As U.S. economists continue to debate whether the country is in a recession (I'll come right out and say it: we are), one newspaper in the United Kingdom is proclaiming the U.S. is spiraling into another Great Depression.

The Independent points to the increasing number of food stamp usage as proof that the U.S. A. is in dire straits. It points out that more than 28 million Americans now depend on food stamps to feed their families, the greatest number of Americans on the program since it was introduced in the 1960s. Of course, some of the increase is due to greater awareness of the program and the switch from paper coupons to a debit card-style system. Still, those are sobering numbers.

Food stamp usage has increased in nearly all 50 states, and applications to the program are up in 40 states. In Michigan, one in eight residents is in the food stamp program. With the increase in food prices over the past year...six percent...food stamp dollars aren't going as far as they used to.

Coupled with this news is the story that the U.S. Treasury has unveiled the most massive overhaul of the U.S. finance system since the Great Depression. The plan would give greater powers to the Federal Reserve and merge other federal agencies. There would also be greater oversight of hedge funds and insurance companies.

Savvy Frugality isn't ready to proclaim the U.S. is headed toward Great Depression II, but it did sound alarm bells about the approaching recession. Increasing fuel and food prices, drops in employment, a stagnating economy and investors hoarding cash and gold all remind me of the bad economic times the country faced in the mid-70's and early 90's.

Many Middle Class families are in a tight spot right now. Perhaps their home has gone to foreclosure, or they have lost a job, or their money just isn't supporting their lifestyle anymore. It was with those families in mind that I wrote about my past recession experience in the Savvy Frugality Recession Guide.

One thing is clear: the U.S. economy is in a downward spiral, and it will take some time for it to regain its footing. In the meantime, many Americans will experience some hard financial times. By doing more with less, cutting out unnecessary expenses, maintaining a cash reserve (emergency fund) and downsizing their lifestyle (if necessary), they should be able to lessen the blow to their pocketbooks.

Note: Savvy Frugality is not a certified financial planner or economist. This is merely Savvy Frugality's opinion.

Today Savvy Frugality is featuring a guest post. This one is written courtesy of my wife (thanks!) who is also pretty frugal around the house. The Excel files she mentions for Weekly Menus and Shopping lists are included in the menu on the right hand side of the page:

As a domestic goddess it is my duty to keep costs down. One of the biggest expenses you can come across are the “nickel and dime” ones. These are those little trips you make to the store because you forgot to buy something. I guarantee if you look at your checkbook register you’ll see several trips to Wal-Mart, or your local grocery store, written down. You might run into the store for one little thing, but you usually leave the store with a cart full of stuff.

Today I’m going to teach you how to make do with what you have. For example, you’ve run out of milk for a recipe. Don’t rush out to the store. If you’ve got powdered coffee creamer you’ll do just fine. Mix up some powdered creamer with water until it looks like skim milk, and then it’s ready for substitution. I’ve had to use this a few times for several of my recipes. I wouldn’t suggest you drink this, but it will work as a substitution when you’re in a pinch.

I’ve always wanted one of those machines that stores your food in a vacuum sealed bag. When I saw the cost of those things I realized that it would take a very long time for it to pay for itself, so I made do. I usually buy my meats in a 10 pound package and then separate it when I get home. In the past I’ve wrapped the food in foil, and then put it in a plastic bag, but now I seal my food in that same plastic bag and keep it airtight. How?? Simple. Fill your clean sink with water, then place your item inside of a Ziploc bag (generics are fine), seal the bag, but leave one inch open at the corner. Submerse the bag into the water and it will force all of the air out. Slowly seal the bag until all of the air is removed and you’ve got yourself a vacuum seal.

Let’s say you’ve run out of brillo pads. No problem. You can bunch up some aluminum foil and use that in its place. This works great for your barbeque grills and broiler pans. Since I hardly have to use brillo pads, I just use a piece of foil when needed.

You’ve only got enough liquid fabric softener for one load, but you’ve got three loads of laundry to do. No worries. Take a washcloth and pour some fabric softener on it, then throw it in the dryer with your clothes essentially using it like a dryer sheet.

The best way to avoid running out of things like this is to make up your grocery list based on a weekly menu (my templates will be available for download). If you really want to save money then base your menu on your local store’s sales circular. However, if you do run out of something, just remember your home is full of substitutions; all you have to do is get creative.

The title of this post is a bit misleading. Perhaps it should be called "Where to Find the Least Expensive Clothes", but that wouldn't fit with the theme of my "Where to Find the Cheapest..." series. The word "cheap", as applied to clothing, makes it sound like something substandard, out of fashion and polyester.

I have always been picky about how I look, and I used to spend the money to match my fashionable tastes. Unfortunately, it was more than my budget could bare. I was trying to look like a million dollars on a Walmart budget. I have grown wiser since then, but I still need to wear suits, ties and "business casual" clothing on Fridays at my place of work. How can one do that and still live a life of Savvy Frugality?

I have adopted a mantra which has served me well, especially when it comes to clothing: "Never Pay Retail. Retail Is For Suckers." That means I NEVER pay the full retail price for clothing, except for underwear and socks, and I usually buy those on sale. When I say "Never Pay Retail", I don't mean wait until jeans go on sale for ten percent off. That's still retail, really. The jeans were probably overpriced to begin with. Here is how my family dresses well while avoiding garage sale castoffs...all while getting clothing at 50 to 80 percent off the regular retail price. I should mention that I buy most of my clothing at regular retail stores.

Buy Clothing Off Season - You never want to buy polo shirts, t-shirts or swim suits in the middle of summer. Why? Because you are paying full price. If you buy those things at the end of the summer, just before fall, then you will get those items after the prices have been slashed to move them out of the store. I once bought a winter coat in the middle of August, when it was 80 degrees outside. I paid $16 for a coat which would normally have cost me about $150. I recently bought several short sleeved shirts (name brand) for $8 each. Regular price? About $30 each. Of course, it was about 30 degree outside...but it will get warmer, and I'll wear the shirts when the weather changes.

