MÁS INFORMACIÓN PARA PRACTICAR

Amazing Facebook Facts Most Of Us Do Not Know

With over one billion active users today,Facebook is an unstoppable social storm that’s racing across continents,countries,colonies and even through small territories and hamlets.In our world of digital technology today you may come across a person without a proper shirt but it’s hard to find one without an active Facebook account..There was a similar situation,once,when a person without an Email Id was laughed at and today it is the same with the one who doesn’t have a Facebook user Id.

With about 157 million users,the United States Of America tops the overall list of Facebook users today followed by India with 45.9 million users,Brazil with 45.3 million users,Indonesia with 42.4 million users and Mexico with 32.9 million Facebook users..This statistical data may sound unbelievable but it’s an amazing fact the critics all around the world are currently cribbing about.

More importantly Facebook is an addiction for some of it’s users,for some it’s a useful business promotion tool and for many people it’s a perfect antidote to their existential loneliness.

In the given scenario it’s not only difficult to imagine our world without Facebook, but it’s also difficult to imagine our living without Facebook..

Firstly..

Here Are Some Popular Facebook Facts Most Of Us Know

>The popular social networking site Facebook Inc derived its name from Facebook, a directory that is found in American Universities. This directory is like a reference book for many and consists of photographs of the staff, faculty and students with their brief bio data mentioned in it.

 

Mark Zuckerberg Having Fun With His Harvard Friends

>In 2003 five students of Harvard University Mark Zuckerberg, Edurado Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes created a website called Facemash. Mark Zuckerberg, fondly called “Zuck” by his other friends, was a second year student in the university and wrote the software for this website. Later after many twists and turns and ups and downs the same crazy five gang created a social networking revolution website that is popularly known as Facebook today.

>Before opening Facebook it was planned by the team to open a social networking site for high school students called facebookhigh.com. But this idea bombed very badly..

>Originally Facebook was known as thefacebook.com but later Mark Zuckerberg purchased the domain name facebook.com for $2,00,000..

Here Are Some Amazing Facebook Facts Most Of Us Do Not Know

>When Facebook introduced the “News Feed” feature the first reaction it received was “Turn this shit off”

>The average age of a Facebook employee today is thirty one..

>As the CEO of Facebook ”Zuck” enjoys sixty percent of voting power in Facebook today..

>The engineers at the Facebook initially wanted to name the “Like” button “Awesome”

>Initially Facebook bosses decided to name it’s ad product “AdSeeds”  in line with Google’s AdSense but for some unknown reasons they later dropped this idea.

>When Facebook was going through a desperate situation in 2004, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc saved today’s world number one social networking site by offering it a lucrative ad deal..

Dignitaries Waiting For Steve Jobs At WWDC,2008

The Worldwide Developers Conference is a conference held every year by Apple Inc in California. Steve Jobs wanted Facebook to present it’s new iPhone application at the 2008 WWDC. Steve expected Mark to do the presentation but instead Mark has sent a marketing manager and an engineer to do the job.Upset with their bad audition Steve Jobs had to cancel the presentation that year.

>In 2005,many of the employees and Mark Zuckerberg’ colleagues at Facebook strongly felt that “Zuck” should be replaced by a better person as their CEO. It is then that he took some serious ” CEO lessons ” from an authority on the topic.

>A Taiwanese guy by name Steve Chen worked for a few weeks with Facebook in 2005 and left it as he wanted to start something of his own. But that time this guy never knew that his decision will create a technological revolution in the digital age. This 27 year old ex PayPal employee joined hands with his other PayPal colleagues Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim and founded the path breaking site that is more popularly known as You Tube today.

>In 2006 Mark Zuckerberg was very impressed with a funny guy called Chris Putnam and hired him for a crucial position in Facebook. Wanna know what this guy did.. ?? He was such a genius, he hacked Facebook site and created thousands of profiles that were meant to look like MySpace profiles. Instead of getting upset with this whiz kid’s misdeed “Zuck” hired him.

>But, quite surprisingly, the current employees of Facebook feel that their CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s best talent lies not in hiring people but in firing people.

