Free Republic

Food is expensive, gas remains stubbornly high and winter's big heating bills are coming. Since loans are tough to get and our retirement funds are shrinking fast as the stock market crashes, we thought we'd share some old-fashioned penny-pinching tips. Some come from readers who responded to a business reporter's request for suggestions. Others come from the misers on our staff. And a few come from rules our mothers taught us or hints we've read over the years. Of course, one person's "don't need that" is another's "can't live without" (we didn't suggest cutting out the $4 latte). If some...

On paper, my wife and I are poor. How poor? In 2005 we made $4,303.84 combined; in 2004 we made half that. We’re in such a low tax bracket that I have trouble convincing the government of our tax return’s accuracy; they simply can’t believe Americans can live on that kind of money. Yet in many ways, we’re better off than a Wall Street banker: We’ve saved enough money to buy land without a mortgage, we have no credit cards or monthly bills, I work 20 flexible hours a week from home, and my daughter has two stay-at-home parents. Simply...

Americans' charge-it culture is getting an overdue reality check. But will the new discipline stick? On a shady lane in New Hope, Pa., a quiet revolution in American culture may be taking shape. Here, a family of four lives in a white, colonial-style house in a manner that once would have been considered All-American but more recently has been seen as just plain weird: They're frugal. Theirs is no hard-luck-in-a-recession story. The Ingram-Behre family is solidly middle-class, fully employed, and not especially threatened by the conniptions gripping Wall Street. Behre, 43, is a dean at the College of New Jersey,...

I offer here a list of spots you mught use to arm yourself and your family against current economic pressures. Please feel free. I don't work for any of these places. I just think things may tighten up before they loosen up, and would like to have a discussion aimed at helping people out.

By keeping your car for 15 years, or 225,000 miles of driving, you could save nearly $31,000, according to Consumer Reports magazine. That's compared to the cost of buying an identical model every five years, which is roughly the rate at which most car owners trade in their vehicles. In its annual national auto survey, the magazine found 6,769 readers who had logged more than 200,000 miles on their cars. Their cars included a 1990 Lexus LS400 with 332,000 miles and a 1994 Ford Ranger pick-up that had gone 488,000 miles. Consumer Reports calls the Honda Civic a "Good bet"...

For students living on ramen noodles or people in low-wage, time-consuming jobs, folks who are down on their luck or living on fixed incomes, healthy eating may seem too expensive. Nutritionists say, however, that's a false perception. Healthy eating, in fact, is cheaper. The cost of expensive eating often isn't the food, it's the bells and whistles of trendy packaging. "You pay for convenience," says Amy Moore, a dietitian at St. Louis University. "What it takes is planning and sometimes a little investment." That means eating more fresh food from low-cost stores and farmers markets, watching store sales and using...

Today is Thomas Jefferson's birthday, and given the state of American politics, with neither major party really putting Jeffersonian ideals into action, wouldn't it be great if we could resurrect the Sage of Monticello and get his take on current affairs? ~~~snip~~~~ Jefferson was complex and somewhat contradictory, and doubtlessly the answers to some of these questions could differ depending on Jefferson's age and state of mind. I've tried to come up with passages that most accurately reflect his views. All quotations can be found at the University of Virginia's Thomas Jefferson quotations page: Q: The Republican Party claims to...

A short-sighted Gunsite student is now short a Series 70 Colt Besides being an ugly gun (the only saving grace are the Novak sights...) and having something soooo retro - and unsafe - as a trigger shoe, the owner/operator of said Series 70 did - because he was: CheapStupidBoth of the above       ...pick up from the deck a live round of ammunition, with which to continue his 350 class at Gunsite. Unfortunately, while the pistol is .45 ACP, he picked up a .40 caliber round. The 'Smithy says: The .40 round apparently fired, and the case was...

Cash-strapped German couples, increasingly nervous about tying the knot as their country's economy stagnates, are being offered bargain "package marriages" by a discount supermarket chain. A snip at £1,500, the deal includes the service - at a choice of locations - with 18 guests, a champagne reception, hotel accommodation for the bride and groom and even insurance in case they fail to make it to the altar. A mass-produced dress and honeymoon are available for a modest additional fee. Unemployment and substantial tax rises have transformed Germany into a frugal nation. Last year consumption dropped by two per cent. From...

  The Lessons of Frugality Since I went mostly off the grid, in January of 2000... I have learned the lessons of frugality... lessons like replacing all my incandescent 'hot' bulbs with Compact Florescent Bulbs... when I made the change in bulbs, I was fully on the grid, and the savings were immediate... I paid $3.95 to $5.95 for the CF bulbs  at  the  IKEA  superstore... the  price  variance  was dependent on the wattage of the bulb... The reduction in my electric  bill was enough to pay for all the new bulbs in about 12 months... I started solar cooking...