Raid the Clearance Racks - Clearance racks at retail stores are often thought of as "The Land of Misfit Clothing", but that's the wrong way to look at them. The clearance racks merely have items the store is trying to move out the door because they didn't sell them before they got new stock. I recently bought a new name brand suit off a clearance rack for $70. The regular retail price was almost $400. Whenever I shop for clothes, the clearance racks are the first place I check.

Check out eBay - There are some great clothing items on eBay, and there are some not-so-great items on eBay. Still, I have gotten some great buys on eBay, such as a new Diesel shirt for $30 (regular price $70). I get great deals on shoes on eBay as well.

Don't forget the "discount" stores - I'm not talking about Wal-Mart or Target. Stores like Stein Mart, Burlington Coat Factory and T.J. Maxx have great name brand clothing at very cheap prices. I get most of my ties at T.J. Maxx. I usually pay $12 for $50 ties.

Forget "trendy" clothing - That "hot new item" everybody is wearing now is going to be a "fashion don't" this same time next year. Stick to classic cuts and solid neutral colors, and you'll be able to use your wardrobe year after year. If you want to get adventurous, get a trendy scarf or tie. You can always put it on eBay later, and it won't cost as much as the new jeans most people would shell out $150 for...only to see them fall out of fashion in six months.

Speaking of jeans...Why would anyone pay $150 for jeans? Jeans are jeans. The only difference is usually the fit and the label. Stick to classic jeans. If you wear a belt or long shirt, nobody can see the label anyway. I bought my last pair of jeans at Steve & Barry's, on sale, for about $15.

Find a good tailor - If you gain or lose weight, you can get your favorite items in your wardrobe altered to fit. It's a lot cheaper than buying something new.

This week's Festival of Frugality is hosted by My Dollar Plan. Once again, there is a lot of great reading for the frugal-minded and those interested in living a life of Savvy Frugality. Savvy Frugality's post Where to Find the Cheapest Travel Deals is included in this week's Festival.

Other posts of note:

No Credit Needed presents Beware Of The Laundry Detergent Cap posted at No Credit Needed. He found the recommended amounts for detergent are not what the lines look like on the cap! Personally, I always use the half of the amount of a product as what is called for on the label. It works just fine. I think most manufacturers suggest using a certain amount of product in an effort to make you go through it faster and therefore have to buy even more.

Faron Benoit presents My Dad – Frugal, Generous and my Hero posted at Financial Learn. There is some excellent advice here. My favorite: never pay full price. Remember, retail is for suckers.

Ron presents 5 Ways I Plan To Survive The Recession posted at The Wisdom Journal. If you are gainfully employed or otherwise earning an income, it is never too late to take steps to ride out the current economic downturn. My family has been just fine, but we also started preparing months ago.

Be This Way presents I’ve Finally Found the Line posted at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?. This is actually a reaction to my post about Freegans. I like Be This Way's take. I wouldn't eat food from the trash either!

How precarious has the U.S. economy become? Some retailers are so desperate to make a sale, they are willing to haggle over the price.

Usually, this is something you only see at car dealerships, but retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Home Depot and high-end stores are now willing to lop a few bucks off the sticker price...if you are willing to ask.

I suppose the most the store could do is say "no", but I happen to know from first-hand experience that this does work. About a year ago, I worked part-time at a Home Depot store for the insurance benefits. Every once in a while, a customer would notice a scratch or a dent on a piece of merchandise and asked if the manager on duty would be willing to discount the item. Most of the time, it worked. Customers routinely saved about $50 off appliances this way.

But with talk of looming recession and stagnating sales, retailers are willing to haggle over perfectly good merchandise, too. This will likely come to an end when the economy and sales pick back up, but while times look bad for the economy, apparently bargains can be had.

This is nothing new in many European or Latin American countries, by the way. I spent a lot of time in Italy when I was in the military, and shopkeepers there were almost offended if you weren't willing to haggle over the price. To them, it's a way of life, and they expect customers to seek good prices. Of course, even they have a "lowest price" and get equally offended if you try to talk them down too low.

If you are in need of a big-ticket item, and you know how to negotiate, you may be able to haggle yourself a bargain!

If you do the grocery shopping for your household, it's no secret that the price of groceries has been skyrocketing. Food prices increased about five percent last year, and are expected to increase by the same amount this year. Farmers have been planting more corn than wheat to meet the increased demand for ethanol, causing wheat prices to shoot up in price. As a result, the cost of a loaf of bread has more than doubled in the past year.

The last time I increased my grocery budget was two years ago. My sons are still growing boys, and they started to eat adult-sized portions of food (they are teens). I raised my food budget from $125 every two weeks for four people to $200 every two weeks. Now, as a result of the rising costs of food, I have increased our food budget to $250 every two weeks. To me, this is almost conceding defeat. I pride myself on finding the absolute lowest prices on groceries. However, food prices have gone up across the board, even at the so-called discount grocers, like Aldi. I know that $31.25 per person per week for food is still a pretty good result (that's less than $4.50 per person, per day), but I still like to find the bargains. Despite the rising cost of food, there are still bargains to be had.

You Don't Have to Buy Groceries at a Grocery Store - Believe it or not, I do not buy most of my groceries at a grocery store. I buy them at dollar stores, where everything is, you guessed it, one dollar. I also shop for food at stores like Big Lots. You won't find produce, dairy or meats at these stores, but you can really stock up on canned and dry goods, as well as find cheap cleaning products, at these stores. If you haven't checked out the food selection at a dollar store, you should give it a try. There are a lot of store brands there, but there are a lot of name brand items there, too.

