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Live Your Life at Half the Price

by Ms.Money - Tiffany Bass Bukow

Summary Articles of Live Your LIfe at Half the Price on Family.com

Live Your Life at Half the Price - eBook

We see her walking down the street, her head held high as she struts along in her Manolo shoes and Gucci bag, her hair sporting perfect blond highlights and her face wrinkle free even though she is old enough to fall victim to gravity's effects. Her clothes are crisply tailored and cling to her toned body in all the right places. What makes us stop and stare?

The stylish woman is followed by a man in black Armani pants whose fabric falls just right to show off his trendy, shiny black Kenneth Cole shoes. His hair is styled in a casual-only not-fashion, held in place by a custom salon pomade. We wonder what he does for a living as he gets into his Porsche Boxter and takes off. He's probably heading to his Feng shui'd apartment that is utterly clutter free and accented by unusual artifacts that he picked up during his world travels. We think, "Wouldn't it be great to live like that?"

It's easy to spot a hip, cool, very together person. What we don't see is the story behind the persona and style. Some would argue that style is something that you either have or you don't, but I disagree. Style is something you acquire and then attach an attitude to. Just think about your own life and how confident and beautiful you feel after purchasing a new outfit that makes you look smashing. In that moment, don't you feel like you could conquer the world? That's what style does for us; it gives us that extra boost of confidence to go after our dreams-even if for just one day. It makes us think, as we consider our reflection in the mirror, I've got what it takes to succeed.

In our desire to look like a million bucks, however, we go out and spend what seems like a million bucks. We stop at nothing to fill our life with the kind of style that magazines shout about. After all, you can only be in style if you are wearing the most touted labels, decorating with designer chic furniture, using professional salon beauty products, and paying top dollar for luxury vacations.

Hey wait a minute! Maybe it's the advertising companies and marketers who are desperate to convince you of their message so they can rake in your hard earned dollars and go to Tahiti themselves and live it up in style! Looked at that way, it starts to feel like a conspiracy, and you aren't the only one who has been duped. The reality isn't in the glossy magazines but in your realization, "I have just racked up a load of credit card debt in my quest for style. Please someone tell me there's a much better way!"

There's good reason that the number of bankruptcy filings is at its highest level in 10 years, not only in America but also in Britain. We have become a consumer society that lives beyond our means and, as a result, we have a negative savings rate. Are we mortgaging away our future? What are we teaching the next generation? Obviously not how to tuck away enough nuts for the winter of our lives.

The savvy marketers know our weaknesses and how to appeal to our ego so we forgo long-term planning for instant gratification. Can we really blame ourselves if we don't know how to get out of a spending rut? Some would say that life is short and we are just trying to pack in as much joy as possible. What's wrong with that? We're just going with the flow. Why worry about tomorrow when we can have good times today?

What if I told you there was a better way and that you could continue to enjoy the same style you enjoy today but spend only half as much money as you currently spend? What if you could be even happier and feel better about yourself after trying a few simple suggestions that anyone can follow? Take a minute to imagine your life then. You might be getting more nights of peaceful sleep and more soul-soothing vacations because you'd have more money than you had before. You might not be a millionaire yet, but you would certainly start to feel like you were well on your way.

The message is that there is hope for each one of us regardless of how much we earn or how much we spend. With a few changes, you could get what you want out of life and still have money left to invest. You could improve your life and still have money to pass on to your heirs. And if all this sounds like good news, there's more. You don't even have to sacrifice your lifestyle to get there.

You can live in the same style with only half of your cash pile! Say goodbye to credit card debt and overspending and say hello to saving and investing. After you read these money-saving tips, your financial life will be transformed. I am going to show you how to find the best deals and make shopping an adventure. Get ready for some fun and to make bargain hunting your new favorite interest. You'll be surprised how easy saving money can be.

WARNING: Just beware that you might find saving money so entertaining and exciting that you go overboard and accrue so much extra money you won't know what to do with it. Don't worry. Later on I will tell you ways to grow all that extra cash so you will have the financial freedom you never dreamed of and a life of adventure you didn't think possible. You might retire 10 years earlier to a cabana on a tropical beach, or go back to school to pursue your passion, or visit every travel destination you can think of. Consider the world your oyster-all you have to do is decide to reach into the water and pluck out the shell.

And just so you know, the stylish couple we met at the beginning achieved their look at half retail price by doing a little advance planning and smart shopping. Though her shoes and purse were designer (bought on sale, of course), her pants outfit was not, and her face cream that keeps her skin so smooth came from Walgreens. His Porsche was bought used so he only paid half the cost of a new car, and his apartment, though not huge, is tasteful, spacious-feeling and designed on a dime. Stay tuned and I'll show you how to achieve a similar look without the designer brands and at a fraction of the cost. Your pocketbook will thank me!

No doubt some of you think you have the topic of finding savings all covered. Read on because you will be surprised by the things you didn't know. I had a dozen friends over and told them about my book about saving, and I was thrilled by how many ideas they had that I had not considered. Here I was thinking I was the expert. Live Your Life at Half the Price, though based largely on my personal experience, is a compilation of the best ideas from the best 'savers' I know. You can also go to www.thrivemedia.org/saving to post your own tips and read others from readers just like you. You can even use the website to hire a personal saving coach who will help you live your life at half the price.

Clothing

Let's start with the reason for many of our shopping excursions-clothing. After all, we have to wear it every day and it helps us look good and feel good. It took me a while to learn that I should only buy something that's high quality and fits perfectly. It's not enough that it costs a bundle and has a famous label. There are so many clothing options available to us that we shouldn't settle for the first thing that strikes our fancy. Especially if it costs a small fortune. We just need a little time and patience and the best prizes will be ours.

The last time I got really enmeshed in the designer label scene was when I attended a private Catholic high school, and there was an Izod alligator craze going on in the U.S. I was only allowed to wear white button-down shirts as part of my uniform. The reason schools require students to wear uniforms is so they don't get caught up how they look and reserve that energy to focus more on their classes and themselves as individuals. Yeah, right! That may work in theory, but as a naïve 14-year-old, I put on that button- down shirt with an alligator on it the first chance I had. I was so proud to be walking around in my $30 Izod shirt when a $15 shirt would have looked the same except for the label. I didn't grow up rich, so that alligator shirt was one of the few things I could afford that made me feel special.

In my teens, I wanted to feel elite, untouchable, and beyond the means of my normal existence. It was amazing how a piece of clothing could give me an ounce of instant satisfaction and the illusion that I somehow belonged. But that is all it was-an illusion. I would soon come to realize that life has so much more to offer than the need to fit in with the wealthy and those who can afford anything their hearts desire. What I later learned is that we all need to do a little crocodile hunting and kill off that reptile urging us to squander our money. Instead, we should focus our energies on something more fun and constructive like bargain hunting.

In my twenties, I started to ask questions. Why do we wear labels? What kind of identity does that give us? Isn't this just an idea we are force fed by the media? Does our value increase simply because we adorn ourselves with a designer's name? Are we more fulfilled or are we just trying to impress others? What I began to realize is that the people who are caught up in designerland, rich or not, have a pretty poor self-identity and aren't that interesting to be around since they're more invested in what's on their backs than in what's inside. Really exciting people have their own brand of self- confidence, intelligence and opinions. They care about their style, but it's their style and not what's being broadcast by an advertiser or fashion editor. For them, wearing labels just to appear "in" is out of the question.

Now, in my 30s, I'm not on either end of the spectrum. I have friends who shop towards the high end of the retail rack whether they can afford to or not. I also have friends who wear wildly unstylish clothes they've owned for a decade and couldn't be more content to do so. Everyone is unique and I love to surround myself with all types because that is what makes life so rich and amusing. What matters is not glomming onto a fashion label and buying into someone else's identity. I am into making my own personal statement and impression.

