent flyer miles so you’ll never have to pay for a vacation again.

Today you’ll learn how to strategically get started using credit card sign up bonuses to accumulate free travel.

Why are people hesitant to use credit card sign-up bonuses to accumulate miles?
People who collect frequent flyer points and miles sometimes have a hard time understanding why everyone doesn’t use this strategy for getting free flights. There are five common reasons why people avoid credit card sign up bonuses in an effort to earn travel miles.

1. It sounds too good to be true. I’m afraid of getting scammed. Surely there must be a catch that I simply don’t understand. My response: Credit card companies play the averages. The average customer who signs up for one of their credit cards will likely keep it and pay the annual fees for a long time, pay a late fee, transfer a balance, or carry a balance. That’s why they offer these huge sign-up bonuses; they want you to become a customer for life. Just because they come out ahead most of the time doesn’t mean a person can’t tactically apply for cards to benefit from the sign-up offers.  It’s not a scam, but you do need to be disciplined and organized to come out ahead.
2. It will hurt my credit score. My response: Without a doubt, it will affect your credit score. If someone is going to make a large purchase and plans to borrow money in the next couple of years, they might want to avoid signing up for credit cards just for the bonus. For most of us, however, the credit score impact will be incremental and won’t have a significant effect on our ability to borrow money. Think of it this way: You attend a school that uses a grading system that gives an A for a 91 and above, so a student with a 99 gets an A and a student with a 91 does, too. Interest rates are based on “ranges”.  A score above 700 might yield one interest rate and a score below 700 another. If you have a 750 credit score, then those few point drops won’t even bring you close to dropping below the 700 mark. You can still have a strong credit score and use credit cards to get free travel. Also read how to get your free credit report and take care of your credit score.
3. There are too many rules and restrictions that make the points or miles hard to use. My response: This is partially true. Most airlines only allow a certain number of seats to be booked with reward points. As a result, you need to book mileage flights differently than cash flights: You’ll need to be flexible, and you’ll need to book months in advance — sometimes as early as 10-11 months, depending on how competitive the destination is.  You’ll need to be educated about fuel surcharges imposed by certain airlines and member airlines partnerships. You’ll even need to learn a little bit about each program to know where you should be focusing your time. I’ll show you how to do that later in the article.
4. The temptation to have a credit card is too much, and I always overspend. My response: Thanks for being self-aware. Nothing I say in this post could or should make you change your mind. Avoid this strategy. You’re a wise person if you recognize how dangerous credit cards can be when you aren’t able to set some reasonable limitations.
5. It’s not worth the time. My response: That may be true. It takes a small investment of time to track, apply, monitor, and cancel your credit cards. If you don’t have the time to apply for a credit card with a $600 sign-up value, then you probably don’t have time to read this post either.

In my case, I’d gladly trade a few hours a month for several thousand dollars worth of (free or very cheap) travel a year.

How many miles can you get by signing up for mileage-based credit cards?
The best way to answer that is by highlighting some of the blockbuster mileage and travel credit card offers that have been available in the last year or so.  Most of these offers are no longer valid, so this list simply serves as an example of what could have been. If I could predict the future, I’d let you know what offers are going to come up. But I can’t.

The only card on the list below that is currently available is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

None of the offers listed below were targeted, so every US resident would have been eligible to apply.

Card Company Card Brand/ Airline Offer Spending
Requirements Annual Fee Value Chase British Airways 100,000 miles $3,000 in the first 90 days $95 not waived Domestic  $1,000+

International $2,000+ Chase Southwest 50,000 points Points awarded after first purchase $99 not waived $833 worth of Wanna Get Away fares Chase Sapphire Preferred 50,000 points $3,000 in 90 days $125, waived for the first year $625 worth of travel if booked through Ultimate Rewards Capital One Venture Rewards Up to 110,000 miles (matches existing miles in a frequent flyer program) $2,500 in 90 days $59, waived for the first year $1,100 to reimburse travel purchases CitiCards American Airlines 75,000 miles per card (up to 3 cards) $1,500 in the first 90 days $85, waived for the first year $750+ domestic and $1,500+ international

So does it really work? My trip report

Here’s a quick roundup of how I used some of my miles and points in the last year to save money on travel:

1. In May 2011, our family of five spent eight days in Auckland and Rotorura, New Zealand. We didn’t have to pay for airfare as it was part of a regularly scheduled furlough back to the USA. However, we used Thank You Rewards points to get our first four nights free — a $475 value. Beyond that, we paid another $500 for hotels and rented a car for $250. Those expenses were reimbursed because we had Venture Rewards points from the 100,000 mile-match offer. Total 8 day cost for our family of five (including all accommodations, vehicle rental, meals and activities) was $325.
2. In June 2011, I booked two tickets from Toronto, Canada to Budapest, Hungary. We’re flying business class on the way and economy class on the way back. Each ticket would have cost just over $6,000. Instead, we used 70,000 miles each that we accumulated from the CitiCards American Airlines offer. The total taxes and fees were about $250 each. We’ll be using Hilton hotel points accumulated from hotel says and the Hilton American Express to help us get four free hotel nights.
3. In July 2011, I booked two tickets from Phuket, Thailand to Toronto, Canada. We purchased three tickets with cash and used points for two of the flights. The tickets cost 70,000 miles, and we paid $125 each in taxes and fees.  That saves us more than $2,000 worth of airfare.
4. In August 2011, I flew from Houston to St. Sault Marie. It was a last-minute flight that I was trying to buy five days in advance. The best fare I could find on Delta (the only airline that services the airport) was $900. Instead, I chose to use 25,000 Delta miles and pay $10 for the trip.