Speaking of Store Brands...they are usually just as good as the name brand items. In fact, many store brands are made by the same companies which produce the name brand items. They just slap a different label on the can. I have come across a couple of exceptions (I believe it was a can of clam chowder), but those are few and far between.

The Warehouse Stores Can Save You Money - Warehouse stores like Sam's Club and Costco have gotten a bad rap for being a waste of money. Who needs a five gallon jug of pancake syrup? However, if you shop smart, only stock up on what you can truly use, and avoid the non-food items, you can save a lot of money at a warehouse store. The trick is to check the unit price of the food you are buying. It is usually on the label on the shelf, underneath the total price for the food. The unit price gives you the price you are paying per ounce, per pound, per item, etc. Use your price book to keep track of the lowest prices in your area on the item you are purchasing. If the unit price at the warehouse store is lower than the unit price at your regular grocer, it's a good deal.

Use the "Per Pound" Method - There is a school of thought that you should never spend more than a dollar per pound for your food. I have not personally used this one myself. Where I live, you would be hard-pressed to find dairy or meat items for a dollar or less per pound. However, if you can find it for that price, buy it. It's a good deal.

Become a Coupon Clipper - Personally, I use coupons under certain circumstances. In order for me to clip and use coupons, it has to be:

- For an item I would normally buy anyway
- Used at a store which offers "double coupons"
- Used in conjunction with other sales

For example, I had a coupon for an item which normally costs $1.99. I have a coupon for 50 cents. I use the coupon on "double coupon" day, which saves me $1, and the item is on sale that week for 99 cents. I just got that item for free! Check out the Coupon Mom for additional coupon strategies.

Find the nearest Angel Food seller - On its surface, Angel Food Ministries looks like a food distribution network for low-income households. However, there are no income requirements, and they will sell food to anybody. The food is not free, but you can save about 50 percent on the cost of many food items contained in their food boxes. For about $25, I get a box of food each month which would normally cost me twice that much. Last month, my Angel Food box contained steak, chicken breasts, vegetables, and pasta. Not a bad deal at all.

By doing some pre-planning, checking out the sales circulars of grocery stores before you do your shopping, only buying things you need for your pre-planned menu, and using the strategies listed above, you can keep your food budget in check. I have increased my food budget twice...in six years. There are many times I am able to spend less than my food budget. Think of it as a challenge...with the result being you can take the extra money you save and invest it, knock out debt or put it in your child's college fund. That will give you some extra incentive to find those bargains. They are out there!

Do you have a way of saving money on your food budget not listed above? Share it in our comments section! Thanks!

There is a growing trend among Baby Boomers. They are going back to school in record numbers to finish their college degree, or to earn one that they didn't start in the first place. With the economy growing more shaky, people are looking to upgrade their skills and hang on to the job they have, or to jump ship from a hard-hit sector of the job market to learn to do something else for a paycheck.

At the ripe young age of 43, I am a college student. I am enrolled in the Associate of Science in Marketing program at Penn Foster College. Luckily for me, textbooks are actually included in the price of tuition, which is dirt cheap to begin with (about $55 a credit hour). However, I have attended a traditional brick-and-mortar university, where I had to purchase my own textbooks. Even though I bought them used from the university bookstore, I still paid more than $100 for books in some classes. Whether you are a boomer heading back to school, or a boomer's kid entering college for the first time, you'll be looking for ways to save money on something that is perhaps your biggest expense, after tuition. Here are the tried-and-true ways that I and other starving college students have found to trim the cost of textbooks.

Amazon is your Friend - Amazon.com, that is. There is no law that says you have to buy your books from the university bookstore, where you will definitely pay the highest prices. Check out Amazon, enter the ISBN number and find your textbook for as little as half the price, perhaps even cheaper. Also, don't overlook Half.com, eBay.com and abebooks.com.

Older books still work, too. - Here is the "dirty little secret" about textbooks. They don't really change all that much from one edition to the next. There might be a few updates or a rewording of certain portions of the textbook, but unless someone has discovered Darwin was completely wrong, that fifth edition of your biology book is probably just as good as the sixth edition. Just make sure it's by the same authors, and is in fact the older version of the textbook you were assigned to buy. I did this for one of my courses, and instead of paying $85 for a used book at the university bookstore, I paid $2.50 for an older edition off of eBay.

How about free textbooks? - Your local public library could possibly have the textbook you need for your next course sitting on its shelf, just waiting for you to check it out for free. Sure, the usual loan period is two weeks, but you can usually arrange to keep it longer than that. At the most, you'll pay a couple of bucks in late fees if you return it late (just make sure you actually return it. Be nice). That's still cheaper than buying the book new.

You may not need an actual book - There are now some free services that make e-book versions of textbooks available online. Sure, you might have to pull an all-nighter staring at a computer screen, but it's free! Check out Textbook Revolution and see if they might have your textbook available for reading online. Freeloadpress.com is another free online textbook service.

Now, hit the books...and good luck with your studies!

I like to travel, but with the cost of gas hitting nearly $4 a gallon taking that summer vacation could get awfully expensive. However, if you're willing to travel on short notice and give up a few creature comforts, there are ways of traveling dirt cheap...even free!

Share the Ride - Think of this as "extreme carpooling". There are web sites, such as eRideShare.com, where you can find someone with a vehicle who is traveling from your city to another city to which you are traveling. The site specifies origin, destination and travel dates, and also includes terms like splitting the cost of gas and other expenses. Sometimes, you can event find a ride for free!

Pros: Cheaper than driving yourself, could save you a lot of money
Cons: You don't know the person you are traveling with, the trip could be one-way

Become a Courier - If you have a sense of adventure and can travel on extremely short notice, and don't mind running an errand along the way, you could sign up to become a courier. You can sign up at one of many web sites, including Courier.org, and find yourself traveling to Hong Kong, Singapore or London for drastically reduced or even free airfare. You simply grab a flight on short notice, agree to give up part of your baggage allowance, and carry and deliver a package at the travel destination. Once recent courier flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong was only $250 for airfare.

