By monteal

April 10, 2008 7:41 AM | Link to this

better gas mileage car left over night ( no waste ) putting in a veggie garden dog eats cheaper food thermostat set lower thrift store clothes cheaper shampoo,laundry detergent,household cleaners lunch meat ect.

picking up extra work dog sitting baby sitting ect

By Gaye

April 10, 2008 7:45 AM | Link to this

I don’t even have any pennies to pinch anymore, took them to Publix and counted them in the money machine. I am a single, 53 yr old Black female who makes $22,070.00 a yr. I make decisions like whether I should buy gas or food, clothing, recreation things of that nature do not exist. I had to ask my son to pay my car note last month, damn near killed me, I have enough food to last me 3 more days, PB&J is lunch, at least until the bread runs out, Save, save what!

By JJ

April 10, 2008 7:56 AM | Link to this

Gaye, I hate to say it, but I feel you! I don’t have anything to pinch. Milk is what $4-$5 a gallon, bread is close to $3, eggs are $2+ and let’s not talk about gas…even cooking oil prices is crazy!!! Everything is going up and up and up except our paychecks. So, where do we get the money from? Most folks are taking money from another bill to pay a bill, which gets you further in the hole. Dang Gaye, I wanted to encourage you but I’m not doing such a great job. Basically, do all you can do and when you’ve done that, just stand and keep the faith, don’t quit. You’re not alone, it’s tight on a lot of folks even the rich are getting hit hard. I noticed this week that items like soap, washing powder and toilet paper have gone up. So, I’ve been buying “off-brand” products to try to save a few cents. ( :

By ron

April 10, 2008 8:24 AM | Link to this

I bake my own bread. I do my own house repairs.I barter my time for car repairs.I constantly look for ways to do things cheaper.Cfl’s and led’s cut the power bill.All meals origionate at home.I buy no prepared foods.Buy outerwear at thrift shops.No eating out.No coffee shops.No bottled water.No soda.Unhook the television.Life goes on very well without it.And the list goes on.

By Beth

April 10, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this

I’m going to be taking the bus to work.

By Cranium

April 10, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this

For the first time ever, I am going to go with my girlfriends this summer and peruse garage and yard sales. I have fought them forever on this but I really can’t afford to buy my children all brand new clothing anymore. I grew up on hand-me-downs from siblings and cousins so I guess it is time to try the alternate route when it comes to putting clothes on their backs. I will continue to buy them new shoes, however. The thought of used shoes grosses me out completely.

By Thurston Howell

April 10, 2008 8:33 AM | Link to this

This past weekend I cooked ribeye instead of filet mignon and drank a bottle of $20 Central Valley cabernet instead of the $75 Napa. I’m driving the Beemer more than the Caddy because it gets better gas mileage on short trips. Lovie and I will be day-tripping it to the Steeplechase on Saturday instead of staying overnight in the motor inn. She also cut back and is going to wear one of her old hats instead of buying a brand new one. I did let her splurge a little on new riding boots - but told her to get the ones with domestic leather instead of Italian.

By madmommy

April 10, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this

Gayle, You will be in my prayers, just don’t give up.

There are ways I have found to save a few dollars here and there. I belong to BJ’s which is like Costco, only they take coupons and they send you coupons every month in the mail as well. I buy all my laundry soap, toliet paper, tissues, meats, diapers, and a few staples that will not go bad and I know that we will use. It’s only a bargan if you will use it. The laundry soap generally lasts us about 5 plus months and at about $12-18 dollars that is a huge bargan in my book. Of course you have to have a place to store it. With most of all our food, we are just eating smaller amounts and cooking at home a whole lot more. I pack my breakfast and lunch during the week to save money there. I generally only spend about $25 dollars a week for both breakfast and lunch, which you can’t beat.

For medical bills I have signed up with just about every program that my work offers to save a bit of money. They take out a certain amount every paycheck (pre-tax) and I use that amount to pay for perscriptions and co-pays. It works wonders, even if it does take a bit more leg work.