I like to be stylish, but I won't sacrifice my financial future to have the latest wardrobe or the chicest home just to try to fit in with a privileged group that I will never truly identify with. In fact, I have trouble getting into those ultra-cool nightclubs just for that reason. I have stood in line in New York and South Beach with my blank, I don't care expression. After an hour or so of watching others stream into the dance hall, I start wondering who the heck I'm trying to kid. Why is this even important to me? Then the financial advocate in me kicks in and I literally run for the hills. Hey, if you don't love me because of what I am or am not wearing, then I am outta here!

It just doesn't make sense to me to spend more than $1,000 on a single outfit so that I can surround myself with other extremely superficial people who acknowledge me because of my outward appearance. Granted, at times I have faked my way into these clubs in the past. They must have been distracted and not noticed that I bought my $1,000 outfit for $250 on the sale rack and let me in. Frankly, I have never been too impressed by those who seem to fit in better than I. What are people trying to mold themselves into? And what, besides their fabulous get ups, do the totally stylish and forever in fashion have to talk about?

OK, that may be a little harsh and I'm guilty of judging their book by their cover. Not everyone who has a fortune to spend on clothing is shallow. It just happens that those I meet aren't quite as interesting as the artists or entrepreneurs I know who define their own style for a whole lot less. In my opinion, this is part of what makes them much more entertaining. I would rather spend time with a maverick than a lemming because you never know what they are going to say or do. Unpredictability can be fascinating and hilarious! And there's nothing deadlier than the company of someone who's a carbon copy of someone else.

I won't buy designer labels just because I want someone to know that is what I own. That doesn't mean I never wear designer labels either because I do. But when I buy designer, I usually pay 75% off the retail price because I buy them on sale or at an outlet store. If I purchase them, it's because they look great on me, are made from quality fabrics and fit perfectly. And I love to brag how little I paid for them and encourage others to save just as easily.

Shoes

It drives me crazy when I hear about women who spend $400 for a pair of shoes, Sex in the City style. I have never spent more than $80 for shoes, and I never plan to. What's the point? Who's looking at my feet anyway? I hope someone would rather look in my eyes than at the floor, making mental notes about my footwear. My feet have nothing to say-except maybe "Take me dancing"-and trust me they are much happier in my comfortable shoes on the dance floor. For $200, I could buy three or four pairs of really cute, stylish and durable shoes. I can then put the extra $200 I saved into my retirement plan, so that when I stop working I can afford custom orthopedic shoes my aging feet will really love!

Sales

Many moms teach their daughters how to cook, clean and sew. Not my mom. She skipped those lessons and instead focused all her energies on teaching me how to ferret out the best shopping deals and save money on absolutely everything without ever leaving a balance on your credit card! These life skills have come in incredibly handy throughout my life and are probably the reason I started my company, Ms.Money.

My lack of domestic goddess training, however, means that I still don't cook, clean and sew and instead hire someone to help me run my household. We will talk more about that later when we discuss what your time is worth and how you can save money by delegating tasks such as cleaning the house. I choose to get help with my home because I'd rather have my energy directed towards running my business and being open to new financial opportunities that come into my life. Running a household and taking care of a family, which admittedly I have tried, is one of the hardest, energy draining jobs there is. Bravo to all you moms and dads who manage to do it.

Getting back to my mom, who was the Chief Financial Officer of our household, she was always looking to save a dime every place she could. Our weekends consisted of all-day excursions to the mall hunting for great values. In fact, I think we may have overdone it because we frequently bought things for the simple fact that it was 75% off. In truth, our closet may not have needed another outfit or pair of shoes. I think there is a point in the shopping sport at which you just have to say no. But she and I had so much fun and turned our outings into an amazing adventure. My Dad and brother went fishing for camaraderie; we went shopping.

A friend of mine used to joke about her spending sprees. When her husband complained about her excessive shopping, she would say, "I can't afford not to save 50% on this jacket." Her peculiar logic prevented her from seeing that she probably didn't even need the jacket and could have saved 100% by not buying it.

Beware of having too much fun while bargain hunting. It is important to think about what you really, really need and really, really want and stick to that plan. It's not about collecting shopping prizes that will gather dust in your closet. If you feel the pull for some retail therapy and don't want to come home with nothing, resist buying the outfit and ask the clerk to take a photo of you in it and title your picture "The one that got away." Tape it to your closet wall and see how many chuckles you get from your friends when you show them the outfits you almost bought. After a year's time, you might accumulate enough photos to fill an album and enough saved money to fill a stock portfolio. Sounds like a win-win to me.

I don't always shop out of necessity because that is unrealistic to me. I like to make money so that I can spend money. I just try not to be too frivolous about it. My shopping excursions are almost always filled with terrific values. My favorite stores that carry designer names on sale are Marshalls, Ross, Loehmanns, Filene's Basement and retail outlet stores. What's great about these stores is everything is fair game because all items are at least half off, so you can't even be seduced by full priced merchandise. But don't forget that sometimes the best deals can be found at your favorite regular priced clothing stores if you time it right. Don't be afraid to befriend sales clerks and ask when the next mark down will be. They, too, might be waiting for items to go on sale so they can buy them for themselves.

When I find myself in the mall or department stores, I tread very carefully. You have to remember that stores are designed to lure you in and keep you there as long as possible. Buyer beware: your senses are no longer your own. Thanks to early training by my fiscally conscious mother, I learned to be attracted only to racks with a 50% or more sale sign above them; kind of like a bee to honey. Most of the time, I consider everything else off limits. OK, on rare occasion, such as my birthday, I have decided to buy whatever catches my eye, regardless of price. But it's a once in a great while indulgence-most of the time I focus my energy on those delightful, attractive, yummy sales racks.

The best time to shop is during the change of seasons-when stores mark down merchandise 50-75%. That's when you can find amazing deals. My first job out of college was as an assistant buyer for Dilliards, a huge department store chain. I was responsible for buying millions of dollars in designer labels like Calvin Klein and Guess for 22 stores. Trust me when I say that everything gets marked down after it sits out on the floor for a few months. You just have to be patient. Stores must keep things fresh by constantly brining in new merchandise. That means moving out the old merchandise. The best way to do that is to put it on sale, first at 25% off, then 50%, and if you are lucky, 75%. The longer you wait, the deeper the reduction and the better deal you get. The old saying, "Patience is a virtue," certainly applies in this situation. Just think about how excited you'll be when you bring home an item you've long had your eye on for a fraction of its original cost.

If you're concerned that by waiting to buy a piece of clothing on sale you risk it going out of style, don't be. While that may be true for fly-by-night fashions like high-heel tennis shoes, true fashion never goes out of style. I usually avoid buying items if I know the fashion might only last a season. Or if you just have to have the latest fashion craze, limit yourself to just one or two items. You don't want to find yourself in the position of having to replace your entire wardrobe because the fashionistas have whimsically decided to do away with ankle length sleek black skirts and replace them with short, pink crinoline ones. I stick with classic clothes that are made of quality fabrics in rich colors that look great and are comfortable to wear. These type of clothes never go out of fashion and remain stylish year after year. And if the core of your wardrobe is timeless and flattering, you'll look fabulous and your wallet will thank you.

Last weekend I attended a party in New York that had a millionaire theme, which meant we had to dress like we had a million dollars. So I was out looking for an electrifying dress that would work for the event. Because of my bargain training, I went to the largest department store in country-Macy's on the 34th Street-and starting trekking through the miles of retail floor space in search of the dress section. I had to laugh when the clerk said it is on the Sixth Avenue side of the store, meaning it was a whole block away. It is amazing how driven we are as a society to buy, buy, buy, so that department stores can take up entire city blocks. That should be some sort of sign for us!

I hiked the distance through the forest of clothing racks and found my way to ladies dresses. I got out my field glasses and searched for the 75% off racks. My strategy is always to start there and, if I can't find anything good, then I head over to the 50% racks and then to the 25% off rack. I found a dozen dresses that seemed to work for the theme party and headed off to the dressing room. Eleven of them were terrible but I fell in love with the last dress I tried on. The only problem was that its price tag of $159 didn't appear to be marked down even though it was on the 75% off rack.

