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You don’t need much cash on hand to lead a good life. I’m not talking about credit cards. If you are a resident in U.S.A., you can live well without having a big salary or load of cash in the bank. Ok, you can live comfortably if you know how, and have internet access.

You can have your heating bills paid for, which would keep you warm. You can even own gorgeous designer handbags. You can dine at fancy restaurants and get paid to live the good life.

How is that possible?

By mystery shopping. You’ll find where you can do just that in the resource box. Let’s start with the really cool part about eating at fine restaurants and getting paid for it.

Basically, the company wants to check on their sales staff or service staff. Obviously, the staff would recognize the big boss or top management people if they were to show up. The management wants to know whether the sales staff or service staff are doing their work properly.

In the case of a restaurant, the management wants to know if the waiters please the customers, if the chef cooks well even when the management is not looking. So they get mystery shoppers to do these spot checks.

That means, the fancy restaurant pays you to wine and dine there, like a regular customer. The restauraunt will pay for your meal. You then feedback to the management your experience. Imagine. Getting paid to be treated like royalty. Now that’s living it up.

Besides restaurants, many service oriented companies hire mystery shoppers to keep their staff on their toes. Carpet cleaning companies could pay you to get your carpets cleaned. Pizza delivery companies pay you and give you free pizza. You get to live it up and get paid for it.

Besides mystery shopping, you can get a lot of your bills paid for by filling in surveys. These could be as simple as between 2 products, which do you prefer. Or what you like or don’t like about a product. It could be your demographic information. The company may be trying to get in touch with the likes and dislikes of their customers, or potential customers and are willing to pay your bills or give you useful gifts in return for your participation in their surveys. The company might be trying to build a customer profile for their product, or simply trying to understand the market better. At the end of the day, you benefit with free stuff and better service or products as the company makes adjustments in line with the results of the surveys.

That means you can get what you want at kmart or walmart by joining their programs and getting their gift cards. You can get 0 gift cards that can be used to by your groceries or your thanksgiving food. If you have a sweet tooth, you can get 0 worth of chocolate for free. Gas bills too high, there is even a program that lets you have free gas for a year. Fancy your own laptop? You can get yours for free too. Not from an unknown brand but the good laptop brands like IBM, Toshiba or Gateway. You can get a Tiffany bracelet, carry a Fendi bag, go for a vacation without paying a cent. While you are on vacation, you can take great photos with you new digital camera, listen to music on your new MP3 player and call home with your wireless phone, all of which you got for free.

Want to lose weight, go to the gym, with a free 1 year gym membership. Even your pet gets to eat for free with a year’s supply of pet food.

So you see, you don’t need much cash to live it up. If you spare the time to fill in some forms, you could basically live a good life… for free.

Another way you can stretch the dollar is to get what you need at discount prices. I like to go to warehouse sales or closeouts to get branded goods at below retail prices. Big sales may be crowded but if you can stand the crowds, they are well worth the trip. Some of the items could have been brought in specially for the sale to attract crowds. These would probably be the first items to sell out. You might want to go to the sale as early as possible to ensure you get the best deals before they run out.

You can also find lots of great stuff at below retail prices online. Why? For one thing, online stores do not have the high rental overheads that a real brick and mortar store would have to pay for. The savings could then be passed on to the customer in the form of discounts. Even some brick and mortar stores have web only discounts which are well worth a look at. By paying less than retail prices for your purchases, you can live it up even on a small income.

Before you buy your dream wedding dress, you have to know the basic and most popular wedding dress styles around. Wedding dresses come in different shapes, colors, styles and designs. Without knowledge of the basic wedding dress styles, looking through each and every single wedding dress in a bridal boutique can prove to be a completely dizzying and overwhelming experience.To prevent wedding dress-related headaches, we’ve come up with a list of the basic wedding dress styles available.Some of the wedding dress elements you need to consider include the wedding dress neckline, sleeve style, bodice, and the wedding dress shape or silhouette.

The Wedding Dress Neckline

Your gown’s neckline is easily one of the most noticeable parts of your wedding dress [out]. During the wedding photo ops, close-up shots will showcase your wedding dress neckline. The following are some of the most popular wedding dress necklines available.

* Asymmetrical: The asymmetrical neckline has a diagonal neckline designed to show off a woman’s beautiful shoulders.

* Off-the-Shoulder or Off-Shoulder: This neckline sits below your shoulders. It’s the perfect neckline if you plan to show off your shoulders and your collarbones. This is a universally flattering design that can draw attention to the bride’s neck and shoulders.

* The bateau is a relatively straight neckline that sweeps gently across the curve of the collarbone to the shoulders. Bateau or Sabrina necklines are perfect for brides with small bosoms, as they enhance the chest area.

* Portrait: A lot like the off-the-shoulder style with a wide scoop neckline, the portrait neckline has fabric that covers the bride’s shoulders. It’s the perfect neckline to show off the neck and the collarbones while masking the bride’s upper arms.

