Research purchases carefully. Use the internet to find the best products and to identify the lowest cost suppliers.

Spend in a disciplined manner. Buy only what you've budgeted.

Pay attention to coupons. Yes they're a pain, but they actually do save money when used for planned purchases.

Take public transportation instead of buying a car. At the very least, carpool whenever possible. Just one day of car pooling weekly helps automobiles last up to 20% longer, and also lowers other transportation costs too.

Track all spending. Keeping a spending log will open your eyes to "holes" in your budget.

Barter baby-sitting services with friends and family.

Carry your snack to the movies instead of buying there. Popcorn — at $4.50 a box and Coke for $4.75 a cup — are bad for your wallet, or your date's. Carry an apple and bottle of water in your purse instead. You'll save big bucks for you and make a great impression on him.

Organize a weekly "night-in" with your friends as opposed to going out. Take turns hosting, but require each guest to bring food to share with the group.

Pack your lunch. Carrying twice a week lowers costs by 40% a month!
Buy soft drinks in bulk and keep supplies in your desk at work instead of buying drinks at the café.

Drink tea at work instead of coffee — keep bags in your desk.

Pay cash instead of charging. At 18% APR, a thousand dollars in revolving credit results in almost $15 in interest in just thirty days. In a year, that adds up to $180 of your hard earned cash!

Buy insurance from one company to get a multi-policy discount.

When buying clothes, select separates that coordinate.

Take for example, the case of a woman who, after careful planning and some spirited negotiation, got the family's luxury home in a hotly-contested divorce settlement. Located in an upscale neighborhood, the home was valued at more than a million dollars. And because it had originally been purchased with her ex-husband some fifteen years earlier, the property had more than quadrupled in value over the years. What's not to be happy about?

Yes, a mortgage was needed to secure the home, but the monthly payment was well within her ability (or so she thought). She felt compelled to keep the property to avoid changing schools, and to minimize the impact of the divorce on her two sons. "Besides, on my salary, there's no way I'd ever be able to afford another home as nice as this one," she told me.

Less than two years after the divorce, things started going downhill. First, the water heater needed to be replaced — a $700 expense, charged to her VISA card. Then, there was a leaky roof — $1,600, also charged to the card. In the summer, the pool's filter pump died right after she returned from vacation (the repair and the vacation went on the card too). She wondered what might come next.

Then, toward the end of summer, her car's transmission failed. Because the warranty had expired a year earlier, she was facing a nearly $2,000 repair bill.

The woman's brother came to her rescue and helped negotiate the purchase of a new car. Given the condition of her trade-in and her desire for a "larger and safer car," she ended up with a monthly payment of roughly $200 more than she'd been paying. The car also required more gas, nearly twice that of the previous car.