I was beginning to justify the full price purchase because I could wear the dress to two places, the millionaire party in New York and a second party at the Copacabana Palace in Rio during Carnival. The Rio party would have an African theme and this dress was perfect because of its snake print. Imagine my delight when the dress rang up at just $25! A savings of $134! I felt so proud of my shopping prowess. I got an amazingly beautiful dress that made me look sexy and sophisticated. And I don't even know who makes it--that isn't important. What's far more important is that I can afford more vacation time because I saved so much money on the dress.

Underwear

One of my favorite scenes in the Nick and Jessica reality MTV show is where singing sensation Jessica Simpson goes out and spends $700 on a just a few pieces of underwear and then has to break the news to her husband who comments how ridiculous it is. Think about it, how much do guys spend on underwear? Even though they have millions of dollars to spare, Nick still thinks it's absurd to spend that much on something no one sees (except for him, of course, and not for very long because he, like most men, would rather see it off than on).

You don't have to have thousands of dollars for your underwear budget to look sexy and confident. Companies such as Victoria's Secret have built their business on selling us the idea that if we spend $75 on a bra and panty set, we will have the same sex appeal as the supermodels that fill their catalog pages and TV commercials. Well, ladies, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most of us are never going to look like Gisele Bundschu or Tyra Banks no matter how much money we spend on underwear. I recently went to Victoria's Secret and spent $250 on underwear for a few bras and panties because I got suckered by the marketing hype. All right, I admit it, no one is perfect, especially me.

Months later I was at Target and bought a pair of sexy lacy red panties for five bucks that I love! That's four times less than I paid at Victoria's Secret and they are cuter and fit better. I also bought a bra for $15 instead of the typical $35 at Victoria's Secret and looked just as bodacious (with the little amount I actually have to push up). The best part is that I paid half price and the bra is now my favorite and my most comfortable. I bet you can guess where I plan to shop whenever I need new underwear!

Dry Cleaning

I consider the ability to drop off dirty clothes crumbled in a bag and have them returned crisp and clean hanging in plastic bags one of life's greatest luxuries. Unfortunately, that is just what it is, a luxury, and with that word comes a hefty price tag. My habits on this subject have changed quite a bit over the years as I have become enlightened.

My advice is to check around for competitive rates. In my neighborhood in San Francisco, there are shops just two blocks apart and one charges $12 to dry clean a shirt and the other charges only $7. Guess where I take my clothes? Granted, the $7 shop isn't as fancy but 90% of the time, the work is just fine. The other 10% of the time, when I have a particularly delicate fabric to clean or an item needs special treatment, I go to the more expensive shop. But overall, I'm saving money on the day- to-day cleaning and it's the day-to-day expenses that can really add up.

Did you know that you can hand wash many items that say dry clean only? This did not occur to me until a few years ago when I got tired of spending a fortune on dry cleaning. Would it surprise you to know that one of the easiest ways to become a millionaire is to own a successful dry cleaning shop? It certainly makes sense to me when I think about all the cash I have given dry cleaners over the years. I decided to take some of my clothing items and hand wash them and see what happened. Lo and behold, everything came out fine and clean. Now I no longer have to spend $7 just to dry clean my short sleeve silk shirt that says dry clean only on it. You might have a few accidents when things don't quite come out as planned, but you will quickly learn from experience what you can wash yourself and what you can't. Saving money isn't the only reason that I don't want to take my clothes to the dry cleaner. Another compelling reason is that dry cleaning fluid is toxic and I don't want it next to my skin and rubbing all over my healthy body.

Here's a tip that many people don't know about. If possible, buy a discount card from your dry cleaner so that you can get a percentage off future orders. Not all cleaners offer the cards so ask around. I had a fire in my home last year and all my business clothes got smoke damaged. I was dreading my dry cleaning bill and put off sending the clothes in for a long time. Then someone came by with a discount card that would save me 50% on my next five dry cleaning orders. It cost me $75 up front, but it was well worth it since my bill came to more than $1,000 and the card saved me $500.

Beauty

Since I am approaching the age when I begin to look for ways to sustain my youth as long as possible, I have invested heavily in the beauty business. No, not by buying stock in Revlon but by forking over my credit card for the creams and toners the media says I must have. What's wrong with fine lines anyway? Don't I look more sophisticated and wise with a few wrinkles here and there? I have decided that a few are OK as long as they stop there, which means I'm on the lookout for anti-aging skin products.

I always ask myself questions such as, "Do I really need to spend $60 on that face cream, $50 on eye crème, and still more on the fancy cleanser and tonic? Or am I really just paying to support Estee Lauder and Lancôme's humongous advertising budget?" When I look at the ingredients of the $60 Clinique face cream and compare it with the $30, less advertised face cream at Walgreen's, it seems they contain pretty much the same ingredients and will perform the same way. So my next step is to buy one of each and put one on the right side of my face and the other on the left and track the effects. bet I won't be able to distinguish between the two. I will let you know how it turns out.

Hair

I have had long hair for more than 10 years and have spent a fortune maintaining it. One thing that I will not scrimp on is buying high quality hair products. I once bought inexpensive, off the shelf shampoo and cream rinse at a local drug store and hated the way my hair looked. And I've tried cheap brands before. I sometimes try the free shampoos in hotel bathrooms and they never work well for me. This area, therefore, is one in which I'm willing to pay full price.

However, I do save in other ways on my hair. Because I wear my hair in a simple style- long and straight-it kills me to spend $75 at a high style salon to have my hair cut. I have gone years with my husband cutting my hair straight across in five minutes during football commercials, and I always marvel how a hairstylist at the salon can turn the process into a 45-minute, super costly exercise. However, because I appear on TV a lot, once a year I go to a salon to tidy things up and give my hair a professional review. To me, that's worth an annual outlay of 75 bucks.

I also pay $150 every three months to highlight my hair. It's a lot of money, but my hair is like an accessory that I wear every day so I want to make sure it looks nice. It is an important part of my overall style. If I wanted to save on this process, as I did as a college and grad school student, I could go to salons and serve as a hair model. It has nothing to do with looking like a model (since I am not model material by far - I am only five foot three!), it's about having hair for the stylists to hone their techniques on. High-end salons like Vidal Sassoon want to train their hair stylists and colorists in their own methodology, so you still get an experienced person working on your hair. At the end of the session, they spend time looking at the results with the chief hair trainer to make sure they are keeping to that particular salon's standards (so they can charge other patrons really high prices!). The stylists can take a while discussing your hair so be prepared to be patient. So the downside is you can't just dash off once your hair's been cut and/or colored, but the upside is your money will still be in your wallet instead of the stylist's pocket. I have been a hair model at least 10 times and my hair always comes out looking great. True, instead of an hour, I have had to sit for 3 hours. But the $120 savings off a $150 bill was well worth the extra hours.

Nails

I walked down squalid narrow cobblestone streets in India that were covered with garbage and cow dung. A family of six people was huddled into stucco-cave-like structures that they called home and they were barely able to scrape together enough food to put on their dirt floor for dinner. Lepers still exist there and they burn their dead at the end of the street on a funeral pyre made of wood. And I was worried about getting my nails done?

I had a little growing to do . . . and I am not talking about my nails. After my traveling adventures ended, I thought about resuming my salons visits but instead I decided to take guitar classes. I will never forget the teacher saying, "Uh, Honey, is this going to be a problem cutting your nails off?" I reluctantly said, "No, of course not, I am not that vain." That was three years ago and I am fully over the nail thing.

Since then, I have noticed that some of the most successful businesswomen do not have their nails professionally sculpted. At first I was surprised and then I understood that having French manicured acrylic nails does not define your style. People typically don't even notice whether or no you have them. Of course, it's important to you're your nails clean and trimmed but beyond that is just unnecessary adornment. Today I keep my nails short, shaped, and shiny and haven't looked back except to realize that I am saving $40 a month by not going to a salon. Maybe I should set that money aside for a charity fund.

