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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