Monday, December 31, 2012

Bizarre New Year celebrations in the world

Mumbai Mirror

We take a look at some of the oddest New Year celebrations from around the world

Germany and Austria
Germans and Austrians celebrate the New Year with 'lead pouring', a tradition in which molten lead is 'read' like tea leaves. A small amount of lead is melted in a tablespoon and then poured into a bowl or bucket of water. The resulting pattern is interpreted to predict the coming year. For instance, if the lead forms a ball, that means luck will roll your way. The shape of an anchor means you will eventually need help, while a cross signifies death.

Denmark
A strange Danish New Year tradition is throwing dishes at your neighbour's door. The family with the largest collection of broken plates, glasses, cups and other crockery is considered to be lucky because it means that they have lots of loyal friends.

Spain
Las doce uvas de la buena suerte, or the 12 grapes of good luck, is a Spanish tradition. At the stroke of midnight, Spaniards eat one grape for each chime. Each grape is supposed to represent good luck for each month of the coming year. After all the intense partying, Spaniards wake up to a traditional winter breakfast of hot chocolate and pastries.

Chile
After the New Year's mass in Talca, Chile, residents head to the graveyard, set up their chairs and wait for the stroke of midnight to celebrate the New Year with those no longer with us.

Mexico
Residents of Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia and other South American states welcome the New Year by wearing colorful underwear - mainly red or yellow - past midnight to catch good luck for the coming year. Yellow underwear is for those who desire wealth and prosperity; red is for those seeking love in the new year.

Greece
Greeks bake the traditional cake Vasilopita on New Year's Day. Inside the cake is a coin or some other prize. The Vasilopita is then cut into slices and given to everyone in the house in order, from oldest to youngest. Whoever ends up with the coin in their piece is supposed to have good luck and prosperity in the coming year.


Safety tips for Women

By Samana Siddiqui

Here are some safety tips for sisters:

1. Always be aware of your surroundings
This applies whether you are traveling alone or in groups. Don’t just focus inwardly on your thoughts if you are alone, or your friends if you are together. Keep one eye out for your environment, looking out for suspicious characters, possible danger, etc.

Also, don’t assume that because your area has been "safe" thus far, that it will continue to be so.

2. Travel in groups
"There is safety in numbers" is not just a cliche. It’s true. Make a point of traveling together with other sisters, whether it’s on public transportation, on campus, in cars, etc.

3. Change the route you normally travel by
If you’ve taken the same bus, train or highway to get to work or school, change your route. Even if it takes you a little longer, your safety is more important. By changing your route, you can avert possible attacks or harassment from those who know your schedule, method and route of travel well. Please note though that you should avoid short cuts that take you through unfamiliar or unsafe areas.

4. Look confident
Walk with a straight posture and your arms swinging by your sides. Avoid slouching or walking like a victim. This makes you an easy target for attackers.

5. When riding by public transportation choose the right seat
If you are riding by bus or train, do not sit on the window seat as you may be "blocked in" by a potential assailant. Always select the seat next to the aisle so that you can quickly leave if necessary.

If you are taking public transportation alone after peak hours, sit as close to the driver as possible and/or choose the section of the bus/train that is most crowded. Try to get a seat near the exit as well.

6. If you are driving alone
Don’t think that if you are in a car, you’re safe. Windows should be up and doors locked even when driving to avoid unwanted passengers at intersections. When you are walking to your car, always have your keys ready, so that you can quickly get into your car.

But don’t just get in right away. Always check your car before entering, especially the back, for any intruders.

7. Never leave your car door unlocked
Even if it means for one minute to drop something off in the mailbox that’s a few feet away. Attackers have been known to lie in wait for such an opportunity.

8. Be careful in parking lots
Always be alert in parking lots, especially when it's dark. Ask someone to escort you to your car. Between cars and inside cars, it's easy for someone to hide and wait until an unalert person comes along.

9. If you are traveling by taxi
Always check the identification of the driver (usually located near the visor) and ensure that it matches the driver. Once inside, don't sit behind the driver as it may be easy for the driver to lock the rear passenger door. Always choose the adjacent seat.

In addition, avoid flagging taxis. Always order taxis so the driver can be traced if something happens.

10. Don’t use the walkman
If you’re used to listening to your walkman while outside, drop this habit, especially in isolated areas. With your walkman on, you cannot hear the approach of a possible attacker.

11. Note "safe houses" along your route
Mentally note houses at intervals on each route you take that can be used as "safe houses" if you are attacked, such as shops or houses that you know to be occupied by a friend or acquaintance.