Dining Out

You can eat out as much as your heart desires while cutting your restaurant bills in half. A lot of restaurants offer discount specials if you eat before their rush. You've heard of Happy Hours, right? Restaurants and bars offer Happy Hour to get you into their establishments during non-peak times. Sure it might mean eating a little earlier than normal but think how much money you will be saving. If you still want to be there when the crowd shows up, just move to the bar for dessert or an after dinner drink. You can have the same experience at a fraction of the cost and have the opportunity to mingle with more people because you won't be busy eating. You never know whom you might meet while ambling up to the bar for a drink.

Just be careful once you start on the cocktails. This is not the best time to make financial decisions, so if you are prone to having more than a few drinks, be careful. A good rule of thumb is to leave your credit cards at home and take only enough money for your meal and a drink or two. I can't tell you how many times I have gone out with friends and blown through $100 on drinks for the group. I tend to get very generous after a few drinks and want everyone to over-celebrate with me. Not good for a productive morning and certainly not good for a savings plan.

Many restaurants belong to a group discount plan. So if you buy a coupon book for a nominal amount, you can buy two meals for the price of one. Entertainment Card has a book with hundreds of restaurants offering two for one meals that I have purchased several times. Just make sure you let them know you are using your coupon before the bill comes.

Here is an easy one. Consider sharing a meal. This is a healthy idea, especially in America, where two-thirds of the population is considered overweight. This will definitely help cut your bill by half and maybe your waistline by a few inches.

Carry snacks and water so if you get hungry or thirsty while you're out, you won't be tempted to buy something at a convenience store. A seemingly innocent coffee and cookie could add up to $25 a week, or $100 a month, if you walk into Starbucks for a $5 coffee break every day. Later on, I will show you how you can turn that $100 a month into a terrific savings plan that could be worth six figures later in life-all because you took a few seconds to throw a bottle of water from home into your bag with some fresh fruit and veggie snacks. Not only will you save cash, but you will also have more energy because you won't burn out from those nutrition-deficient impulse food items you used to buy.

I learned from experience to carry snacks with me. I am a mom, so when my 2-year-old starts screaming for water or food in the middle of an errand, the world stops until I get him what he needs. Now I always have a variety of healthy munchies from home with me and I always carry plenty of water. Drinking eight glasses of water a day is one of the best ways to improve your health and seldom do people get that much. Moreover, most fatigue is attributed to dehydration because water makes up 60% of your body and 70% of your muscles. If you carry water with you wherever you go-and drink at every opportunity-then chances are very good that you'll give your body what it needs most.

An occasional snack binge buy is inevitable because there comes a time when we get caught empty handed and we're just plain starving. At that point, we just can't help ourselves. I know that I would eat old shoe leather at Lobster prices of $26.95 a pound if I haven't eaten all day. Any wisdom about saving money goes right out the window when hunger takes over. When that happens, we tend to look for quick pick-me-up food items that are laden with sugar. Whether it's a candy bar or a pack of Doritos, these items do very little for us nutritionally, can be hazardous to our health, and their cost adds up if we're not careful.

Keep in mind that the less sugar you eat, the less you will crave it, making it much easier not to buy it. You won't even notice your lifestyle has changed at all. You will want to have healthy snacks around because you will feel better and your body will look better. Pretty soon, instead of stopping by the bakery for that gooey brownie, you'll find yourself signing up for Afro-Brazilian dance classes and samba-ing your way to exercise bliss.

Taking snacks with you is just the ticket at movie theaters. I can't remember the last time I bought popcorn from a concession stand. I always keep a stash of microwaveable popcorn in my pantry, so if I am on the way to the theater and craving some munchies, I zap it and stow it in my large bag. Obviously, the movie theaters don't want you bringing your own treats because they make a bundle of cash off your food cravings. Who can resist the smell of fresh popped buttered popcorn at the theater? I can't but I will if it means saving $5 on something that costs $.50 to make. Go ahead and pop it yourself . I won't tell if you won't!

Sometimes saving money can get out of hand. Take my French fry story as an example. When I was a kid, my mom would take us to McDonalds, where we were allowed to buy hamburgers but not French fries because they cost $.50 and my mom said she could make them at home for $.05. True enough, Mom, but that's going a bit too far! So while I'm grateful for Mom's fanaticism about saving because it drove me to want to save, it's important to keep your perspective and avoid the extremes. (P.S. She orders fries now!)

When my husband and I were last in New York, rushing to see The Producers on Broadway, we found ourselves with only 40 minutes to eat. Since we were on vacation, I was willing to relax my strict savings rules. We wanted to eat at a high-end pizza place next to the theater but there was a 30-minute wait for a table. Instead, we walked down the street a few blocks and saw another pizza sign. It was one of those self-serve places that has all the pizza cooked and ready and waiting for customers to make their selection. It took just three minutes to heat up our slices before we were sitting down and eating. Not only did we save on tip, we paid a third of what the cost would have been at the fancier pizza joint. And I am not kidding when I say this we enjoyed some of the best pizza ever at our self-serve stop. So if you want to save money, keep an eye out for inexpensive restaurants-they may be a little short on service, but they may just have surprisingly delicious food for a fraction of the cost of those fancier options.

The day before our Broadway outing, my husband only had an hour between meetings to grab lunch with me. We were in the mood for Reuben sandwiches so we asked the doorman to recommend a place. He directed us to a local deli a block away. It had several tables in front of a traditional deli counter. The walls were showing their age and the floor needed a little Mr. Clean, but it felt like a genuine New York joint. When the Reubens came, I was in heaven. How could something taste so good coming from a place that looked, well, to be honest, so bad? Well it did and I couldn't get enough. I looked around and noticed five tables filled with diners in their retirement age. Apparently they were in on the secret and the younger set was probably off to a swankier establishment. Happily, not us! The Reuben cost $8 and it was scrumptious. Two days later, I spent $25 on a Reuben in the heart of Times Square and I didn't even like it. A clear lesson for me that the cost of something is not the best indicator of its quality. In other words, don't judge a book by its cover, especially if the cover carries a hefty price tag!

You might think that you don't want to hang out in places like that deli or pizza place because they have no atmosphere. And I wouldn't blame you because most of the time I feel the same way. They aren't the restaurants I normally go to, but for a quick, convenient, delectable dish, what's wrong with once in a while? Plus, you can always get your ambiance fix by going to a nice place for dessert and coffee or a glass of wine. You still get all the atmosphere and the people watching without paying top dollar for it.

Try this little exercise. If you eat out for lunch every day, save your receipts and tally up the results at the end of the week. Also keep track of how much time it takes you to walk to a restaurant, order your lunch and wait for it. The following week, try making your lunch and bringing it to work with you every day. Again, tally up how much you spend on the groceries for your lunches and how much time it takes to prepare them. You'll be incredibly surprised by how much money you can save by just making your lunch and taking it to work. Moreover, you can count on having your favorite and healthiest foods. Then, when you want to eat it, instead of cramming into a busy restaurant and waiting in line, find a pretty park bench or shady spot that brings a dose of serenity to your busy day and breathe in some fresh and stretch your legs. Pre- planning your meals is guaranteed to save you both time and money.

Brown bagging it might not be something you want to or can do. Maybe you travel a lot or don't have the opportunity to plan accordingly. That's fine. The idea is to identify the things in your life you can save money on that makes sense for you so that you don't sacrifice your particular style. Not every suggestion of mine will work for you. But the majority of them will and can be effortlessly integrated into your life with spectacular results. Before you know it, you will be living your same life at half the price.

