Maybe innovation is the answer to the current economic problem (instead of throwing money at the problems). Better products, better prices and better customer service are all aspects that might get consumers to part with the dollars that they are currently hoarding away.

It seems that India got the memo and the automaker Tata has introduced a $2500 car. Not only is the car priced so that anyone can afford it but it also is projected to get around 50 miles per gallon. That makes it inexpensive and efficient.

According to the information released by the company, the car that has been dubbed the Nano comes with four doors and five seats. It is smaller than the cars currently on the Indian roads by about 20%.

It might be surprising to find out that the environmentalists are not happy with the concept of the car. Even with the high miles per gallon estimate, the environmentalists are concerned that the number of cars that could end up on the road could negate any positive effects that the MPG might have on emissions.

The company is not expecting to make much profit on each $2500 car that it sells. The idea is that it will sell enough of the cars to make the production profitable.

Many people think of auctions as the perfect place to get carried away and spend too much money for an item they could have lived without in the first place. Auctions can be a dangerous place but they can also be the best place to get the things that you need at the price that you want to pay.

1. State auctions – when the local highway was expanding to four lanes there were a number of houses in the path of the new road. These houses were auctioned off in sealed bids. Anyone could put in a bid. We bought our house and moved it to its present location for just under $13,000.

2. Online auctions – the internet has made the world a much smaller place and now you can find just about anything that you might need, want or imagine for sale on the internet. The online auctions allow you to make a bid and then walk away without the adrenaline rush that often comes with a live auction.

3. Bankruptcy and foreclosure auctions – you can get homes, machinery and vehicles for pennies on the dollar at some of these sales. Be sure to research the laws that allow the original owners to get back ownership before you invest too much money.

4. Government auctions – all of the agencies in your local and state government hold regular items for surplus materials and other items that have been accumulated. The sheriff’s office and police departments auction off unclaimed items that have been confiscated from criminals.


5. Storage companies – people will often fill a storage room with stuff and then stop paying the bill for that storage. The companies hold auctions for the whole room and you can find a treasure trove of items in some of these bins.

No matter where the auction might be, it can be easy to get carried away. Remember to make a list of what you want to buy before you start looking through the auctions. Know what price you want to pay by doing research on the value of the items. Set a limit on your spending before you get to the auction or start the auction and be disciplined enough not to go over.

Auctions can be a great place to find all of your needs, wants and desires at prices that you only imagined possible.

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The economy has many people rethinking all of their spending, but there are some frugal people that are continuing to live life like they always have lived it. The Duggar family (who have 18 children and live debt free) were recently asked about how they managed finances with such a large clan. The answer was simple – we never buy new.

Hand-me-downs have always been a favorite way of expanding my wardrobe even since I was a young kid. Consignment shops and thrift stores have become one of my favorite shopping resources. I have struggled to pass that on to my children but my husband was always the biggest obstacle. Hearing the Duggars’ comment about buying used opened his mind just enough.

We spent the week going through the kids’ closet and trying on everything that was in it. The goal was to make a list of all the clothes that they currently owned and use it to make one of the things that they needed.

The second step was to head out to the local consignment shops and thrift stores. After two days of shopping we have spent all of $90. That includes all the shirts and sweaters needed for the kids, some shirts for mom, some pants for dad and a cool dress coat for dad as well. Hearing the total was the last thing needed to bring my husband over to the thrift side of things.

There is still some more shopping to do, but this will have to be bought new. Shoes for boys are hard to find in a thrift store – as are dress pants – at least in the area where we live. In the end, after all the pants, shoes, cleats, under garments (also new) and other items are purchased we will have dressed the whole family for under $300.

The octuplet mom has made big news recently and another large family – the Duggars – were asked about her ability to cope. They handled the question gracefully but there has still been a lot of discussion about how a family of 20 can survive financially. Jim Bob Duggar, the dad, gave the family motto: Buy used and save the difference.

It seems to me that you can get by if you follow half this concept. Buying used is a very good way to save a few dollars. It is saving the difference that throws me. Saving at all can be tough when you are raising a family and trying to meet needs, wants and desires. It takes discipline to begin a life of saving but it is the only way to have a joy filled life.

1. Be consistent with savings. Put something in the bank at the same time every week (or month). Just consider it one of the bills that you have to pay.

2. Buy with cash and then deposit the remaining money (the amount saved from the purchase) into the bank immediately. This will give you less opportunity to find something else to spend it on.

3. Use coupons and discounts and set aside all of the money that would have been spent into a savings account.

4. Open multiple accounts. We have one for emergencies, one for short term savings, one where quarterly payments come out of, and then one for saving for specific items. We are less tempted to take from an account that isn’t designated for where we intended to use the money.

5. Get the family involved. Accountability is a powerful force and if the whole family is working together to save the money it will be an easier process for everyone.

The key to the Duggar’s plan is that you have to save what you don’t spend. It is easier to say “hey, now I can spend the savings on something else that I didn’t plan to buy.” This is the place that we were coming from for much of our lives. Now we are finding new ways to make saving money part of our every day living.