In my opinion, the results speak for themselves.

How to get started collecting your miles and jetting around the world
Yes, you do need to be willing to do a little research. Yes, you do need a little background knowledge. But within an hour or two, you should be ready to start mastering the art of nearly free travel. There are a ton of free resources that will help you to get started. If you prefer, there are also some paid options available to individuals.

To help you get started, here are a few resources:

• How to Earn Frequent Flyer Miles from the Comfort of Your Living Room. This is a free ebook I wrote for newbies to help answer all their basic questions. The goal of this book is to help you move from knowing nothing to having a firm grasp on how frequent flyer programs operate and how to start building your own frequent flyer mileage balances.
• Travel Hacking Cartel. Chris Guillebeau has a membership-based program where he notifies participants of the latest deals and offers associated to miles and points. Plans start at $27 per month. It may be worth it, depending on your time availability and temperament. Personally, I’ve developed my own DIY Travel Hacking Cartel.
• Online forums. Flyer Talk is one of the largest forums that discusses all things related to frequent flyer programs, activities, and promotions. It is an ocean of information, so you may feel overwhelmed if you’ve never been to the site before. Another valuable forum is Mile Point.
• Travel points and miles blogs. There are a lot of blogs in this niche, but I’ll introduce you to some of the blogs that I think will really help you get started. As you start reading these blogs, you’ll be able to find others and quickly develop your list of favorites:
  • Help Me Travel Cheap and Travel Free Coach (my travel blogs). Help Me Travel Cheap focuses on helping people find and identify the best credit card sign up bonuses. This site is ideal for newbies who want to get the most return for the smallest time investment. Travel Free Coach is where I do free personalized travel assistance. You can fill out any one of several forms on the site, and I’ll personally help answer all of your questions free of charge.
  • The Points Guy. This is one of the most comprehensive miles and points blogs on the web. In an easy-to-understand way, Brian reports the deals that will help you earn extra miles. He often has educational posts that help you understand different airline award redemption policies.
  • Frugal Travel Guy. This blog focuses on credit card rewards and highlights Rick’s credit card churning strategies.  Rick has been a long time credit card churner and provides valuable insight.
  • Million Mile Secrets. Million Mile Secrets is a relatively new, but easy-to-understand blog that posts frequent step-by-step instructions on how to execute or capitalize on certain offers. It’s another great site for people who are just getting started.
  • View from the Wing and the other Boarding Area Blogs. This blog network may not be ideal as you get started, but as you start reading more travel related articles, you’ll want to subscribe to the Boarding Area family of blogs.  These blogs provide detailed analyses of program benefits.

Final addiction warning: I’ve had a lot of friends that I’ve convinced to start collecting miles and points, and they love it. If you’re going to using this strategy to get free travel, you’d better be prepared for a new obsession: It’s a fun and profitable hobby. You may want to start packing your bags because you’ll be surprised at how quickly your points will add up.

I’ve been fortunate over the past few years. I’ve managed to get out of debt, quit my day job to write full time, build substantial savings, and am now able to do what I want when I want. I still work hard, of course, but I do so on my own terms. I’m a lucky man.

Next year, though, is going to be a year of changes. For one thing, my income might actually decrease. (And if it doesn’t do so in 2012, it will almost certainly do so in 2013.) At the same time, for a variety of reasons, my expenses are going to increase. I’m in no danger of deficit spending — I refuse to live beyond my means! — but this does mean I’m going to have to be more conscientious about budgeting.

Practicing what I preach
Because I’ve done relatively well over the past few years, and because my expenses have stayed low, I’ve been able to buy the things I want without much worry. There’s a reason I preach the virtues of conscious spending. If I don’t, I often find myself making spur-of-the-moment buying decisions. Well, I feel like it’s once again very important that I weigh every purchase before I make it. I’ve created a fine lifestyle; I don’t want to jeopardize this lifestyle through silly spending.

As a result — and this comes as a shock even to me — I’m swearing off comic books. (Mostly.) The thing is, it doesn’t even really feel like a sacrifice. Right now, there are other things in my life that I value more highly. Most of you know about my expensive gym membership and how important that is to me. But there are also my Spanish lessons, which I’ve been taking since June. I’d rather pay for one-on-one meetings with my tutor than to buy comics. I get more enjoyment from learning the language. (The truth is, I’d even forego my Portland Timbers tickets to continue with Crossfit and/or Spanish. Fortunately, that’s not yet necessary.)

Soon, I’ll probably also give up my office. It’s been nearly three years since I worked from home, and I think my work habits have changed. If I can find the discipline and focus to write from the living room, that’ll free up $335 a month that I can use for other things. (I won’t know if this is do-able until the middle of the year, but it’s something I definitely want to try.)

But perhaps the biggest change in my future is that I’m finally becoming interested in non-profits and charities.

Thinking of others
For years, I’ve taken a lot of crap here at Get Rich Slowly (and deservedly so) because I donate very little to charity, and I rarely volunteer my time. I was raised in a family that didn’t value charity, and as an adult I’ve been unable to find any cause I feel passionate about.

Lately, though, that’s changing and in a variety of ways. We’re hard at work planning next year’s World Domination Summit, for instance, and we’d like to tie a service theme to this leadership conference. I wasn’t that interested at first, but now I’m on fire for the idea. I think it would be awesome to recruit the power of 1000 attendees to do some good for Portland — and the world.