Entertainment. Let’s see. We don’t really do much of that, but I don’t think we are bored to death or missing out on anything either. I am a big reader and have rediscovered the library in which I check out books, books on tape and even DVD’s all for free. Can’t be that price and they also offer activites for kids that my daughter can partcipate in. We have started checking out what is going on in our community and the community center for other ideas and ways to get out and enjoy ourselves at a minimal cost. When was the last time you packed a lunch and headed out to the park to play or hike a few trails?

I am just trying to get back to a more basic life where it is not about the tangable items in life, it’s the non tangable. I don’t think my daughter is going to remember what I did or didn’t buy here, but she will remember all the walks we would go on, getting books from the library and just doing things together, even if it didn’t cost a thing.

By wyno

April 10, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this

My husband and I have been pinching pennies for years but as the economy is about to tank, we are going to be a couple of the few lucky ones. Our cars are paid for, our son graduates from college in a few weeks, I changed jobs recently and saved myself 50 miles of driving per day and we cut up the credit cards the year our son started college. Our only outlay of money is for our mortgage and and other basics. We started listening to Dave Ramsey about a year ago and even though we will have money, we are going to continue to adhere to Dave’s “beans and rice” mantra and put our cash away for retirement.

By hawk

April 10, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this

JJ

Buying offbrand products is the best thing you can do right now. Try Aldi’s. I use them and pay $2.69 per gallon for milk, .79 cents for white and $1.19 for wheat bread and $1.75 for eggs. Find one near you and try them.

By wyno

April 10, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this

Like JJ, we’ve been shopping at Aldi for a couple of years. It’s a great place to save money on the basics. Even their cheap wine is not that bad. Trader Joe’s is also a great place to shop for cheap upscale foods for those of you who might think they are still too good to be seen at Aldi.

By Kelly

April 10, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

I’ve been a part-time stay at home mom for almost six years now. (I work 20 hours two days a week.) The pinching pennies is getting more and more difficult. I shop at the local Food Depot ten minutes from my house. Kroger is out of the questions even when I have coupons. Doctors are out of the question! If over the counter meds and home remedies don’t work I have to whip out the credit card. I cook every day. Simple casseroles, rice, potatoes, whole chickens (so much cheaper then buying the cut up pieces!)BJ’s is good for laundry detergents, soap, shampoo, anything that doesn’t spoil. For entertainment we joined Netflix. It’s about $18.00 a month and we get three movies at a time. (We average about 8-10 movies a month.) We canceled the cable so this is saving us $40. IF we do get to go out we eat at the local Mexican restaurant. Cheap food, $1.50 draft beers on Tuesday, good service.

By Kat

April 10, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this

I’m a big proponent of Dave Ramsey too. He’s great. Catch him on 640AM from 3 to 6 p.m., I think?

Also, Costco is a great place to stock up - if you have money for the membership fee and the original outlay of money for the purchases of all those large containers. We are members, but dang that’s a big bill at the end.

Also, for those needing clothing for their kids, check out www.thebargainwatcher.com for lists of consignment sales (most of the stuff is in better condition than yard sales and is priced similar and is all in one place) and (coming soon) community yard sales. I have been using the site for some time now. Also, you can sign up to sell your stuff at these consignment sales. Kids outgrown their clothes - sell them to make $$$ for the next season’s clothes. I’ve made more than $500 between two consignment sales this past spring. I used some of that money at other sales to purchase clothes for spring and summer. The site lets you put in your state,county,etc. so you can find sales in your part of town. Check it out!

By sharon

April 10, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

Kelly you took the words right out of my mouth. I was going to suggest Food Depot. Instead of buying your meat at Publix or Kroger, I highly recommend Food Depot. You will be very surprised. For other food items I shop at Wal-mart supercenter. Again, you will be very surprised. For household items like soap, paper towels etc., I shop at Dollar General stores. JJ you are correct, the price of cooking oil is ridiculous! A bottle of canola oil used to cost 1.99-2.29. The other day is was 3.98! Like wyno mentioned above, this recession is coming at the right time for me too because my car is paid for and I just paid off two bills and will have three more paid off in four months. However, my son still has two years left of college. But that’s an investment I can’t complain about.