>Some time ago, Steve Ballmer, the current C E O of Microsoft who ranks nineteenth in the Forbes 400 list today, wanted to buy Facebook outright but remained contented by investing $240 million when his offer to buy Facebook was rejected by Mark Zuckerberg and team.

>In 2006 Mark Zuckerberg opened Facebook to workplace networks but surprisingly nobody in USA noticed it. That time Yahoo came up with an offer of $1.4 billion to buy Facebook. “Zuck” was initially tempted to accept the billion dollar deal but could somehow overcome his temptation and finally rejected the offer. Though Business Week termed this rejection as one of the “biggest failed mergers” in the history, it still made Mark Zuckerberg a man worth of twenty four billion dollars today.

>Since they hold rights to some social networking patent, Reid Hoffman, the founder of LimkedIn  and Mark Pincus, founder of  Zynga own a reasonable stake in Facebook today.

>Very few people know that a Russian holding firm, DST holds a great stock in Facebook. It is so because Peter Thiel of Angel Investor, Facebook’s first outside investor, sold half of his stock in 2009 to this Russian holding firm.

>Apple Inc’s veteran Bud Colligan, former Yahoo Inc executive Ellen Siminoff and former Open Table CEO Jeff Jordan were all interviewed for the post of Chief Operations Officer of Facebook in 2007. But it was finally bagged by Sheryl Sandberg who was formerly vice president of Global Online Operations and Sales at Google Inc. Mark Zuckerberg was very much impressed with this lady when he first met her in a 2007 Christmas party hosted by Dan Rosensweig who was then the chief operating officer (COO) of Yahoo Inc. Sheryl is one of the active directors on the Facebook board today. Period.

>Accel partner Jim Breyer invested $12.7 million in Facebook in 2005. After this investment from Jim Breyer, the initial founders of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Sean Parker and Dustin Moscovitz took a million dollar bonus each.

>Exactly one day after taking the one million dollar bonus, Mark Zuckerberg went to a gas station where a crazy guy, with a pistol in his hand, jumped over him and tried to cause some serious damage. Screaming loudly a fully terrified Zuck jumped into his SUV and zoomed off.

>After being arrested on cocaine related charges in North Carolina, Sean Parker, the co-founder and the then president of Facebook was sent out by Accel Partners who were the principal share holders in Facebook those days.

>With an estimated value of $18.7 million there is also an Indian share holder in Facebook by name Divya Narendra. Though he holds only .022 percent stake in Facebook today, he is already worth the above mentioned figure with that miniature stake. On some copyright issue he waged a prolonged legal battle with Facebook which, as he claims, helped him pursue a career in jurisprudence.

http://www.amazingtruelifestories.com/facebook-issues/amazing-facebook-facts-most-of-us-do-not-know/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LES COMPARTO OTRA FORMA MUY INTERESANTE DE TRATAR LA COMPRENSIÓN DE LECTURA, HAGAN SU MEJOR ESFUERZO TRATANDO DE RESOLVER SOLOS Y DESPUÉS VERIFIQUEN SUS ACIERTOS, COMO SIMPRE; ANEXO LA FUENTE

 

 

 

 

Passage

In England the burden of history weighs heavily
on common law, that unwritten code of time-honored
laws derived largely from English judicial custom and
precedent. Students of contemporary British law are
(5) frequently required to study medieval cases, to
interpret archaic Latin maxims, or to confront
doctrinal principles whose validity is based solely on
their being part of the “timeless reason” of the
English legal tradition. Centuries-old custom serves as
(10) the basis both for the divisions of law school subject
matter and for much of the terminology of legal
redress. Connected not only with legal history but
also with the cultural history of the English people,
common law cannot properly be understood without
(15) taking a long historical view.

