Those are interesting suggestions. Like many other people here, I'm already doing many of them. I don't buy coffee out, I don't even really buy it for the house (my dh won't touch the stuff so I just drink the free coffee at work). We do still have cable tv and internet and cell phones, but I think there'd be hell to pay if I asked the dh to give those up. :)

One of the things that I saw on the list that struck me was the credit card one. It's not really a good idea to be opening and closing credit cards willy nilly, especially if your credit report is going to be reviewed for a loan. Sure you make a short term gain opening up the account and getting the freebies, but it can hurt you in the long run.

Bri

Think about it, marys1000, if you pay $4 for a take away coffee from a big chain, at $8 a lb you only have to four cups out of your homemade coffee to double your investment. And you get a LOT more than 4 cups out of a pound.

One thing I won't give up is fresh coffee, but I only drink one cup a day. I buy whole beans(on sale if possible), grind enough for a few days and make it a cup at a time using a cone filter(set right over the cup). That way I'm not making more than I need and I don't have leftover coffee in the coffeemaker that would often get tossed.

Many libraries have movies on tape or DVD, so that's what we do. I can't remember the last time I actually paid to watch a dvd.
Ditto. I have access to two local library systems, city and county, and get all my movies from those two sources for free. And yes, they do have new releases. I might have to wait a couple of months to get those new ones, but who cares? I always have a pile of anywhere from 3 to 20 movies waiting to be watched - and all for FREE.

the problem is it does cost money when you forget to return things on time
Ya. I had this problem when I first started using the library for movies. The solution: I go once a week to both libraries for return and pick up. Plus I immediately renew all that I check out so that I have plenty of time to watch them. Those that are on hold by others cannot be renewed so I watch them first. This system works great for me and I've been doing it for a few years now.

My latest and greatest money saving tip, which I learned about right here on CF (where else?) is to make stock out of the chicken bones left over from rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. I've also started making stock from the chicken I cook at home. I always thought you could only make stock by starting out with raw chicken. Boy was I wrong.

I recently boiled the bones from a turkey I made -- and came out with TONS of stock. Excellent!

There is nothing wrong with saving money on practical things. But the media overblows everything to such a degree it really gets on my nerves. Conserving is fine, but the economy needs money changing hands to survive and thrive. If everybody panics and sticks there heads in the sand and burrows in many livlihoods will be ruined. Don't go overboard, but spend some money and support local businesses. If more and more jobs are lost then more people are going to be on the government dole, and where does that money come from? Us! Via higher taxes of course. So not only will we have less choices for goods and services but we will have a diminished life all the way around.

Duane (stepping off my soapbox...but $#9*##$ the media really pis##s me off!)

I'd like to know how you can make coffee at home and only spend $60.00 a year. That must be some pretty crappy coffee.

Ann

Duane, I was thinking about that very issue recently. I've heard people on the business shows saying that we really do need to get out there and spend money to save the economy. At the same time, everyone admires the generation that made it through the depression and WW2 because of their thrifiness and wise spending habits, how they saved up for what they needed, grew victory gardens, and did without. Which is it supposed to be?

As a whole the U.S. has way over-consumed and over-borrowed, which has gotten us into trouble. I'm not going to feel guilty for being frugal. My job depends on people spending money, and yes, business is slow, but that just means the business I'm in needs to adjust to meet the changing needs of today's consumers. We're selling more seeds now than transplants. We've had more requests for onion slips and seed potatoes than in years past. Interestingly, our premium pet food sales are up, because people are learning that even though they're more expensive, they're made right here in the U.S., and they're much, much better for their pets. (As Noinwi pointed out above). More power to those that spend their hard earned money wisely, and don't spend it if they don't want to.

I guess I'll get off my soap box now, too, lol.

Sally

AnnT, I think they are figuring a cup per day cost, because they are comparing it to a cup per day at the coffee shop, and they're probably not figuring "top of the line" beans.

Most places I've seen say you can get between 30 and 40 cups of coffee from a pound of beans. I can buy locally roasted paramount for $8 a pound. If I get 30 cups from that pound, one cup per day will cost me $97.33, not the $60 they are figuring. If I get 40 cups per pound, that's $73 per year. If I buy Maxwell House or Hill's Brother's, though, it's much, much cheaper, more like $30 a year. I think they just hit an "average".