Pros: dirt cheap airfare
Cons: must fly on short notice, you might only be allowed one piece of luggage, may not get dates you want to travel, some courier services require a membership and there are scam sites on the Internet. Buyer beware!

Crash at Somebody Else's Pad - I don't mean stopping by unannounced at your third cousin's house while you're on a road trip. You can find a free place to stay while you are visiting a destination by agreeing to house sit. Some services even facilitate a house exchange, in which you stay at someone else's house, say...in Japan, and they agree to stay at your place in Cleveland. With the cost of hotel rooms increasing all the time, it's a free option.

Pros: Avoid the nightly hotel rates, more amenities than a Motel 6, stay at a private residence
Cons: You really don't know the people staying in your house if you're doing a swap, but then again you're in their place, too.

RV for Free - How would you like to drive your RV to a national park, park for free and get free electric and water hookups, as well as use of the park? You can, if you are a workamper. The catch? You have to work off your room and board by doing an assortment of jobs for the park while you are staying there. Aside from the perks like free parking (which aren't available at all workamper jobs) you also get paid an hourly wage.

Pros: see the sights, sometimes includes free use of amenities, free parking, etc.
Cons: You've got to work during your vacation

I've Paid Twice for This Already hosts this week's Festival of Frugality. Savvy Frugality's post, Extreme Frugality: Freegans is included in this week's festival. Other posts worthy of note:

Value For Your Life shares a simple yet profound grocery savings tip with My 25% Grocery Savings Rule. Basically, they don't buy grocery items unless they are on sale for 25 percent off. In my area, that would be awfully difficult with meat and dairy products. I usually buy my groceries at the "cheap" stores, including Dollar Tree and Big Lots. They sell food, too!

Tight Fisted Miser lives the frugal life abroad in How I Lived for 3 Months on $450. I might just move to Guatemala, after reading this post.

Money Under 30 asks if money trumps love with Is it Okay to Get Married With Debt?
My wife was in debt when we got married. She's the love of my life, but I should have let her pay her bills first.

FIRE Finance gives you the lowdown on what are the truly great deals in those dollar discount stores in Top 10 Dollar Store Buys. I usually make my own cleaning products, but I do buy food and toiletry items at the Dollar Store.

The Freebie Diva shares a way to get free magazines with a new service: Adperk. I used this service to get a free one-year subscription to Popular Science.

Savvy Frugality has been included in two different personal finance blog carnivals this week. First up, the Carnival of Debt Reduction, hosted this week by Ask Mr. Credit Card. Savvy Frugality's post, How to Know if You’re in Deep Financial Trouble, is among those featured this week.

Here are my picks this week from the Carnival of Debt Reduction:

12 Ways to Make Yourself Recession-Proof posted at Prime Time Money.

he Happy Rock has just fired himself as his own CPA! and now Spends The Big Money For Tax Prepation. I thought about doing this myself. I hate filing my taxes and wait until the last possible minute to do it.

Ryan Healy presents Why People Stay in Debt posted at Debt Reduction Formula. Great post. This one will have people reevaluating their priorities.

Free Money Finance presents Be Careful with Home Equity and 401k Credit Cards. 401k credit cards have got to be the worst idea ever. Why would somebody use their 401k money to buy things? Not good.

Should you rent or buy your home? Squawkfox presents Rent vs. Buy Calculator

This week's Carnival of Personal Finance is hosted by Being Frugal. Savvy Frugality's entry, You Lost Your Job, Now What? is among the featured posts.

My personal favorites from this week's Carnival of Personal Finance:

Bob McDonald shares the best money tip he’s ever given.

Mr. Debtbeater outlines the disadvantages of living paycheck to paycheck . I used to live this kind of existence. It's no fun at all.

Nickel shares some characteristics of Middle Class Millionaires at Five Cent Nickel. There are some very interesting stats here that shed some light on the "new rich".

Andy shares his thoughts on tipping at Finance Viewpoint. If I'm eating at a restaurant, my tips to the server start at 20 percent. If the service is lacking, it starts going down. If the service is horrible, I don't leave a tip at all. I'm not paying for lousy service. If the service is fantastic, I'm more than happy to leave a tip ranging from 30 to 50 percent. I always get great service when I return to that restaurant. Of course, I don't eat out all that often.

Twenty-two year old Shanti tells you how she plans to retire at age 35 at Antishay Ventenne. I wish I had been this smart when I was 22. The only flaw in her plan is that she doesn't allow for inflation. It will cost a lost more to buy things in the future, and she will likely have to withdraw larger amounts of money from her retirement account as she gets older.

This is an update to my earlier post about Freegans...people who live off the trash other people throw away. Yes, this includes food. Freegans are trying to draw attention to the amount of waste people create, and how people in countries like the U.S. consume more than they really need to.

Not to be outdone, the folks in Great Britain are also shedding some light on the subject. For those of you have have BBC America on your cable system, you can check out "Dumped", a four-part mini-series with an episode airing tonight at 10 pm EST.

During the mini-series, 11 people spend three weeks in a garbage dump, living entirely on what others throw out in their trash. Aside from the question of whether they will be able to find enough edible food to survive, I'd like to know how they will deal with the smell.

I have health insurance through my employer, but that coverage does not include dental insurance. That's unfortunate, because I recently started experiencing some pain in one of my teeth, plus my whole family is overdue for a professional teeth cleaning.

Unfortunately, private dental insurance plans can leave your family with an lighter wallet, and short of coverage for the more involved dental procedures. There is a dental plan offered through the same insurance company my employer uses, but I would have to pay $138 a month out-of-pocket for my family of four. This doesn't make sense for us, because we certainly don't use $138 a month in dental services. My oldest son has already had his braces, so we're really only looking at something that will cover cleaning, possible x-rays and perhaps a filling (hopefully not).

