What we should do, however, is take this is an opportunity to take the things we love to do and figure out creative ways to do them for less. One of my favorite pastimes that I have no intention of letting go of is throwing dinner parties for friends. I’ve been doing it for years and I plan to keep doing it. Who doesn’t love getting all of their favorite people together? Of course, feeding a room full of hungry friends, plus drinks, plus all the cute little extras you’ll undoubtedly want to spend money on…well, the whole process can get pricey. But it doesn’t have to. Here are tips for keeping a dinner party for 10 people under $80:

Know what you will need

Avoiding last minute trips to the store can end up saving you a lot. Even little things like freezing a bunch of ice a few days before the party can cut corners. There is a great party expense calculator at RealSimple that will help you figure out how much of everything you need – which is the first step to spending less on all of it.

Creative and cheap decorations

As a hostess, my favorite part of the dinner party experience is creating a beautiful table for my guests. Luckily, a lush and inviting dinner table can be easily achieved without spending a lot of money. Handmade place cards, with flowers or leaves attached them, cost nothing and look fantastic. Cheap glass bowls (if you don’t already have some lying around) can be picked up at the dollar store and filled with fresh fruit (which you can eat later) or flowers from your yard. Throw in a few candles and you’ve got a warm, personalized, glowing dinner table that your guests will never know cost you less than $10 to put together.

Wine

Keep this is mind: when hosting a party, you aren’t required to have a full bar and a range of drink selections for your guests. Keep some sparkling water for the non-drinkers, and then a good supply of red and white wine. Whatever else you want to add (beer or liquor) is up to you and your friends, but if you want to go cheap, provide the basics. Your guests should know well enough to not show up without a tasty beverage to add to the mix anyway! Oh, and the best go-to for cheap wine: Two Buck Chuck, naturally.

Main Course

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and peas. Boil until pasta is al dente. Using a ladle, reserve two cups of the pasta water when straining. Dice pancetta. Using two large sauté pans, add pancetta and cook over medium heat until fat renders. Divide pasta between each sauté pan and add one cup of cooked pasta to each. Toss to evenly distribute the pancetta. Turn off heat and add four whole eggs to each pan. Quickly stir to break egg yolks throughout the pasta. Stirring keeps the eggs from scrambling. Add grated parmesan, a knob of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Cost: about $30. Not bad! And trust me: it’s delicious.

What are some of your tips?

If you enjoy hosting parties, I’m sure you’ve acquired a few ways of your own to cut cost corners. Share them with us!

It’s got everything you need from the basic first aid kit to gloves, a screwdriver, a booster cable and a bungee cord. Cool huh? I think it’d be cool just to own one of these and have it in your car!

Get it on Amazon at 60% off the regular price. It doesn’t cost much and it doesn’t take up much space, and sure will help you feel safer next time you get out on that road trip.

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Here are three ways your supermarket could be coercing more money from you.

1. Music to help you relax

Think about it. If the music your supermarket plays is enjoyable and relaxing, you’re more likely to spend twice as long browsing those long aisles. And in turn you’re twice as likely to contemplate buying items you don’t actually need, or weren’t on your list!

Creating atmosphere is one of the most basic ploys stores use to get their customers to feel relaxed and take their time while shopping. Once I went into a supermarket that played no music at all, and I was in and out of there in zero time. But when your favourite songs come on, don’t you end up spending just a little longer?

The fix: Stick to your list. Even if you want to slow down and enjoy that relaxing music, make sure you don’t pick up anything but what you absolutely need.

2. Placement of Pricier item

No one likes to bend down to lowest shelves nor reach up to the uppermost ones. It’s most convenient if what you need is exactly at arm’s reach without you having to do any kind of special reaching. But you will probably find that if there is an entire row of Kraft Mac n’ Cheese, for example, the cheapest boxes – or those on sale – are not the ones at arm’s reach; they’re tucked away at the very bottom where you have to bend to even see the price!