But on a more personal level, I’ve discovered there are causes I’m passionate about. My trips to southern Africa and to Latin America have helped me understand better the important role education plays in improving people’s lives (and especially in improving the lives of women). I find that I’m willing to donate both time and money to improve education around the world. (I’d love to find the time to work with an organization like Edge of Seven, for instance.)

In fact, I’ve realized that it’s possible for me to tie my passion for learning Spanish directly to this goal. There are several Portland-area organizations that work to provide educational opportunities for low-income Spanish-speakers in the community. In March (after I return from next trip to South America), I plan to volunteer with one of these groups, such as Adelante Mujeres. In the meantime, I’ve offered my services to one of my friends. She teaches a Spanish/English blended second-grade class, and she says she can use my help twice a week for two hours at a time. I’m both excited and nervous about this new adventure — the second-graders are going to mock me for my miserable Spanish!

Other plans
I have other smaller financial goals, as well. After my upcoming trip to Chile and Argentina, my travel fund is going to be completely empty and will need to be replenished. And since I’ve borrowed from my new-car savings to make these trips happen, I’ll need to boost account too. Plus, I’d like to find one or more small sources of recurring income — another magazine column perhaps?

My financial life continues to be rosy, largely because I follow my own advice. (Especially my own advice about finding ways to make more money.) But I don’t want to rest on my laurels. I don’t want to become complacent. I want to continue striving toward a brighter financial future — and I want to bring you along for the ride.

What about you? How was your 2011? Did you improve your financial situation? Did you earn more? Spend less? Or were you less successful than you’d hoped? And what are your plans and goals for 2012? What do you hope to do with your money?

This is a guest-post from my cousin, Tammy. I first posted this in 2006. Tammy has also shared information on how to raise a family on one income (part two). This story is set ten years after my aunt’s six-dollar Christmas and involves the same family.

It was the year 1968. That year was an exceptionally hard year in every way. Pop was laid off due to too much snow in the woods. He was a logger. Roads were impassable and snow lay thick in the mountains. We knew there would be no Christmas. Mom had told us there simply was no money. Times were tough. We didn’t have money even for our very basic needs.

That was the year the guy from the fire department brought my sick baby brother some medicine in his four wheel drive. That was the year the snow piled up relentlessly night and day. The wind blew it under the window sills. We slept each night downstairs by the fireplace trying to stay warm. The entire house was closed off by blankets in doorways and masking tape on all the windows. Rugs were shoved under loose fitting doors so not a breath of cold air could get in.

That was also the year that food was scarce for man and beast. Earlier in the fall, the cold and scarcity of food drove the bear into our orchard to eat any remaining plums and apples that we hadn’t canned or processed in some way. We trapped those bears, tanned their hides to use for rugs, and ate the meat to fill our bellies. Christmas dinner that year was going to be Bear Roast. There were nine of us kids, and food was scarce.

The fires were kept burning night and day. My baby brothers were set on the lids to the warming ovens above the kitchen stove and held there while they dangled there feet over the old Home Comfort. Its cheery warmth not only heated our kitchen, but it also kept their tiny toes warm.

That was also the winter that mom ran out of formula for the baby. Not knowing what to do, we prayed that God would send our baby formula. He was allergic to milk and too young to eat food. That day a man handed mom an envelope of gospel tracts. There hidden in the tracts was a five dollar bill. God had answered our prayers. The baby would now get his formula.

I had only one wish that Christmas. I had seen a beautiful doll bed in the department store window. I wanted it so badly, but I knew it was way too much to ask. I could dream though, and dream I did. Mom knew how badly I yearned for a doll bed, so one day shortly before Christmas she set about to make me that coveted gift. Taking two cardboard boxes she turned the one upside down and set the other on top. She fastened them to each other then lined them with fabric and made a little pleated skirt to cover the cardboard box underneath. She knew that on Christmas morning I would be the happiest child for miles around.

The air was filled with secrecy that Christmas, as we all tried to make each other gifts. Buttons were strung onto strings, small jars were filled with filberts to rattle at the babies, nuts piled high behind the stove in gunny sacks were cracked and sugared for treats. Once again Bear meat was on the dinner menu. But once again God had other plans.

The day before Christmas a big red truck lumbered down the lane to our house. It was the Fire Chief! Whatever was happening? Why had they come? They had chained up the vehicle to get up the snowy roads. Maybe they were bringing medicine. One year the fire department brought aspirin to all the babies on the mountain because families couldn’t get into town. But no! Wait! There were other men with him. We watched as the firemen jumped down and began unloading gifts from the truck. They piled them on to the front porch while we watched from the window. There were lots of boxes. The excitement was more than we could bear. Beautifully wrapped gifts with sparkly bows were lined up on the porch.

Mom opened the front door to ask what this was all about. A fireman filled her arms with a box overflowing with food. “Merry Christmas,” he called over his shoulder as he stomped back through the snow for more things. My sisters and I were squealing and excitedly running from window to window in the hopes of seeing better. The babies peeked out from behind mom’s skirt.

Finally the last box was unloaded and our porch was filled with food and gifts. Everything we needed for a complete Christmas dinner was brought by that fire department. Mom was crying as she thanked the men. At eight-years-old I didn’t see what there was to cry about. I mean one minute there was no Christmas, the next we all had gifts and a Christmas dinner! At the time I knew nothing of what lies in a mother’s heart when God so completely and wonderfully answers her prayers for Christmas for her babies.

But the firemen weren’t done. They had gone back to the truck, and now they were pulling out a huge box with a candy cane striped swing-set inside. Our joy was beyond imagination. We had spent many hours swinging in homemade swings in the apple trees, but we had never seen or dreamed of anything as lovely as this red and white swing set. Our little hearts could hold no more.