* Jewel or T-Shirt: The jewel neckline resembles the cut of the T-shirt, in that the neckline is high and round, sitting at the base of the bride’s throat. Jewel necklines are perfect for brides looking to enhance the bust area.

* Sweetheart: The sweetheart neckline, as you can already tell from its name, is shaped like the top of the heart at the bust line. It is typically strapless, accentuating the bride’s cleavage.

* V-Neck: The V-neck wedding dress has a neckline that dips at the front of the gown, creating a “V” shape.

* Scoop: The scoop neckline is a classic, with its U-shaped neckline continuing at the back of the wedding dress

* Halter: The halter neckline has straps that wrap or tie behind the bride’s neck. Most halter wedding dresses feature backless styles, creating a subtle but incredibly sexy look.

* Strapless: Mostly cut straight across or with a slight curve, this sleeve-style is sleeveless and strap-less. This is probably the most popular wedding neckline preferred by millions of brides in the world.

Wedding Dress Sleeves:

Your wedding dress sleeves can directly affect your gown’s overall look. The following are some of the most popular wedding dress sleeve styles available.

* Spaghetti Straps: Skinny straps are designed to show off the bride’s arms and her shoulders. Its modern and subtly sexy style makes it an easy favorite of most modern brides.

* Capped Sleeves: Shorter than your average T-shirt, capped sleeves are gently rounded to delicately cling to the bride’s shoulders. Capped sleeves are the perfect choice for brides with toned or slender arms.

* Three-Fourths Sleeves: A classic, this sleeve style refers more to sleeve length than to the actual design of the sleeves. Consider the three-fourths sleeves the perfect option for brides who want a ladylike and classic look for their gown. It’s also an excellent option for women who wish to keep their arms covered. These sleeves end midway between your elbows and your wrists.

* Sleeveless: This style is sans sleeves. Choosing the right neckline for this sleeve style is essential for finding the right wedding dress style.

* T-Shirt Sleeves: With sleeves like your regular T-shirt, you’re bound to feel absolutely comfortable in this simple but elegant number. Its short sleeves also offer excellent upper arm coverage, making it the perfect choice for brides who are a bit reluctant to show off their arms.

Wedding Dress Bodice:

Your gown’s bodice pertains to the whole upper body of your gown, including the sleeves, neckline and your gown’s skirt.

* Empire: Empire wedding dresses are perfect for petite brides. The bodice style typically ends right under the bride’s bust, with the skirt flows softly underneath.

* Halter: More than just a neckline, the halter bodice is a sleeveless bodice that has straps that tie or wraps around the bride’s neck.

* Corset: The days of everyday corset-wearing women may be long gone, but corset-clad brides will tell you that this form-fitting bodice is the perfect choice if you’re looking to enhance and emphasize your body’s curves. The tight fit can help push up your breasts, adding size to your bust, while tightly containing the waist area to create the illusion of a smaller waistline.

* Drop Waist: Looking to lengthen your torso? The drop waist bodice enhances a small waist and lengthens the appearance of the torso by having the bodice end just above the hip region.

* Surplice: The surplice bodice has fabric that cross-wraps either in front or at the back of the wedding dress

* Tank: Sleeveless and short, this bodice style is perfect for any body type.

* Midriff: Tight fitting around the middle part of the ribcage, this bodice style accentuates a slim and small waist.

* Princess-Line: This bodice style is creates the princess silhouette. The sleek bodice has two parallel and vertical seams that go from the bust of the bodice to the hem. The seams create a slimming and lengthening effect.

Wedding Dress Shape:

The wedding dress shape, also known as the wedding dress silhouette refers to the basic shape or form of the dress.

* Princess or A-Line: The A-Line skirt of the princess dress creates the illusion of a perfect hourglass figure. The bodice is shaped like a “V” with a princess bodice and an A-Line skirt that flares gently from waist down.

* Ball Gown: Another dress shape fit for royalty, the ball gown has a fitted bodice with a poufy skirt usually made from layers and layers of tulle supported by a hoop under the skirt.

* Sheath: A slimming dress shape, the sheath lightly skims the bride’s figure, creating a lovely, fitted look.

* Mermaid: The mermaid dress shape has a form-fitting bodice with a sheath-like skirt that clings up to the knees, where the skirt then flares gently to create a mermaid silhouette.

* Empire: The empire-style wedding dress has a high waistline, usually directly under the bust, with a flowing but not necessarily form-fitting skirt that falls gracefully from the bodice.

* Bias Cut: The bias cut wedding dress style has a fabric with a diagonal cut that’s perfect for tall brides. It has a slimming effect that is perfect for brides with slim to medium-sized frames. It’s not recommended for pear-shaped brides and full-figured brides due to its form-fitting nature.