The fix: Next time you buy, ensure you check the prices of the same products from the very top to the very bottom shelves, and see if there’s any difference. You might be surprised at what you find.

3. Those incredible sales

Each week in my supermarket there are dozens of items on sale, and every now and then I’ll see, say, a packet of biscuits that I’d never ordinarily buy, that’s on sale for $1.50 down from $4.00. Instintively you think that’s a great deal! But what do you end up doing? You reach for not one, not two, but four packets of biscuits!

The fix: Now if you really needed those biscuits then yes this is a great deal and by all means, grab those 4 packets while you can. But if you really don’t need it then why buy it? Chances are that that’s $6.00 you didn’t plan to spend.

What do you think?

The rule of thumb for supermarket shopping is to simply stick to your list. Have you fallen victim to any of these tactics? Share your story with us below!

There’s no denying that scary things exist. The Great Depression happened. So have wars, and large-scale credit issue, unforeseen recessions, identity thefts – yes, they happen. But as is the case with any other fear, the key to carrying on a happy existence is to not let the frightening what-ifs prohibit you. You do have to take risks – whether that means jumping into a dark lake where there definitely could be a monster hiding, or investing in the stock market where there definitely could be a crash waiting around the corner. So let’s confront our fears – and learn how to deal with them.

Fear: Stock market crash

Oh this is a big one – so many people site this threat as a reason to not invest at all. Here’s the truth: what you really ought to be concerned about isn’t so much the bottom falling out of the entire market (how often does that really happen? Come on), as it should be the threat of not getting enough of a return on your investments. Both fear and a sense of invincibility tend to mess people up in the stock market: the whole buy-low, sell-high approach doesn’t get used as much as it should. When prices are high, you feel confident and don’t want to sell, in case things keep going up. When your stocks are in the dumps, you panic and figure that any return is better than nothing, rather than waiting it out for the potential upswing. Don’t forget: you’re investing to make money, not be scared of it.

Here’s what to do: set up your money in a variety of markets, countries and investment vehicles, keep a level head about when to buy and sell, and you’ll do as well as you can when playing with stocks.

Fear: Identity Theft

Even though this seems like something about of a suspense movie, identity theft, and even more, the idea that it could happen, is becoming more prevalent. And being afraid that this could happen to you is natural; it can do major damage to your finances and credit score, and be a real pain to pin down, figure out and fix. That said, banks and credit companies are getting wiser to the games of identity thieves – even if this does happen to you, it’s getting more and more possible all the time to figure it out early, track exactly where the fraudulent actions occurred, and get you out of the mess with minimal personal damage.

What are you afraid of?

Do you have any financial fears that affect the way you spend or save your money? How have you overcome them / planned to protect yourself?

Also this week, Marv takes a peek at the Peek. Which isn’t as clever as it sounds. It’s a reasonably new handheld device that does a bunch of smartphone stuff, EXCEPT have a phone, which is an interesting new twist. And Marv also weighs himself and for some reason admits his weight on camera. It’s all in the name of science. Or saving money. Something like that. Maybe both!

But don’t be disheartened; if you are trying to refinance your home or purchase a new one, it’s still possible to get approved for a new mortgage. Sometimes the best way to get what you want if to know how not to get it. So instead of looking at the positive attributes that lending banks want to see, let’s go over some of the top deal breakers in the mortgage market.

You’re buying the wrong type of property

I know – it doesn’t seem fair for banks to discriminate based on what you’re buying. But they do. In particular, they are still a little shy of backing second home purchases and investment properties. If you’re buying a condo that’s still in its early selling phase, you’re likely to get a good deal – but good luck finding a lender, as banks tend to stay away from new developments that are less than 70% sold. None of this means it’s impossible to get a loan for these types of properties, but you should expect more stringent terms, like bigger down payments and more cash reserve requirements.

