Pinch your pennies, tighten your belts, get a second job, lets face it folks we are screwed. A lot of jobs are going to be lost, people will be working way below their potential and experience. Its time to really learn how to pinch your pennies and save some money.

This is just the first introductory article to how to pinch your pennies, in this article I am going to imagine that you have a family, some children and the ability to use the internet. I am also going to guess that you and yours are the top priority as some of these suggestions wont help the overall economy one little bit.

General Overview:

1. Stop buying retail
2. Learn to comparison shop
3. Find coupons online
4. Getting the most out of eBay and classifieds
   
5. Things you can go without
6. Why some of this is all wrong
   

So step 1:

STOP BUYING RETAIL!!!!!!!

I mean it, retail is dead to you...everything is overpriced, the service is terrible...just give it up. If your toaster breaks or you need new dishes or little Tommy has outgrown his shoes, stay in the house and fire up the old PC - right away you are saving gas money,pinching those pennies and we are certainly going to find you a better deal online - in less time than it takes just to get the kids in the car.

Our example

The brave little toaster is dead, kaput...blammo..you need a new one

The toaster is gone, you can go 3-5 days without - use a griddle in the meantime it works too.

So lets get you a deal, lets really pinch your pennies.

Your first research tool, and your first stop is going to be Pricegrabber.com

Your going to enter what your looking for then the search engine will bring up all your results, with tab options that include by price and popularity.

REMEMBER - the cheapest is usually not what you want, that cheap Walmart toaster just broke on you and could have burned down your house, take advantage of the reviews, see what people have to say..its worth ten minutes of your time.

From now on, the moment you decide you must buy something, use this comparison shopping engine to see what prices you should be paying. Amazon results are included in the search. Even if you absolutely have to see the object in person, shop at the mall, get some exercise and walk out with nothing more but the item numbers and prices.

You will always get a better deal online

Pinch your pennies further with promotion codes and coupons

You have now found your perfect toaster, its way cheaper than at the store even with shipping and handling.

Great, but I bet we can another 10-15% off!

Your second greatest resource is going to be this site

Retailmenot.com

Enter in the name of any store and a massive list of up to date promotional and coupon codes will appear, this works for a lot of national chains for food delivery to - papa johns, dominoes, quiznos , if you are getting a delivery (You shouldnt be!) I bet you can find a code for a free item or 10-30% off the whole meal.

Google is your friend -

Perhaps you didnt find the promo code you wanted - try entering "store name" promo code into google, you almost will always get a return.

By the way these methods are tried and true, I have made a killing on eBay, simply by finding an item that sells well and using this combination to get it cheaper!

eBay is your friend

eBay is only going to get cheaper for the buyers, people are going to bid less and sell more. Always take a quick look at eBay before you buy your items anywhere else.

If you need it, there are some invaluable tips below

Getting started on eBay - buyers tips and tricks

You are probably not going to buy actual groceries online (although you can)

BUT eBay has tons of coupon collectors that can help you cut down on your grocery bill!

Unfortunately, your pets food will always be more than you want to spend and your kids arent going to stop growing, but you can amazing deals on both on eBay.

Kids clothing lots are a huge seller on eBay, you can even trade off your last sets and use the proceeds for little Timmie's next set.

Remember to look and learn about the different quality gradings

NWT - new with tags

NWOT - new without tags

GU, U, - gently used, used

LN - Like new (officially a banned descriptive tag)

Check out the coupons and cheap starting bids on pet supplies on eBay.

Pinching pennies by cutting back on vices

Well your not going to listen anyway...thats how we all got into this mess.

But

Walk dont drive - less in gas bills, less in medical bills

You shouldnt drink or smoke - but rolling your own and brewing your own will significantly cut down your prices.

Making your own wine is very easy  - buy champagne yeast add to organic juice, seal, wait drink later

making your own beer is easy - buy a kit

Rolling cigarettes is fun

Lotto and gambling is stupid, if you want to gamble on something try starting your own business.

Supporting national chains like Walmart and Target that buy cheap foreign goods, put our local industries and small mom and pop stores out of business all while paying Americans crap wages has not helped our economy in any way.

You should really be paying just a little bit more and buying from strictly local businesses and supporting your local economy and contribuitng to the wages of your neighbors.