Annie

The coffee beans I buy are almost $10/lb. But I love it..it's fair trade, organic and supports a small farming community..I won't give it up..LOL And I'm generous with the scoops when making a pot! LOL

I've been reading on quite a few blogs lately about how you can feed a family for $10 each a week!!!!!!! Not in my house..but then again..I don't buy bargin flour, milk or several other products. And my family has to have meat with every meal. (I don't but they do!) I do the best I can with grocery bills..we no longer eat packaged foods. Everything is from scratch.

Menu planning or atleast "having an idea" of what I'll use to make dinner helps a ton when I do my bimonthly grocery shop. But I still have to go to the store a couple more times for fresh things.

I agree with Duane..we really can't stop spending money...Or we perpetuate someone else lively hood dying. And in turn ours will too..

The best way to save on food is to trade the labor of someone preparing it for your labor to prepare it.
Bread for a small example....and I could go on to list frozen mashed potatoes, vegetables with butter sauce, frozen waffles and pan cakes fer cryin out loud! Frozen French toast!! "microwave ready" baking potatoes....and ready to cook pot roast....I mean how long does it take to wash a couple of potatoes and peel a few carrots? And ready to cook, "lemon pepper pork loin"...or chicken breast seasoned with Terayaki, ready to grill!
And one grocery store sells ready made ham salad for an exhorbitant price.....and theys ell ground ham for less....
So you add mayo and a little onion and save lots!
And those packages of precut veggies....and fruit...and the supermarket bread spread with margerine and garlic salt....ready to "heat and eat".
Make your own food!! Season your meat yourself, cut up your carrots and celery....and learn what wonderful stuff you can make with the bone form your ham dinner $.99 worth of beans and $.15 worth of onion.
As for spending money....that's the Regan Trickle Down theory....and it's true for thosew ho cana fford to do it. You have rose petals in the toilet bowl at your partya t a big hotel....and you are supporting the rose grower, the personw ho tears the petals off and the one who replaces them after every flush!
Think I'll go see if I can find something amde in the US to buy!
Linda C

Duane, While I understand you r soapbox I think being frugal can really help the US economy. In addition to all the ways I save money by not spending I also buy quality over carp. Which often means buying local and making my money go further in the US. So we split one steak for 4 people but that steak is grown and produced right here in VT and purchased at my local food co-op or from the farmer.

I also buy most of our clothing from consignment stores. This gives my money to a local store as well as a local person who is cleaning out their closets without filling up the landfill.

As Sally pointed out during WW2 it was being frugal that got folks through. When did it become patriotic to buy carp as soon as you could by borrowing on really high interest rates etc. I personally think this has to do with the bad economy as well. we need to return to a time when saving was common. I just need to figure out how to eat and save. Although we are saving for retirement.

-Robin

Quit drinking at the bar.... $2.50 a can for PBR v. $.30 at home. Because I leave a tip the two beers I drink actually costs about $10. Then there is the gallon of gas my truck drinks going to the bar and back home. Alas... at home no pretty gals to give me hugs. Never been in a fist fight at home. No bags of free game meat at home. No fishing report at home. Never drunkenly solved all the world's problems at home. No pushing a car off an ice patch at 2:30 A.M. I suppose.. $10 for going out is not so bad.

January in Michigan and I have rosemary and cayenne growing in the kitchen window. Would have habenera but the plant had a aphid infestation that I couldn't cure with soap water.

Pot of bean soup going on the stove... for the last three days. Ham (end slice), bag of dry beans, and one onion.... thin but very delicious. It would only take another bag of beans to make it thick.

Put ya bread in the fridge. Makes it hard but it won't mold. If a sandwich is wrapped in wax paper and nuked for a few seconds the bread returns to fresh baked soft. Makes great toast. Drys quick if want bread crumbs for meatloaf.

Bulk spices at the restaurant supply cost about the same for 1 lb. as the little bottles in the grocery store. The quality is also much higher because they move it quickly. GFS has better cumin then Penzey's!

Library no... a gallon of gas there and back. Amazon used books yes! Amazon also has used CD's if you need some "new" music.