I also looked at other private plans, and the cost was similar. On top of that, nearly all of the private plans I looked at have a maximum annual benefit of $1,000 per person, so if you did have some type of dental emergency the insurance would likely still not cover all of the cost. If you don't have employer-sponsored dental insurance, and private dental insurance doesn't cover your needs, what are the other options?

If you determine that the cost of private dental insurance outweighs the benefits, look into dental discount programs. These programs are not insurance, but can offer discounts of up to 50 percent for certain procedures with participating dentists. Your dentist may already participate in one of these discount programs. If you don't have a regular dentist, you can check before enrolling to see which dentists in your are participate. The cost is much lower than dental insurance, because it is not insurance. I found plans that started at $79 per year for an individual, and $99 per year for a family plan. You still pay out-of-pocket for dental procedures, but you receive a discount through the the plan ranging from 10 to 50 percent, depending upon the dentist and the procedure.

In addition to the discount plan, consider opening a savings account specifically for your dental needs. I recommend one of the online banks like Emigrant, ING or WaMu, which have high-interest savings accounts. You can set up these account to automatically transfer funds from your checking account each month. Rather than make premium payments to private dental plans, earmark a certain amount of money each month to be deposited into your "dental savings plan". If you only use it for routine cleanings and checkups, you should be able to sock away more than enough money using this method to be able to pay for you dentist visits in cash. If you have kids an anticipate they may need braces, you can put more into this account each month to prepare for that expense.

If you don't have a dental savings account or a discount plan, and you need a cleaning, crown or filling, check to see if your area has a dental college. Dental colleges are always looking for patients on which their students can get some practice. The students in the college clinics work under the direct supervision of an instructor, and the colleges on this list are accredited by the American Dental Association. Procedures at these schools are low cost, and in some cases, free. The pros: you are helping a future dentist get an education, you are receiving quality dental care under the watchful eye of an instructor, and you are receiving cheap dental care. The cons: the person working on your mouth is a student, procedures take two to three times longer than usual, and you may not always be able to make an appointment for the day or time you want. You are working around the school's schedule, not yours.

With some pre-planning and creative thinking, it is possible to have a beautiful smile without putting a frown on your face when you get the bill.

Today, I am launching a new, multi-part series called "Where to find the Cheapest..." Each part of the series will focus on a new item, which people are trying to find for the lowest price possible. With the price of gasoline at an all-time high, I figured "Where to Find the Cheapest Gas" is as good a place to start as any.

About five years ago, when I first moved to Oklahoma, I enjoyed some of the cheapest gas prices in the country. At the time, gas was about $1.23 a gallon. I didn't know it then, but those were good times. I could fill my car's gas tank for about $14. Not bad! Now, $14 barely gets me a quarter tank of gas in my mini-van, and that certainly doesn' t last very long.

We all know the tried-and-true advice of making sure you have enough air in your tires, keep your car tuned up, get your oil changed every 3,000, etc. This is not one of those articles. This article is about finding the rock-bottom cheapest gas possible...although these days, cheap gas is relative. In Oklahoma, I'm paying about $3.10 a gallon. In some areas of California, gasoline is more than $4 a gallong. Yikes.

Oddly enough, gasoline prices can vary wides from one gas station to the next in your very own city. Near my home, gas is always more expensive, because it is a nice suburb next to Oklahoma City. If I drive about 10 miles down the road, closer to Oklahoma City, gas prices drop nearly five cents a gallon, just because it's in a different zip code. I usually go there to get my gas because I have to drive there every day anyway. I probably wouldn't travel that far just to get gas, that would defeat the purpose of going there in the first place.

If you aren't sure where the cheap gas in your city is located, check out Gas Buddy.com. Users report cheap gas prices to Gas Buddy, and they are posted for everyone to see. You can even search by zip code to locate the cheapest gas prices.

If the gas in your area is about the same no matter where you go, try to make those gasoline purchases work for you. If you have a child that you hope to send off to college one day, sign up for Upromise. If you register your credit cards at Upromise, a percentage of your qualifying purchases are socked away in a college fund for your kid. You can even roll over those savings into a 529 college savings plan. One of those "qualifying purchases" is gasoline at ExxonMobil stations. Every time you buy gas and use your credit card, a few cents out of every gallon is being saved toward your young one's college fund. In the interest of full disclosure, Upromise is an advertiser at Savvy Frugality, but I am also a user. In the past few years, about $75 has been placed into my kids' college fund as the result of purchases I would have made anyway. Now, $75 won't exactly pay the tuition, but it's free money.

So-called "gas cards" have been around for awhile, but now you can get gas credit cards with rewards. If you are in the habit of paying off your balances every month, this might be a viable option for you to purchase gas with your card, pay it off, plus earn rebates on your gasoline purchases. The BP Visa Rewards Card offers a five percent rebate on purchases after an introductory period, but here are others as well.

Of course, some gas stations will cut you a break on the price of gas if you leave the credit card at home. There is a gas station on Route 66, not far from where I live, that doesn't even accept credit cards. All transactions are in cash, but the price of gas there is usually about five cents a gallon cheaper than other it is at other nearby gas stations. Find those stations in your area, and bring your cash. It can save you a few bucks over the course of a few fill-ups.

Aside from these ideas, I have simply started driving less. I only live a few blocks from my job, so I have started walking more. I'm having some maintenance done on my bicycle, and I plan to use that more, too. If you have a decent public transportation system in your area, invest in a monthly bus or subway pass. It will certainly cost less than filling up your car's tank a couple of times a week.

According to the Labor Department, 63,000 jobs disappeared in the U.S. in February. Although more people left the workforce, unemployment filings were down slightly, but many analysts point to the loss of jobs as yet another sign that the U.S. is either headed for recession, or is already in one.

