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Check out this article on the new “experience agents.” They’ll fix you up with once in a lifetime experiences for a hefty fee. Some of my favorites include the Playboy Mansion Party for $3,900 per person (how’s that for a birthday gift) and the Fighter Pilot for a day ($1,195 per person).

Anyway you look at it though, holidays are becoming about experiences, not just about laying on a beach drinking a resort out of its margarita supply.

Read the full article here.

This is a guest post from Brian.

Within the past 1/3 of a year, I’ve had the pleasure of moving out for the first time.
In a city that has gone through quite the boom, even renting is expensive. I’m fortunate enough to have the financial help of a girlfriend to help make it through the bills however.

We’ve spent a few months fine-tuning our budget that’s proving its worthiness.
I’m on a yearly salary, and my girlfriend does shift work and therefore has varying paychecks. To make it even more exciting, I’m paid semi-monthly whereas she is paid bi-weekly.

To figure out who pays how much of the overall bills, we’ve implemented a percentage system. Over a month, whoever pulls in more money pays more of the bills. It was the fairest system we could devise that wouldn’t lead to arguing over who pays how much of what bill and leave me sleeping on a couch. [Read more →]

This is a guest post from Brian.

Over the past couple months I made the transition from an everyday $120 20″ Toshiba TV to a $2000 42″ Pioneer Plasma TV. It took a lot of thinking, saving, and it was most certainly worth every penny.

I had an advantage of background knowledge and HDTV viewing experience since both my dad and brother own Plasma TV’s (43″ Pioneer Elite and a 42″ Panasonic respectively). Of this knowledge and experience, a few things I found helpful to know are as follows:

• Plasma’s reflect a lot of light, so beware of the positioning of the TV in relation to windows. Plasma TV’s reflect far more light than LCD’s (or so I find at least) and therefore it is important to consider where the TV will be located.
• Beware of most LCD warranties. Most warranties on an LCD will have some sort of next to impossible situation of “if 10 pixels in a row burn out”. I’m no mathematician but considering LCD’s have millions of pixels, I’m pretty sure the chance of burning out 10 pixels in a row is highly unlikely.

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I’ve said it before and I think budgeting is basically useless when it is too detailed. If you budget a certain amount for every little item then you will eventually overspend on something and feel like you’ve failed. The problem is it’s just too inflexible.

I support the 60% solution which is a great way to split your income. But I think it’s important to hold cash for the 10% of funds that you spend anywhere, anytime.

The problem with today’s spending habits is that it’s too easy to buy. You don’t need cash now, you don’t need to plan, all you have to do is throw them a credit card and poof, that diamond encrusted cellphone is now yours. Instant satisfaction. Instead you should take out your disposable funds once per week in cash. This way you can see how much you have left to spend anytime you look in your wallet.

It also makes it harder to spend. You’ll find that you will run into purchases you want to make only to find you don’t have the money to buy them. But after you go home and sleep on it, you often realize that that new video game was just an impulse. So take cash, spend less, spend smarter and become rich.

What are some of the tips you use to manage your finances? And send us an email if you have a post that you think would be a great addition to livvit.com at – livvitco@livvit.com.

UK based Luvaglio has finally put something on the market that no one can justify. A $1 million dollar laptop. The tech specs are pretty boring but it comes with a diamond ring that serves as the power button and can actually be taken off and worn. Oh and the ring even acts as a security feature unlocking the computer. It’s probably the first time a security device is more desirable than what it guards.

The laptops are fully customizable with a selection of leathers, real woods and leathers.

 Check out more luxurious, but this time affordable laptops.

 This is a guest post by Bunk Price. You can find other articles by Bunk at the lifestyle maverick.

I am an ectomorph by the pure definition of the word. To put it simple it is hard as junk for me to put on weight, it always has been. In high school, I so badly wanted to be starring in the backfield on the football team, however due to my slim build and the fact that I could not put on weight no matter how hard I tried, I was doomed to the life of a split end.

Now as some of you may know, I can add muscle definition with the best of them , but when it comes to building muscle mass it has taken hard-ass work on my part for years and years to actually make good “gains” when building muscle mass.

So for that reason, I decided to test the the perceived notions of a typical workout and opted to drop the typical “so many sets, so many reps” routine. I used a workout regimen that had me in the gym for 2 days a week, 30 minutes a day . I focused on less time in the gym, but maximizing the time in there. For the 30 minutes occupied in the gym, I went only one set per exercise on 5-7 basic multi-joint exercises (i.e. squats, bench press, dips). The difference in going one set rather than 3-4 sets, was I went to failure on the one set, which conditioned my body to release testosterone causing growth. I did a slow cadence on both the upward and downward movements, causing a heck of a lot more resistance .Many people know of this as HIT(High Intensity Training) and it has both its followers and naysayers. The end results….
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A recent study showed that you will be 37% less likely to die from heart disease if you take three 30 minute naps per week. To me this is like finding out that beer makes you skinny. I love taking a post work nap and I always felt a little guilty about it. But now when someone asks why I’m napping – I can let them know that I’m just trying to look after my heart.

 Tips for a good nap:

1. Limit the sound – if you listen to the TV while you nap you’ll just train yourself to fall asleep when you’re watching TV. You’ll also have a more restful doze if you can’t hear any screaming.
2. Get comfy – Just because you’re taking a nap doesn’t mean you have to do it in a chair. Jump in bed and get comfy.
3. Set an alarm - Nothing’s worse (okay maybe a lot of things are but that’s a standard opening line) than going for a quick nap and waking up when it’s time to really go to bed. If you take a long nap you can throw off your natural rythm, so keep them to around 30 minutes.
4. Don’t feel bad – Remember, you’re not being lazy, you’re looking after your health.

The three year wait is finally over for die-hard gamers as Microsoft and Bungie have release the latest in the Halo series, Halo 3. I remember when Halo 2 came out and the insane fun that followed, and I can only imagine how awesome this version will be with high-def graphics and new weapons for a beatuiful slaughter of the Convenant. Some early reviews have commented on the limited single player game but everyone know that Halo is all about multiplayer, and that is where this game shines. This iteration builds on the co-op play of Halo 2 allowing up to 4 players to team up online to complete levels in co-op mode, and the multiplayer mode can support 16 players per level. I can’t wait to get my copy and I’d suggest you go out and do the same.

I have to say that Bag Borrow or Steal is one of the better ideas I’ve seen in a while. The company rents out designer handbags for a monthly fee, $20/month for access to the “Trendsetter” line (think Dooney & Burke) all the way up to $175/month for the “Couture” line (think Gucci and Rosiblu). You have access to one bag at a time and when you get bored with it you get them to ship you a different one and return the old one.

Not only will this service keep your closet a lot cleaner, it can be an inexpensive way to look your best all the time. So the next time you’re looking at dropping a few thousand for a Fendi you’ll use for a few months, think about renting it. 

You think this piece would start with the iPhone, but lets face it. It’s overdone. Everyone’s talking about it and yes it’s cool, but there’s still phones out there that are even crazier.

 Check these phones out (but be warned the price tags rival some peoples cars and even houses).

The LG KE850 Prada cell phone by LG is astounding. It was the first touch screen phone on the market, is as sleek as the iPhone, but packs the punch of the Prada name. It’ll set you back $800, but your friends will go green right away.

The next eye catcher is the Serene by Samsung. I have no idea how you’re supposed to use it, but it was released in November and is reputed to be one of the slickest operating phones out there. You can pick it up for $1,275. Oh don’t worry the prices get worse.

Check out the last two phones below.

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