Eating down the freezer! Oh yeah... I stuck it in there now lets get it out and eat it. Seems no matter how often I take to eating down the freezer there is still stuff in there. A beef brisket bought on sale that sorely needs to be smoked for sandwich meat looking at me today.

Not to save money but to work on my waistline... doing without packaged foods. Passed by a frozen pizza at the grocery store yesterday. Eating better tasting food, eating healthy foods, and losing weight... what is not to like. Figure cooking heat also recycles into house heat so it shaves a few pennies off the heat bill.

Shooting wild rabbits about 2 cents per lb of rabbit meat. Passed on a deer last month because I didn't feel like butchering the carcass. Funny how they know I'm feeling lazy and just stand there grazing like they own the place. Probably be angry with myself next spring when he returns to munch down my garden.

We have these threads from time to time. Like I always say just remember how grandma did things. Sew that button and turn out lights you are not using.

Spent all day yesterday researching wind and solar energy. For a couple grand I can have a combination wind/solar cell electric generator hooked into the local power grid. Pay back is about 10 years. Solar hot water will probably only work for the warm half of the year but that should pay back in 2 years if I build my own heater. Helps that I can do the install myself. Can't run the whole house on the energy but the cool factor of green electric is worth something.

: )
lyra

As long as saving doesn't mean putting money under the mattress, saving is just another way of investing in the economy. It's savings that provide capital for businesses.
(Lately the mattress looks better and better, though.)

We need to return to a time when we were exporting more than we were importing.

Food exchange. I bake a lot of bread (I enjoy it, and we couldn't eat all I bake) so I swap it to neighbors for vegetables and meat that we don't grow. Also, when my winter garden is in full swing I swap broccoli or lettuce for stored veggies like winter squash. We have organic free range eggs that I trade to neighbors for whatever is going (recently got our rototiller overhauled for two dozen eggs).
A neighbor takes whatever we all have in excess to the local food bank, and sometimes they have a huge amount of something that the recipents don't want (24 cans of water chestnuts?)and she comes home with something for everyone who contributed. Not much goes to waste around here--if we can't feed it to the hogs or chickens, then it goes into the compost pile and contributes to next year's garden.

OK, now, how to be MORE frugal if I'm already doing all of those things????
I don't think anyone is going to completely stop spending! For goodness sake I have no intention of making my own TP, growing coffee or sugar, or making hubby shave with bar soap! There are certain things which must be purchased.
For me, it's more about separating the "needs" from the "wants". The "wants" get cut, the "needs" stay in the budget.

That said, when you're already pretty darned frugal, where do you cut more if you choose to?

My list so far:
Cable (we have basic cable @ $21/mo., no channels without it)
Cell Phones: (we have 2 pre-paid, cost is $200 per year total)
Internet: (grandfathered in @ $15/mo.)
Make Bread: (I buy at outlet now, never pay more than $2/loaf, make some)
More meatless meals: (but..but...but...what will I use my canine teeth for! LOL)

We don't use credit cards.
We carpool 5 days/wk. AND another person 3 of those days-offsets a little gas money.
We buy most clothing on clearance or thrift shop.
We rarely make long distance phone calls.
We don't eat packaged/prepared foods, cook from scratch.
We don't eat out.
We don't go OUT period.
Car is 6 yrs. old and paid off.
DH works for a retail/drug store, we have a discount there.
We have chickens. We buy meat locally and in bulk.
We grow many of our own veggies, the rest are purchased locally and preserved.

So, any other ideas????
Even if they aren't incorporated, I find it fun to see what we can come up with!

Deanna

Went to Aldi's today. Florida Indian River pink grapefruit-$.25 each- $1.25 each at Kroger-Zucchini $1.29 for a two pound package-Kroger$1.49 per pound. Package of three stop light(red,yellow,green) bell peppers $2.99-$5.69 at Kroger. Fresh blueberries $1.99-$3.69 at Kroger. Two pound bag of onions $1.29-$1.09 a pound at Kroger. They do not have a wide selection but you can save considerable on your basics.