You can’t prove your income

Here’s something a lot of people don’t expect when they apply for a loan: you can have a perfect FICO score and a significant pile of greenbacks in the bank, but if you can’t prove your income history and back it up with tax documentation, you have a very slim chance of making your loan happen. Lenders like to see a verifiable history of at least 2 years in the same industry, with as little job hopping and downtime between employment as possible. Banks want to not only see that you have a good credit score and some cash reserves, but that all the information about you says that you can still be reliable if something were to go wrong. A solid, proven income/employment history can frequently be your greatest asset in a mortgage application.

You got screwed by a bad appraisal

Back in the real estate free-for-all days between 2004 and 2007, home values were pretty high. Some of this was attributed by critics to overly-generous – and possibly inaccurate – appraisals. In May 2009, a Home Valuation Code of Conduct went into effect. This states that, among other things, appraisers have to be chosen at random. This has caused a great deal of stress for homeowners and real estate professionals, since you can’t always be sure of the quality of appraisal you will get. Your best bet: try to make sure that the appraiser does a truly thorough, physical, on-site inspection of the property and (this is important, folks) is well-versed in the history of the property as well as local comps and real estate issues. You can still get the most out of your appraisal (and hopefully, help your chances at loan approval) if you take a proactive role in assuring that happens.

On amazon for only $10, this gift idea is great for all your girlfriends who have wrapping stations in their basements, are artists, coupon collectors… or are just clumsy with scissors!

I wonder if this would be good for helping people cut hair, too… Hmm.

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If you have interest in building up the “rich” part of the Western stereotype and kicking the “fat” part, consider these points:

Food

The first and most obvious thing to consider? Food costs. Simply put, if you are eating less, you are spending less on food. But it’s not even as one dimensional as that; the bulk of the unhealthy, calorie-, fat-, and sodium-laden foods we consume are typically outside the home. And, for what you end up getting, you’re paying considerably more for what you put in your mouth when you eat out. All those fast food pit stops and trips out to dinner really add up, both in pounds and dollars.

Instead, eat at home. It doesn’t have to be as arduous and time consuming as you think. Keep your house filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, plus dried nuts and other whole, healthy snacks (which by the way, are almost always cheaper than processed, pre-packaged, way-less-good-for-you foods) that you can grab on the run. You might even consider having your morning coffee (sweetened with better-for-you agave nectar instead of sugar, and soy or coconut milk instead of cream) at home, instead of spending $5 (and several hundred calories) on a giant, sugary latte at Starbucks.

Life insurance

Obese individuals tend to live about 7 years less than people of a healthy weight. Which is, ya know, a serious bummer all on its own. It becomes even more of a bummer when you realize that life insurance companies know this, and use it when factoring how much to charge you for life insurance. Yes, they can do that. And they will. If you want to save money while investing in your family’s future, slimming down could make it cheaper – not to mention reducing the risk that you’ll actually need life insurance anytime soon.

Look better, make more money

I hate to bring this up, but it’s pretty widely accepted as truth: good looking people make more money, and are generally more likely to enjoy professional success. This doesn’t mean that you have to be more with supermodel genes just to enjoy a bountiful life in your career, but it does mean that making the most out of what you’re working with physically is one way to make sure you’re maximizing your professional possibilities – and maybe increasing your net worth. One Ohio State study found that a typical woman earned $314 less annually for every one-point increase in BMI, while a male counterpart earned $161 less. You can complain about how unfair that is (I mean, yes, it is a little unfair) but that doesn’t change the facts. Instead, channel that anger into some intense rounds on the treadmill.

Healthcare and illness

Obese people spend more on health care than any other demographic. Plain and simple. If you are considerate of what you eat, and regularly get enough exercise, you are beefing up your immune system and are thus far less likely to get sick or injured. Taking care of yourself not only means looking better, feeling better and possibly even earning more in your job, but it also means less time and money spent at the doctor, in the hospital, or paying for chronic problems and prescriptions.

What do you think?

The studies have been conducted and the facts are in: obese people are spending more and making less than people of a healthy weight. Do you think this is fair? Is it discrimination, or simply a brutal look at the facts? Do you think that overweight people should be treated the same professionally and fiscally, or is any push to get healthy a good thing?

