With Christmas just around the corner I thought what better time to get in some new information about finance and money and at the same time get some brownie points for buying a great gift for family members.

Books make great presents and what a great way to spend some of those Christmas hours reading a new book.

Live Well, Spend Less is a simple, practical and definitely not boring book on living well while spending less. It will appeal especially to families but also to students, flatters and fixed income households. It incorporates tips, suggestions and serious strategies but with a light hearted, easy to apply, honest approach. Covering all aspects of life there are suggestions for making money as well using less of it. The intention is to motivate and encourage not hector and lecture. It is NOT a book about investment, mortgage repayment or banking. Each chapter includes immediate as well as longer term suggestions. The immediate ideas are to capture the initial enthusiasm and motivation and longer term strategies will result in bigger savings given time or effort. Topics include: food, energy, cleaning, cars, outdoors; family life, kids and money, leisure, celebrations, looking sharp and presents.

About the Author

Sophie Gray is the face and inspiration behind Destitute Gourmet, the DG series of cookery books and www.destitutegourmet.com. She is a popular speaker and teacher on food, family life and finances, and writes regularly for Healthy Food Guide, Parenting magazine and www.simplesavings.com.au. She is married to Richard and they have two children, Isabella and Jack. Sophie works fulltime communicating the destitute gourmet philosophy from their home in Auckland, New Zealand.

PocketSmith works like any web-based calendar, except the events are financial. Put in your scheduled salary, bill payments, rent, and grocery bills; you can also make them repeat weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

As you go, PocketSmith takes the events and generates you a 6 or 12 month cash forecast, with a daily predicted balance. Now you’re planning your budget for the coming year. Adjust your events to change your future.

You may upload your electronic bank statements to get a meaningful overview of your activity using PocketSmith’s intuitive interface. Match up your transactions with your events to see if you’re sticking to your budget.

Monitor your PocketSmith forecast, and stick to your plan! Simply ensure that your daily forecast balance reflects your accounts. Keep uploading your statements to see on-going information on your spending activity.

The following article was sent to me by Brian Tracey with his permission to reproduce here at NZPIS.

As an author who I enjoy and admire (I just about have every one of his books and CDs) I was happy to reproduce it here.

The Law of Saving
By: Brian Tracy

Financial freedom comes to the person who saves ten percent or more of his income throughout his lifetime.

One of the smartest things that you can ever do for yourself is to develop the habit of saving part of your salary, every single paycheck. Individuals, families and even societies are stable and prosperous to the degree to which they have high savings rates. Savings today are what guarantee the security and the possibilities of tomorrow.

Start With Yourself
The first corollary of the Law of Saving comes from the book The Richest Man in Babylon by George Classon. It is to “Pay yourself first.”

Begin today to save ten percent of your earnings, off the top, and never touch it. This is your fund for long-term financial accumulation and you never use it for any other reason except to assure your financial future.

Develop New Habits Regarding Money
The remarkable thing is that when you pay yourself first, and force yourself to live on the other ninety percent, you will soon become accustomed to it. You are a creature of habit. When you regularly put away ten percent of your earnings, you soon become comfortable living on the other ninety percent. Many people start by saving ten percent of their income and then graduate to saving fifteen percent, twenty percent, and even more. And their financial lives change dramatically as a result. So will yours.

Take Every Advantage
The second corollary of the Law of Saving says, “Take advantage of tax deferred savings and investment plans.” Because of high and even multiple tax rates, money that is saved or invested without being taxed accumulates at a rate of 30% to 40% faster than money that is subject to taxation. Self-made millionaires, according to Dr Thomas Stanley’s book The Millionaire Next Door, are almost obsessive about accumulating their funds in assets such as real estate, self owned businesses and equities that increase in value without triggering tax liabilities.

Invest in company pension and retirement plans, 401(k) plans, IRA’s, Keough Plans, Roth IRA’s, Education Investment Accounts, stock option programs and whatever else has been approved by the IRS for long term financial accumulation. Make every dollar count!

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to apply this law immediately:

First, begin today to put away ten percent of your earnings. Set up a special account for this purpose and treat your contributions to this account with the same respect that you do your rent or mortgage payments each month.

Second, become a lifelong student of money. Read the best books, take courses and subscribe to the most helpful magazines. Know what you are doing so you can always make intelligent decisions when you invest your funds.

How Can You Attract More Wealth and Abundance?
We are now surrounded by more wealth than at any time in our history. The real question is how do YOU gain this abundance? Brian Tracy can show you how! Become a money magnet, immediately increase your income and learn wealth building secrets. Get the knowledge you need to make your financial future an outstanding one with The Unbreakable Laws of Money Package.

Click here to get yours today!