That year was the best Christmas we ever had. The turkey from the fire department filled the place with mouthwatering smells. Gifts were opened and nowhere was there greater joy than that which was found in the old farmhouse that day.

That night, as the snow continued to blow across the dark hills, nine children lay tucked in their beds on the dining room floor. The fire gave the room a soft glow. Over in the old green chair mama rocked the baby and fed him warm formula while Pop made his bedtime rounds, stoking the fire and checking windows and doors for any loose masking tape that would let the cold east wind inside.

That was the night that the firemen brought Christmas to little children on a cold mountain. That was the night a new doll, brought from the fire department, slept all snuggly warm in its cardboard box beside a little girl who had prayed for a Christmas.

That was the night the heavens bent low.

That was the night the angels sang.

I will forever be grateful to the men who sacrificed their time that cold Christmas Eve. I have never forgotten their labor of love and the joy they brought to our hearts. Thank you so much for bringing Christmas to our house that year. You will never know what that meant to all of us! May God bless you all!

You know those Christmas-time toy drives? Those “sponsor-a-family” charity funds? They really do help those less fortunate. If you have everything you need, remember to spread the joy, to help out those whose situations are more desperate.

This is a post from staff writer April Dykman.

My favorite places to shop are sites like 6pm.com and Last Call Neiman Marcus. I like the idea of buying a $400 dress for $80 because I get better quality for a good price. Even though I’m spending money, it’s a little less painful when I can look at how much I “saved.”

That’s a common sentiment — it’s nice to reassure yourself that you got a great value for your money. But it turns out that my satisfaction isn’t just because I bought a better quality item for $80, it’s also because I factored the original price of $400 into my decision-making process.

The anchoring effect
An article in Psychology Today discusses this effect of related numbers, called “anchoring” by psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, who discovered it in the 1970s. According to the article, “Whenever we try to estimate a numerical value, we are unconsciously influenced by related numbers just seen or thought about.” Numerous studies have backed up their findings that pricing comparisons have an effect on a consumer’s decision-making process.

What’s more, the anchoring effect isn’t just limited to sales prices. The article explains how anchoring applies to the $69 hot dog at popular New York eatery Serendipity 3:

In this case, the diner in a touristy Manhattan restaurant is trying to decide how much he or she can afford to spend. The prices the diner is used to spending at home don’t apply; it’s a whole new world. That diner isn’t about to order a $69 hot dog, but might happily opt for an $17.95 cheeseburger. The hot dog makes the cheeseburger appear reasonable in comparison (even though $17.95 would be a ridiculous price for a cheeseburger most places).

According to the article, the effects of anchoring are widely accepted by restaurant owners and consultants who use it to design menus. I had a related experience last year when I went to New York City. One night we ended up at an overpriced restaurant, paying something like $3 for a cup of mediocre coffee and $14 for a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast that tasted like something you’d get at IHOP. Compared to everything else on the menu, it was pretty cheap (under $25 at least), and since we were tired, hungry, and cold, we gave in and ordered.

If you had told me before I left for New York that I’d pay that much for such disappointing food, I’d never have believed you. But in those circumstances I cared more about not being cold and hungry and not spending $25.

The other side of anchoring
Hyman also explains that anchoring can have an opposite affect:

If I thought I would be able to buy something for around $20 and end up having to pay $39.99, this is an ugly situation. This time my anchor was low and was adjusted upwards. Bummer. Now I don’t feel so good. I feel sick to my stomach if I spend more than I thought I should have to spend.

When you pay more than the anchored price, you’re vulnerable to buyer’s remorse.

Whether it’s a $400 dress or a $69 hot dog, introducing those numbers to the consumer is extremely important because they sway the decision-making process. A $80 dress is too good to pass up when it was $400. “This is why stores leave the original price on a discounted item,” writes Ira Hyman in his article, Shopping Procrastination on Christmas Eve, “now you can see that this is worth more than you will be asked to pay for it. A price discount can improve the feelings that accompany spending money. It isn’t how much you spent, but rather how you evaluate the entire situation.”

Likewise, when you evaluate the entire menu, an $14 plate of scrambled eggs appears relatively reasonable compared to the $25 plates. Oh well. At least the waitress was fun.

What are some of your own experiences with anchoring? Tell us in the comments!

In many families, money is a taboo subject. It’s not something that’s discussed openly. But this weekend, as people gather to celebrate Christmas, there will be lots of opportunities to bring up the topic with parents — and other loved ones. But how do you do it? That’s what Sean wants to know.

He feels it’s important to understand his parents’ finances, but they’re not willing to share. What should he do? Here’s Sean’s question:

I’m a sophomore in college. My father sold a company several years ago and now has a small business selling things online. Because of my father’s previous income, I don’t qualify for any financial aid, including loans. However, I know that he no longer makes much money anymore. I’m worried that all of my father’s income is going to paying to my tuition and living expenses (about $50,000 a year). I have a strong suspicion that he’s drawing from his savings to pay for my tuition, and it’s only going to get worse because my brother will be attending college next year.

My parents tell me not to worry and have kept a strict policy of not telling me how much my father earns. My father is financially responsible, but his focus is on increasing income rather than on decreasing expenses. My worry is that I’m being a drain on my family’s savings.

How can I ask my parents and get a straight answer about their financial situation?

There are actually two issues here.

• The first is Sean’s concern that he’s a financial burden on his family. That’s worth an entire column itself, but for today I’ll simply encourage Sean to do what he can to actively decrease this burden by applying for scholarships and earning as much money as he can on his own. (It can be done. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school, so I funded my entire college education through scholarships and lots of off-campus work.)
• Today, though, I want to talk about Sean’s second question: How can he get his parents to discuss their financial situation?