12. When you make a call from a phone booth
After dialing the number you wish to call always turn around so that you have your back to the phone and may see who or what is coming your way. You will then be able to tell the person to whom you are speaking that you may be in trouble and you may be able to use the weight of the phone as a weapon. The door of a telephone box could be used to wedge in the limbs of the attacker.

13. Do not open the door of your home without checking
DO NOT open the door to your home without first checking from a window, peephole or by asking and verifying who it is. Instruct children to do the same.

14. Report any suspicious activity around your home
If you see people loitering on the streets near your house, call the police on a non emergency number and report it.

15. Invest in a cell phone
This is an invaluable safety device. Keep it with you at all times and keep emergency numbers on it. Also, keep it next to your bed before you go to bed at night. Cell phones were first popularized by women as a security device, business people came later.

16. Parking tips
Avoid parking in areas that are not well lit. Where possible, park close to a school or work entrance or in a parking garage that has an attendant.

If you see a suspicious person approaching or hanging around near your parked car, turn around and go back to an area where there are other people. Try to get an escort to your car through the campus or job security or local police.

17. Tell others about your whereabouts
Parents, spouses and friends should know where you are going and when you will be back, so that your absence will be noticed. Arrange a call in system with a friend if you live alone, whereby you call when you arrive home.

18. Trust your instincts
If you are walking somewhere and feel strange or scared, don’t ignore this feeling. Take extra precautions by walking a little faster to get to a more populated or well-lit area or change the route you’ve been driving on.

19. If you think you are being followed, change your route and activity.
You can cross the street, change directions, or enter a populated building or store. Do whatever is necessary to avoid being alone with the person who is following you. Inform a police officer or security official about the follower.

20. Attract attention if you are in a dangerous situation.
Get others’ to pay attention to what's happening to you if you are under attack or being harassed. You can alert others by honking a car horn or loudly describing what is happening.

21. NEVER admit that you are alone
If someone calls your home and asks if you are alone, NEVER admit it. Ask who the caller is. If they refuse to identify themselves, calmly hangup. Keep the radio on in the house so that callers will get the impression that others are in the home too. Instruct children to do the same when they pick up the phone.

22. Obscene phone calls
If you receive an obscene call or a crank call, do not talk to the caller. Hang up if the caller doesn’t say anything, or as soon as s/he shouts obscenities. Hang up the phone calmly and do not slam it down. Note down the date and time of the calls. If they are persistent, inform local police.

23. If you are a student
Avoid studying in isolated classrooms in parts of the college campus that are not regularly patrolled by the school’s security officers.

24. In large buildings take the elevator, not the stairwell
Stairwells are usually quiet and dark. Most people take the elevator. But if someone creepy gets on, don’t hesitate to get off at the same time. Or, if someone is already on the elevator who you feel strange about, do not get on and wait for the next elevator.

Body Language

There is no specific advice on how to use your body language. What you do might be interpreted in several ways, depending on the setting and who you are talking to. You’ll probably want to use your body language differently when talking to your boss compared to when you talk to a girl/guy you’re interested in. These are some common interpretations of body language and often more effective ways to communicate with your body.

First, to change your body language you must be aware of your body language. Notice how you sit, how you stand, how you use you hands and legs, what you do while talking to someone. You might want to practice in front of a mirror. Yeah, it might seem silly but no one is watching you. This will give you good feedback on how you look to other people and give you an opportunity to practise a bit before going out into the world.

Another tip is to close your eyes and visualize how you would stand and sit to feel confident, open and relaxed or whatever you want to communicate. See yourself move like that version of yourself. Then try it out.

You might also want observe friends, role models, movie stars or other people you think has good body language. Observe what they do and you don’t. Take bits and pieces you like from different people. Try using what you can learn from them.

Some of these tips might seem like you are faking something. But fake it til you make it is a useful way to learn something new. And remember, feelings work backwards too. If you smile a bit more you will feel happier. If you sit up straight you will feel more energetic and in control. If you slow down your movements you’ll feel calmer. Your feelings will actually reinforce your new behaviours and feelings of weirdness will dissipate.

In the beginning easy it’s to exaggerate your body language. You might sit with your legs almost ridiculously far apart or sit up straight in a tense pose all the time. That’s ok. And people aren’t looking as much as you think, they are worrying about their own problems. Just play around a bit, practice and monitor yourself to find a comfortable balance.