Even though I live in a city with a population of 400,000 Kroger has bought out all of its competitors so all we have is two Wal-Marts,one super Target,two Aldis and seven Dillons(Kroger)within a five mile radius of where I live.

i'm in bed with a light fever and nasty productive cough. so not typing coherently.

clarkhoward.com my favorite with it consumer advocate.subscribe to his emails and see if he has a radio show in your area.

tightwad gazette and thesimpledollar.com are only two of many frugality oriented websites. I just learned an earful about rechargeable batteries from thesimpledollar.

rest well Jessy!

I try to follow my grandmother's saying of "Never bake an orphan."

If I'm baking chicken, I'll throw a few potatoes in the oven at the same time to make stuffed potatoes for another night. Or I'll bake a nut bread for lunches or a butternut squash for soup along with that pan of chicken. It may increase the cooking time by a few minutes but definitely saves more energy than baking each separately.

yeah thanks terri reminds me that kitchen thermometers are better for taking temps than those expensive POS electronic things! i sat across from my son with the polder in my mouth and he called out the #s as it climbed to 100.2. not too bad. take out dinner for a couple of nights with NO GUILT.

I'm not saying it is bad to be frugal. Not at all. I am very thrifty and grow a big garden in a relatively small suburban garden area. I just get worked up about the extreme message that the media has about the economy. Yes, it is a rough economy, you don't have to tell us here in Detroit. But c'mon. Be reasonable, don't waste money on stupid things but go out to eat occasionaly. Buy a new car if you can afford it and need it. See a movie. Don't let the media tell you to ignore the good things in life. I swear they take everything to the total extreme and it drives me nuts. Makes me want to go and live in a little cabin in the wilderness and grow my own food and live like a hermit. The wife objects however. Oh well.

Duane

watch that 100.2 ..low grades are sometimes worse than the higher ones..

That's a very good use for it though. LOL

Jessica, I hope you feel better soon. Well, not too soon, enjoy that take out food for a couple of days, then have a miraculous recovery!

duane, I completely agree with you about the media and their "the sky is falling" gloom and doom on a constant basis. They have people so scared that they won't go buy a car or something else they need, which just perpetrates the problem.

The weather is a good example of the media attitude. We're getting screaming headlines of "severe weather emergency". 2 to 4 inches of snow and temperatures below zero. Since when is 2 inches of snow and temps below zero in January in Michigan a "severe weather emergency"?

Whatever. Still, I'm going to save money where I can so I can spend it on something else I want a lot more! However, if it's a choice between spending $10 on cheap Chinese carp at the Evil Empire and that same $10 at a local dive for supper or at my local independent grocer, I'm going to choose the local guy. I've always been a lot more likely to just eat at home, even before the "financial crisis/recession" that has the media all in a tizzy. Like people our age haven't lived through a couple of recessions, the oil embargo of 1973, the race riots in Detroit. It'll be fine. Eventually. And my penchant for saving a buck started way before the latest headlines did!

Annie

I'm amazed at how many of you don't do credit cards. I charge absolutely everything, gas, groceries, doctor's visits...the key is to NEVER carry a balance. I just cashed a check for $600 from Chase. They paid me $600 for using their card last year (I didn't pay a penny in interest). They give me 5 points on the dollar for gas, groceries and drug store purchases. It really added up when gas was over $4 a gal.

My other card gives me Amazon gift certificates. I think we got about $600-$800 in gc last year, once again, I never paid them a penny.

Jessy,
Drink lots of fluids & hope you feel better soon.

We use an Amazon credit card for everything, and get a lot of stuff with the Amazon credit it gives us. I just found out I can pay my oil bill with the card, so now I'll get even more back. There are disadvantages though; as they say, using plastic is easier than handing over actual cash, so people probably spend more.

Oh, speaking of oil -- if you have a budget payment plan that spreads payment over many months, it was probably calculated when oil prices were high. Call the company and ask to have it reduced. I've called three times, and I'm now paying less than half as much each month. This doesn't change what I'll pay in the end, but it makes sure I'm not lending money at no interest until the end of the heating season.

I'm flying south next month on my credit card....

You could skip buying the bread machine and make bread by hand... much more satisfying.

ruthan: I loved your grandmother's "never bake an orphan"... very good advice.

Lots of good thoughts here.

I'm another who uses my credit card for every purchase possible. I've only got one card and I don't carry a balance. I get free companion air travel and great airline points. With three of our sons living out of state, it's very useful. We were able to get everyone home for Christmas (my present to myself) for free...just the cost of the tax.

