We spend a lot of time talking to Emily about finances and the importance of living within your means and given the state of the economy, it doesn’t hurt to think seriously about frugality. We discovered an article on Extreme Ways to Save. Hmmm… now lets not go crazy. Keeping your eye on the pennies and ignoring the big picture is often a big mistake. But lets see what they say:

Turn your car off – while its moving
Ummm… no. Not only do I think this is extremely dangerous, but I am about as coordinated as a tap-dancing giraffe. I can only see smoke, fire and broken engines.

Reuse plastic sandwich bags
Although I actually laughed out loud at my frugal husband when I caught him doing this, I will admit that it is definitely environmentally friendly. Its worth the hassle for the environment. Worth the hassle for $30 a year? What do you think?

Stop saving money
I think the article needs to be MUCH clearer on this one. If you read carefully, there is a tiny mention of not saving so you can avoid credit cards… Ok – I agree with that one. No one wants to be earning 3% on their savings in the bank while spending 20% on credit card interest. This article though, seems to be giving carte blanche not to save “if you cant afford it”. Everyone can afford to save something even if it is only $1. I think saving is a discipline and once you get out of the habit, it is easy to let go.

Make your own cleaning supplies
This one seems simple enough and a good money saving piece of advice. Who needs a $12 bottle of pine sol if vinegar really works just as well?

Stop drinking soda (or another beverage of choice)
Excellent piece of advice. Soda is full of sugar and a ton of empty calories. Its expensive! Once its gone, I’ll bet you wont miss it and neither will your kids. Id like to add bottled water to this tip. There’s nothing wrong with water out of the tap – in fact, most bottled water is tap water anyway!

Move back home with your parents, at any age
Ummm… No. Do I need to elaborate?

Get rid of your carpet
This one made me scratch my head a bit. Get rid of your carpet and do what? Have a concrete floor? It would take an awful long time for $200 a year to pay back the investment of a couple of thousand dollars in tiles or hardwood.

Hold a no-spend month
Very interesting concept. I am off to read about it on Small Notebook and would love to hear from anyone who has tried it.

Anyone have something to suggest?