My own family has always been relatively open about money. When I was growing up, my parents weren’t shy about letting us know there wasn’t much of it. I can remember looking at their tax returns when I was in high school (though they didn’t make much sense at the time). Before my father died in 1995, he explained how he was structuring the business and the income stream for my mother. That said, there was still a mess to untangle when I took over my mother’s finances while she was in the hospital this summer. (Now, though, I have them running like clockwork!)

My wife’s family is a little less open. It’s not that they’re secretive, but until recently, they just didn’t share details. After the crisis with my mother this summer, though, Kris and her sister sat down and point-blank asked their parents for the information they felt they needed. Over the past several months, the entire family has been swapping account numbers and balances so that if anything happens, somebody can step in to take care of things.

Really, though, Sean isn’t asking about the mechanics of sharing. He’s asking how to get people to talk about money in the first place. How can you get your parents to open up when they steadfastly refuse to do so?

I think it’s important to approach this in an almost clinical manner — not an emotional one. This is business, and it’s important business. If I were in his shoes, I might forward the recent reader story from Jody, whose father involved her in the entire estate-planning process. That story demonstrates the advantages of being open about your financial situation, and the advantages of involving the family in the process.

Have you introduced the subject of money with your parents? How do you get them to talk plainly about their financial situation? Or did you? What advice can you give Sean for talking about money in a way that won’t make his parents feel threatened? If you were in his shoes, what would you do?

This is a guest post from freelance writer Jessica Ward.

For three years, I’ve been patting myself on the back. The household expenses remain the same every month, and we’re getting out of debt. In spite of increases in costs, we’ve found efficiencies and made room. But, as they say, after pride comes the fall. I discovered this month that we’re actually making less progress every month now than when we first started making monthly budgets!

Initially I thought this was a short-term trend, but when I looked back a little farther in the old budgets file, I discovered that we’ve really been on this path since day one. We have succumbed to “lifestyle creep.” Subtle upticks in our family’s expenses that don’t necessarily fall into line with real costs of living.

Slowly and stealthily, our lifestyle has edged back up. An extra meal out here, a technology upgrade there, all unnoticed because we haven’t spent beyond our planned expense cap, but unchecked because we didn’t notice that we had slowed progress towards our goals.

Identifying your budget “creepers”
We use a zero-based budget. Money in equals money out, every month. Sure it might go “out” into a savings account or towards debt, but the checking account ideally zeros out every month. I neglected the second step of allocating everything. By way of example, here are some expenses that crept up on us this year, virtually unnoticed:

1. Family gym membership, $1,200 year. (We did elect to keep it for 2012, but are making other cuts to accommodate.)
2. Data plan on my husband’s phone (he doesn’t even know how to text). We cut this in July, but not after spending $240 for the year on unnecessary data charges.
3. A digital camera upgrade (rationalized with the old “it’s a business write-off” excuse) at $400.
4. An average of $200 per month additional eating out expenses, or $2,400.
5. An average of an additional $200 per month in charitable expenses, or $2,400 a year.

All told, we experienced an increase in lifestyle (and decrease in goal progress) of nearly $7,000. Had we minded our budget better, we’d be out of debt by now. That’s embarrassing.

Other people will have other areas of budget creep. Fancy coffee, storage unit, unnecessary gadget upgrades. Little upgrades like premium cable can be adding hundreds to your household expenses every year.

How to creep-proof your budget
If you’re feeling the budget creep, take the following steps to get back on track.

• Set your budget, including all expenses, by prioritizing your household bills and financial goals, treating them just like a bill.
• Revisit your budget and revise based on actual changes in costs. While our spending remained fixed, some expenses (fuel, food, and homeowner’s association dues) went up, and we sacrificed about $200 per month towards financial goals by not revising our spending (and income) expectations upwards or another area of the budget downwards (without sacrificing your progress to goals). When costs go up, it’s time to ramp up the “side hustle” income.
• Maintain your diligence about buying bargains. Have you relaxed your efforts at coupons, sales, used/consignment, bargaining or trading? Have you even stopped price-comparing? Just because it’s in the budget, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get a better deal.
• Have old habits crept back? Extravagant gifts, daily lattes, extra vacations, and weekend getaways, or just too much eating out? Many of us have old financial habits that break our budgets. Keep a wary eye out for them.

Please, tell me I’m not alone in this budget faux pas? Has your budget suffered from creep?

This post is from GRS staff writer Donna Freedman. Donna writes a personal finance column for MSN Money, and writes about frugality and intentional living at Surviving And Thriving. Since she just found out she is going to be a grandmother, expect to be bombarded with cute-baby anecdotes about seven months from now.

More than one million wineries currently operate worldwide. Each produces at least three different wines, and plenty of them stomp out 20 or more.

That’s a lot of potential hangovers. But if you sip responsibly you can enjoy the taste, the history, and the geography of the grape without any concurrent headaches.

And if you have champagne tastes but a Boones Farm budget? Buy the fruit of the vine online. A discount comes in handy at this time of year, given the expenses associated with the holidays. In the next couple of weeks you might be:

• Having people over for your only fancy meal of the year, which surely calls for a grown-up beverage
• Making mulled wine or glogg for a holiday open house
• Looking for a good deal on bubbly for New Year’s Eve

Or maybe you’re just an everyday wine enthusiast who likes a glass with dinner. No matter what your reason, there’s no need to pay through the nose, so to speak, for a decent bottle. Thanks to increased competition, better technology, and smarter winemaking, there’s never been a better time to be an oenophile, according to wine critic Natalie MacLean.