While we are having to watch what we spend a little more carefully, we still have expendable income. I'm grateful for that as I know that many have been hit hard by job layoffs and stock market decline. That said, I love my iphone and happily support local restaurants by eating out once or twice a week. I know I'm paying more but shopping at Whole Foods as opposed to Wal-Mart or WinnDixe is such a pleasure that if the prices were the same and they charged a cover charge to get in Whole Foods, I'd pay it!!

Saving money.... I do the annual shots for all of our animals (though I guess I'd really save money by not having any at all!) and I'm the maid, lawnboy, poolboy and tractor driver, used to be the nanny and the chauffeur when they boys were younger. Also I don't go to the doctor for every cough and hiccup. My kids will never forget when I set my broken finger with craftsticks. I cook almost everything from scratch, but since I use quality ingredients I'm not sure that this is a money savings over the processed junk.

No one will look to me for a list of tips on how to save money, but I'd like to echo Annie about the doom & gloom media and Grace & Duane in their suggestions to patronize your local businesses and restaurants or they'll disappear!

I do use a credit card (my free Costco Amex) which pays me to buy gas, eat in restaurants and travel. They also pay me a bonus check each year based on the total amount spent on the card. Otherwise I use a free M/C that pays rewards.

I try and be thrifty, but can't even play on the same team with the rest of you. I applaud you and your efforts!

Feel better Jessy!

I don't think anyone has mentioned buying in bulk, except in passing. Or ethnic groceries. For instance, I buy rice in 10lb bags at the ethnic place for about the cost of 2lb from the local grocery. Similarly, if I'm feeling indulgent, a whole wheel of good brie from another ethnic grocery that has a good range of cheese, is cheaper per ounce than supermarket brie. And nicer :-) Lots of products are like this.

Just a note to those of you (like me) who NEVER carry a balance on credit cards. Do you know what the credit card industry calls people like us? Deadbeats!!!

It's true. I heard it on NPR.

Those of you that are getting rewards for using your cc's, do you have to pay an annual fee?

Duane, I completely agree with you about the media hype overblowing things. And I do go out and spend money, as needed, and try to buy locally as much as possible. After all, buying ingredients for cooking supports people, too. Unfortunately, most of what's out there to buy these days supports China's economy more than our own.

Sally

Sally, we pay no fees on either of our credit cards, DH would never agree to that! That explains why we don't have airline-issued credit cards. We do have an "upgraded" Costco membership used for home and business which we pay for, but it offers services like check printing for a ridiculously low price and other benefits.
And like Lacey, we never carry a balance on our cards. That I suppose is a mix of luck and good planning.

Nope, no fee. A few years ago, we were doing a lot of remodeling and traveling, and then it did pay us to have a card that charged a fee but had big rewards. Now our spending is much less, so we canceled that card.

DH & I squabble over the CC thing all the time. DH puts EVERYTHING on his CC because of the cash back rewards. I, OTOH, pay cash for EVERYTHING. It embarasses me to use a CC in the grocery store or for a $15 purchase. I feel like all those around me are 'tsk-tsking' thinking, "Ah, there's one of the people who uses plastic & can't pay for what she buys!" lol Also, I don't like to balance a checkbook so cash is easier. :)

To keep our credit score up, once a year, we let one month's balance ride for 30 days & then pay it off. That, supposedly, shows the agencies that we can "manage" credit better. Go figure?!

January is our "Month To Get Ourselves Together" time. We budget all household expenditures on an annual basis. Included are food, eating out, the housekeeper, the gardener, repairs/maintenance, utilities, flowers/trees/shrubs/annuals, my clothes, anything I might want for around the house (new towels, cooking stuff, furniture, etc.), all gifts for the year, savings for hard goods's replacement like HVAC, appliances, etc., & any other miscellaneous expenditures. We transfer that amount into my account & that's it for the year. We haven't increased for 2009 so if food prices (or anything else) escalates I'll have to cut back to make the budget work. I like budgeting annually. It gives me lots of flexibility to take advantage of good sales & to jiggle things around. Usually, I've got money left over come December 31 & that money goes in our "splurge" fund. Every few years we're able to do something larger based on how frugal I've been during the preceeding 3-5 years. It also controls our expenses very well. We rarely make impulse purchases. If there's no line item budget...we don't buy it! Sure, we've each got a slush amount every year but it's no where's near large enough to cover something like an impulse electronics purchase. If we want it we'll have to include it in next years' budget.

