The recent volatility in the stock market and economy has finally got people asking how they can save money.

Well, I’m not the most frugal person in the world, so I decided to search some of my favorite personal finance blogs to find the best “money saving” tips I could find.

• How-To: Save Money on Heating This Winter - Recently, heating expert Chris Cooper shared some advice for thrifty Winter heating. Check out these ideas for reducing your Winter heating bill with these tips, which may surprise you. Even small adjustments in everyday life and habits …

One of my favorite websites is Allrecipes.com. I go there anytime I’m looking for a new recipe or just need inspiration for something to cook for dinner.

On my most recent visit, I noticed a section called ‘Cooking on a Budget’. Since inflation and rising food prices are at the top of many people’s minds these days, this was a great find!

In ‘Cooking on a Budget’ you’ll find articles on smarter meal planning, budget friendly recipes (the lemon garlic tilapia looks awesome!), tips on how to buy in bulk and how to freeze food, and videos on how to prepare “cheaper than takeout” meals for your family.

Earlier this year, Rick and I were planning on driving to Colorado for a week of camping, hiking and canoing. After watching gas prices rise, we have decided to vacation closer to home this summer.

While I was looking forward to the scenery in Colorado, we have plenty of good rivers for canoing and camping right here in Missouri, so it doesn’t make sense to spend the extra money it would cost to drive all the way to Colorado.

What about you? Have rising gas prices changed your vacation plans this summer?

With gas prices above $3 a gallon (and more, depending on where you live), you may be wondering what you can do to save on gas.

Some of the best ways to save on gas include:

* Combining shopping trips
* Downsizing to a smaller car
* Carpooling or taking public transportation whenever possible

There are many ways to save on gas, but this one might surprise you…

Did you know that just by slowing down, you can save on gas? According to this article on CNNMoney, in a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon.

I love cooking with my crock pot, so when I saw Cara’s (of TheHouseholdHelper.com) article about how cooking with a crock pot can help save money I just had to share…

First introduced in 1971, the Crock-Pot revolutionized the way we cook meals. The word Crock-Pot is actually trademarked by Rival Industries, but is used in every day conversations instead of the term slow cooker. Many recipes for the crock-pot require little preparation. The slow cooker can then safely be left to run unattended, making it a convenient cooking method.

Crock-pot meals can not only save you time in the kitchen, but they can also save you money as well. The reasons are as follows:

1. It keeps you out of the fast food line. If you had not loading up the crock-pot with the ingredients this morning you’d likely be in the drive through line at the local fast food restaurant this afternoon after work, grabbing a meal for your family. The average fast food meal for a family of four rings up over $20.

Continue Reading Save Money By Cooking with Crock Pots

by Cara Mirabella of The Household Helper

Purchasing groceries is one big area where you can save loads of
money each month. The next big area where you can save extra money
deals with household expenses. Everyone has these and everyone can use
all or just a few tips to save money each month.

If you can, change out all your light bulbs (or all the light bulbs
that you can) with new energy efficient light bulbs. These light bulbs
can cut your electricity bill by ten to twenty percent each month just
by changing the light bulbs out. These bulbs are meant to use less
electricity than older light bulbs.

When possibly, don’t run the heater or air conditioner. This only
works if you can go a few days in a row without having them on at all.
This will save you money plus if you can open the windows and be
comfortable, you’ll also be getting fresh air in the house. Another tip
is to turn down the heater in winter and turn up the air conditioner in
summer.

Continue Reading Frugal Living Tip: Household Expenses

Ah the holidays… a time for parties, over eating, and over spending.  Americans routinely overspend during the holidays, often resulting in increasing credit card debt to go along with that increasing waistline from too much pumpkin pie. 

The holidays are stressful enough.  Don’t add to that stress by overspending your holiday budget.  Here are ten tips to help you save time, money and stress this shopping season:

The winner of the "$15 for your BEST grocery money saving tips" contest is Aurelia of Real Life Coaching. 

Here is Aurelia’s tip:

"This is what I do weekly.

I run through the coupon books that come with Sundays paper and clip
coupons. Then, I take a look at the sales papers and jot down what I
see on sale that my family enjoys. Based on whats on sale, I then hand
write my meal plan. This is great because my meal plan is based on sale
items (YAY). I then head to the store and purchase just what I need
that on my meal plan and I am done.

Don’t forget to submit your best grocery money saving tip for a chance to win $15! 

See Contest Details for more information.  Contest ends Friday 9/21.

Marie at Mommy Community wrote a great article about ‘Simple Ways to Help You Cut Your Monthly Expenses in Half’.  She had so many good tips, I just had to share…

Simple Ways to Help You Cut Your Monthly Expenses in Half
by Marie @ Mommy Community

It’s probably the same in most families … at least once a month, you
sit down and figure out your monthly expenses. Looking through the
bills, you are probably wondering … “How the heck are we able to spend
this much?! What are we spending our money on?” Well, if you pay
attention to your monthly expenses, most likely, you will be able to
see where you can actually cut down on. Read on …