By G

April 10, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this

start stocking water and food. and bullets.

By therealist

April 10, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this

Keep 1 TV and sell the rest. Cut the cable, and phone line. Trade in the SUV for a go-cart(very small car). Cereal, sandwiches and a light dinner, never eat out. Stop smoking and drinking! Buy cloths and shoes from the Goodwill. Always American made!! Set the thermostat very low in the winter and turn it off in the summer. From these savings, set aside 10% for your RothIRA and 10% for the REAL poor and hungry.

Life can be cruel to the morbidly obese.., heaven forbid we ever see another depression..

By AK

April 10, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this

All I have to do is I am scared. And I feel for those who are not prepared worse than me!

By Waaah!

April 10, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

Bunch a cry babies! Quitchyer bitchn.

By MKA

April 10, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this

My husband and I are entrepreneurs and have struggled to keep our heads above water for years, while growing the business. Thankfully, things are rapidly taking off for us and our financial status is changing. BUT we’re so used to living frugally, that we don’t plan to switch to a “we have money now” way of life. It’s irresponsible.

A few suggestions to pinch pennies. Shop at THRIFT STORES. You will find a variety of nice items, including name brand clothing. I shop there for myself and my two daughters (age 1 and 6) all the time! My hubbie is a big guy, so it is next to impossible to find stuff for him, though.

We mostly shop at Value Village. They are located all over the city and they have a 1/2 off day on the last Wednesday of every month. This is a bonus, because their prices are already low. Take the stuff home, wash it, and nobody will EVER know the difference, but your wallet will!

Most powerful advice that I can give is to STOP caring about what others think. Do what you need to do to survive and forget about impressing others. Please believe me when I say that most of the people that you are consciously or unconsciously trying to impress are worse off than you financially!

By Gaye

April 10, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this

Although I don’t live the adage “misery loves company” because I really don’t, I truly Thank all of you for your words of encouragement, and the ideas on ways to save. It feels better to know that I’m not alone. I’m doing everything I can to find apart-time job which will help me stay afloat.

By Aurora

April 10, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

I save my change (never spend it), and throw it into a jar when I get home. I also throw any $1.00 bills that are in my wallet into the jar.

I am ditching cable this summer. TV is horrible, and I’m down to one show I watch, Criminal Minds. So for summer, there will be no cable and we will rent movies, or borrow from friends.

I thank god I don’t have credit card debt. I pay cash for everything. My car is paid off. I use store brands on just about everything. We don’t eat out except maybe one night every two weeks, and that’s usually Chinese delivery.

I have a vehicle that gets good gas mileage, and I live less than 20 miles from work. I run errands on the way home, so I don’t have to get out on the weekends. I put in a veggie garden last year, so that helps the grocery bill.

I clip coupons and shop according to what is on sale at Publix, and plan my weekly menu around that.

BP in Suwanee has been holding at $3.19/gal for weeks. But this a.m it’s up to $3.24/gal. I fill up when my tank gets 1/2 empty.

My air cond will get set on 78 and we have oscillating fans and ceiling fans. Dark curtains on the West facing window…..

We do more “free” things around town. Mostly though, I find we are walking the dogs ALOT lately……Suwanee has opened yet another park, so we have numerous parks to walk in, and a couple of them connect with the Suwanee Park Greenway……

By DD

April 10, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this

There is no way I’m quitting smoking or drinking…I just have to work at littler harder - that’s all :)

By Kelvin

April 10, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this

Great suggestions everyone, boy do I feel your pain. As a single father of a soon to be 17 year old male, I am pinching pennies everyday. Let’s keep the support going for each other. This storm shall pass too!