Losing a job in a recession is rough. I speak from experience. I lost my job during a recession and didn't find full time work for six months. It's not that I wasn't employable. I had a lot of experience in my field. There just weren't as many jobs to be had because during a recession, not only are employers not hiring, but they are cutting back on the number of people they keep on the payroll.

So, what can you do to ensure you keep the job you have, or get one if you find yourself out of work? I am happy to say that I have been continuously employed since that six month episode of joblessness in 1991. Here are a few lessons that I learned the hard way:

Make yourself indespensable. No matter what you do for a living, make yourself the expert. Learn everything there is to know about your job, event if that means taking online or night school courses. Volunteer for additional responsibility. If you work a 9-5 job, be the first to arrive and the last to leave. In short, make it virtually impossible for your boss to hand you a pink slip. If your boss does have to lay off some of the staff and it comes down to you and someone else who is just going through the motions, who do you think they're going to let go first?

Network, network, network. Get to know other people who are also in your line of work. Is there a local watering hole where people in your profession go for Happy Hour every Friday? Hang out there, and get to know everybody. Attend conventions and seminars and other events where you will come into contact with people in your profession. If your employer has to lay off people, then one of your new best friends may know of a job opening at their company. This served me well when I worked in broadcasting. A radio station I worked at was bought out by another company, and they fired the entire on-air staff. When news of this hit the newspaper the next day, my voice mail was full of messages from other radio and TV stations that wanted to hire me on the spot.

Diversify Your Income. Ever since I lost my job and was chronically unemployed in 1991, I have never relied on one source of income. I have always done something on the side to make extra money. When I worked in radio, I also worked as a DJ at night clubs and weddings, wrote newscasts for TV stations, worked on special articles for newspapers in other cities and at one time I even delivered newspapers on a motor route to make extra cash. Currently, I write content for web sites, which has nothing to do with my day job. If you have a hobby you enjoy doing for free, try to find out if there is a way of turning it into a money-making venture.

Save, Save, Save. When you are gainfully employed, sock away at least ten percent of your income. Of course, you should always be saving for retirement, but you also want a "war chest" to fall back on in case you do find yourself unemployed.

File for unemployment immediately. Don't assume you'll find another job right away if you are laid off or fired. File for unemployment THAT DAY. There is no shame in filing for unemployment while you look for another job. You may really need that money, especially if you don't have savings, or you have burned through your savings.

Don't overlook part-time work. Even when I was unemployed in 1991, I wasn't completely out of work. While there was no full-time work in my field, there was plenty of part-time work to be had. I worked a series of part-time jobs, and while they still didn't pay all the bills while I was "unemployed" and collecting unemployment (you can collect some benefits, even if you are working part-time, because you are considered "under-employed" if you are the head of household), one of those part-time jobs eventually led to me being hired full-time.

Work for youself. Perhaps you have been considering starting your own business. If you do have some cash squirreled away, then maybe now is the time to stop considering and actually do it. Face it, you're now working for "the man" anymore and you have nothing else to do but look for work, so why not create your own job? One of my wife's former employers was an executive for a paper company. When he got let go while still in his 50's, he took money from his pension and purchased a Subway restaurant franchise, even though he knew nothing about running a fast-food joint. Within a few years, he was a millionaire. He often told my wife he "purchased his own job" when he bought that Subway franchise.

Start over. Perhaps you have been laid off because your line of work is being phased out. This is happening to many manufacturing workers in the U.S. My father-in-law used to work in a print shop, but the kind of printing his company did was being phased out in favor of more high-tech digital printing. He was in his 50's, the breadwinner in his household and had no prospects for other employment. He went back to school full time, got a bachelor's degree and now works in the health care field making more money than he has ever made at any other time of his life. He plans to retire in a few years with a sizable retirement account at his disposal. The lesson here is that it is never too late to start over and learn to do something new.

According to the Labor Department, 63,000 jobs disappeared in the U.S. in February. Although more people left the workforce, unemployment filings were down slightly, but many analysts point to the loss of jobs as yet another sign that the U.S. is either headed for recession, or is already in one.

Losing a job in a recession is rough. I speak from experience. I lost my job during a recession and didn't find full time work for six months. It's not that I wasn't employable. I had a lot of experience in my field. There just weren't as many jobs to be had because during a recession, not only are employers not hiring, but they are cutting back on the number of people they keep on the payroll.

So, what can you do to ensure you keep the job you have, or get one if you find yourself out of work? I am happy to say that I have been continuously employed since that six month episode of joblessness in 1991. Here are a few lessons that I learned the hard way:

Make yourself indespensable. No matter what you do for a living, make yourself the expert. Learn everything there is to know about your job, event if that means taking online or night school courses. Volunteer for additional responsibility. If you work a 9-5 job, be the first to arrive and the last to leave. In short, make it virtually impossible for your boss to hand you a pink slip. If your boss does have to lay off some of the staff and it comes down to you and someone else who is just going through the motions, who do you think they're going to let go first?

Network, network, network. Get to know other people who are also in your line of work. Is there a local watering hole where people in your profession go for Happy Hour every Friday? Hang out there, and get to know everybody. Attend conventions and seminars and other events where you will come into contact with people in your profession. If your employer has to lay off people, then one of your new best friends may know of a job opening at their company. This served me well when I worked in broadcasting. A radio station I worked at was bought out by another company, and they fired the entire on-air staff. When news of this hit the newspaper the next day, my voice mail was full of messages from other radio and TV stations that wanted to hire me on the spot.

Diversify Your Income. Ever since I lost my job and was chronically unemployed in 1991, I have never relied on one source of income. I have always done something on the side to make extra money. When I worked in radio, I also worked as a DJ at night clubs and weddings, wrote newscasts for TV stations, worked on special articles for newspapers in other cities and at one time I even delivered newspapers on a motor route to make extra cash. Currently, I write content for web sites, which has nothing to do with my day job. If you have a hobby you enjoy doing for free, try to find out if there is a way of turning it into a money-making venture.