1.    Don’t cross your arms or legs – You have probably already heard you shouldn’t cross your arms as it might make you seem defensive or guarded. This goes for your legs too. Keep your arms and legs open.

2.    Have eye contact, but don’t stare – If there are several people you are talking to, give them all some eye contact to create a better connection and see if they are listening. Keeping too much eye-contact might creep people out. Giving no eye-contact might make you seem insecure. If you are not used to keeping eye-contact it might feel a little hard or scary in the beginning but keep working on it and you’ll get used to it.

3.    Don’t be afraid to take up some space – Taking up space by for example sitting or standing with your legs apart a bit signals self-confidence and that you are comfortable in your own skin.

4.    Relax your shoulders – When you feel tense it’s easily winds up as tension in your shoulders. They might move up and forward a bit. Try to relax. Try to loosen up by shaking the shoulders a bit and move them back slightly.

5.    Nod when they are talking – nod once in a while to signal that you are listening. But don’t overdo it and peck like Woody Woodpecker.

6.    Don’t slouch, sit up straight – but in a relaxed way, not in a too tense manner.

7.    Lean, but not too much – If you want to show that you are interested in what someone is saying, lean toward the person talking. If you want to show that you’re confident in yourself and relaxed lean back a bit. But don’t lean in too much or you might seem needy and desperate for some approval. Or lean back too much or you might seem arrogant and distant.

8.    Smile and laugh – lighten up, don’t take yourself too seriously. Relax a bit, smile and laugh when someone says something funny. People will be a lot more inclined to listen to you if you seem to be a positive person. But don’t be the first to laugh at your own jokes, it makes you seem nervous and needy. Smile when you are introduced to someone but don’t keep a smile plastered on your face, you’ll seem insincere.

9.    Don’t touch your face – it might make you seem nervous and can be distracting for the listeners or the people in the conversation.

10.  Keep you head up – Don’t keep your eyes on the ground, it might make you seem insecure and a bit lost. Keep your head up straight and your eyes towards the horizon.

11.  Slow down a bit – this goes for many things. Walking slower not only makes you seem more calm and confident, it will also make you feel less stressed. If someone addresses you, don’t snap you’re neck in their direction, turn it a bit more slowly instead.

12.  Don’t fidget and try to avoid, phase out or transform fidgety movement and nervous ticks such as shaking your leg or tapping your fingers against the table rapidly. You’ll seem nervous and fidgeting can be a distracting when you try to get something across. Declutter your movements if you are all over the place. Try to relax, slow down and focus your movements.

13.  Use your hands more confidently instead of fidgeting with your hands and scratching your face use them to communicate what you are trying to say. Use your hands to describe something or to add weight to a point you are trying to make. But don’t use them to much or it might become distracting. And don’t let your hands flail around, use them with some control.

14.  Don’t stand too close – one of the things we learned from Seinfeld is that everybody gets weirded out by a close-talker. Let people have their personal space, don’t invade it.

15.  Mirror – Often when you get along with a person, when the two of you get a good connection, you will start to mirror each other unconsciously. That means that you mirror the other person’s body language a bit. To make the connection better you can try a bit of proactive mirroring. If he leans forward, you might lean forward. If she holds her hands on her thighs, you might do the same. But don’t react instantly and don’t mirror every change in body language. Then weirdness will ensue.

16.  Keep a good attitude – last but not least, keep a positive, open and relaxed attitude. How you feel will come through in your body language and can make a major difference.

You can change your body language but as all new habits it takes a while. Especially things like keeping you head up might take time to correct if you have spent thousands of days looking at your feet. And if you try and change to many things at once it might become confusing and feel overwhelming.

Take a couple of these body language bits to work on every day for three to four weeks. By then they should have developed into new habits and something you’ll do without even thinking about it. If not, keep on until it sticks. Then take another couple of things you’d like to change and work on them.

Preventing angina pain!!!

Angina (also called angina pectoris) is chest discomfort, caused by reduced oxygen supply to the heart muscle, in relation to its needs.

·         A regular exercise programme under the doctor's supervision can prevent angina.

·         A supervised weight-loss programme in over-weight persons also reduces the chances of angina.

·         Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and avoid foods high in fat and cholesterol.

·         The blood pressure should be checked regularly and kept as close as possible to 120/80mmHg.

·         Get relaxed sleep at night.

·         Always carry the medicines prescribed by the doctor along with the prescription.

·         Take sublingual nitroglycerin/isosorbide (or the emergency treatment for angina as advised by the doctor) if stopping an activity doesn't help the pain, or if the pain occurs at rest.

