Are you ready to live like no one else, so later, you can live like no one else? Ready for beans and rice, rice and beans? Ready to be gazelle-intense about getting out of debt?

Those are some of the favorite phrases of get-out-of-debt guru Dave Ramsey of syndicated radio and Fox Business News fame. If you can handle a tough-love approach to debt reduction, mixed with a bit of fundamental Christianity and Southern charm, Dave Ramsey is the guy for you.

He's having a $10 sale on his books and other products for the Fourth of July. His most popular book is "The Total Money Makeover."

I agree with a whole lot of what Ramsey has to say -- I've interviewed him several times. But with personal finance, it's often more personal than it is finance. So, you'll have to decide for yourself whether his style fits yours. That's why, even though I authored a couple of personal finance books myself, I can see a market for others.

So, for an Alexander Hamilton bill, it could be well worthwhile. (It's currently $15.74 on Amazon.com.) And I'm obligated by all that's frugal and true to remind readers that it might be free at your local public library.

So, I'm just getting used to this Tweeting stuff -- publishing short blurbs on Twitter.com. You can follow me on Twitter at: spendingsmart.

Here's a sampling of recent postings:

Ditch those store loyalty cards and still get the discounts you want. Here's how: http://bit.ly/g6oY827 minutes ago from TweetDeck     

RT @FMFblog: 15 web apps for managing money: http://bit.ly/EWrvDabout 1 hour ago from TweetDeck     

Find a thrift store near you at The Thrift Shopper -- http://www.thethriftshopper...10:29 AM Jun 17th from TweetDeck

Now that MS Money is dead, Quicken is offering discounts. But all versions of Quicken are still cheaper at Amazon.com.

Review of my new book, "The 1-2-3 Money Plan" at The Simple Dollar: http://bit.ly/19qGP2

If you were going to order books from Barnes & Noble soon anyway -- maybe your child's summer reading list? -- might as well save an additional 20% off one item with coupon code: D3A7V3V

Note: If you are buying books for your child's summer reading list, you might be able to get the books for free from your local public library. Or from neighbors or friends who have kids a year older? Just a thought.

I run across dozens of great spending tips every day. But sometimes they're relatively minor or not worth an entire blog posting. So from now on, I'll be tweeting those tips at Twitter.com.

Follow me on Twitter at: spendingsmart

Now that Microsoft is discontinuing its MS Money personal finance software, Quicken is seizing the opportunity by offering discounts. See the Quicken blog for details. In part:

All customers, including those impacted by the discontinuation of MS Money, are eligible for the following discounts:
•   $20 off on Quicken Deluxe, now $39.99
•   $30 off on Quicken Premier, now $59.99
•   $30 off on Home & Business, now $69.99
•   $50 off on Rental Property Manager, now $99.99

But wait! Those discounts sound good, but they still don't match the prices offered at Amazon.com. For example, Quicken Deluxe 2009 sells for just $29.99 on Amazon. Both offer free shipping. One possible upside of ordering through Quicken is it throws in some bonus software, namely Quicken Willmaker Plus 2009. It adds a second bonus software program with other versions -- Educated Investor WealthBuilder or Quicken Legal Business Pro, depending on version.

Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar, a fantastic personal finance blog, wrote a review of my new book "The 1-2-3 Money Plan: The Three Most Important Steps to Saving and Spending Smart." I found the review fair and insightful.

Find that review here.

But don't only read the review. Stick around on The Simple Dollar blog site and start reading. It's a treasure trove of money wisdom. That's why it's among the most popular money blogs on the Internet.

If you like the blog, Hamm has his own book 365 Ways to Live Cheap: Your Everyday Guide to Saving Money as well as his free e-book, "Everything You Ever Really Needed to Know About Personal Finance On Just One Page."

SmartMoney is on sale for $5 for a year subscription at Amazon.com.

I'm not advocating this as the only or best magazine for learning about money, but it's a good one, and with this deal, it's cheap. Just skip over the articles about picking individual stocks, which is a sucker's game.

