These apps allow consumers to compare the prices of merchandise on a store’s shelf to competing stores in the area just by taking pictures with their smartphone’s camera. The prices are instantly retrieved and displayed on the mobile phone so consumers can know before they buy if they’re getting a good deal.

Pretty cool.  If only I had a phone that was that smart.  Of course, like anything that empowers the consumer, the stores are already thinking real hard about making their stores cell phone free zones through policies banning them or through cell phone jamming devices.  Use them while you can.

Have you been using one of these programs?  Let us know how it works for you!  Or give it a try and let us know!

Be sure to head over and take in all the great personal finance articles that are a part of the carnival.  You’re sure to find a few that are right up your alley.

They guy is horribly lucky, but am I the only one who’s first thought was to wonder how much the taxes are on something like that?  This is what being a frugal personal finance blogger will do to you!  It ruins all the fun stuff with reality!  Don’t buy into it!  Ignore your finances and spend like there is no tomorrow!  You’ll enjoy it a lot more than making a budget!

Ok, I’m just kidding.  You shouldn’t buy into it.  You should keep very good track of your finances and, while you likely won’t enjoy it too much, you do need to do a budget.  Besides, he’ll likely be able to pay most of the taxes with the 26k in cash, but I’m wondering if it isn’t going to be more than that.  Any experts in prize taxes out there?

And really, can you put a value on your freedom?  And are you really free?

You get up at 5 a.m. every morning to hop through the shower, commute to some office somewhere, and sit at a desk for 8 hours so some company can make a few more bucks.  Oh, and they might pay you for it.  Are you really free?  Can you do what you please?  Why not?

We all accept the yoke of the “job” because we want things.  And we need things.  The things we need are relatively minor in most cases.  It’s the things that we want that really drive us to go to work each day.  Part of our goal as Personal Finance students (that’s what we all are) is to realize what wants we really care about acheiving.  An example; As usual, black friday rolled around with lots of great deals.  Several such deals revolved around various sizes of LCD and Plasma HDTV sets.  I really, really want one.  Badly want one.  As a result, I’ve struggled with the issue all week.  Should I go get one? Shouldn’t I?  In the end, I decided against it.  Firstly, it wasn’t in our budget.  I shouldn’t have to go farther than that, but I did.  Secondly, I’ve gotten much better about recognizing and separating wants from needs.  I do want a new fancy tv.  But I don’t need it.  And until I do, it’s going to the bottom of the want list.

Recently, there has been lots of talk about our economy and how bad it is getting.  Along with that has been talk about the thousands upon thousands of layoffs that have been announced.  Luckily, I’m not one of them.  Yet.  I really don’t foresee me joining them.  For that I am thankful.  Or at least I was until I read the Fire Fly Manifesto.  Ok, the thought of losing my job is enough to put my blood pressure into previously unseen heights and give me a stress ulcer.  But that manifesto makes it sound like it’s all gonna be ok.

It’s an incredibly motivating piece.  And I truly came away from it wondering if it wouldn’t be better if I did join the corps of the unemployed.  And then I broke out in sweats.  But I did think about it.  And there is a part of me that wishes I had the freedom of the unemployed to do with my time as I choose.

If you have recently lost your job (especially you) or if you feel that your job is threatened, you need to read this paper.  It’s short and sweet and free.  The author is pushing his site and his upcoming book, but only lightly and the Fire Fly Manifesto really stands on it’s own.  Even if you don’t feel threatened, you should read it.

For December, they’ve got another deal for you. If you use your Electric Orange Mastercard check card 5 times or more on purchases of over $10, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $5000 prize.

1. Use your Electric Orange Card to make 5 purchases of at least $10 each and you’re entered.
2. Each purchase must appear on your December statement.
3. We’ll choose 5 winners and drop $5,000 into their Electric Orange by 1/15/09.

It’s not a guaranteed $20 like they did this month, but if you already use your check card, it might be worth the effort to make sure you make all 5 transactions for over $10.  Who couldn’t use an extra $5000 at the beginning of the year.  Think of the debt that could pay off!  It would also make a great head start on a great emergency fund! Or a college fund!  Or retirement account!  Oh!  The possibilities!