·         Follow-up regularly with the doctor.

·         Avoid stress.

Friday, December 28, 2012

13 Reasons to have sex today

By Trina Remedios, Health Me Up

Stressed, burdened with life's difficult problems and fear that your health is declining?

Then sex is the answer to happiness, longevity and a healthy body. You don't agree? Well, here is a list of the health benefits of sex, so do it daily to experience complete pleasure. These are 13 reasons to have sex today!

De-stress
Sex helps you reduce stress. When deep breathing exercises fail to de-stress you, sex will do the needful.

In a study, published in the Public Library of Science journal, three neuroscience researchers conducted a test on male rats and found that the sexually active rats were less anxious than rats with no sexual activity.

Lowers high blood pressure
Hugs and sex can improve your blood pressure. Sex reduces diastolic blood pressure, that is, the bottom number while reading blood pressure.

Researchers with the University of Paisley conducted an experiment on the same. They concluded that sex improves blood pressure.

Builds your immunity
Trying to fight the sniffles? Sex is the answer to fight cold and other health problems; sex can boost your immunity.

Immunoglobulin A, an antigen that fights the flu increases when the frequency of sex increases.

Burns calories
If you are trying to lose weight, add sex to your daily fitness routine. Apparently, you can burn 700 calories a week if you have sex daily.

In an article published in the American Journal of Exercise Calorimetry in August 2006, Dr. Wieder confirms that sex helps to burn calories. Check out the lengthy study and calorie count.

Healthy heart
Sex helps you burn calories but it can also improve your heart. Sex will take care of stroke and heart attacks, you just have to enjoy the moment.

Scientists with New England Research Institute examined the effect of sex on the heart. The study concluded that men are 45 percent less likely to experience cardiovascular diseases. But the study fails to study the effect of sex on a woman's heart.

Pain relief
Pleasure is the measure to beat out the pain. Do you experience migraines and body pain? Well sex is the answer. But if you experience back pain, it is best to consult a doctor.

Dr. George E. Erlich, an arthritis specialist from Philadelphia conducted a study on the link between arthritis and sex. He narrows down that patients who engaged in sex experienced less pain.

Builds trust and intimacy
The act of sex spikes the hormone oxytocin; this hormone is responsible for your happiness and love. If your feel your relationship is falling out, there is trust or you're worried that your partner will stray away, then sex will dispel these doubts. The hormone oxytocin builds trust and brings couples closer, and cupid too.

Less chances of cancer
Regular ejaculation reduces your chances of developing prostate cancer. In an Australian study men who ejaculated 21 times a month were least likely to develop cancer. It is further supported by other researches that sexual intercourse reduces the risk of prostrate cancer.

Stronger pelvic muscles
Sex involves the use of several muscles; hence regular sexual intercourse can help you develop stronger pelvic muscles. Further, since the act of sex involves a range of muscles, it also helps strengthen these muscles - for ex: quads, your core, and the upper back. Through regular sex, you can also maintain a strong bladder and bowel function.

Strong muscles, calorie burner, improves heart health - sex seems to take care of you.

Induces sleep
After that great, lovely workout you are bound to get good sleep. But guess what? Sex works the same way as exercise. The increased heart rate leads to increased post-coital relaxation. Sex could be the next thing for insomniacs! So what really happens:
- Sex can relax you, hence if you are already tired, the act of sex will induce sleep.
- When men ejaculate they become lethargic, this can make them sleepy.

Regular periods
Apparently sex can improve your menstrual cycle. Sex regulates hormones, which in turn regulate the menstrual cycle. Sex reduces stress, which is one of the reasons women miss their periods. Sex seems like a better option than pills.

Live longer
A healthy heart, stronger muscles, increased circulation of oxygen and happiness are some of the factors that add life to the years and as a result - years to your life.

A study published in the British Medical Journal reveals that men who engaged in sex often live twice as those who rarely had any action.

Healthier semen
If you're trying to conceive, you increase the volume of semen if you have sex regularly. Regular sex replaces old sperms from the testicles. If there is a natural build of sperms it can lead to DNA damage.



