Happy 2012 everyone! We've decided this is our year of abundance: money, friends, and good ideas (not necessarily in that order). To kick this year off in that spirit, we've worked together with awesome RFB aficionado Claudia Cooper to share her list of most appreciated resources (thanks for sharing, Claudia!). Read on to learn about free DVD rentals, saving on groceries, and more.

I’m borderline obsessed with getting the best deal and it’s a fact that buying in bulk can be a great way to save money. If you share a place with other people or team up with the apartment across the hall, that's even better! This is a great way to save cash and stock up the pantry or gear up for your next party (here in CA they have great prices on beer, wine and liquor - although I’m still a HUGE fan of BevMo!.) Because I love saving money, I’m a huge proponent of shopping at bulk discount stores.

My girlfriend and I tend to go to the movies in waves, so for these past four weekends we've been inspired by Warrior (5 stars, 4 thumbs up, we both loved it! Go see it and get motivated!!), MoneyBall (4.5 stars, 3.5 thumbs up, very solid, talk about creatively stretching a buck) and 50/50 (4.5 stars, 3.5 thumbs up, great performances, honest). We capped it off this movie spurt with Real Steel (Rocky with robots and I love Hugh Jackman, also it came out on my birthday...kismet!). More to the point, we didn't sign up for a paid reward program to save on this movie marathon. Here's why we're not fans.

It's finally happened. You sent out a million resumes, and the wait was excruciating. Now your phone is making the sweet sound of the Final Countdown ring tone that you assigned to all your potential employers. The news is good! You have an interview tomorrow. Of course, if we know anything about the current job market, it's that competition is high. How can you set yourself apart when you're competing against dozens if not hundreds of people?

One of the easiest way to keep your savings account growing is simply not to spend money. It would make sense to always search for and go with the best deal, but that’s not always the case. Their are two other important aspects to consider when bargain shopping: time and long term value. The cheapest items can sometimes end up costing you a great deal more than you’d think.

My budget may protest, but my split ends and raggedy cuticles are begging for some attention. In order to broker a peace treaty, I’m checking out beauty schools. Though it’s a risk (we all remember Frenchie from Grease), there are some big benefits to allowing a student to take a scissor to your locks or rub some cream into your hands. Namely, it’s usually pretty cheap. There are, however, some things to keep in mind before you head into the student salon.

Before you buy, get quotes and brush up on your negotiating technique. My mom used to tell me to let my fingers do the walking and call places before driving around to see if they had what you were looking for. The same thing goes with cars. Online quotes are your golden ticket to the best deal.