Granted, personal finance reading is part of my job, but I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports Money Advisor, BusinessWeek, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Journal of Financial Planning, and several others. That would be overkill for most people, who could just start with SmartMoney or Money, for example.

It's also not a bad idea to check out the business pages of your local newspaper, which are likely to contain personal finance and consumer news you can use.

For those in the Lehigh Valley, catch the radio program, "Your Financial Choices" with Laurie Siebert, tomorrow morning. I'll be in studio with Laurie talking about my new book "The 1-2-3 Money Plan: The Three Most Important Steps to Saving and Spending Smart."

That's 9 a.m. Saturday on WAEB-AM 790. You can also listen online:

The problem with a lot of special deals is that you don't know you're entitled to them. This often happens with credit cards, which offer a variety of fringe benefits that customers rarely use. They include purchase protection, extended warranties, additional rental car insurance and a host of other goodies. AAA and AARP are two other organizations that offer members a wide variety of discounts and special offers that most people don't take advantage of.

I got an e-mail today about one I didn't know about. Apparently, Acura, the upscale Honda auto company, and W Hotels have an affiliation. All current Acura owners can receive 50 percent off their second night stay at any W Hotel in the United States and Canada, plus a complimentary upgrade, if possible. They're calling it an "Advance Package." In looking over the promotion, I didn't immediately detect any gotchas.

Mattresses might not only be a safe place to stash your cash, they can also cost a pretty penny.

Sunday's Spending Smart column highlighted some myths about buying a mattress, including the dubious coil-count specification.

Here's some more info that didn't fit in the column:

• Proprietary coils? Mattress makers often tout secret technology in their springs, or coils. Interesting factoid: Virtually all springs in innerspring mattresses -- regardless of manufacturer -- are made by one company, Leggett & Platt based in Carthage, Mo. However, the company sells many different types of springs, a spokeswoman said.
• Warehouse clubs. Some experts claim warehouse clubs have good deals on mattresses, but it might be awkward to lie on it to try it out.
• Ways to lie. Trying out a mattress is far and away the most important shopping tip. But how should you lie down? On your stomach, side, back? Quick tip: whatever position you first wake up in in the morning is probably your preferred sleeping position, says Mark Owen, vice president of brand management at mattress-maker Simmons, one of the “Big S” mattress companies along with Sealy and Serta.
• Stay offline. Because trying a mattress is so important, it’s not advisable to order one on the Internet or over the phone without personally trying the exact-same model first.
• Mattress longevity. While mattresses can last a decade, you might be more comfortable replacing yours every five to seven years, especially if you’re over age 40. Our bodies get more fussy as they age. If you sleep more comfortably at a hotel or relative’s house, it could mean you need a new mattress.
• Buy after you try. Speaking of hotels, if you’re staying at a hotel and like the mattress, peel back the sheets and note the brand and model number. Many hotels have affiliations with mattress manufacturers and can facilitate a sale.
• Mattress sales are a good deal. Blow-out sales on Presidents Day or Independence Day can feature some deep discounts, but often the low-priced advertised mattresses are usually uncomfortable, allowing a salesperson to steer you toward a pricier model.
• Don't flip. Most new mattresses sold today have only one sleep surface and do not require flipping.
• Spending is never done. Your spending might not be over when you buy the mattress. New mattresses are thicker, with some more than 14 inches deep compared with just 7 inches. You might need new sheets with deep-pocket corners.
• Box for those springs? I found different information about whether you really need to buy a box spring along with a new mattress. Manufacturers claim the box spring, or foundation, is engineered to work with the mattress. That makes sense. But my question -- if these mattresses are so great on their own, why do they need a box spring?
• Beware the delivery. There are some nasty reports of cheaper mattresses being delivered than what a customer ordered. While at the retailer, take a picture of the mattress tag with your cell phone to remind you of the model number that you bought. This prevents them from later trying a reverse switch and delivering something other than what you purchased. And always remember to pay with a credit card so you're protected from delivery problems or phony additional charges.
• Negotiate. Especially in this economy, put on your haggle hat and negotiate with the salesperson on price.

Do you have any other mattress-shopping advice?