50 Ways to Improve Your Finances in 2013

By Kimberly Palmer | U.S.News & World Report LP

Along with a fresh start, the new year brings uncertainty about changing tax laws, growing concern over online privacy and security, and challenges for almost every demographic group--even the wealthy, who face steep tax increases. To help you get ready to tackle your own money goals for 2013, we gathered our best advice from the past 12 months and organized it into 50 bite-size steps:

1. Be a year-round discount shopper
Specific holidays used to loom large in the world of coupon hunters, who expected to see massive discounts on July Fourth, Labor Day, Black Friday, and other big shopping days. But recently, that's been shifting as retailers are offering sales all year long, and often at unexpected times. In 2012, for example, retail experts noted that Christmas sales started in October, and continued all season, partly in response to customer demand. That means shoppers should always be on the lookout for the best deals, regardless of the calendar date

2. Ask for what you want
As the economy recovers, retailers are eager to pick up the biggest share of consumers' spending what they can, and in some cases, that means adopting more flexible pricing policies. Towards the end of 2012, several big-box stores, including Target and Best Buy, launched temporary price-matching policies. That trend could continue into 2013, which means customers can be more assertive about asking stores to match prices they find elsewhere

3. Coordinate budgeting with your partner
Much stress can come from disagreeing with your spouse or partner about how you should be spending shared income. Indeed, in author and yoga teacher JoAnneh Nagler's case, it even contributed to divorce. But she and her husband were able to reconcile (and remarry) when they jointly agreed to a disciplined debt-free lifestyle. By scaling back on restaurant meals and other splurges, they're able to invest in what they really value, including their creative pursuits and romantic weekend getaways

4. Pay off debt slowly
When you've built up a sizable amount of debt, it's virtually impossible to pay it off overnight, and attempting such a feat can be frustrating. That's why Nagler, who had $80,000 in credit card debt at one point, urges fellow debt-strugglers to go slowly. First, she changed her spending habits and set up individual savings accounts for each of her goals. Once she got those costs under control, she started paying off her debt

5. Prepare for tax changes
Tax rates are likely to rise for many Americans next year, especially high-earning ones. To lessen the stress from those changes, taxpayers should adjust their spending and saving habits as early as possible to prepare to hand over more cash to Uncle Sam. Taking advantage of any credits and deductions, as well as putting more money into tax-advantaged retirement accounts, can help ease the impact

6. Calculate your retirement number
Just 1 in 10 Americans have done the math to figure out how much they need to save for retirement, but it's an essential step in making sure there's enough cash for those much-deserved golden years. Financial advisers generally recommend saving enough to replace 80 percent or more of your income; that means someone who earns $80,000 should probably save around $2.1 million. Online retirement calculators can crunch the numbers for you

7. Make better retirement choices
Paying high fees, choosing portfolios that are overly conservative (or overly risky), and failing to update or even check on those investments on a regular basis are just a few of the common mistakes people make with their retirement accounts. To avoid missteps, employees can often rely on free services offered through their company's human resources department or retirement services provider. Fidelity, for example, offers free seminars and online information to clients

8. Save a quarter of your income
Alicia Munnell, director of Boston College's Center for Retirement Research, cautions that putting aside 9 percent of your income into a retirement account is "grossly inadequate." Someone who starts saving at age 35, plans to retire at age 67, and expects a 4 percent return, for example, needs to save double that, even after taking Social Security into account. Other financial experts recommend saving as much as one-quarter of your income, in both retirement and after-tax accounts, to make sure you're fully covered

9. Make it automatic
If manually shifting money into savings and investment accounts is too time-consuming or too painful, consider setting up automatic deposits. Many banks make it easy for customers to do that, and, in fact, might even offer rewards for doing so. Wells Fargo, for example, waives monthly service fees on some of its accounts when customers set up recurring automatic transfers

10. Leverage your credit card
If you pay off your credit card bill each month and earn rewards for your spending, don't forget to cash in on them. The biggest bang-for-buck often comes from purchasing retailer-specific gift cards, which have been pre-negotiated by card companies. Farnoosh Torabi, financial expert and television personality, recently picked up an Apple Macbook Air with her points, which she also uses to buy gift cards for family members.