“I’m a wine cheapskate at heart. Why pay more than you have to for pleasure? These days you can get a wine that tastes twice as expensive as it costs,” says MacLean, author of Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines.

Although talking with an experienced wine seller can be a pleasure, not everyone is lucky enough to live near a wine store, or even a liquor store or a supermarket that sells wine. And let’s face it: Your local booze emporium or grocery store probably doesn’t have the space to devote to a truly huge selection of vino.

Online sites like Wine.com and WineExpress.com have deep cellars, and sell enough of the stuff to offer discounts. Specialty sites exist, too, with somewhat smaller lists but interesting back-stories — and competitive prices.

Kissing vinous frogs
It isn’t just the discount that’s attractive, but the chance to try dozens (or hundreds) of vintages you might not find in the local carafe-a-teria.

Don’t know where to start? The online sites make it easy:

• You’ll see sections like “90 under $20,” i.e., bottles that have received 90 points or more from wine critics.
• You can search by price point, by region, by type of wine — or even by clearance sales.
• When you click on a wine title, the next screen may also include suggestions à la Amazon.com, “Customers who bought Mad Dog 20/20 also bought…”

Another way to find new varieties: Natalie MacLean and other wine critics have Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, as well as homepages. There you can learn their hottest (and cheapest!) new discoveries. MacLean tastes at least 30 varieties per day. Nice work if you can get it, huh? Yet as she puts it, “I’m kissing a lot of vinous frogs to find those princes for you.”

Or prospect at a specialty site like People’s Wine Market or the Accidental Wine Company, both of which offer discounted sips with interesting backstories. The former buys overstock vintages from artisan, environmentally-friendly wineries. “Overstock” means that only a few cases are left and a wine distributor won’t bother with such a small order. The producers sell it cheaply just to make back their production costs, according to company spokeswoman Ashley Sytsma.

Three varieties, “usually the last case or two in existence of that vintage,” are featured each week. The lowest price was $7; the most expensive was a 2006 Philippe Delavaux Grains Nobles for $49, which would normally retail for as much as $125 per bottle.

The Accidental Wine Company’s original niche could be described as “oops”: vintages whose labels were applied crookedly or got soaked by a bottle broken in transit. If I were an oenophile I’d be all over the scratch-and-dent stock, i.e., focusing on the inside of the bottle. (Then again, I bought “slightly irregular” cloth diapers for my daughter. True story.)

Accidental Wine still sells irregular vino but also sells end-of-season stock and other special deals. Some of the best prices aren’t advertised prominently on the site due to agreements made with the producers. A couple of recent examples:

• 2006 Six Sigma cabernet sauvignon for $12 (normally as much as $50)
• Reds and whites bought in Spain last summer, $7 to $10 per bottle. “If it was made in America we’d be getting $20 a bottle,” says David Forbes, the “grape wrangler” who did the buying.

How to find non-posted prices? Poke around on the website, or e-mail the company (Kelly@accidentalwine.com) with the types or varieties you typically drink.

Finding the best prices
If you already know which wine you want to buy, use a price comparison site such as PriceGrabber.com or CheapUncle.com. Type in “box of white zin” or whatever you’re looking for, and wait for prices to pop up.

These sites have online coupons to make the offers even more attractive. Or look for coupons through aggregators like Savings.com and RetailMeNot.com.

We now pause for a really stupid joke:

Q. What did the grape say when the elephant stepped on it?

A. Nothing — it just let out a little wine.

Before you place an order, check to see if the wineseller is affiliated with a cash-back shopping site such as Extrabux, Mr. Rebates or Fat Wallet. These sites also provide  online coupons (including free or nearly free shipping) along with rebates of 3% to 7%.

Note: If shopping through a cash-back site, use only the coupons you find on that site. Any “outside” discount codes will void your rebate.

Aggregators like Cashback Comparison Tool or Cashbackmonitor.com offer side-by-side comparisons from some of the better-known cash-back sites; be sure to double-check the posted rates, which can change without warning.

Wine on wheels
About that shipping: An order might be in transit for days. You might wonder whether your order will become a winesicle (North Dakota truck version) or an expensive bottle of vinegar (Florida truck version).

But all wine has to be shipped at some point, or it would never leave the vineyard.

The folks who do this for a living use extreme care, to the point of adding cold packs during certain times of the year.

Some sellers have a “hold until safe” option, i.e., they’ll store your purchase for weeks or months until the weather improves. Or you can opt to pay more for overnight delivery.

Note: Make sure your order will arrive when someone who’s at least 21 years old will be home to sign for it. No, it can’t be left on the back porch.

Obviously shipping adds to the per-bottle cost. But maybe not, thanks to deals and discounts like:

• WineExpress.com ships some items free and offers 99-cent shipping for its “wine of the day.”
• GetWineOnline.com has a “50/50 Club,” which means you can get half off standard shipping for an annual fee of $48.
• Wine.com’s “Wine Steward-Ship” program provides a year’s unlimited shipping for $49.
• UltimateWineShop.com has free shipping on some varieties if you buy in multiples of 12 (which could be a deal-breaker for some and an enabler for others).

Another way to keep costs low: Watch for social marketing deals. Recently I’ve seen deals like:

• The “Holiday Gift Set” through LivingSocial, with two bottles of wine, two glasses, a gift bag and a “tasty treat” for $34
• Four wines (three reds and a white) for $49 through KGB Deals
• $70 worth of wine for $35 through Eversave

Watch for these deals, but be sure to do the math.