By CBL

April 14, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this

The biggest way i can cut costs is limiting going out to one night a week and inviting people over for dinner rather than go out to a restaurant with them. Cut out or limit alcohol as an expensive habit. Cancel or reduce entertainment subscriptions (Cable TV, movie rentals, etc). Run errands at odd-hours to avoid idling in traffic jams and wasting gas in suburban shopping areas— Walmart is open 24/7 and I find it’s more pleasant and quicker to shop there late at night after work than in the middle of a weekend afternoon. Hit up farmers markets for high quality and cheap meat, produce, and staples. Change your car’s air filter and oil after pollen season is over- you will save gas by running a cleaner engine in the summer months. Don’t buy anything that isn’t on sale in some way.

By barney

May 8, 2008 2:25 PM | Link to this

What can you do? There is nothing that we can do, no mercy from big Oil. It is crippling everything in our economy, I ordered a pizza, the coupon price was $9.99 when I was told the total is came out to be close to $20 due to delivery charges. Everything is going down the drain, our economy will not make it with gas like this. I am paying $70 a week to fill up and drive just to and from work. I feel for those people with kids. We have had to conserve for about 3 years now due to high gas prices, now it is to the point where you cannot go out and drive! What gives?

By MOT

May 18, 2008 7:52 PM | Link to this

With a family of ten kids we have been living frugally from our inception. There is a book called the Tightwad Gazette that came out in the 80’s that is GREAT! It is filled with many ideas and ways to live wisely and frugally not just in times of need but always. Check that out, plus she has a newsletter, google it.

1-FOOD: when a sale is on, use the price leader from the flyer and if you can afford to buy extra to put back, then little by little put back a little food each week. Then if something comes along—dr visit, need for med. then you can use that weeks grocery money for the dr. instead because you have a little extra on hand.

Cook from scratch, buy in bulk. It is cheaper and healthier.

Do some gardening, even if it is just herbs, or tomatoes, even that will cut your grocery bill a little.

Learn to freeze, or perserve veggies and fruits and go to U-Pick ‘em farms to gather enough to put up for later.

At one point in time it was cheaper to buy powdered milk and mix it half and half with milk to make it go further. It reached a point of diminshed return, but it might be worth it once again.

Use leftovers. I can’t tell you how appalling it has been to learn how many folks throw away good food once it has been on a table. They either throw it straight out and don’t even try to save to re-serve, or they keep it but no one will eat leftovers so it gets thrown out. Lots of good ways to re-use.

2-ENTERTAINMENT: Get rid of cable, satellite. We NEVER pay full price for much of anything, especially entertainment. Dollar theater for those that need the theater atmosphere, and Walmart has come out with the REDBOX which is a vending machine that lets you rent movies for $1.00 per day. Just make sure you will watch it and return it in one day. You can also reserve them online by plugging in your zipcode and it saves them till you get there. There are many freebie activities all over: the many parks, the walking trails, libraries (with free books, movies, dvds to check out), neighborhood or friends to play board games, parlor games, have potluck dinners, etc.

3-CLOTHES: Thrift stores gratefully are everywhere—-for clothes, refurbished furniture, household items, books, etc. Some churches and neighborhoods hold Swaps or Put n Takes—-you clean out your house and put and then browse and take what you need. Get one started in your area. Or get into a network of friends who swap clothes for kids around. I used to have folks ask me if I would be offended to receive someone elses outgrown clothes for my kids. Are you kidding? It was like Christmas for us. So we got lots of really nice clothes that way. And it was a way we contributed to the recycling effort to do our part. For special things I taught myself to sew, mend, re-fashion, quilt, and knit.

4-Everything else—-dollar stores are a great place for cleaning supplies, kids gifts for birthday parties, etc. Thank you cards, some grocery items, helium balloons, decorations, toiletries, some makeup, and tools, mailing supplies, etc.

5-Gas—-lots has already been written, but we have taken to making the 1.5-2 mile walk to our local library when we need to go and to the grocery store for picking up stuff in between. The lovely thing about walking, besides exercise, enjoying nature, getting to be part of the community being out in it and seeing people and the neghborhood, and bonding and talking with the family members, and saving on gas, the thing abuot walking is that you become VERY picky in what you really really need because you have to carry it home!!!! I went on one recent trip to buy a scented candle and the dollar shampoo and some cereal and dish towels. I decided in a hurry that heavy candle was no longer something I wanted. So walking brings benefits you don’t even realize at first!!!