Save, Save, Save. When you are gainfully employed, sock away at least ten percent of your income. Of course, you should always be saving for retirement, but you also want a "war chest" to fall back on in case you do find yourself unemployed.

File for unemployment immediately. Don't assume you'll find another job right away if you are laid off or fired. File for unemployment THAT DAY. There is no shame in filing for unemployment while you look for another job. You may really need that money, especially if you don't have savings, or you have burned through your savings.

Don't overlook part-time work. Even when I was unemployed in 1991, I wasn't completely out of work. While there was no full-time work in my field, there was plenty of part-time work to be had. I worked a series of part-time jobs, and while they still didn't pay all the bills while I was "unemployed" and collecting unemployment (you can collect some benefits, even if you are working part-time, because you are considered "under-employed" if you are the head of household), one of those part-time jobs eventually led to me being hired full-time.

Work for youself. Perhaps you have been considering starting your own business. If you do have some cash squirreled away, then maybe now is the time to stop considering and actually do it. Face it, you're now working for "the man" anymore and you have nothing else to do but look for work, so why not create your own job? One of my wife's former employers was an executive for a paper company. When he got let go while still in his 50's, he took money from his pension and purchased a Subway restaurant franchise, even though he knew nothing about running a fast-food joint. Within a few years, he was a millionaire. He often told my wife he "purchased his own job" when he bought that Subway franchise.

Start over. Perhaps you have been laid off because your line of work is being phased out. This is happening to many manufacturing workers in the U.S. My father-in-law used to work in a print shop, but the kind of printing his company did was being phased out in favor of more high-tech digital printing. He was in his 50's, the breadwinner in his household and had no prospects for other employment. He went back to school full time, got a bachelor's degree and now works in the health care field making more money than he has ever made at any other time of his life. He plans to retire in a few years with a sizable retirement account at his disposal. The lesson here is that it is never too late to start over and learn to do something new.

Everybody knows when times are tight at home. There seems to be "too much month at the end of the money". There isn't enough cash to go out and do things that are "fun" without worrying about how bills are going to get paid. In effect, you're "robbing Peter to pay Paul." But how do you know if it's just a temporary setback, or if you're in deep, deep money trouble?

Looking back at a time in my life when money problems were a constant worry, I can remember five distinct signs that I had to take drastic action immediately, or my family and I were going to end up living in my sister-in-law's basement:

1. You frequently have overdraft notices from the bank. If your financial life is in harmony, you should never have overdraft notices from your bank. If you are constantly finding yourself with more going out of your checking count than coming in, you've got big problems.

2. You avoid answering the phone because you're afraid a creditor is calling. This is just another sign that you owe somebody money -- money you can't afford to pay.

3. You avoid going to the doctor because you can't afford the bill. If you don't have adequate insurance through your job, it's time to find another job. There is nothing more important than your health.

4. You have no "extra" money. If all of your money is going to household bills, and you have nothing left over, you need to start paying your most important creditor first: you. Everybody, notice I said "everybody", should have something in a savings account.

5. You are constantly behind on basic necessities like rent and utilities. You either can't afford the home you have, or you are spending too much money on things that aren't really necessities.

A few years ago, I had all of the financial symptoms listed above. At the time, I really didn't know how to pull myself out of this situation. After all, there was only so much money to go around. After finding myself practically homeless, I finally took a good, long, hard look at how I was managing my money, and I realized that I wasn't really managing my money at all. I just paid what I could when I could. That is no way to live. Here is what I did to finally get my financial house in order:

1. I became obsessive-compulsive about my checking account. I opened a checking account in my name only (my wife was not pleased, but she made her own money and she opened her own account). All household bills are paid from this account, and nothing gets spent without it being noted in the check book register. I balance this account DAILY. The overdrafts stopped.

2. I contacted my creditors. I didn't wait for them to call me. I worked out payment plans with all of them. Some of the creditors wouldn't leave me alone, so I wrote them a letter telling them to stop calling me. You are allowed to do this under the Fair Debt Collect Practices Act. This doesn't let you off the hook for your debt, but creditors cannot harass you by phone if you tell them to stop.

3. I got a different job with adequate health insurance. Sure, I liked my previous job, but I've got to look out for number one. A job is no good to you if you are too unhealthy to work.

4. I made saving a higher priority than spending. My savings account gets paid before any of my creditors. Period. Nobody is going to take care of me in an emergency except me.

5. I downsized my life. I came to realize how many of my "needs" were really "wants". You may "want" a nice TV, a gym membership and a subscription to Netflix, but you don't really "need" it. It's a matter of priorities. What is more important: providing your household with its basic necessities, or spending money on a bunch of things that won't matter five years from now? Once you have that figured out, the rest of your financial life will fall into place.

Broke Grad Student hosts this week's edition of the Festival of Frugality. Savvy Frugality's post, The Frugal Freezer is included in this week's festival. Broke Grad Student makes the point that when they hear the word "frugality", they think of Ramen Noodles. Personally, I think the word "frugality" is another words for "smart", which is how Savvy Frugality got its name.

Other noteworthy posts from this week's Festival of Frugality:

FANDD explains how being cheap can hurt your career at Go To The Ant.

Kyle at Amateur Asset Allocator shares 5 Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Premiums.

Kris discusses how to Save Money on Seasonings: MYOM (Make Your Own Mix) at Cheap Healthy Good.

Enjoy the other great entries at this week's Festival of Frugality!