Dining In - Buying Groceries

A great way to save money is to eat out less often. To do that, you need to stock your fridge with all kinds of healthy, satisfying goodies. But it can be hard knowing the best way to go about making wise food choices at the grocery store. That's where I come in-with suggestions for making grocery shopping a smoother and more successful experience. With a little pre-planning, you can eat like royalty at half the price. Here are a few tips:

1. Make a list before you go grocery shopping and stick to it
2. Look at your local paper to see what is on sale at your market.
3. After buying the basics, limit your purchases to what is on sale.
4. Experiment with different stores to see what their best deals are. I buy fresh fruits, veggies and meats at one store and seafood and frozen veggies at another because I've learned which retailer offers the best quality for the greatest savings.
5. Don't shop when you're hungry because you are bound to impulse buy expensive, non-nutritional items.
6. Look at the price cost per ounce.
7. Buy bulk when it makes sense. Saving a dollar on four pounds of cheese isn't much of a savings if you can't eat that much and end up throwing some of it out. Consider sharing bulk purchases with a friend-you'll both benefit and save on storage space.
8. Freeze extra portions for later in the week.

Another obvious way to save money is to eat less. If you eat less, you spend less money on food. Eat half as much as you eat now, and it will cost you half as much money. No brainer, right? Except most people think eating less sounds like a major sacrifice. After all, you've probably been eating roughly the same amount your whole life. Let me explain what I mean a little more-it might change your mind.

I used to think that I had to eat three big meals a day in order to get the nutrients I needed for energy. Then I met someone who changed my views on the subject. She told me about people who were breatharians, meaning they only breathe air to exist and have plenty of physical and mental energy. You're probably laughing out loud just like I was at first. Then I learned that breatharians also drink liquids, including vegetable and fruit juices.

Hearing about breatharians subtly but dramatically changed my perceptions about food. I used to think that the more good food I could pack into my diet, the better I would feel. Eat more and feel better. Not more pizza and French fries, of course, but more meat, grains, veggies, fruit and the like. Now I know that isn't the case because I have experimented and seen the results first hand. And the results are that I am healthier when I eat less.

Today I eat half as much as I typically ate throughout most of life (except when I was pregnant and breastfeeding and then I at twice as much as normal). What is especially interesting is that I have more energy, I feel better, I am stronger, have no body aches and pains (like I used to), and my body looks better than it ever has (even in my twenties when I was very fit). How can this be? It's not because I was overweight before. I am five foot three and have weighed 115 pounds most of my life. Since I started eating less, I weigh 108 pounds. I didn't do it because I was trying to lose weight but rather because it was the healthy thing to do. It is like saving money. I don't save money because I have to. I do it because it is the financially healthy thing to do and I feel better because of it. Why overpay after all when it isn't necessary? Similarly, I didn't reduce my food intake because I was trying to save money on food. That just happens to be a nice bonus.

After a decade of trying, I have gotten the whole eating nutritionally thing figured out. Granted, it took me a long time, but now I can share what I know. Here are some wisdom nuggets that I learned on my journey to health.

Eat to live DON'T live to eat. Fill your life with soul-satisfying activities instead of over- filling your body with food to compensate. Too often we eat out of boredom or to try to lift our spirits. Avoid that trap by finding other things that uplift and stimulate you. I listen to uplifting music (like that produced by Googol Press www.googolpress.com), and I make a point of seeking out and watching inspiring movies. I belong to a dance studio and take Afro-Brazilian and jazz dance classes. I take long walks along the water and bask in the sunshine. I windsurf. I have get togethers with people I care about and we talk about our lives. I tickle my son and hug and kiss him. I snuggle with my husband as we share our day. With so many wonderful things going on in my life, I don't need food to make me feel more fulfilled. Once you fill your day with great people, activities and interests, you, too, will no longer live to eat.

I would much rather go out dancing than go out to dinner. Not only do I get great exercise but I also have more fun moving and shaking to some upbeat tunes than I do lifting a fork to my mouth. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy good food because I do. I could eat at fabulous restaurants every night, but I don't because it is expensive and can be unhealthy. My other choices are more fun, entertaining and affordable.

Eat your veggies! Especially those greens-something your mom has probably been telling you for a long time. Maybe there is some wisdom in her what she was saying after all. Greens are one of the best foods you can eat. They are complex mini-solar conversion factories densely packed with vitamins and minerals. Greens draw energy and nutrients from the earth by converting sunlight. They're a miracle food and yet we take them for granted. They have all the nutrients we need to feed our brains and to help our bodies fight off infections and cancer-causing agents by stimulating our immune system. Spinach, kale, spirulina (blue green algae) all share these health- boosting properties and the more we eat them, the better we will feel. But don't take my word for it. Give it a shot and notice the dramatic changes that take place in your body and your energy levels.

If you eat these densely packed, nutrient rich foods, they will satisfy your hunger much more quickly and stop you from wanting to eat more because your vitamin and mineral needs will be satisfied. How often have you relied on sugar-laden snacks to give you an energy burst? That only provides a short-term fix; soon after, you feel more tired than you were before and you're still hungry. Like cigarettes and coffee, the more sugar you eat, the more of it you'll crave and need to get through the day. So stop the madness and stop the sugar and refined carbohydrates you find in snack foods. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you.

Personally I have issues with sugar and have monitored it over the last decade or so. When I eat sugar, it changes my brain chemistry and affects my personality. Usually I am a pretty easy going individual, unless I have been on a sugar binge, typically every Christmas. Then I turn into a roaring three-headed monster spewing cranky comments to all who are near. In other words, I turn into quite the b----! I get so annoying after eating sugar that I don't even want to be around myself. So lesson well learned for me: steer clear of sugar.

I won't spend much time here talking about cigarettes because I think most people who smoke clearly know it is bad for them yet continue to do so. The habit is very expensive and very taxing on overall health. Smoking is addictive and it isn't just the will of the person holding them back from quitting. Brain chemistry can be a very powerful driver of our behavior. I only wish smokers could experience what it would feel like without the toxic film of smoke coating all their organs. If they really knew what vitality feels like, they couldn't fathom going back to breathing in a cell-destroying agent.

Coffee is another addictive chemical that can adversely affect us in multiple ways. First of all, for those who buy their coffee at the Starbucks of the world, they are spending a lot of hard earned money to feed their habit when they could be directing that same money towards feeding their vacation or retirement accounts. $5 a day on coffee and snacks adds up to over $100 a month. That amount could be the difference between retiring in style and not retiring at all.

Forget about the cost of coffee and let's take a moment to ponder the physical effects of caffeine. I don't drink coffee because I don't need to. But most people I know drink it because they say they need it to stay awake and alert. But by doing so, they are masking important signs from their body that they need more sleep. According to sleep experts, we need 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night. However, the average person gets less than 7 hours. When we start going too long without adequate sleep, we run a sleep deficit and are only able to operate at a fraction of our true potential.

I experienced this first hand at a recent dance class. I take an advanced jazz class from an ex-Broadway choreographer who loves to challenge his students. I had just started dancing again after a long hiatus. I hadn't taken dance classes since I was a teenager so I was feeling a bit rusty. Normally I can keep up pretty well with the rest of the class or at least fake it convincingly. But this time, even though I felt I had the physical energy, I just didn't have the mental energy to follow what the class was doing and I had to leave. It was overwhelming for me. The reason for my mental lapse was because I had been sleep deprived over the previous five days. With obligations and family to occupy my days, the only time I was finding to write was from 11 at night to 4 in the morning. So I had was working on much less than a full tank of sleep and it showed.

Once you are well rested, you can start thinking about maintaining your energy level by making sure your body is working at its peak. In order to do this you will need to repair your digestive track. If you are going to eat less food, you need to make sure that your stomach can absorb the vitamins and minerals from the food you are eating. It can't accomplish this if things are a bit clogged up down there. Look at your digestive track as a piece of machinery. If you compare it to your car, it would be similar to the filter and oil. You need to change those every three months or your car won't perform optimally. If you don't bring your car in, the oil gets dirty and the filter gets caked with grime and is unable to do its job of filtering out performance-depleting engine toxins. Your digestive track is similar in that it plays a key role in how your body functions. After years of eating foods filled with chemicals like pesticides, antibiotics, and preservatives, your stomach develops a liner of toxic material that inhibits its ability to absorb nutrients. Who knew?

