We unplugged out garage refrigerator. I heard that because the garage doesn't cool off, your refrigerator out there is always running, and it could add like 20% to your bill each month! Youch!

Oh and you can buy 99 cent eggs at the Ak-chin store.  I thought it was my little secret...but if you head out of town toward Harrah's, there is a little street right before you reach Harrah's.  You will see a white sign with red letters (I think) that says 99 cent eggs.  Turn R and head into the reservation.  You will come upon a park on your left, a rec center, and then a little store.  Eggs are 99 cents there all the time, they are Hickman's Farms eggs and you can only buy like 6 at a time.

*rikimaru*~ You have some great ideas to save money during these rough times.......Thanks for sharing! 

I was curious when you turn off the AC and open the windows do you get the treat of the strong cow smell at night?  I would LOVE to be able to turn off this AC at night, but I have a feeling the cows will win the fight............let me know what you've experienced.........Thanks!

I lived for 16 years ina 3rd world country, believe me when I say

Americans are spoiled rotten, we have sooo much, and when we have to tighten the belt one notch all hell breaks loose.

I have been semi retired for about 7 years now, but I follow a few great rules

1- Don't spend money you don't have, on things you don't need, to impress people who don't care.

The past few movies that have come out have grossed more then 500 million dollars. THAS 500 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!!

2- Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow.

SAVE your money, review NEED VS WANT....

3-  Educate your children, so that they can reach financial independence.

save your money!!!!!

If you can't afford it.....don't buy it

The following few items will cost you thousands in a few years

cable TV

fancy cell phones with fancy plans

starbucks

eating out

going to movies

these items can cost you about $5000.00 a year, I know you don't believe...

DO THE MATH.........

SAVE YOUR MONEY

WAKE UP AMERICA

LeeHopper,

I agree with you. The difference in standard of living in the US vs Rest-of-the-World (ROW) is so huge that Americans should be thankful to be so fortunate to be born in this country.

Did you know

- For most of the people from the ROW, 24x7 clean drinking water is an unheard of luxury? Most dont get running water for more than a couple of hours a day.

- For most of the people from the ROW, 24x7 electric supply is an unheard of luxury? Most dont get electricity for more than a couple of hours a day. Heard of an inverter?

- For most of the people from the ROW, having a car to a family is a dream. Many have scooters or bikes that acts as a carrier for the entire family.

- Hell, so many people in the ROW don't even get enough to eat. Ever heard of litle kids scavanging in garbage for food? Ever heard of starvation deaths? The food riots in some parts of Africa and some Asian countries made headlines recently because people were paying upto 70% of their income on food.

- Oh btw Air Conditioning is exceedingly rare in other parts of the world. Its not only because of AC's cost itself, but also the cost of electricity (only when its available !!). And yes, I am talking about parts of the world where temperature routinely goes 115.

- Ah and btw gas is still cheaper in the US than most other countries - if not cheaper in absolute terms, its still cheaper in terms of Purchase Power Parity. Only very few countries have it cheaper than the US - because of subsidies.

I could go on, but the point is, if you realize how blessed you are to be in this blessed land, it would not hurt much to go a little easy on some of the "luxuries".

moved collision and comp to 2500 deduct on insurance

moved deduct to 5000 on homeowners.

turned off gas water heater for the summer

Oh I know, the problem is that we also have a deep freezer out there as well.  I can't unplug that, or all of our meat would go bad.  I have looked at moving the freezer into the house somewhere, but there is nowhere it can go.  I wish that it could fit into the laundry room, but my washer and dryer are too big and the litter box is in there as well.

I don't mind making sacrifices as far as the brands of groceries that we buy.  I just wished we could take the kids on a great vacation or treat them in some way.  Going through bankruptcy, and really having to watch every penny that we have, really has brought our family closer.  My 13 year old is adjusting to the change, and he understands what is going on.  I just miss being able to buy the kids whatever they wanted.  Now I know that I am going to get slammed by some on here saying that is the reason we are filing bankruptcy, but it is not the case.  We had a very bad year last year, with a great deal of medical bills that we will never be able to pay off.