CNN Reports: "The rising price of consumer goods is driving shoppers from all walks of life to use coupons for food, beauty aids and pharmacy products at an increasing rate, according to some of the country's largest purveyors of manufacturers' coupons.

While people may be looking to spend less, they aren't necessarily cutting back on necessities or luxuries. Instead, consumers are hunting for deals on where to dry-clean their clothes, get their oil changed or take the family out to dinner, said MaryAnn Rivers, CEO of Entertainment Publications, which publishes community-based coupon books and Web sites." Read More...

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Here's a nice post on ThriftyFun today.  I thought this was a great strategy for saving money as you successfully pay off bills.

"Once I come to the end of paying off a bill, I still continue to take out of my paycheck the same amount for that particular bill. I put half on another bill and the other half in a savings account or CD. Now each time I pay a bill off, I do the same thing to the next bill. That money was already earmarked, so I am not missing any extras.

By Georgetta from Waterloo, IA"

Seems like a great way to make sure that you turn some of the extra money into savings as bills get paid off.

Here's another great tip that was posted a while back about recognizing the benefit of saving, even a small amount, each month.  Use this approach and you can save for large purchases rather than charging them and paying up to double for items, once finance charges are incurred.

"I just talked to a friend who was complaining that she has to come up with $1000 every October and she has nothing saved up. I asked her if she could save $19.25 on a weekly basis. She said she could, if she cut out her morning coffee and took her own to work, and if she also skipped eating lunch out one day a week. I told her if she did that each week for a year, she would have her $1000. Actually if she put it in the bank, she would have a little more with interest. So, tomorrow she is going to schedule $19.25 to come directly out of each paycheck and go to her Credit Union Account.

This would be a great way to save for Christmas, property tax, propane bills, vacation or other recurring yearly expenses.

By April from NW Missouri"

Saving money requires thinking ahead, April illustrates that point well.

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Suze Orman was on Oprah recently and had some advice for families on how to make good decisions during our tough economic times.  She hammers home the point that many households have built their budgets on lies and it's time for people to start being honest with themselves about what they actually can afford.  You can read the full article about her appearance here, she offers some good advice.

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Save at stores like Buy.com by using Google Checkout.

http://www.buy.com/corp/promos/google_offer.asp

It's a nice way to get saving on items that are normally tough to find sales on.  For example, $20 off the latest video game is a great deal as video games for consoles usually don't see significant discounts until they older.  Also, the $20 Off is offered by Google, so it's on top of any discounts offered by the merchant.

The key here is you have to sign up for and use google checkout to complete your order.  It's free to sign up for and use Google Checkout.  Just like with PayPal, it's free to send money. 

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I came across this story reading CNN this morning:

Flat-planels rule, old boob tube all but dead

REDWOOD CITY, California (AP) -- The lone conventional television set at Anderson's TV store sat along a side wall like a castoff. Its screen was dark as dozens of other gleaming flat-panel and big-screen models flashed nearby with vivid color images.

The staff at the Redwood City store hadn't even bothered to turn on the cathode-ray tube TV until a reporter asked to see it on a recent afternoon. ..Read More

Considering the cost of flat panel TVs, that's a bit of a scary thought.  I am sure the prices will come down, but it sure is nice being able to buy a good TV for $200 to $300.  With flat panels, you are looking at $700 to $900 for low-end, resonably sized TVs.   Hopefully the CRTs stick around for a while to provide a cheaper alternative because I have my doubts that the flat panels will be any more durable, possibly less.

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Here's an article on CNN Money that is worth reading:

CNN Money: "Mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing white collar crimes, according to the FBI, with reports more than quadrupling since 2001.

Mortgage fraud refers to a whole host of scams, but the bottom line is that most cases involve inflating the value of a property for more than its worth, with the scammer pocketing the difference.

In today's tips we'll tell you how you can avoid these schemes."

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Here's a completely bizarre story.  He couldn't find a job to get him to his social security age so he breaks the law to get jail time for a couple years.  Pretty depressing story...

From CNN:

"A man who couldn't find steady work came up with a plan to make it through the next few years until he could collect Social Security: He robbed a bank, then handed the money to a guard and waited for police.

On Wednesday, Timothy J. Bowers told a judge a three-year prison sentence would suit him, and the judge obliged.

"At my age, the jobs available to me are minimum-wage jobs. There is age discrimination out there," Bowers, who turns 63 in a few weeks, told Judge Angela White.

The judge told him: "It's unfortunate you feel this is the only way to deal with the situation."

Bowers said he had been able to find only odd jobs after the drug wholesaler he made deliveries for closed in 2003. He walked to a bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash in an envelope. The teller gave him four $20 bills and pushed a silent alarm.

Bowers handed the money to a security guard standing in the lobby and told him it was his day to be a hero.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, and a court-ordered psychological exam found him competent."

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Bank of America has extended their Keep The Change saving program to my neck of the wood (Washington Stat) so I have signed up for it. I will let you know how it goes. 

"Spend with your check card. Add to your savings. Only at Bank of America.

Every time you buy something with a Bank of America Visa® Check Card, we'll round up your purchase to the nearest dollar amount and transfer the difference from your checking to your savings account¹ free of charge. Because every bag of groceries, every coffee and every tank of gas adds up to more savings for you.

We'll even match your savings.

For the first three months, we'll match your Keep the Change™ savings at 100%. That means for every Keep the Change transfer, we'll contribute the same amount to your Bank of America savings account. And when the three months are over, to make it even easier to save, we'll continue matching 5% a year, every year."

I set up a page for people to post reviews about the Keep The Change program on ThriftyFun.  If you have used it, post your review at the link below.

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf43658047.tip.html

Images:

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