I am thinking about getting a scooter to get around to other places further than I can walk in a reasonable amount of time.

6-EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATION——I have put myself back in school—-with scholarships and will get my RN in one year. Hard as the dickens but I will breathe a little easier when I know I can make that contribution to my family—-both medically and financially. I worked hard finding the scholarships and grants and loans that would get me through. I also found the right program for me that I could work through the fastest to start producing an income. College books are expensive—I bought some of mine online at Amazon from their used book section. Huge difference!

7-Extra earnings: I have for 25 years been a part of various marketing research groups. They pay on the spot for your opinion, may take an hour or two, my most recent was $75 for my opinion about contacts. I had to qualify by age and if any family members wore soft contacts. Google or look up in phone book marketing research and get your name on a list and they will start calling you.

Selling your clothes or crafts at consighment shops is a good way to make extra, or buying a booth at fairs to sell your crafts or goods.

House, dog or plant sitting.

Cleaning houses—-I currently clean other peoples houses. Some of the best money I make: $25/hr, but hard to do many of those while in school. But it is something I have been able to pick up and increase or decrease as my need arises.

There are tons of freebies or coupons online at different sites. Your fav companies many times will have online coupons not available anywhere else.

There are so many more ideas. I guess I better stop. Good luck and blessings to all of us. Good times do not last forever, hopefully most of us were wise and prepared for the not so good times when times were a bit easier. But remember if good times do not last forever, neither do bad times last forever, life is a cycle and the good will come back around.

We all need to adopt the MOTTO to live by always so we will never be found in want or need:

Use it up Wear it out Make it do Or do without! Not sure who said it but it was started in the depression-WWII era I think.

Blessings on all!

By jason smith

May 27, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this

I don’t live in Atlanta. I moved to NY State from the South. We are already over $4.00/gas. (smaller towns $4.25).

I just bought a scooter…it is a little more hilly here, but it will hopefully pay for itself….but as gas goes up, the investment does, too…

I am really interested in new electric scooters on the market…in my small town (pop 30,000) in the South, we had only ford and dodge dealer…in small town here (pop 15,000), we have all dealers, so MAYBE we will see these electric scooters…it is very exciting that entrepreneurs aren’t waiting for govt….that is the bedrock of our country….I would rather money go to entrepreneurs who can help save our planet than to big oil and big coal…

Scooter is fine as long as you don’t get run over by a bitter, angry hummer driver……

Other countries, such as all of europe and japan have had fuel economy mandate of 45 mpg for years. Bush was forced to start raising fuel economy standard by Congress which had to compromise to only 35 mpg by 2020!!!! that will be useless….we are way behind and we are paying the price at the pump…..AND we are not even paying the full cost of emissions on our environment, crops, pollution, which would tack on another 50 cents at least……

If you are driving to an an office or cubicle, etc…why do you need a huge heavy metal box????? it makes no sense whatsoever..who are we competing with???? is it really adding or taking away from quality of life???? I’ve been in huge traffic jam in Atlanta…it is totally pointless…..

All the parking spaces when you finally get where you are going could be parks….a lot of progressive cities are getting rid of some freeways…these will be the cities of the future AND they have water….oh well, may be too late anyway…

By New Grand mother

July 5, 2008 6:44 PM | Link to this

I am a new grandmother and Twice a year I shop at Born Again Blessings at the Cobb County Civic Center. The next sale is Aug. 15-16th. As everyone knows Grandparents need as much stuff for the granchildren as the parents do! Who wants to pay full price when you can get like new stuff for a fraction of the price!! Even the Moms who shop there said they would never pay retail again! Moms and Grandmoms can sell there and make money. You can shop there and save money. And also a portion of the proceeds goes toward helping needy people in the community. And those who sell and don’t want to take home things that didn’t sell, then those items are donated to charity! The whole community wins when shopping at this sale. It is very organized and super efficient for sellers and shoppers. There standard is very high so you only see merchandise that is in tip top shape. It is a great sale for the bargain minded! They even have a web site to check out for more info : www.bornagainblessings.com