This week Marv also gives you the Top 5 Worst-for-you/Grossest Fast Food Breakfasts. You probably won’t be surprised by the results. Also, there’s an update on Marv’s Lose Weight 4 Less. It’s only been one week, and Marv was still getting over that chest cold, so it’s been pretty dicey getting back into the gym. But despite all that, denial of food and even a modest increase in cardio has already shown results. 16 weeks to go! Join him on this journey of making his jeans fit again.

Insurance, in its many forms, is a way to protect yourself in the event that things do go wrong, which at some point, they typically will. In spirit, the idea of insurance seems simple enough: pay a little money now to have someone take care of things if/when something goes wrong. Unfortunately, it’s not at all that simple in its real world application. Instead, it’s a huge industry, with thousands (or more) of jobs and billions of dollars involved – and an ever-changing tide of rules, regulations, and trends. Because of this, there is a great deal of misinformation and wrong assumptions about the various forms of insurance and their applications in your life. Let’s see if we can set the record straight:

Myth 1: Rental car insurance

It’s very tempting to tell rental car employees to take a hike when they’re trying to push insurance coverage on you. They usually push a little hard, and that’s off-putting. But an annoying person behind the counter doesn’t necessarily mean you should blow off their proposal. Even if you think your regular car insurance, or your credit card insurance, will cover any costs in the event of an accident, there could be limits to this. For starters, not all insurance policies cover rentals, so obviously, you’ll want to check that out first. And even when they do, there is a heap of other fees that the rental company will inevitably try to tack on to the bill should something happen to the car while it’s in your possession. For example, they will often charge a “loss of use” fee to cover the money they couldn’t make while the car was being repaired, in addition to all kinds of administrative fees, etc. And many insurance companies don’t want to cover those costs, which can quickly add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

So before you scoff at the rental company’s offer of added coverage, do your research; find out exactly to what extent you are already covered and then weigh your options. This is one of those times when it might be mildly annoying to pay a little more for something you know you probably won’t need…but it could be an altogether much bigger headache if you something does happen and you’re not covered properly.

Myth 2: You don’t need life insurance

It might come as a surprise how many people don’t think they need life insurance. Either they say, “well, I don’t have any family so it doesn’t matter,” or, “My spouse will re-marry so it doesn’t matter!” The truth is this: when you kick the bucket, someone is going to have to clean up the mess. And regarding the whole re-marrying thing, let’s think about it: do you really want your recently widowed spouse to have to worry about mourning, taking care of family, and courting a new partner just so he/she will be taken care of? It sounds crazy, but people really do site that as an excuse to not have life insurance!

Really, life insurance doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. As far as insurance policies (or any long-term financial obligation) goes, it’s usually one of the simplest to understand and navigate. And if you do a little shopping around, planning for your family’s future after your gone doesn’t have to put a huge dent in your wallet while you’re still here.

Myth 3: The government covers natural disasters

Not to be negative, but let’s just go ahead and say that firmly counting on the government as a back-up plan in any situation is probably not the smartest move. Government entities are slow-moving, and notoriously fraught with red tape and a penchant for penny-pinching. If you are hit by a natural disaster, like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, looking to Washington might not get you very far.

In fact, most non-insurance disaster relief comes in the form of small grants and loans (usually under $5,000) from the Small Business Administration. That’s right – loans. As in, you have to pay them back. And to even qualify for these, your house has to have sustained a certain level of damage, and be located in a designated disaster area, which it might not officially be if the disaster in question wasn’t widespread.

Your homeowners insurance may or may not already cover certain natural disasters – check into it. While adding additional coverage, or even a separate policy may not sound like the most appealing thing to your pocket book, you have to be smart about it. And that means being realistic about where you live; at the very least, make sure you’re covered for the natural disasters that frequently occur in your area.

What do you do?

What forms of insurance do you have? Which ones have you decided aren’t necessary for you and why? Feel free to share any tips and tricks for navigating these tricky waters!