As promised, I am posting my monthly update on my progress toward my frugal New Year's resolutions. Once again, here is a look at the original resolution, and my update for the month of February:

1. Rebuild my emergency fund. This got wiped out when my wife became disabled and was unable to work. I am going to build a $1,000 emergency fund to start.
Update: I had built the fund up to $600, but had to spend it on, you guessed it, an emergency. My family got socked with higher-than-expected utility bills for the month of January. Some of this was from final utility bills at our former residence. I also had to take my dog to the veterinarian for some emergency surgery. As it stands now, I have about $250 in my emergency fund, so I actually took a step backwards.

2. Eliminate debt. I hope to eliminate at least $10,000 in debt this year.
Update: I have paid off roughly $1,000 in debt so far, but acquired some new debt in the form of medical bills. Still, after I rebuild my emergency fund I will be back on track to eliminate additional debt.

3. Save for a new home. I want to save for a down payment on my own home.
Update: I realized I am still eligible for a VA loan for a home due to my military service in the Navy. I am still saving for a home, but probably won't have to save as much as I originally thought. I want to eliminate some debt before socking away money for the home.

4. Contribute to my IRA. I hope to contribute at least 10 percent of my income to my IRA.
Update: I am currently saving 10 percent of my income, but for now it is going into my emergency fund. After I get the fund back to $1,000 that money will go into the retirement fund.

5. Continue to live below my means. This is a never-ending challenge. If you can live on less money than you earn, the rest of your financial life falls into balance.
Update: My family and I are following a carefully crafted spending plan, with certain percentages of my income being alloted for specific spending categories. So far, so good. I have money to pay all of the monthly bills, put into savings and eliminate debt, even though I had to dip into emergency savings this month for unexpected expenses. We are a one-income household, and we are definitely middle class, so all in all...I think we are doing a decent job so far!

When Warren Buffet makes a comment about the U.S. economy, even an off-handed comment, people take notice. Buffet, who is one of the richest men in the world and the second-richest in the U.S and often quoted for his sage investment advice, recently told CNBC, and later Forbes Magazine, that the U.S. is basically in a recession, due in no small part to the mortgage crisis. With many homes now not worth what people owe on them, many have lost significant portions of their net worth.

Now, Savvy Frugality is no Warren Buffet, but we did start warning of the storm clouds on the horizon back in September. If you didn't start implementing the six steps to recession-proof your finances, there is still time. I have been saving at least ten percent of each paycheck and reducing expenses at home, and stocking my pantry with extra canned goods.

Buffet isn't all doom and gloom about the U.S. economy. He says Berkshire Hathaway will continue to invest in good U.S. companies which he predicts will endure any recession just fine. Geico, Costco, Coca-Cola and American Express are some of those companies specifically mentioned by Buffet. I would also add Wal-Mart and Walgreens to that list.

Savvy Frugality tip: Even in a poor economic market, there is still money to be made. Concentrate on companies which are able to withstand temporary economic downturns, especially those that offer value for money, or offer something that people will need no matter what the economy is doing, such as oil, medicines or food.

I read a lot of other personal finance blogs every day. There is some great reading out there in the blogosphere, and a lot of the advice is better than what I find at many of the other finance and investment web sites. I have decided that I will spread the Link Love each Sunday, and give Savvy Frugality readers some insight into the other personal finance blogs that I read and enjoy.

This will also give me a chance rest and relax and get over a stomach virus I've been battling for the past week. During that span of time, my weight plunged from 190 to almost 180 pounds. Losing that much weight that fast isn't healthy, as you might imagine, and I'm still feeling pretty weak.

With that being said, here are this week's recommendations for Savvy Sunday:

Wise Bread has an interesting article on Stashing Your Cash With Pump Action Portion Control. We recently started using pump bottles for our hand soap and dish detergent, and it does seem we have been using less of both lately.

Get Rich Slowly has a nice guest post on protecting your personal finances if you're going into business for yourself. If your business tanks, and many new businesses do, you don't want your personal finances to suffer, too. I've been thinking about starting my own business for a long time, but for now am sticking with freelance writing.

The Digerati Life tells us how to Get to a Million Dollars with Small Change.

Still, having a million dollars doesn't necessarily help you sleep better at night (although I would). Consumerism Commentary says many Middle Class Millionaires are Concerned about their Financial Future.

Trent over at The Simple Dollar says there are many ways of investing in yourself, and they aren't all related to money. Check out Trent's series on investing in yourself. There is some great advice about self-improvement here.

Enjoy your Sunday reading, and stay up-to-date with the latest posts from Savvy Frugality by subscribing to our RSS feed.

I have always been a big fan of the faucet-mounted Pur water filter. It produces great, clean, pleasant-tasting water at a fraction of the price of bottled water. Each Pur filter produces about 100 gallons of filtered water which rivals anything I've tasted out of a bottle...for mere pennies.
However, I have found something even better.

Last night my wife and I were taking advantage of a store-wide 25 percent-off sale at Walgreen's. There, I noticed something in the housewares aisle: a Walgreen's brand faucet-mounted water filtering system. It's actually made by Culligan, but sold under the Walgreen's brand name. At about $15, the faucet mount and filter cost less than a replacement filter for the Pur system. We needed to replace our Pur filter anyway, so we bought it. With the 25 percent discount and my son's Walgreens employee discount, the whole unit was about $10.

There are a couple of major differences between the Walgreen's/Culligan filter and the Pur filter. First, there is no indicator on the Walgreen's faucet mount to tell you when to change the filter. However, the Walgreen's filter lasts twice as long as the Pur filter, filtering 200 gallons of tap water. That's about two month's worth of drinking water, so you just put a reminder on your calendar to change the Walgreen's filter after two months.

The water from the Walgreen's filter tastes every bit as good as the water from the Pur filter. Replacement filters for the Walgreen's unit are about $10, nearly half the price of the replacement Pur filters.

Savvy Frugality Tip: Seek store brands not only for food and paper good items, but housewares and other things you purchase on a monthly basis. This move could save plenty of money over time. My move from the Pur filter to the Walgreen's filter saved me 50 percent.