By the finger

July 8, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this

**the coupon are always for unhealthy crap. the typical rule is that if you buy cheap food you will get fat.”

By Andrea

July 8, 2008 2:56 PM | Link to this

I find it difficult to save so what I did was find a group of people that I can trust and that will commit. Find 5 good friends, coworkers or church members and if you have 10 that will definitely make it better. Each week you all put $50.00 in a bag. So if it’s 5 in the group then the total in the bag should be $250.00. If it’s 10 in the group then you should have $500.00 in the bag each week. If you can do $25.00 or $100.00 just follow the concept and you can save. If you are paid every 2 weeks then do it every 2 weeks. Pick a banker (that person is responsible for collecting the money each week/ two weeks) pull names and then distribute the money accordingly. If Jim’s name was pulled first then he gets $250 or $500 the first week and each person will get the opportunity to get an extra $250 or $500 each pay week. Next pay day whoever pulled number 2 will get the bag. It will continue until each person gets it. Then you can start all over again. Bottom line, it’s a means to save with each other’s money. Once you get it you will have to wait until the next session to get it again, so pay off a bill or two or stick it in a CD. If you start next payday you should all have some extra money by November. Hope this helps. It has been truly a blessing to me. Thought I would share. The more debts you pay off the more you will have to save.

By Andrea

July 8, 2008 2:58 PM | Link to this

I find it difficult to save so what I did was find a group of people that I can trust and that will commit. Find 5 good friends, coworkers or church members and if you have 10 that will definitely make it better. Each week you all put $50.00 in a bag. So if it’s 5 in the group then the total in the bag should be $250.00. If it’s 10 in the group then you should have $500.00 in the bag each week. If you can do $25.00 or $100.00 just follow the concept and you can save. If you are paid every 2 weeks then do it every 2 weeks. Pick a banker (that person is responsible for collecting the money each week/ two weeks) pull names and then distribute the money accordingly. If Jim’s name was pulled first then he gets $250 or $500 the first week and each person will get the opportunity to get an extra $250 or $500 each pay week. Next pay day whoever pulled number 2 will get the bag. It will continue until each person gets it. Then you can start all over again. Bottom line, it’s a means to save with each other’s money. Once you get it you will have to wait until the next session to get it again, so pay off a bill or two or stick it in a CD. If you start next payday you should all have some extra money by November. Hope this helps. It has been truly a blessing to me. Thought I would share. The more debts you pay off the more you will have to save.

By Andrea

July 8, 2008 3:03 PM | Link to this

I find it difficult to save so what I did was find a group of people that I can trust and that will commit. Find 5 good friends, coworkers or church members and if you have 10 that will definitely make it better. Each week you all put $50.00 in a bag. So if it’s 5 in the group then the total in the bag should be $250.00. If it’s 10 in the group then you should have $500.00 in the bag each week. If you can do $25.00 or $100.00 just follow the concept and you can save. If you are paid every 2 weeks then do it every 2 weeks. Pick a banker (that person is responsible for collecting the money each week/ two weeks) pull names and then distribute the money accordingly. If Jim’s name was pulled first then he gets $250 or $500 the first week and each person will get the opportunity to get an extra $250 or $500 each pay week. Next pay day whoever pulled number 2 will get the bag. It will continue until each person gets it. Then you can start all over again. Bottom line, it’s a means to save with each other’s money. Once you get it you will have to wait until the next session to get it again, so pay off a bill or two or stick it in a CD. If you start next payday you should all have some extra money by November. Hope this helps. It has been truly a blessing to me.