Tip: Depending on the social buying site you use, you can get credit for the next purchase or even an outright free order if friends buy using your referral code.

Haute sips or house swill?
I am not suggesting that you ignore local winesellers. But casting your net a little further than the neighborhood state store or Safeway can improve your enjoyment of wine and stretch your fun budget.

Of course, plenty of people are perfectly happy with Charles Shaw or the super-cheap Aussie vintages to be found at the local liquor locker. A good friend of mine is content with boxed wine, which she cheerfully refers to as “the house swill.”

So if you have a proletarian palate and know that good stuff will be wasted on you, or if you simply can’t afford to dream past three-buck Chuck right now, then continue to do what works for you. But if you want to branch out a little, give the online vintners a try.

Myself, I never drink…wine. (Extra geek points if you got the Bela Lugosi reference before clicking on the link.) I don’t know red from white or white from plaid. I don’t know whether Night Train is an aperitif or a cough syrup. But vinous beverages sure are important to a lot of people. Hey, it’s in the Bible that you should drink a little wine for your stomach’s sake. And did Jesus turn the water into Kool-Aid, or 2% milk? He did not.

A bottle of wine is like any other non-essential treat. No one needs cable TV per se, and few of us would actually die without a piece of chocolate now and then. Knitters probably should consider using up the yarn they currently have, music lovers could back off on completing their Murray Perahia collections, and someone who owns four cats would do well to consider the cost of adding another.

But those small pleasures enhance our lives. That’s why we budget for them. So go ahead: Crank up “The Big Bang Theory.” Enjoy some chocolate and a kitten (not together). Craft a scarf while listening to The Goldberg Variations. And enjoy an affordable chardonnay or merlot whenever you want. Wine: It’s not just for breakfast anymore.

If you’re like me, you’re still not finished with your Christmas shopping. It’s true that Kris and I are big believers in home-made gifts, and it’s also true that my family only exchanges inexpensive Christmas presents, but there are still a handful of gifts I like to shop for. And every year, I put this shopping off until the last minute.

Part of the problem is that I want to find the perfect thing for each person. Yes, I know that the perfect is the enemy of the good, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. I’m a maximizer. I want only the best for the people on my list.

According to John Tierney at the New York Times, however, maybe I’m putting too much thought into this. Citing research from Stanford University, Tierney says there are three rules for holiday shopping:

1. You don’t have to spend any time looking for “thoughtful” gifts.
2. You don’t have to spend much money, either.
3. Actually, you may not have to spend any money.

Here’s a quote from the article:

“Our research shows that while gift-givers think they’re being more thoughtful by picking out expensive gifts, the recipients don’t appreciate the hefty price tag,” Dr. Flynn [from Stanford] said. His experiments have shown that the price of a gift matters more to the giver than to the recipient, and that people like a surprise gift less than cash or something they picked themselves through a gift registry like Amazon’s wish list.

According to the research, the time and money we put into finding the perfect gift does matter to us, the giver. But that’s because we’re ego-centric. In reality, the recipients have no idea how much time we spent shopping, and they don’t know whether we thought about buying them something cheaper — or more expensive.

If you want to have the best of both worlds, choose a gift from a wish list. Then you know you’re getting something the recipient actually wants and you’re able to satisfy your own need to spend time finding the perfect thing. (Plus you’re able to stick to your budget.) And if you want to go all the way? The research suggests it’s okay to re-gift things, thus saving time and money. (But I’ve never really found this possible. I mean, how often do you receive something that seems appropriate to pass on to somebody else?)

As for me? Well, I’m not going to be so methodical. I’m going to head out to a couple of Portland’s quaint little shopping districts (not the mall) to see if I can’t find the perfect gifts for those on my lists. And if I’m smart, I’ll do it today instead of Friday. Wish me luck!

[The New York Times: Aiming for the perfect gift? It's much closer than you think.]

I love to learn. That’s part of what makes me who I am. And so I spend large chunks of time pursuing passions like astronomy and Spanish…and investing. Sometimes I’m asked if I have a method for picking up new skills and new knowledge. “Not really,” I say. “I just try to keep an open mind and to absorb as much information as possible.”

As you’ve probably noticed around here, I try to never say “THIS IS THE WAY THINGS ARE!”. Sure, at any give time I have a set of beliefs — I currently believe index funds are the best investment for me (and many others), for example — but I’m never so locked into any given belief that I’m unwilling to change my mind.

So, I continue to explore opposing viewpoints. I listen to new ideas. And, every once in a while, one of these new ideas will stick, will change the way I think. That’s the way I learn.

Passive investing — with an open mind
For me, one of the best ways to learn about money is by listening to others who have been successful. I’ve found it profitable to seek out mentors, for instance. Plus, I like to gather with groups of like-minded folks to share ideas. So, once or twice a year, I attend the meeting of a local investment group — the Diehards.

I’ve written about the Diehards a couple of times before (2008, 2010). This is a report on the most recent meeting.

Note: For those of you who aren’t familiar, Diehards (also called Bogleheads) are fans of indexed mutual funds — funds that track the movement of stock market indexes — as popularized by John Bogle, the founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group. These Diehards discuss investing in the Bogleheads investment forum. From my experience, they’re friendly, smart, and knowledgeable people.

As followers of John Bogle, you might expect most of these folks to be passive investors, but that’s just not the case. Many of these folks are actually active investors (though everyone seems to make decisions informed by the principles of passive investing). This group has a wide variety of approaches to investing based on their own goals, risk tolerance, and opinions about the economy. But each person comes to these meetings ready to learn more about investing, and to share their stories.