11. Find your perfect piece of plastic
If your credit card isn't meeting all your needs, it might be time to find one that does. Comparison websites such as nerdwallet.com, indexcreditcards.com, and creditcards.com make it easy to compare the benefits of different cards to figure out which one suits your needs. If you carry any sort of balance, there's only one factor to focus on: finding the lowest interest rate

12. Upgrade your bank
Bank policies can vary widely, from offering above-average interest rates on savings accounts to making it easy to budget online with extra tools. Consider your own lifestyle and then find the bank that best matches it. If you travel a lot, you probably want a large bank with thousands of ATMs throughout the country (and beyond). If you're trying to save more, then you might want to focus on the savings rates

13. Demand more from the one you have
Customers are increasingly voting with their feet and switching banks when they're not happy with their current one. That also means customers have more leverage to ask for the changes they want from their current bank, as banks struggle to retain loyal customers. If you want lower fees or a higher interest rate on your savings account, ask your bank what they can do for you--they might be able to offer you a better deal than the one you're currently getting

14. Consider a credit union
Frustration with banks' policies, such as new fees, has motivated thousands of customers to jump ship and join credit unions, according to the Credit Union National Association. It can be a good decision, especially considering that credit unions often offer higher interest rates on savings accounts as well as lower fees and lower rates on auto loans and mortgages. They also prioritize spreading financial literacy to their customers

15. Get a raise
Just because the economy's struggling to make its big comeback doesn't mean you have to delay asking for a raise. Certified financial planner Lauren Lyons Cole suggests first checking out salary-comparison sites, such as Payscale.com and Salary.com, to see if your own income is out of whack with that of your peers. If it's lower than it should be, review your accomplishments and present them to your boss, along with a request for a raise

16. Earn more money on the side
The lack of job security these days has inspired many Americans to pick up a second stream of income by moonlighting. According to the website Payscale.com, the highest-paid moonlighting gigs are in law, clinical psychology, senior copywriting, and information technology security. Freelance website Elance.com predicts that the trend toward freelancing, especially in the creative-services sector of the economy, will only grow throughout 2013

17. Manage your time better
When people juggle more than one job, they can quickly feel overwhelmed with responsibilities. Veteran job-jugglers say they survive by staying organized, waking up early, and avoiding time-wastes such as television. Many also work on the weekends and some even take a sabbatical from their day jobs to focus exclusively on their second job for a few months

18. Take advantage of your HR department
When you land a new job, the human resources department can help you sign up for all of the new benefits, from flex spending accounts to health insurance to retirement accounts. Signing up for retirement benefits as soon as possible can pay off later: The earlier you start putting money away, the sooner it can start growing. TD Ameritrade calculates that saving $100 a month between ages 21 and 41 will create a nest egg of $471,358 by age 67, assuming a return of 8 percent per year. Waiting until age 41, however, will generate just under $60,000

19. Prepare to earn less after 40
If you want more motivation to ramp up that side income in 2013, here it is: In most professions, income stops rising around age 40. Payscale.com reports that in many professions, you earn quickly in your twenties and thirties as you become more valuable. Then around mid-career, you plateau, and as a result, salary increases slow down. (Certain careers, including those in law and high-tech, are exceptions.) One way to make up for that loss is to earn more money outside your full-time job

20. Burnish your entrepreneurial skills
According to a survey by Generation Y research and consulting firm Millennial Branding, 1 in 3 employers want their employees to have entrepreneurial experience. Knowing how to conceive, build, and promote a business idea is increasingly valuable in the new economy, even for those seeking more traditional jobs.

21. Learn to cook
Replacing take-out and restaurant meals with home-cooked goodness can save you hundreds of dollars throughout the year. If you feel hesitant in the kitchen, a few hours with the Food Network or browsing foodie blogs will help get you in the mood. Investments in certain tools, such as cookbooks, immersion blenders, or quality pots and pans can also make the kitchen more enticing after a long day

22. Invest in your home entertainment system
If you're a movie buff, you have a lot of new choices that are cheaper than seeing movies in the theater. Hulu Plus, Apple TV, and Roku are among your relatively affordable options, especially when you consider how much you'll save by skipping weekly trips to the theater

23. Focus on home improvements that pay off
Leaky windows and attics can drive up heating bills in the winter and cooling bills in the summer. Consider investing in insulation as well as a programmable thermostat, which can cut energy costs by 30 percent over the year. Smart power strips, which cut power to electronics when they're off, can also help reduce electricity costs. LED lights are another smart option

24. Give better gifts
Do you know what people really want for holidays and their birthdays? Money or gift cards. It might sound impersonal, but a survey by Discover found that such fungible items top wish lists for both men and women. In fact, the National Retail Federation went so far as to name gift cards as the hottest gift of 2012, because they've grown so much in popularity. The fact that fewer cards come with fees and many offer extra loss protection has also contributed to that trend

25. Get to know the holes in your homeowners' insurance policy
The worst time to discover that your homeowners' insurance policy doesn't include reimbursement for water damage is right after a flood. Yet many homeowners don't understand the ins and outs of their policies, which can lead to nasty surprises. In fact, most standard policies don't cover earthquake damage, flood damage, or water damage from sump pump backups. (Homeowners have the option of adding supplemental coverage to handle these scenarios.)