You need to keep your system clean and functioning smoothly. This rarely happens naturally because few people eat a pure, toxin-free diet. Most of us take need to take proactive steps to get things fixed up in there because of years of neglect. Hey, it isn't our fault because we just didn't know about these things until now. My own process involved several steps, including eliminating processed foods and sugar from my diet. I also started to buy only organic fruits, vegetables, grains and meats. I once read that organically grown fruits and vegetables can have four times the nutrients of non-organic varieties. I don't know if that's true, but even if it has twice the amount of benefit, it's certainly worth the effort.

One of my most important steps was to introduce a pro-biotic into my diet - and not just any pro-biotic because I was already taking one. I got some advice from my health food store vitamin/herb consultant that the best pro-biotic is one that comes from the soil and not from food. I am willing to try anything so I gave it a shot. The results were miraculous. At least for me they were. I have never had a flat stomach, the kind that allows you to confidently walk around wearing a tiny Brazilian string bikini. But just a few months after taking this new pro-biotic called Primal Defense, I could practically model underwear (OK - not quite - but it made a big difference). I actually have a flat stomach now-after having a baby! The Primal Defense cleared out the nasty stuff that was coating my stomach and causing my tummy to appear puffy. Now - voila! It's gone. My stomach, like a brand new filter, can absorb all those wonderful organic foods that I send down and can covert it to the energy I need to take care of my family, run a business and write.

When I get sufficient sleep and my nutrient-rich food, I function at my optimum level and I don't have to spend money on quick fixes like coffee or sugary snacks to get through the day. I save money not only on food but also in other areas. Because I am more alert and focused throughout the day, I am more effective and efficient in everything I do. Instead of taking 8 hours to write a book chapter, I only need 4. We all know that time is money. Maybe we need to start looking at our health as money and therefore what we put in our mouth as money. How much money are you going to eat today?

My last comment about food is to stop dieting. I am hardly the only person who knows that dieting does not work! 95% of people gain back the weight they lose on a fad diet. What they never gain back is the money they spent on the special meals and special supplements the diets require them to purchase. Forget about short-term fixes. If I accomplish anything in this book, I hope it is to demonstrate to people that short-term fixes don't work for anything-whether it is buying a designer shirt to feel better about yourself after a lousy day or eating a cookie for a quick pick-me-up. Forget about dieting and instead think about a health-promoting plan that will make your feel better, look better and perform better in all areas of your life.

Vitamins

Vitamins and herbs are a multi-billion dollar industry and part of most of our lives. Many people compensate for poor food choices by taking vitamins to fill in the gaps. That can translate to lots of spending on lots of vitamins. There are numerous ways to save money on vitamin purchases but you need to be careful. You want to make sure it is from a reputable source for starters. Then you want to find a place that offers wholesale prices instead of retail, which can cost twice the amount. Vitamins usually have a long shelf life, so you can store unused bottles for some time. The Internet is a great place to find good deals on vitamins. I buy my pro-biotic vitamin online at 40% off the price it sells for at Whole Foods or GNC.

A friend of mine mentioned food co-ops. I will have to do some more research on this since I am not familiar with the cost-saving benefits.

Auto

Ahhhh . one of my favorite subjects because I love sports cars. I think my passion for driving fast stems from years of playing video games as a child. I admit that this is an area where I am not saving as much money as I could because my husband and I own three cars. Not by his choice, by mine. Even though we have a toddler, two of those cars are two-seater convertibles. Not very practical for a family, but there is a reason behind it. My story contains instructive lessons for what to do and what not to do. First of all, unlike me, you probably shouldn't own more cars than you have adults in the household to drive them. Why? Because you are paying to have that car sit there unused and depreciating. A car is not an investment asset; typically it is a liability. You have to pay for insurance, registration fees and maintenance whether it gets driven or stored in the garage.

Maybe by talking about this openly, I will find the courage to sell my old convertible, but I am not making any promises. We all have our weaknesses. I just can't seem to make myself part with my 1990 Convertible Mazda RX7, even though we bought a 2000 Porsche Boxster to replace it. The reason I can't move on is because the Mazda was my first universal lesson that I could manifest anything I wanted just by focusing my energies on it. When I fell in love with the car, I was in high school and didn't have a strong sense of how the world worked or spirit in action. I still had many years to live before I gained the proof I needed that I could formulate my own version of reality. Strangely enough, a car-the RX7-was a turning point in my progress.

Where is all this going? What does this tangent lead? This book discusses how to save money and how to make that savings grow to more money. Its core message, however, is that manifesting more money in your life doesn't come from saving and investing. It comes from being open and ready for financial abundance to head your way. By being accepting of new opportunities, you allow money to flow into your life.

What I have learned is that if you become obsessed with saving and cutting corners on absolutely everything and you start sacrificing your happiness and lifestyle, then you are operating out of fear and lack of money. This is a terrible place to be. Unless you change your attitude, you could get stuck in the "I never have enough money" rut. If that is what you think, that is exactly what you will have-not enough money. You should be excited to save money in certain areas simply-and I stress simply-because it is fun and very easy to do. Why pay full price when you can pay half price for the same thing?

I used to have a picture of a black convertible RX7 taped inside my locker when I was 16 years old at Bishop Noll Institute High School. I fantasized about owning that car. It was a big dream for me because there weren't fancy sports car convertibles flying around in Hegewisch, the Polish community of Chicago where I grew up. I was so hot for this car that I transferred that same photo to my freshman dorm wall when I started college at University of Arizona. On my limited student budget, I did not have enough money to afford that car, or any car for that matter, so instead I drove a scooter.

I was thrilled when I landed my first job after college because I could finally buy a car. On my executive trainee salary, I couldn't afford my dream car, but I could buy a nice little sporty two-door Celica that was approximately half the price of the RX7. A few days after graduation, I headed to the Toyota dealership with my mom. My parents agreed to kick in the down payment on a car as part of my graduation present. I found the one I wanted and sat down to fill out the paperwork without much negotiation. We were both surprised they would even give me a loan for the car because my job didn't start for another two weeks. But they did.

However, there was a catch. They gave me a loan with the interest built in for a 5-year period. So even if I sold the car after 2 years (which is what I did), I still had to pay the full interest at 12% a year for 5 years. Toyota Motor Credit Company knew what they were doing and went after not-so-savvy college kids because they could pull the wool over our eyes. Imagine if you bought a house and you had to pay the interest on the mortgage for 30 years even if you sold it after 7 years. Ridiculous, huh? Exactly, but it meant that I ended up paying $13,000 for my car new and selling it 2 years later for half that amount.

I often see advertisements for dealerships that offer no money down, cash back and zero interest for a year. This doesn't mean you're getting a good deal. You have to read the fine print in your contract to find out what you are really paying. If you feel overwhelmed, don't sign anything. Ask a friend with experience to go with you and review the paperwork thoroughly.

I went without a car for a year because I lived in downtown San Francisco and parking was a nightmare. I certainly saved a lot of money on car payments, gas, insurance and registration, but I also had the inconvenience of having to take the bus. Then I got a sales job and had to do a bit of driving so I bought a Toyota Corolla. This time I was smart and bought a used one and took my financially savvy boyfriend with me to negotiate. He was good! I bought the car from an older couple leaving the following day to go on world trip. They really needed to sell the car fast so they knocked the price down considerably. I paid $6,500 and sold it 2 years later for the same price after putting 30,000 miles on it. Now that's the way to buy a car.

You can always find a great deal on a quality used car if you shop around and negotiate patiently and thoughtfully. Make sure that you have a mechanic fully inspect any car you're considering so that you don't end up purchasing a lemon and investing the amount of money you thought you'd saved in expensive maintenance.

In my new career in sales, I knew I would have the opportunity to make a lot of money and would not have to drive used cars for the rest of my life. I remember walking into my manager's office on the first day and asking what I needed to do to become the number one sales rep in the company. He chuckled since he didn't hear that very often and then gave me the advice I needed. I had just started reading life-skills books that tell you that you can manifest anything in your life by putting your positive energy into it. I figured I would test the principle with my new job.