Yet the academic study of jurisprudence has
seldom treated common law as a constantly evolving
phenomenon rooted in history; those interpretive
theories that do acknowledge the antiquity of
(20) common law ignore the practical contemporary
significance of its historical forms. The reasons for
this omission are partly theoretical and partly
political. In theoretical terms, modern jurisprudence
has consistently treated law as a unified system of
(25) rules that can be studied at any given moment in time
as a logical whole. The notion of jurisprudence as a
system of norms or principles deemphasizes history
in favor of the coherence of a system. In this view,
the past of the system is conceived as no more than
(30) the continuous succession of its states of presence. In
political terms, believing in the logic of law is a
necessary part of believing in its fairness; even if
history shows the legal tradition to be far from
unitary and seldom logical, the prestige of the legal
(35) institution requires that jurisprudence treat the
tradition as if it were, in essence, the application of
known rules to objectively determined facts. To
suggest otherwise would be dispiriting for the student
and demoralizing for the public.

(40) Legal historian Peter Goodrich has argued,
however, that common law is most fruitfully studied
as a continually developing tradition rather than as a
set of rules. Taking his cue from the study of
literature, Goodrich sees common law as a sort of
(45) literary text, with history and tradition serving as the
text’s narrative development. To study the common
law historically, says Goodrich, is to study a text in
which fiction is as influential as analysis, perception
as significant as rule, and the play of memory as
(50) strong as the logic of argument. The concept of
tradition, for Goodrich, implies not only the
preservation and transmission of existing forms, but
also the continuous rewriting of those forms to adapt
them to contemporary legal circumstances.

Questions

1. Which one of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?(A) The residual influences of common law explain not only the divisions of subject matter but also the terminology associated with many legal procedures.
(B) In the academic study of jurisprudence, theoretical interpretations of common law have traditionally been at odds with political interpretations of common law.
(C) Common law, while often treated as an oral history of the English people, would, according to one scholar, be more fruitfully studied as a universally adaptable and constantly changing system of rules.
(D) Although obviously steeped in history and tradition, common law has seldom been studied in relation to its development, as one theorist proposes that it be understood.
(E) Although usually studied as a unitary and logical system of rules and norms, the history of common law shows that body of law to be anything but consistent and fair.

[Reveal] Spoiler:

D

2. It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes which one of the following about the history of law in relation to modern jurisprudence?
(A) Modern jurisprudence misinterprets the nature of the legal tradition.
(B) The history of law proves the original forms of common law to be antiquated and irrelevant to modern jurisprudence.
(C) The history of law, if it is to be made applicable to modern jurisprudence, is best studied as a system of rules rather than as a literary text.
(D) Mainstream theories of modern jurisprudence overlook the order and coherence inherent in legal history.
(E) Mainstream theories of modern jurisprudence, by and large devoid of a sense of legal history, are unnecessarily dispiriting to students and the public alike.

[Reveal] Spoiler:

A

3. Which one of the following would best exemplify the kind of interpretive theory referred to in the first sentence of the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) a theory that traced modern customs involving property ownership to their origins in medieval practice
(B) a theory that relied on a comparison between modern courtroom procedures and medieval theatrical conventions
(C) a theory that analyzed medieval marriage laws without examining their relationship to modern laws
(D) a theory that compared the development of English common law in the twentieth century with simultaneous developments in German common law without examining the social repercussions of either legal system
(E) a theory that compared rules of evidence in civil courts with those in criminal courts

[Reveal] Spoiler:

C

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Peter Goodrich would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements concerning common law?
(A) Common law is more fruitfully studied as a relic of the history of the English people than as a legal code.
(B) The “text” of common law has degenerated from an early stage of clarity to a current state of incoherence.
(C) Without the public’s belief in the justness of common law, the legal system cannot be perpetuated.
(D) While rich in literary significance, the “text” of common law has only a very limited applicability to modern life.
(E) The common law “text” inherited by future generations will differ from the one currently in use.