26. Protect your online identity
The past 12 months have seen a series of high-profile security breaches, including at Zappos and Barnes & Noble. To make sure you're as protected as possible, consider changing your passwords regularly, reviewing bank account statements each month to check for errors, and being especially wary of hyperlinks to deals promoted over social networking sites. Hyperlinks embedded within emails should also be treated with suspicion

27. Stop before you shop
When you're surrounded by advertisements and material temptations, it's easy to buy without thinking. But one organization, Jews United for Justice, urges people to first ask themselves a series of questions about the purchase. The questions include: "Is this something I need?" "Can I borrow, find one used, or make one instead of buying new?" and "Will this purchase enhance the meaning and joy in my life?" The group distributes credit card sleeves with the questions to encourage more thoughtful spending habits

28. Ignore official-looking (but dubious) solicitations
It's one of the most common scams around: A company poses as an official government agency in order to solicit your attention (and funds). It might send out mail that's covered in intimidating warnings, such as "$2,000 fine, 5 years imprisonment, or both for any personal interfering or obstructing with delivery of this letter." But they're really just trying to sell you something you probably don't need. The Federal Trade Commission calls the practice outrageous and says it's illegal to falsely suggest something bad will happen unless the recipient asks quickly. The bottom line: Ignore such solicitations

29. Donate for free
You don't have to be rich to be charitable. Consider donating your blood, gently used books and CDs, and your time this year. For extra power, get together with friends to form a giving circle, so you can leverage your dollars and give to causes together

30. Learn how to talk about money with your kids
Parents are famously awkward when it comes to talking about money. A T. Rowe Price survey found that just half of parents talk to their kids about savings goals and spending and savings trade-offs, and even fewer discuss higher-level concepts such as inflation and investing. But research routinely suggests that parents play a powerful role in how kids handle money as adults, so if you have children, try to get over your awkwardness to share some important life lessons this year.

31. Protect your money from your children
Baby boomers have been generous toward their adult children, inviting them to move back home and offering them direct financial support. But often, that kind of generosity hurts parents' own retirement nest egg. In fact, even the parents of two Olympic gold medalists, Gabby Douglas and Ryan Lochte, revealed major financial troubles of their own. Before putting their own financial security at risk, parents should consider whether they can really afford the help they're offering

32. Use technology to ease those conversations
If you're struggling to explain the concept of limits to your children, there's an app that can help: "Can I Buy?" designed by the husband-and-wife team behind the Massachusetts-based developer Sqube. After crunching some numbers for you, the app tells you whether or not you can afford that purchase that you're considering. The creators themselves got the idea when they were trying to explain to their young daughter why she could not buy a new toy

33. Take advantage of other new online money tools
A new website, SmartAsset.com, hit the Web this year, and it's a useful one: It helps users make complicated personal-finance decisions, such as whether they should buy or rent, or which mortgage to take out. If you're looking for some help with number-crunching, the site could be the one for you. Mint.com is another useful site for budgeting and getting organized

34. Check your Social Security benefits
Since the Social Security Administration stopped sending out paper statements via snail mail each year, you might be missing your annual estimate of just how much Social Security income you're likely to receive in retirement. But there's an easy way to get that information: Visit socialsecurity.gov/mystatement to see your earnings history and projected future benefits. More than one million people have already done so

35. Be an alpha consumer
Jon Yates, the official problem-solver at the Chicago Tribune and author of What's Your Problem? Cut Through Red Tape, Challenge the System, and Get Your Money Back, says persistence is often the most important factor when seeking a response from a company. That might include threatening to take your business elsewhere, or asking to speak to a manager or executive until you get the answer you want

36. Start a social media account
Airing grievances about specific companies on a blog, Facebook, or Twitter can also be an effective way of getting their attention. Just be sure you don't sacrifice your own privacy and security in the process. Many banks, for example, run active Twitter accounts, but they caution customers to take specific questions off the public venue and onto a phone line or email account. Talking over social media, after all, means talking in front of an audience

37. Pay less for gas
In addition to seeking out the lowest-priced gas station in town, you can also stretch your gas dollars through more creative means. Those include lightening your car by unloading any heavy items stored in the trunk, carpooling, making sure tires are properly inflated, and replacing clogged air filters. An even safer bet is replacing some of your car time with public transportation or biking