By Ann

July 8, 2008 4:53 PM | Link to this

I am a single mom of a small child. I work full time but I’m definitely feeling the slow down of the economy. Luckily, my little one will be out of diapers soon, which will help a lot! I bought my last big box of diapers at Costco last weekend and after they are gone, I refuse to buy anymore! That will save at least $50 per month (if not more). I also think you can just have a cell phone these days and home phones are not neccessary. I am considering cutting mine off. I clip coupons now and shop where I know I can get good prices. We eat out less and when we do go out, we do not go to expensive restaurants. I decided to nix our beach vacation that I was hoping to take my daughter on this summer. We’ll be at the pool instead. We do not have it is rough as some of the people on this post, and I certainly feel terrible for you. Don’t forget that life is what you make it. You CAN make your life better, but you have to work at it to get there! No one will hand it to you .

By Lily

July 10, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this

I found a great prescription discount card at www.rxdrugcard.com. It costs only $4.50 a month to have the card. They have posted their prescription prices on the website to check before you enroll. I think that RxDrugCard.com is the best drug card available for prescription discounts. No-one should have to pay the full cash price.

By opie

July 10, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this

I just subscribed to an online animated “ecard” website - jacquielawson.com. For $10 a year you can personalize and send an unlimited amount of beautifully illustrated ecard greetings.

By SUE

July 21, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this

SAVE MONEY BY BEING HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE!!! BE CONTENT WITH THAT OLDER MODEL OF TV, CELL PHONE, PURSE, CAR OR WHATEVER. DON’T FEEL THE NEED TO HAVE THE LATEST AND GREATEST VERSIONS OF THINGS. THAT GUY ON THE COMMERCIAL WHO ORDERS YOU TO “BUY NOW” DOESN’T HAVE TO PAY YOUR GROCERY OR ULILITY BILLS! YOUR HOUSE WILL NEVER LOOK LIKE THAT MAGAZINE AD OR DECORATING SHOW. A REAL HOME IS FILLED WITH FURNISHINGS THAT WE HAVE ACCUMULATED OVER THE YEARS, NOT PURCHASED ALL AT ONCE SO THAT EVERYTHING COORDINATES PERFECTLY. FILL YOUR HOUSE WITH THINGS YOU LOVE, NOT WHAT THE BIG CORPORATIONS SAY YOU NEED TO HAVE. EVEN IF YOU BUY THE LATEST AND GREATEST RIGHT NOW, IT WILL BE OUTDATED ONE DAY ANYHOW.
ALSO, LEARN TO FIX THINGS AND FIX THEM YOURSELF. WHEN SOMETHING BREAKS, TRY TO FIX IT BEFORE YOU GO OUT AND REPLACE IT OR HIRE A PRO. LEARN TO USE A NEEDLE AND THREAD, TAKE A FREE WORKSHOP AT HOME DEPOT OR LOWES, TRY A RECIPE INSTEAD OF ORDERING TAKE OUT. MONEY CAN’T BUY A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT!

By Henrietta Wilson

July 26, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this

I buy my books at the Goodwill store for 1.00 and 2.50, and they have the latest best sellers and a good supply of how to books. It is really a good source for updated books and cheap -always in good condition.

By nancy

August 6, 2008 4:26 PM | Link to this

How bout Breakfast for dinner? Pancakes, waffles, egg sandwiches………..

By beks

August 11, 2008 7:41 PM | Link to this

I know this comment may sound crazy to much of you, but you have to try Whole Foods. I go to Harry’s Farmer’s Market close to the Big Chicken about every week to 2 weeks. At first I felt bad about shopping there because I really thought that i might be spending more, but I decided to do a little expieriment and see. I took my receipt from there to Kroger to see if I was saving. I saved over $20 by shopping at whole foods. They have great veggies and fruits and you don’t have to pick through them to find the good stuff like at the grocery stores and you can feel good about what you are putting in your body!!!

By Linda Cuomo

September 15, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this

I am trying to save money as well as calories. I buy the large trail mix bags at Costco and a box of the snack sized baggies. I measure out the amount of trail mix to make my own 100 calorie packs. It’s amazing how many baggies you can get out of one large bag of trail mix. I keep these in my desk drawer, car and gym bag for pick me ups during the day. Without the measured bags, I was mindlessly overeating the trail mix every day, disguised as my “healthy” afternoon snack. Now I am aware of the calories I am consuming and, of course, saving a ton of money.