[Reveal] Spoiler:

E

5. Which one of the following best defines the word “political” as it is used in the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) concerned with the ways by which people seek to advance themselves in a profession
(B) concerned with the covert and possibly unethical methods by which governments achieve their goals
(C) having to do with the maintenance of ethical standards between professions and the citizenry
(D) having to do with the maintenance of an institution’s effectiveness
(E) having to do with the manner in which institutions are perceived by radical theorists

[Reveal] Spoiler:

D

6. The passage states that students of British law are frequently required to study
(A) histories of English politics
(B) episodes of litigation from the Middle Ages
(C) treatises on political philosophy
(D) histories of ancient Roman jurisprudence
(E) essays on narrative development

[Reveal] Spoiler:

B

7. Which one of the following best describes the author’s opinion of most modern academic theories of common law?
(A) They are overly detailed and thus stultifying to both the student and the public.
(B) They lack an essential dimension that would increase their accuracy.
(C) They overemphasize the practical aspects of the common law at the expense of the theoretical.
(D) They excuse students of the law from the study of important legal disputes of the past.
(E) They routinely treat the study of the law as an art rather than as a science.

[Reveal] Spoiler:

B

8. The primary purpose of the passage is to(A) explain a paradoxical situation and discuss a new view of the situation
(B) supply a chronological summary of the history of an idea
(C) trace the ideas of an influential theorist and evaluate the theorist’s ongoing work
(D) contrast the legal theories of past eras with those of today and suggest how these theories should be studied
(E) advocate a traditional school of thought while criticizing a new trend

[Reveal] Spoiler:

A

Let me know if you need explanation for any specific question/OA.
_________________
Thanks,

http://gmatclub.com/forum/passage-in-england-the-burden-of-history-weighs-heavily-on-148790.html

LES COMPARTO MÁS INFORMACIÓN SOBRE LECTURA DE COMPRENSIÓN DE TEXTOS EN INGLÉS

ESL Reading Comprehension

ESL reading comprehension is important for all new English learners. To understand the basics of everyday life—from newspapers to job applications—a person will need to gain adequate English reading skills. Once you begin looking for information—you will find there are a variety of great resources to help you choose the best stories for ESL reading along with practice questions that help you comprehend the information.

Reading for ESL students is one of the first skills needed to begin enjoying life in your new situation. There are a variety of stories available that will not only be interesting and easy to read but they will also help you understand different types of grammar and vocabulary. Basic ESL reading questions may include "who is the main character" or "what is the setting of the story?" Once you gain English reading skills that allow you to answer these questions accurately your language development will be right on track.

The great thing about ESL reading comprehension stories are the varying levels for beginners and more advanced readers. Many of the short stories will include topics that are relevant to every day life. There are stories about driving a car and going shopping and even meeting new people. Once you have read the stories you may be able to complete vocabulary exercises and grammar activities to help you with your English reading skills. With so much variety to choose from—you do not need to worry about getting bored or not finding something enticing to read. Just jump in and begin a story and practice reading for ESL comprehension.

English reading skills will help you get along in the community where you live. You may even be able to help your friends with their ESL reading comprehension and practice your skills together. It is important to understand what you are reading—whether it is a story in the newspaper or a document from a government agency. Once you have acquired this skill you will feel great about your accomplishment.