Even though I had never had very much money in my life, and had always lived on a tight budget, I decided that was going to change and that I wanted loads of money to buy whatever I wanted. I did a lot of positive affirmations and things quickly changed. Within 5 months, I was the number one sales rep and closed the two biggest deals they ever had. I was extremely proud and guess what I bought with my new earnings? A convertible Mazda RX7!

I learned that the universe would deliver whatever I wanted if I positively focused my energies on the end result and worked diligently and passionately towards the goal. That's why I'm willing to sacrifice a little savings by keeping the RX7 in my driveway. It serves as a constant reminder that not everything is about saving money; sometimes it is about attracting more money. Think about a material item that you manifested in your life because you put all your energy into getting it. You, too, can hold onto that as proof of how the universal law works. If you can conceive and believe, you can achieve.

You can get just about anything you want without throwing yourself into debt. Even though I no longer need to buy used cars, I still do because it is the practical and wise thing to do from a financial perspective. I have plenty of money because I have been doing a lot of manifesting since the early days of my career. Yet I still choose to pay reduced prices because it is fun to save and I know saving brings its own rewards. Shouldn't you, too?

Travel

On average, people spend more time planning their yearly vacation than their financial future. Why is that? Probably because vacation provides an escape from reality and money is a core piece of reality. Often people find money issues quite scary. I have talked to hundreds of people about their money problems and so many of them are paralyzed by fear. They don't want to even look at their financial picture because they dread the truth it may reveal. They are afraid their lifestyle will have to change once they look at how they spend money. Does this sound familiar to you? Well, fear no more, because that just isn't the case. You can live your same life at half the price and solve many of your financial troubles easily and permanently.

What most people don't realize is that financial planning is so much simpler and less frightening than it sounds. People need to take a vacation from their money fears and address their core problems. With a little time and attention-equal to what it takes to plan a vacation-you can get your financial picture into clear focus and looking great. A little further on I will explain how and I'll set up you on your way with some simple steps, but first let's talk about my favorite subject. Travel! Specifically, how you can save money and still take the vacations of your dreams.

The knowledge I gained from traveling extensively is that cost is not the best gauge of how pleasurable and relaxing your trip will be. I have stayed in everything from tree houses to 5 star hotels. Some of the my most gratifying experiences have come on a budget of $50 a day. I have also spent $1000 a day and had miserable experiences. Cost is simply not a reliable indicator of quality or how much enjoyment you'll have while on vacation. If this is the case, then why not try to plan a vacation that fits comfortably within your budget and leaves you some money to put to better use paying off your credit card or adding to your investment plan?

Just like shopping, the best place to start planning a vacation is to look first at inexpensive options. It is pretty easy to sign up for a super luxury spa package that includes everything, including a huge debit from your savings account. Why not look at some alternative, less expensive options that you might not have considered before? You might be pleasantly surprised. Here are just a few examples of some of my best vacations that didn't break the bank.

My husband, Hans, and I took a year off to travel around the world for our honeymoon when we were first married in 1998. We created a website, www.e-trip.com, for the trip so that friends and family could watch us and read about our adventures as we traveled. We have received numerous e-mails and questions from people asking how we financially accomplished this amazing goal. They also want to know point blank how much money we spent on the trip. Let's look first at how we managed to go on the trip and then what it cost.

I can vividly remember sitting on a bar stool in New York talking with my husband-to-be about taking a year off to tour the world. It wasn't the first time we had discussed this. He brought it up a few months before as a dream of his. At the time, I laughed and shrugged it off as just that-a dream-the kind that never turns into reality. I wasn't about to leave my company for the insecurity of globetrotting. I had been working diligently for three years building my own consulting company. I was doing very well with a steady stream of lucrative corporate clients. I felt I was living the good life and earning a nice income. I didn't want to sacrifice everything I had built just for a taste of adventure. Starting a company seemed adventurous enough for me.

Then something in my mind shifted. It was subtle, but it made all the difference in how I would live the rest of my life. I realized that life was all about creating new adventures. It wasn't about stagnation and doing the same things over and over. How can you grow if you don't welcome and transition through change? I had met and fallen in love with an incredible man and he wanted to go around the world with me. I decided that that was exactly what we would do. I leaned over the small bar table, and over the din of the music, I told him with wide-open eyes that we should go. "Let's do it! Let's quit our jobs and make the voyage around our blue planet," I said. "We should pack up and head out for a year and the adventure of a lifetime!" He laughed at first until he realized that I was serious. After a few hours of imagining what it was would be like, we decided to start the planning process and see if it really was possible.

Part of the planning process was to look at our finances and assemble a budget. Since I had already backpacked through Europe on a graduate student budget of just $50 a day, I knew it was more than possible to travel inexpensively and still have a thrilling time. The next step was to set our departure date and figure out how we would wrap up our work. For me, it was fairly easy because I worked on a project basis and was free to move on when my projects ended. Hans's situation was fairly simple as well because he was working for a gaming company that had just been purchased by AOL. They were looking to make some cutbacks.

A couple of interesting things happened once we set our sites on going on a world trip. It was as if the stars aligned for us. We received an advertisement in the mail from United Airlines offering 20 around-the-world trips as part of a contest for frequent flyer travelers. The top 20 people who bid the highest amount of their miles would win business class seats for five stops around the world. We bid 340,000 miles. Hans had been traveling a lot for his job and had racked up a ton of miles. We thought for sure that we would win. We were therefore surprised when we didn't hear back after the contest had ended. But because we were so committed to our goal of going on this trip, we didn't let it end there.

Hans called United and told them what we had bid online. They checked their records and couldn't locate our bid. Apparently the online system wasn't working when we made our submission. However, because we had enough miles to win the around the world tickets, they gave them to us anyway. Now that was a nice cost-savings-FREE tickets. And a good lesson in life-never give up. Just because we hadn't heard we won didn't mean we gave up!

Now that we had the tickets, all we had to do was plan the itinerary and logistics. Hans took the lead because he had much more international travel experience than I. It was October and I focused my energies on my Internet consulting business because I wanted to make some extra money before we left. Within a few weeks I had learned through my network of people about three large consulting projects for which my company would be perfect. I prepared proposals for all of them figuring that I might secure one of the deals. Imagine how ecstatic I was when I closed all three. And they were for major clients, Xerox, Sun Microsystems and Bechtel. I had to put together three more teams and hire twenty people. Already working on a large project for another client, I now had four substantial sources of revenue.

What this taught me is that I was able to manifest-to bring into my life-the money that I would need to take our trip in style. Though I was fully prepared to backpack and live on a small budget, I now would be able to travel a bit more luxuriously. I would, however, have to set a date far enough in advance so that I would have time to complete my projects. After much reflection and a bit of worry, I settled on February 12, 1998. This would put us in Rio in time for Valentines Day and Carnival.

Now it was Hans's turn to close out his job. It would have been very easy just to quit and give notice. But the universe was on our side and working to give us as much money as we needed to make sure our world trip would be amazing. There were rumors at his company the buyout meant they were asking people to leave and offering attractive layoff packages to anyone who did. Hans was one of the employees they wished to keep, though, and they offered him a lucrative positive in Dulles, Wash., where AOL is based. The new position would involve a lot of international travel, a nice salary and a healthy stock package.

What we did not realize at the time was that had he taken the job, the stock would have quickly grown in value to more than $10 million and we could have retired after two years when the stock vested. Who knew in 1997 that AOL's stock would go up a hundred fold? We think about it sometimes and say, "Yeah, the money would be nice, but we never would have sacrificed our world trip for it." Because money doesn't make you happy. Yes, it makes things easier, but it doesn't bring joy with it. You find your bliss by living a life of adventure. And that is exactly what we did.