I pre-pay for our heating oil, in August, for the entire season. What I pay is estimated based on the previous years' useage. I get a sizeable discount by paying the entire year upfront. Then, it's a game for me to see how much of a refund I can get come June. Last year, I got $209 refunded. This year, it's going to be huge 'cause I had to pay based on the oil rates last summer (high) & our actual costs are significantly lower. So, I've got a large refund coming.

I buy DH shirts/socks/tees, etc. when they're on sale & purchase a dozen at a time. Again, my annual budget gives me the ability & flexibility to do this. If butter's on sale...I'll buy 20 lbs. If I budgeted on a monthly basis, I couldn't afford to plan ahead as well.

Basically, we run our household like a business. Every expense has a line item budget & we add a 15% contingency to the total. Our plan includes replacing cars every 6-8 years so saving for cars is an annual line item. I was planning on moving to Quicken January 1 but I hated the software so I'm still keeping hand-written journals. :(

It took us several years to get our act together enough to budget annually but we've been doing it for a couple decades now & estimate it's saved us tens of thousands of dollars over that time frame. That's good but mostly what it does is control our expenses. We both know how much we put in my checking account. When it's gone...it's gone. Unless we want to have beans & water for Christmas dinner I'd better be frugal back in April & May. :)

/tricia

It embarasses me to use a CC in the grocery store or for a $15 purchase

I'm another one who puts everything on a CC and pay the total due each month. I used to be embarassed to use it sometimes too. I mean, use a CC for something under $5?? It's crazy, right?

Well... I got over that. I don't care what it costs. I get money back for everything I put on that CC, whether it costs $500 or $1.50. I don't give a hoot what anyone around me thinks. If they want to tsk tsk, let em. I'm laughing all the way to the bank. (No annual fees here either.)

Tricia, you might try excel for keeping your budget if you're trying to get away from hand writing stuff.

Up until this summer Clive and I both had an Airlines Points reward card....with a $100 annual fee.

We put every single thing we could on our cards, everything even a $5 grocery bill. The result was we had enough points to fly Meredith back and forth from where she was attending university on average 4 to 5 times a year for 4 years. Well worth it the fee! When she came home, after graduation, we converted to a regular no fee account.

We pay our CC bills, in full every month, I refuse to pay interest that's just nuts!

I try not to use my CC at mom and pop venues, especially if I know they are struggling. They get hit with merchant fees on their end. I'll write a check so their profits are maximized.

I don't put really small purchases on a card, unless I don't have enough money with me. The work of correlating the charge with the receipt is not worth it for every two-dollar item.

As Jessica pointed out, the small places get hit with that credit card fee so I always make sure I have a couple of bucks in cash for a Diet Coke at Woodville, I like to help Maxine out, she's the owner and she lost her husband last year, and he very little life insurance. If I know I'm going to need gas I'll gas up there too, and pay cash.

Elery has a credit card that gives him flying miles, that's how we're going to South Padre Island in February. he had enough points for both tickets and had to pay a $10 fee on each. He also puts everything on his card and then pays it off, even his daughter's college tuition goes on the card.

Annie

I also use the Costco Amex cash back card (no fee) and another card with miles for all business purchases (no fee). I use a separate card with miles for personal purchases (no fee). I get the cash back from the Amex and use the miles from the other card.

I also get cash back from Costco for my business membership (small fee). I never carry a balance either. The cards are also great because the statements show everything you spend. Easy to xerox them and hand them over to the CPA.

Deadbeats indeed, the credit card companies make a percentage from the merchant on every purchase you make. I know - my business takes credit cards.

If you don't use the cell phone much - please get a pay-as-you-go phone. I've had mine for a few years now.

As for the media, Duane I was just telling my DH how mad I get watching today's news.

We started putting it all on a card as well, paying it off at the end of the month. I found it so much easier than writing checks any more, and it certainly fits in my pocket! Using a credit card also makes it easy to keep track of expenses, since it's all laid out for you in black and white.