Fuente: http://www.5minuteenglish.com/esl-reading-comp.htm

LES COMPARTO OTRA PÁGINA QUE TIENE EJERCICIOS DE COMPRENSIÓN DE LECTURA , SUS RESPUESTAS Y EXPLICACIONES


Practice GMAT Reading Comprehension Question

Marketing executives in television work with a relatively stable advertising medium. In many ways, the television ads aired today are similar to those aired two decades ago. Most television ads still feature actors, still run 30 or 60 seconds, and still show a product. However, the differing dynamics of the Internet pose unique challenges to advertisers, forcing them to adapt their practices and techniques on a regular basis. In the early days of Internet marketing, online advertisers employed banner and pop-up ads to attract customers. These techniques reached large audiences, generated many sales leads, and came at a low cost. However, a small number of Internet users began to consider these advertising techniques intrusive and annoying. Yet because marketing strategies relying heavily on banners and pop-ups produced results, companies invested growing amounts of money into purchasing these ad types in hopes of capturing market share in the burgeoning online economy. As consumers became more sophisticated, frustration with these online advertising techniques grew. Independent programmers began to develop tools that blocked banner and pop-up ads. The popularity of these tools exploded when the search engine Google, at the time an increasingly popular website fighting to solidify its place on the Internet with giants Microsoft and Yahoo, offered free software enabling users to block pop-up ads. The backlash against banner ads grew as new web browsers provided users the ability to block image-based ads such as banner ads. Although banner and pop-up ads still exist, they are far less prominent than during the early days of the Internet. A major development in online marketing came with the introduction of pay-per-click ads. Unlike banner or pop-up ads, which originally required companies to pay every time a website visitor saw an ad, pay-per-click ads allowed companies to pay only when an interested potential customer clicked on an ad. More importantly, however, these ads circumvented the pop-up and banner blockers. As a result of these advantages and the incredible growth in the use of search engines, which provide excellent venues for pay-per-click advertising, companies began turning to pay-per-click marketing in droves. However, as with the banner and pop-up ads that preceded them, pay-per-click ads came with their drawbacks. When companies began pouring billions of dollars into this emerging medium, online advertising specialists started to notice the presence of what would later be called click fraud: representatives of a company with no interest in the product advertised by a competitor click on the competitor's ads simply to increase the marketing cost of the competitor. Click fraud grew so rapidly that marketers sought to diversify their online positions away from pay-per-click marketing through new mediums. Although pay-per-click advertising remains a common and effective advertising tool, marketers adapted yet again to the changing dynamics of the Internet by adopting new techniques such as pay-per-performance advertising, search engine optimization, and affiliate marketing. As the pace of the Internet's evolution increases, it seems all the more likely that advertising successfully on the Internet will require a strategy that shuns constancy and embraces change.   http://www.platinumgmat.com/practice_gmat_questions/reading_comprehension_questions?practice_question_id=750

Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage? A) Although pay-per-click advertising remains a wide-spread and effective online advertising medium, its popularity is likely to diminish as the Internet evolves. B) Internet advertising is not well received by Internet users, causing independent programmers to subvert advertisers. C) Unlike the television, the Internet has experienced dramatic changes in short periods of time. D) Unlike the television, the Internet has evolved rapidly, forcing online marketers to develop new advertising strategies and mediums. E) The pace of the Internet’s evolution is increasing and will only increase in the future. Show Answer Correct Answer: D Show Explanation

HELLO U.S.

¡HOLA UCRANIA!

 LES PRESENTO UNAS PEQUEÑAS LECTURAS PARA QUE PRACTIQUEN LA TRADUCCIÓN Y DE ESA MANERA APRENDAN MÁS VOCABULARIO

It’s primo beach season over in China and Face-kinis (a swimsuit for your face) are the new hot beach accessory. Hottest beach accessory since the sun, in fact! Jk jk, the sun is face meltingly hot and face-kinis are meant to PROTECT from sun’s harmful rays. Hey, I am alllllll for sun protection, which is exactly why I stay indoors with the windows boarded up to maintain my skin’s translucency. Still, these face-kinis are a little terrifying. I mean, how can you tell if a person is just an innocent beach goer or actually trying to rob the damn Tiki bar?!

 

Man survives days in snow thanks to frozen beer

December 5, 2011 10:00 AM

An Alaskan man who crashed his truck and got stuck in a snowdrift survived his three day ordeal thanks to frozen cans of beer.

Clifton Vial had been driving in the remote area outside of the town of Nome when he crashed and his car became stuck.

With temperatures dropping as low as -28C he used a sleeping bag to keep warm and occasionally started the engine of his truck to turn on the heater.

But with no food in his vehicle, it wasn't looking good for Vial -- until he realised he had a few cans of Coors Light with him.

He used a knife to cut off the lids and then proceeded to eat the frozen brew, which it says is best served chilled.

Luckily Vial was saved when his boss realised he hadn't turned up for work and sent a search party.