Read the rules at the ING Direct site.

It’s been a while since Christmas was a traditionally no-gifts holiday, but from a personal finance perspective, I can’t help but think it’s time we all got a little closer to that.  After all, it’s not about the gifts but about the people that we spend the holidays with.

You can check out our selection as well as lots and lots of other great articles as Living Almost Large hosts the 180th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.

Whether the occasion be a birthday, anniversary, Christmas, or some other special occasion, giving gifts should be fun.  We all know it’s fun to get gifts, but it really should be fun to give them as well.

And it goes without saying that if you’re overspending and blowing your budget that giving gifts can easily become a source of stress instead of joy.  And when that happens, you begin to begrudge the people that you’re giving gifts too.  This happens when you feel forced to give gifts as well.

Bottom line: Give yourself a budget for your entire list and adjust as necessary to fit within your overall budget.

Winter, and more specifically, the time around the holidays is when most people have the most problems with their finances.  Gift purchases throw off their budgets.  Bonuses give them a unexpected bit of cash and they spend more than they expected.

Whatever the case may be, your financial picture might end up looking more like a Picasso than a portrait of your true financial life.  And your budget might be way off.  It happens.

The holiday season is one of the hardest to budget for.  Between all the gifts and trips that we all buy and make, it’s easy to lose track of where some of our money went or to over spend in a few categories.  But, keeping tabs on our budget is also one of the most important things we can do during the holiday season.

A winter financial checkup isn’t really as special as I’ve made it sound.  It’s mostly just your regular budgeting session but with some special attention spent on predicting some of the extra expenditures.  And if you’re lucky enough, some extra incomes as well.

You’ll want to ask yourself, first, if you’re expecting any extra income.  Usually, this means a yearly bonus or a Christmas bonus.  If you are, now is a great time to plan for that extra income and budget it in.  Extra income is exactly that.  Extra.  It’s unplanned for up until now.  If you are still paying off your debt, I suggest you plan on using at least 50% of any expected bonus for debt repayment.  You’ll have some pangs of regret for things you could have bought, but in the long run, you’ll thank yourself.  The other 50% should go towards your gift purchases and towards any traveling that you are planning.

You’ll also want to take the time to truly plan your gift giving.  It’s a part of holding yourself to a budget.  I guarantee that if you walk into a store to buy gifts without a list or a set spending limit on each person, you will overspend.  Everybody does it.  It’s the spirit of the season.  Generosity is in the air, but you can still be generous without breaking your budget.  Make a list of all the people you intend to buy gifts for.  If you have any ideas for them, make sure you add those to the list.  Now, beside each name, write down the amount that you will spend on that person’s gift.  They don’t all have to be the same.  Your sister might like her $25 scrap-booking kit just as much as your brother likes his $50 tackle box.  It’s the thought that counts.  And if they do care, then you spent more on them than they deserve.

The main reason for a winter financial checkup is to keep control.  That’s what a budget is all about and that’s what will keep your spending in line and your debt shrinking.  Take the time the next time you check your finances to do a little bit extra and give yourself a winter financial checkup.

If you have an Electric Orange checking account, you’re already enrolled.  You then only need to use your EO debit card to make at least 5 purchases of more than $10.  When they all show up on your November statement, you’ll get a bonus of $20 sometime before December 15th.  (Details at the ING page)

I just heard about this today and normally I don’t use the debit card for my EO account all that much.  It’s set up to automatically pay a few subscriptions, but nothing that would meet the qualifications for this bonus.  However, my family and I just returned from a vacation where we had saved for the expenses of the vacation in an ING Direct savings account that is tied to the EO account.  When we went on vacation, we transfered the money to the EO account so that we could easily access it with the debit card.

Unknown to me, we met all the qualifications for the bonus and are looking forward to the bonus!  Yippee!  There’s still a few days left to qualify for the bonus if you haven’t already.  If you don’t have a EO account, you might be pushing it to get one and get the card in time to qualify, but even if you don’t get the bonus, the 1% interest rate is still better than what most banks pay.