Hans and I worked together to draft a letter saying that because my company was based in San Francisco, and we were engaged, he could not move to Dulles and would be open to discussions if they wanted to consider offering him a package to leave. Guess what? That's precisely what they did and ended up paying him a full year's salary to walk out the door. Little did they know that he was walking straight onto an airplane to Rio. Remember when I said that I set the departure date in October for February 12? Well, it strangely worked out, even though we had no control over Hans's company's process, that the date I picked to leave was the same day his severance check was ready. Call it a coincidence? Sure, but we like to think it was more synchronistic and that things happen for a reason. Our energies and intentions were fully focused on going on the trip and we were open for the money to flow into our lives to make it possible. And it did!

The money came when we needed it and that is how the world trip started. Now that we had the cash to travel comfortably we had to decide how best to use it. We didn't want to spend all our savings because we would need it during the time we were looking for jobs when we returned to San Francisco. The less money we spent on our world trip, the more financial security we would have when we returned to the States. So there was a balance we were striving for.

As a result, we chose our destinations and accommodations wisely since we would be on the road for almost a year. We split our time between staying in smartly priced (cheap) places and all-out luxurious hotels. And just because we spent more money didn't mean it made for a better experience. Of the dozens of examples, one of my favorites happened in Africa.

A safari in Africa was one of our travel goals for the year we were away. We spent some time exploring options and booked a fancy hotel in Botswana that catered to tourists. It had a watering hole on the property where wild animals would come to drink and a viewing tower for guests. We checked into the hotel and were amazed at how western it looked. I couldn't distinguish between the Fairmont in San Francisco and our room in the middle of the African savanna. The restaurant was excellent and we dined on a variety of local meats that they don't sell at Safeway. We had a very relaxing time and then moved on after two days. The cost of the room was $250 a night.

Our next location was a government-run lodge that was only $9 a night. Instead of a small room with double beds, we had a three-room house. It was simply furnished but it was spacious and comfortable. Hans was going on a rhino spotting tour for two days so I was left alone at the lodge. What I noticed between the four-star hotel and the one- star lodge (if I had to attach ratings) is that the people at the lodge were much more friendly and colorful. After dinner, everyone sat around a big fire while someone played guitar and the group of strangers talked and joked about their travel stories. I had a blast and made several new friends. Most of the people there were backpacking and living on $250 a month, not a night.

These creative and bold people were so much more interesting and entertaining than the conservative wealthy people at the luxury hotel. It seems to me that the more money you have, the less likely you are to interact with others. People didn't smile much when we ate dinner at the fancy hotel and certainly no one hysterically laughing over a well-told joke. These two nights at the government lodge taught me so much about human character and what money can do to our culture. Money and happiness do not go hand in hand. To take it a step further, if you aren't careful and acquire your money by sacrificing your dreams, then you just might have the joy sapped out of your life.

I have plenty of investment banker friends who openly admit they absolutely hate their jobs but can't quit because they're wearing golden handcuffs. In other words, they don't want to go trade a $500,000 annual salary for a $150,000 salary at a different job. So they stay where they are and suffer. It is a tough culture in which to endure because the attitudes of the other people in the business vibrate at a lower level of human existence. They aren't fun to be around because they work too much and the vast majority of them aren't happy. You have to wonder what is wrong with them. It's possible to live an amazing life on just $50,000 a year if you're doing what you love. But those who insist they need to earn ten times that much end up battling depression, stress and a host of physical ailments because their head and their heart aren't aligned with their pocketbook.

I don't want anyone getting the impression that money is bad because it certainly isn't. We all have the opportunity to be millionaires in the literal sense of the word. I happen to be one but I got there by being smart about money, not because I inherited wealth or won the lottery. Money is good and powerful if the channels it comes from are aligned with your true passion. If it isn't, then trouble can result.

Living in San Francisco, I am surrounded by a lot of people who don't just have millions; they have tens and hundreds of millions they acquired during the dot-com boom. You know what I noticed? They aren't a million times happier than the average person. In most cases, they aren't even close to living a life of ecstatic experiences available to anyone who makes the commitment to seek them out.

So while you don't have to be a millionaire to be happy, you are much more likely to become a millionaire if you are living a life of joy that keeps you open to opportunity. What I discovered is that people who are living a charmed life are doing so because their mind, body and spirit are aligned with their passions, goals and dreams. As a result, money and emotional riches flow effortlessly into their lives.

A good lesson to take away from all this is that you shouldn't pursue money just for money's sake because it won't be enough to satisfy your inner desires. You should live a passionate life filled with people and things you care about and find a career that satisfies and challenges you on all levels: mind, body and spirit. Once you do this, you will be amazed how easily money flows into your life and how much joy you will get from saving it and spending it wisely.

A great way to put your money savings to use is by planning a soul-soothing vacation that will prepare you to launch your new outlook on life. Here are several more fabulous ideas on how to save money on vacations:

1. www.Priceline.com - I recently stayed at the Hilton Times Square for $100 a night (instead of the usual $200) because of a deal I found on Priceline.
2. Travelzoo.com - If you have a little flexibility on when you travel, then you can save over 50% on last minute package deals.
3. www.Orbitz.com - A useful company for finding good value on airline travel, rental car, hotels and vacation packages.
4. Rental car rates vary tremendously, so definitely shop around. One place may charge you a daily rate of $50 while another charges $25 a day for the same category of car. Moreover, check with your insurance company and credit card company before hand to see if they cover you in the event of an accident. That way you can avoid expensive insurance charges.
5. Think about renting a cheaper car. Do you really need to luxury convertible? Or will the economy work just fine to get you from one place to another? Wouldn't you rather spend the extra money to cover for a few extra days on vacation?
6. Airfare - Book at least 30 days in advance and save 50% or more.
7. Consider being a courier because you can get your airline ticket for free or a nominal amount. In grad school I traveled from San Francisco to London and Ireland for 10 days and only paid $100 for my ticket because I was a courier.

Medical

This might be a strange place to talk about fertility, but hang in there, it will all make sense. My husband and I tried for years to have a baby and had no luck, so we went to see traditional western medicine specialists, the fertility doctors, for an evaluation. We were told they didn't see anything wrong with us physically. We joined the ranks of the 25% of fertility cases that are unexplained.

The only solution the medical establishment could offer us was not the natural route I wanted to follow. However, because I was longing to have a child, I was willing to do anything to ensure success. I learned that the average cost of getting a successful outcome from IVF treatments is $40,000. The expense is typically not covered by insurance; at least ours didn't cover it.

I decided to pursue other options, not because of the cost, but because I believed in my heart that there had to be a better way. Remember, we were told that they could see nothing physically wrong with us. I cut back my work schedule to half, which affected our finances, but we agreed it was necessary for this important next stage of my life. I also enrolled in calming classes like gardening and painting. I invested a lot of time, energy and money in an organic yeast-free / sugar-free diet that my husband and I followed for 3 months. I took my vitamins and I exercised regularly.

A few months later I went to a famous acupuncture doctor in San Francisco, Dr. Angela Wu, who is known for helping women with fertility issues. At the time of my first appointment with her, I didn't realize that I was already one week pregnant. I continued working with her during my first trimester and, after 9 ½ months, joyfully delivered a healthy eight-and-a-half pound blue-eyed boy who is the joy of my life.

The entire pregnancy experience brought me much wisdom. First I learned that I had to slow my life way down. I raised several million dollars from investors to start my company Ms.Money and spent many years working very hard to ensure it reached its goals. I actively participated in the dot-com boom, doom and gloom. To say it was stressful would be an understatement. It is no wonder my body wasn't ready to create new life. I was having trouble dealing with my own. My taxing quest for monetary success physically changed me in unhealthy ways. I was forced to re-evaluate and try something new.

I think about other people I know who push themselves too far as they try to climb the corporate ladder or search for that elusive pot of gold. So many of these people who fail to listen to what their bodies were screaming at them simply broke down. Some ended up in the hospital. Some lost their savings to cover the cost of uncovered medical treatments.

There comes a point when you have to sit yourself down and have a conversation about how much is too much. You might think that you are doing the right thing professionally because the money is flowing in and you feel financially stable for the first time in your life. You are living a life of style and enjoying it. Behind the scenes, though, you feel unfilled and periodically miserable. Are you sacrificing your l