CONSIDERO QUE SERÍA CONVENIENTE QUE MIENTRAS TENGAN TIEMPO LEAN LO QUE MÁS PUEDAN Y APLIQUEN LA TÉCNICA DE TRADUCIR, ESPECIALMENTE LAS PALABRAS QUE DESCONOCEN, PERO TIENEN QUE SER SINCEROS CON USTEDES MISMOS, LAS PALABRAS QUE EN ALGUNA OCASIÓN BUSCAMOS EN EL DICCIONARIO APARECEN NUEVAMENTE EN OTROS TEXTOS; AL PRINCIPIO SERÁN MUCHAS LAS PALABRAS QUE BUSCARÁN PERO PAULATINAMENTE SERÁN MENOS. ADEMÁS, CONSIDEREN QUE SI EN NUESTRO PROPIO IDIOMA NO CONOCEMOS LOS SIGNIFICADOS DE TODAS LAS PALABRAS, IMAGÍNENSE LO QUE SUCEDE CON LAS PALABRAS EN OTRO IDIOMA QUE ESTAMOS APRENDIENDO

25 Ways to Save More Each Month

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The more we spend unnecessarily, the less money we save for our true priorities and future needs. That's especially important in challenging economic times. BusinessWeek asked financial advisors for tips on how to reduce expenses and boost savings. Changing spending habits can be difficult, but here are 25 suggestions to get started.

1. Track Every Expense

Financial advisors say the best way to control your spending is to know precisely where all your cash is going each month. There are several options: Make a budget; keep a spreadsheet of all spending; or buy a computer program designed to help manage your finances.

2. Vacation in the Off-season

Reston (Va.)-based financial planner Frank Boucher says he is taking his beach vacation in early September, when he found a luxury condo for half its cost during July and August. Vacationers can also save by staying with friends or visiting low-cost locations like developing countries.

3. Cut Out Investment Charges and Fees

Jeff Seymour of Triangle Wealth Management in Cary, N.C., points out that many investors end up paying 2% to 3% off the top each year for investing costs. Lower-cost mutual funds and index funds can slash that bill, savings that compound over several decades of investing.

Also, save more by taking full advantage of your employer's matching contribution to your 401(k) account.

4. Cut Back on Eating Out

Food is a daily expense that can add up quickly over time, so office workers can save a lot just by bringing their lunches to work rather than buying every day. Meals eaten at home almost always cost less than evenings out, even at more casual restaurants.

5. Downsize Your Car

Drivers stuck with a gas-guzzling SUV might consider selling it and finding more fuel-efficient wheels. (Of course, that could mean a financial hit given falling prices for the behemoths.) You can save on fuel and also on auto loan payments. High car payments are a frequent budget-buster, financial advisors say.

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6. Cut Utility Bills, Especially Electricity

Experts are full of advice on lowering electricity and heating bills: Buy efficient light bulbs; lower the thermostat; turn off the air conditioning whenever possible; turn off lights and unplug appliances when not needed.

7. Make Sure You Don't Have Too Much Insurance

Life insurance can be a bad deal if you don't have dependents. For auto and home insurance, deductibles are often too low, advisors say. "You can save quite a bit by going from a $250 to $1,000 deductible," says Kirk Kinder of Picket Fence Financial in Bel Air, Md. "Also, shopping these for prices every couple years is important."

8. Find Cheaper Beverages to Drink

If you can break your addiction to fancy coffee, the free office coffee can be a money-saver over time. Unwilling to give up out-of-office coffee breaks, some thrifty consumers switch to a cheaper drink at their local Starbucks or other coffee shop. For alcoholic drinks, quality wines, beers, and liquor can be found at lower prices with a little research.

9. Examine Your Phone Service

Do you need both a landline and a mobile phone? If you have a cell phone, do you need long-distance service on your home phone? Canceling one line could mean one less bill every month. Many people have phone packages that are too expensive for their needs, so read your bill carefully.

10. Stop Paying for Premium Cable

Some penny-pinchers cancel cable service entirely to save $100 or more each month. Others lower their bills by cutting out premium movie channels.

11. Drive Less; Consolidate Trips

Think before jumping in the car. By planning and running many errands on the same car trip, you cut your fuel usage. Rather than driving, consider using public transportation, or walk, bike, or rollerblade somewhere nearby.