Keeping a level head
Most members of the group are retired. I’m not. I feel like this gives me an advantage. I’m able to pick the brains of people who are twenty or thirty years older than I am. For instance, every meeting I learn something new from Bruce about preferred stock.

Bruce teaches in the financial planning program at a local university. He’s a vocal advocate of preferred stocks, which are a sort of hybrid between bonds and common stocks. “I don’t need capital appreciation,” he says. “I want capital preservation. And income.” It’s all Greek to me, but it’s also intriguing. Now I want to learn more about preferreds. (To find out more about preferred stocks, check out Quantum Online — I’m going to!)

At this meeting, I sat next to a woman named Kris (just like my wife). At the last meeting I attended, she stressed the importance of always being a saver. At this meeting, Kris said she no longer worries about market downturns. “I’ve been investing since 1968,” she said. “I’ve been through this three or four times now, depending on how you count. I don’t like when the market drops, but I also know that if I wait five years, then things will be fine.”

Loren, too, tries to keep an even keel when it comes to investing. “I don’t try to make my rebalancing too accurate,” he said. “I’ve never been sure what the right balance is in the first place!”

Andy says that he does his best to follow the investment mantra “buy low, sell high”. “When something’s down, I buy it,” he told us. “It’s hard — it goes against human nature — but I do it. I try to stay broadly diversified.”

This led the discussion back to Harry Browne’s permanent portfolio. There are many ways to approach safe, steady investing, but Brown has some specific recommendations for his own Permanent Portfolio:

• 25% in U.S. stocks, to provide a strong return during times of prosperity.
• 25% in long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, which do well during prosperity and during deflation.
• 25% in cash in order to hedge against periods of “tight money” or recession.
• 25% in precious metals (gold, specifically) in order to provide protection during periods of inflation.

Because this asset allocation is diversified, the entire portfolio performs well under most circumstances. One of our members practices this investment philosophy, and has done well with it. He actually hopes to write a book providing a modern update of the technique.

Near the end of the meeting, Bruce pointed out that a recent article in the Journal of Financial Planning once again showed the terrible, terrible drag of expenses on the returns of the average investor. (You can read the article here.)

Strength in numbers
It’s certainly possible to learn about investing from books and blogs and magazines. But I think meeting and exchanging ideas with other people adds a new dimension to the subject. That’s why I think meetings like this are invaluable. They’re a chance to exchange ideas with fellow investors, and to profit from their success and mistakes.

I highly recommend finding a similar group in your area. There’s no need to be intimidated. It’s fine to show up and just listen if you feel like you don’t have anything to contribute. I feel lost a lot of the time, but the more often I do things like this, the less lost I become.

This guest post from Gina is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes.

Back in 2007, I found myself experiencing an unexpected divorce. After the smoke, I realized where I was financially and panicked. However, my inner frugalista soon showed herself and I began making financial choices that had not been possible before. I started investing my time and effort into my finances. The momentum I developed surprised me and continues to surprise me today.

This is what I learned to do:

• I took my former budget for two and turned it into a budget for one. I continue to follow that budget and let it evolve over time. I know not everyone likes to budget, but a budget gives me the structure I need.
• I started using the envelope system. Whenever I was paid, I would take cash out of the bank and distribute it to my envelopes. What a relief! It worked, and I realize now that it relieved me from having to make more decisions. I still use this today. This one tool helps me know that if I did get a big chunk of money that I wouldn’t blow it.
• I pay off my credit card every month and have spent time fine-tuning my personal system for limiting credit card charges when there’s no more money to spend.
• I went after my vehicle loan and paid that off. Very nice — my first taste of financial freedom. I decided that I’d start saving now for my next vehicle, because it makes me sleep better at night.
• After my vehicle loan was paid off, I increased my 401(k) contribution. I had dropped my bi-weekly paycheck contribution in order to get through some really tight times. I’m hoping to increase my 401(k) contribution with this year’s raise to where I would like it to be for a while. It’s not maxed out … yet. I’m also investigating a Roth IRA.
• I now have four months of mortgage payments in the bank. My goal is to have six months saved, and that could happen within a few months. A very cool aspect of this is that I’m getting used to seeing bigger and bigger numbers in my bank account.
• Mortgage debt is the only debt I have. My house is “under water” but not too badly. I can’t refinance right now. Even so, when I have extra money I’ve been going after the mortgage debt. As big as it all is, I have a dream goal of paying off all the mortgage debt. There’s a real sense of satisfaction for me when I make a principal only payment. With this one specific action I continue to give myself more choices, more financial freedom, and increase my net worth.

After four years of applying the basics, I feel like I’ve reached the second stage of financial maturity: “Choosing to live frugally, saving in earnest, and pursuing financial goals.” What a great place to be!

The momentum of the choices that I’ve made for the last four years is seriously paying off. Because of my age and my debt levels, I’ve had to pursue more than one big goal at a time. I understand this is just a complication of the circumstances of my life right now. I may not have the compounding luxuries of my 20s and 30s, but I have the wisdom and focus of my 40s.

Today I’m committed to continuing my diligent efforts with my finances. It has become a natural way for me to expend my energy. I’m also looking forward to solidifying my second stage position and working towards the third stage of personal finance. Thanks to Get Rich Slowly for the motivation and inspiration!

Reminder: This is a story from one of your fellow readers. Please be nice. After more than a decade of blogging, I have a thick skin, but it can be scary to put your story out in public for the first time. Remember that this guest author isn’t a professional writer, and is just learning about money like you are. Henceforth, unduly nasty comments on readers stories will be removed or edited.