This may be a little too far off track the subject by now, but an easy (foodie) way of saving money for me is to prepare all my veggies once I get them home. That means clean, peel and cut everything according to how I plan to use them, so they're waiting for me and ready to go. We don't throw away forgotten produce any more, and right now I have matchstick/strips and diced vegs, with crisped lettuce that makes pulling together a dish really fast. Ease of preparation rules, and once I learned this trick, I can make a stir fry or lunches in a snap. It's not only healthier, but saves me money too.

Gina, my business also takes credit cards. Actually 99% of my clients use them, although many are debit cards, which is fine because I pay less of a fee for them. Also, those reward cards that everybody gets points for....the merchant actually pays extra for that. Believe me, the c.c. company doesn't give anything for nothing. Any card that has reward points costs me extra to accept. Of course I have no way of knowing and I couldn't justifiably refuse anyway, but just so everyone knows the c.c. company is not giving you gift certs and free airline flights out of the goodness of their hearts. Deadbeats indeed!

Duane

Duane, I'm sure I'm not paying any more points for those cards. I'm a hawkeye when it comes to those dang points.

Amex sent out a letter last month stating it "might" start charging a higher percentage for no-card-present sales (all ours are no-card-present). So I called and gave them an earful. They said they haven't instituted it yet. Better not - I'll stop taking it and just take Visa/MC. A local post office just stopped taking Amex this year.

Amex has always charged more than the other cc companies. Others have already pointed out that those mall cc purchases really hit small businesses hard. We have customers that are kind enough to be aware of that and write checks or use their debit card, or even, believe it or not, pay in cash.

A lot of you have mentioned Costco. I've never shopped at one because they're just not convenient to me, but I used to shop at Sam's. I quit doing that years ago because they had an annual fee, and I didn't feel like I was saving enough to make up for that annual fee. Most of what I got at Sams I could buy as a loss leader at a regular grocery store. I've also not found coupons to be very useful, because they're rarely for real food, just processed food.

After seeing several stories on the news, and listening to co-workers, I broke down and bought a Sunday paper several weeks ago for the coupons. Boy, was I disappointed. I spent $2.00 on the paper, and maybe found that much worth in coupons that I might use, (which I have to admit I've forgotten about), and then I had all this mess of paper to deal with. What a waste of time that was.

Sally

Gina, I have a great rate (percentage wise) through my franchise, but yes I do pay extra for those reward cards. I'm glad you don't! But one way or another they usually get you with a higher rate. Somehow, someway they get their pound of flesh. It's funny, my wife works for Amex but I won't accept their cards due to the high fees. Same with Discover, too high. If I ever got a large percentage of customers who insisted I could add them but most people have a Mastercard or Visa.

I think I pay about 2.25 percent for accepting Visa/MC which is pretty good.

I don't discourage people who pay cash however :-)

Duane

Suze Orman has her latest book up on Oprah's website for free download for the next couple of days. While it's very repetitive, she's got lots of headers so you can skip to the parts that are applicable to you. I skimmed/read it in an evening (it's only 200 some pages). They ask that it not be distributed outside the website, otherwise I'd just offer to send it to anyone that wanted it.

In it she talks a lot about how with the credit crisis, cc companies are dropping cardholders, increasing interest rates and decreasing credit limits without promptly informing their customers. The theory is that they know the economy is getting bad and that people will have a harder time paying off their cards, so they want to limit their exposure. If they decrease your credit limit, your ratio of total debt to total credit available increases and you look like more of a credit risk (your FICO score goes down and you may have more trouble getting other loans). Just something to think about...

I guess the bottom line is to be proactive, pay attention and don't spend what you don't have.

Sally, I use coupons pretty regularly. My local independent grocery will still double coupons on Wednesdays so I use them for things like toilet paper, laundry soap, the Miss Clairol that keeps my hair red (grin), shampoo, soap, kleenex, etc.

I don't find a lot of coupons for food that I use but I do find cereal coupons regularly for types that I do buy, like Fiber One and Frosted Mini Wheats. I just used a coupon for $1 on Peter Pan Peanut butter, coincidentally my favorite brand and another for chocolate chips.

I always find enough coupons to more than justify the $2 for the Sunday paper and then I wait until Wednesday and the store doubles the face value.

Annie