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12. Use Warehouse Stores Wisely

Warehouse stores like Costco or Wal-Mart's Sam's Club can be great places to get deals, but they can also encourage over-spending. "Just make sure you go with a list and only buy those things that you are actually going to consume," financial planner Frank Boucher says. "It makes no sense to get a 'bargain' on a bulk item if you are going to throw half of it away."

13. Lay Down the Law with Your Free-Spending Friends

It can be hard to keep up with wealthier or less thrifty friends. Some financial planners advise cash-strapped clients to seek out social companions with similar budgets. However, if you're honest about your spending limits, true friends should be willing to adjust their plans by, for example, choosing a less pricey restaurant.

14. Find Free Entertainment

Movie rentals, cable TV packages, book purchases, concert tickets—it can all add up. Use your local public library to read books and rent films for free. Depending on where you live, it might also be possible to find free concerts, performances, and readings.

15. Consider Alternatives to a Gym Membership

The health benefits of a fitness club membership are only worthwhile if you go often. But there are other options: Exercise at home, outside, or at a local parks facility. Or, sign up for individual exercise or yoga classes rather than a full membership.

16. Cut Your Own Lawn

Michelle Goldstein of Goldstein Financial Future in Dallas estimates her family saves $40 each time they mow their own lawn instead of calling a lawn service.

17. Be Smart with Credit Cards

Financial advisors admonish clients to pay off their bills each month to avoid interest and finance charges. For those stuck with debt, move cash to cards with low interest rates. Some find they spend less on impulse purchases if they cut up their credit cards and use only cash instead.

18. Annualize Your Expenses

When reviewing your spending habits, roughly calculate how much they're costing over the course of a year. "Realizing how much things cost over the course of a year can really help put things in perspective," says Bob Nusbaum of Middle America Planning in Pittsburgh. For example, if you spend $10 for snacks and lunch each weekday, that adds up to $2,500 in a year.

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19. Force Yourself to Save

One way to save more is to trick yourself. Transfer money automatically from paychecks into savings or investment accounts. With less available in your checking account, you'll be more careful about your spending. Gradually increase your automatic savings rate over time.

20. Institute a Waiting Period for Major Purchases

Wait at least 48 hours before deciding to buy anything over a certain price limit—$50 for example. After the waiting period is over, "You may decide that the object desired really isn't worth the price," says Jennifer Hartman of Greenleaf Financial Group in Los Angeles.

21. Pay Bills Online—Save on Stamps, Avoid Late Fees

Set up your finances so bills are paid automatically or online at the click of a mouse. "There's no reason to pay for stamps and envelopes and run the risk of a late-payment fee when bill-pay programs are usually free," says Walt Mozdzer of Syverson Strege & Co.

22. Make Sure You're Deducting All Business Expenses

Chris Long of Long & Associates in Chicago says clients often make the mistake of mixing personal and business expenses on one credit card. That makes them less likely to get reimbursed for expenses by employers or to deduct expenses from taxes.

23. Buy Generic Drugs and Groceries

Store-brand products in grocery stores are often made by the same manufacturers as the brand-name items. If you take prescription drugs, ask your pharmacist if a cheaper, generic version is available.

24. Buy Used

Cars, books, furniture, and even clothing can be bought used for a fraction of their original cost. New cars in particular often aren't worth the extra cost; a lightly used vehicle can save you thousands of dollars with little or no extra maintenance expenses.

25. Shop Smart

Coupons are a classic way for shoppers to get great deals. Supermarkets vying for shoppers will frequently run "double coupon" promotions. Comparison-shopping on the Internet is easy thanks to a variety of sites designed to help shoppers find the best deals. When retail Web sites ask for "coupon codes," try to find one by using a search engine. But whether online or in person, avoid the temptation of bargain-hunting for items you don't really need. "Most of the time if an item is 20% off, we waste $8 to save that $2," says Neerja Bhutani of Bhutani-Palmin Financial Planning in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Fuente: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pf_article_105529.html