Cheapen Your Ski Time (in a Good Way!)

Ski season is here, but while skiing is a blast, it’s not exactly a cheap sport. Below, LearnVest’s tips on how to enjoy the slopes and save :

Get A Lift Ticket At Your Desk.

Our favorite site for this: Liftopia.com. We scored a pass for Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts for $29 (50% off). Savings: $29.
Fill ‘Er Up.

Some gas stations in ski-weather states offer deals, like the buy-one-get-one-free offer from Shell. Savings (if you ski at Monarch Mountain in Colorado): $46…

Making Your Hometown Feel New

Why get out of Dodge when you can recreate Dodge? There are people you haven’t met, tourist traps you haven’t considered, road configurations you haven’t taken—and at the end of the day, it’s a fine place to live. And it’s up to you to make it so.

Since the start of the recession in 2007, Americans’ overall mobility—that is, the number of people who moved from one state to another—has dropped to its lowest levels since WWII, according to the Brookings Insitution. That’s because picking up and moving just isn’t as simple as it used to be. With unemployment rates still at record highs in many parts of the country and real estate troubles forcing homeowners to stay put while they wait to find a buyer, it’s hard for people to move to wherever it is that they want to be…

Stop Reading and Start Sleeping

Want to get back on your feet in 2010? Forget a better (or simply a) job, salary or place to live. The key to success lies in sleep, according to the Huffington Post, which is going crazy over shut-eye time. In a series of posts, the website notes that sleep improves memory, keeps you healthy, lowers your stress levels, and increases performance on the job. Arianna Huffington has even set up a “sleep challenge” for a month. But our favorite idea is an on-the-job nap program proposed by Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute. Who wouldn’t want that? Those out of work are in an even better spot to take up the challenge!…

Now’s the Time to Stock Up on Spa Services

Recessions are stressful. People are out of work or overworked, they move to smaller houses, they’re generally pissed off. But that’s no excuse for being unkempt or un-massaged—especially with the bargain prices we’re seeing at day spas these days.

Some in the spa industry claim it’s “recession-proof,” but guess what? It’s not. Plenty have gone out of business, and many are struggling to get people in the door. You can benefit from the big discounts they’re offering—sometimes more than 50 percent off. And because you can buy vouchers that last for up to a year, if you have some extra cash, you can actually stock up on 12 months worth of bargain beauty and wellness services. Here are some sources to check out:

We’ve already noted our affection for Groupon, which offers discounts in more than two dozen cities around the U.S.

How to Shop in Your Closet for New Year’s Eve

With all the sales taking place and New Year’s just days away, it can be tempting to hit the stores for some new party duds. But face it (as I recently did): You have plenty of clothes. You just overspent on holiday gifts. And even the gainfully employed learned this year about the importance of being frugal. So here’s how to shop in your closet, and some sparkle to your evening without spending:

Repurpose Your Jewels

Works especially well with hand-me-downs from mom and grandma. Hang a big rhinestone pin on some ribbon to make a new necklace.

Want to Live Longer? Have a Recession.

In good times we live longer, in bad times we die younger. Makes sense—but it’s not true.

The Depression, for instance, increased life expectancy by more than 6 years, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan. Meanwhile, during the boom years of the early 20th century, life expectancy actually went down…

Saving Strategies Part 72

With unemployment in the double digits and the holiday season kicking into high gear, saving money has never been more important—or simpler. And these days, sometimes the easiest way to save money is to simply ask. Really. Here are some tricks that we are thankful for, this holiday season:..

Upgrade Economics: 5 Steps to Getting a Better Hotel Room

The Great Recession is changing the established principles of economics. Fortunately for the budget traveler, the laws of the hotel room upgrade are now working in our favor.

It comes down to the basic principles of price discrimination—the practice of charging different prices for the same goods or services to different consumer groups. For the budget traveler in a recession, this translates to “You can stay at a Ritz for Motel 6 prices.”

When luxury hotels can’t fill their rooms, they sell their cheapest to discount travel websites. But with the junior suites empty, sometimes all it takes is a friendly smile and some nice feedback for a frugal traveler get the upgrade of a lifetime. So throw out the Rick Steves book and live in luxury while the recession is still going strong, with these five rules:

1. Book Through a Discount Site

Sidestep.com should become your travel homepage. Spend time on travel meta-search engines and read the reviews. Keep in mind that many hotels have incorrect star ratings, so examine pictures and maps carefully. And this is key: Book a hotel room one or two price levels down from the actual room you really want…

A Slimmed-Down Christmas — But Will It Last?

The chestnuts will still roast; Santa Claus will be just as jolly as ever—but there’s little doubt that the holiday season is different this year. From smaller Christmas trees and fewer extravagant gifts, to an increase emphasis on homemade foods and decorations, millions of families across the country are cutting back on expenses without sacrificing the holiday spirit this year.

It’s too soon to tell whether these back-to-basics holiday rituals will turn into lasting traditions or whether they’re just passing trends that’ll be gone as soon as the economy heats up again. In the meantime, we’ve put together a roundup of what’s different this holiday season.
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Thanksgiving Road-Trip Games

Next week, 38.4 million of us are expected to go “over the hills and through the woods”—or at least to travel by car to a Turkey Day destination. That’s just a slight 1.4 percent uptick from last year. Back then, gas prices were much lower, having fallen off from a high of $4.10 a gallon in the summer of 2008 to around $1.80 by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. But nerves were perhaps also more frayed then, too, as we watched the banking system continue to teeter.

This year, the national average price of gas is about $2.70 a gallon, so we will have to spend more to get to grandfather’s house. Pair that with a continuing climb in the number of people unemployed, and you’d actually think the number of travelers would be even lower.

Either way, as you contemplate the hours you’ll spend on a jam-packed I-95, or wherever you may be, we’d like to bring back the Recession Road-Trip Games we offered up in the summer…