38. Refinance, or not
When interest rates are low, refinancing to lock in a lower rate on your mortgage is tempting. But doing so also comes with costs, including closing costs and your own time. (Completing the paperwork can take hours.) Before jumping on the refinancing bandwagon, crunch some numbers with an online refinance calculator to help you figure out if it will really save you money

39. Improve your credit score
Credit scores can hold a lot of power over your life; they influence your loan rates and the ability to rent apartments, and they can even play a role on job applications. According to money expert Liz Weston, author of Your Credit Score, the most important steps you can take to improve your score include removing any errors and making regular, on-time payments to all revolving accounts, including credit cards. Paying down debt helps, too

40. Get your credit report
You're entitled to a free credit report every year, which you can access through annualcreditreport.com. Reviewing it regularly makes it possible to check for (and correct) any mistakes, as well as catch potential problems, such as identity theft, before they escalate. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also announced this year that it will start supervising the credit bureaus as part of an attempt to make the world of credit scores and credit reports more transparent to consumers.

41. Learn patience
Research co-authored by Columbia Business School professor Stephan Meier found that impatient people tend to have lower credit scores, which means they pay more for loans. Study participants who were most willing to wait for their cash rewards had, on average, scores that were 30 points higher than those who were the least patient. The suggestion? Learning to wait for rewards can pay off in the form of lower loan rates

42. Check your insurance policies
According to MetLife, just 3 in 4 married couples with young children have life insurance. That means 1 in 4 do not. Given the high cost of raising children (the Agriculture Department estimates $234,900 per child before age 18), that leaves families in a vulnerable position if one or both parents were to die. While there's some hassle involved, the cost of taking out life insurance is relatively low (a half-million dollar policy on a healthy 35-year-old might be one dollar a day, says MetLife), so consider signing up if you haven't already

43. Organize your financial paperwork
When Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, thousands of people on the East Coast had to quickly leave their homes. If your paperwork is in order, it will be easy to know what to grab if you suddenly have to do the same thing. Essential papers to carry with you include identification, insurance information, and family documents, such as birth and marriage certificates and wills

44. Create photographic evidence
Just in case you ever have to file an insurance claim, take photos of your most valuable possessions, including furniture, jewelry, and televisions. Creating a paper trail of those goods, any damage they sustained, and subsequent claim filings can make it easier to follow up with the insurance company and collect reimbursements

45. Prepare for emergencies
In the spirit of always being ready, consider coming up with a plan for an alternative place for your family to stay in an evacuation scenario. When the power goes out, it's harder to find the closest available hotel, or to talk to friends about staying with them. It's also a good idea to get an emergency kit together, so if you have to hunker down in your basement for a few days without power or running water, you know you could survive. The kit should include batteries, flashlights, water, changes of clothes, cash, non-perishable food, and a first-aid kit

46. Beef up your emergency savings account
No matter how prepared you are, emergencies can end up costing a lot of money. Consider funding an emergency savings account that could cover you in the event of weather disasters, car breakdowns, and other unexpected calamities. Financial advisers generally recommend putting away three to six months' worth of expenses

47. Plan to work well past retirement age
Older Americans are increasingly working into their 70s, for financial as well as psychological reasons. In other words, many of them enjoy their work. A Charles Schwab survey found that one in three 60-something middle-income workers don't want to retire. To prepare for a long career beyond age 65, career experts recommend making sure you're doing work you love. That might mean launching a second career, unrelated to your primary one

48. Change your habits
In his book The Power of Habit, New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg explains how we can change our habits by focusing on the cue and reward. If you want to start exercising every day, for example, "cue" it up by putting on your running shoes before breakfast, and then reward yourself afterward with a piece of chocolate. Eventually, the new habit will become a natural part of your day

49. Check out your older self
Here's an easy way to motivate yourself to commit to big changes in 2013: Focus on your future self. Research by Hal Hershfield, assistant professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business, has found that showing people aged photos of themselves makes them more likely to put money away for later. You can get in touch with your future self by writing a letter or even downloading an aging app, such as AgingBooth, for a sense of what you'll look like in 30 years. Spending more time with your grandparents can also help

50. Think about where you want to be (financially) in a year
When you're brainstorming for your big money goals for the year, try to focus on specific steps, instead of big, overwhelming dreams. For example, if you want to build financial security, goals might include spending less on food or developing a second stream of income. BJ Fogg, director of Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab, suggests breaking big goals into small baby steps

Here's to a prosperous 2013!