Have you ever gone to do your taxes and realized in a panic that you were missing a W-2 or another important tax document? It’s a scary feeling– especially if it’s April 14th. The best advice is to keep good track of your forms from the beginning of the year by setting aside a special folder or file for the forms. But if you do end up losing one, here’s what you need to do.

Contact your company’s HR or payroll office. Request a new W-2. They should be able to provide you with an additional copy with very little hassle.

Contact the IRS. If your company has gone out of business or you are not able to get another copy for some other reason you’ll need to call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Make sure to have all of your information handy including the employer’s contact information.

Recreate the Form. If you are still not able to get another W-2 you can use form 4852 as a substitute for the w-2. Simply gather the information off of your last pay stub to complete the form.

Look for Mistakes. Make sure there are no errors on your form. If you happen to receive the w-2 you were looking for after you file and the information is different, you will need to refile your taxes. You can do this by filling out a 1040x to amend your taxes.

Not all kids are interested in recycling. Even fewer are focused on finding ways to help other people. But there are probably only a hand full that are looking for ways to use recycled material to help the homeless and other people faced with a tragedy.

Max Wallack is one of those kids and his design helped him walk away with first prize at the Design Squad’s Trash to Treasure contest. Max created a “Home Dome” that was made with plastic, wire and packing peanuts. The prize was $10,000 and a Dell laptop. Not too bad for finding a new way to utilize trash.

It is important to encourage kids to stretch their imagination and to compete. Contests like these are great for doing just that. It is even better that a 12 year old boy has been raised with the consideration for others that sparked his desire to create shelters for the homeless and others hit by a devastating situation.

The money may be great, but sometimes there is more to life than money. Helping others and helping out the environment is a great way for Max Wallack or any kid (or adult for that matter) to spend some time.

Big families can be great. There is always someone around to play with, you have built in backup in case of a fight, and you are never completely alone on the first day of school. Big families were once normal – particularly for areas where the family worked the farm or business together – and today they are once again making a come back.

The most recent big family to make the news involved the mom who had octuplets. It was exciting at first but as more news came out about the circumstances around the eight babies a great deal of resentment began to form.

This week the mom of the eight (plus six more at home) talked with Dr. Phil. At the end of the two part interview Dr. Phil made a plea to the viewers to help this mom that had to fill a list of requirements before her children could come home. She is currently living in her own mother’s three bedroom home with the other six children. The pictures that Dr. Phil showed of the home only had one crib in them.

Christian charity is something that we practice in our own home, but there is a fine line between helping and enabling a person to continue in bad behavior. It’s hard to see just where the line is in this situation.

Could your family live with just one car? Many American households would likely answer no. After all, in most homes, both parents work and need to get to and from their jobs. Kids need to be carted to school and soccer practice. We must commute several miles to school or work. For many, the idea of having one car isn’t feasible. But my husband and I are going to try it anyway.

We’re selling his 2006 Mini Cooper. Once it finds its new home, we’ll be down to just one car and a Vespa. Since I’m a writer I mainly work from home. His job is only about three miles away so if I need the car I can drop him off. Or if I want to work from a coffee shop I’ve got four to choose from within a half mile of our home. I think it will work fine for us and it will equal out to a monthly savings of nearly $300.

Turns out, one-car families are very rare now in the US. I found some interesting statistics from George Mason University. In 1922, there was one registered passenger car or truck for every nine Americans. Fast forward to 2006, the last year with complete statistics. The census estimates that there were 225,087,000 Americans aged 18 or older. At their disposal were 234,525,000 passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks, not to mention 8,819,000 heavy trucks. That means every adult in the US can sit behind a steering wheel simultaneously while leaving another 20 million vehicles sitting idle and unattended! No wonder the auto industry needs a bailout– we’ve got enough cars already!

Photo courtesy of fotographix.ca

These tough times call for tough measures, and even my twelve year old son is understanding the importance of making money these days. Here are some of the things that he is doing that maybe could help you as well.

1. Sell what you find – he’s been picking up large muscle shells along the creek bed. Originally his grandmother said she’d buy all that he could find, but that changed pretty early on. Now he just offers to sell one to anyone who walks in the door.

2. Sell to anyone around – it doesn’t matter their age, the relationship or any other factors. He has been known to try and sell his three year old brother items.

3. Sell what you don’t want or haven’t used – my son recently offered me a cornucopia of items that even included one that I gave him as a Christmas present just a couple of years back.

4. Sell with a story – no matter what he is trying to sell, he always provides a reason for needing to make extra money. A few years back he went door to door in his grandmother’s neighborhood selling balloon animals for $1 each. He told people that he was earning money to send his dad out to dinner for his birthday (it was true and he did).

He may be twelve but he is already learning that someone out there is willing to buy anything that he is willing to sale. He knows that some may say no, but he is willing to keep asking until he gets a yes.

There is a lot of news covering the financial crisis that is spreading around the world like wildfire. Some people are running for cover, some are burying their heads in the sand and some are just standing around watching for the sky to fall. Although there are not many guarantees in life, there are a few things that you can do to ensure that you don’t survive these tough times.

1. Keep spending – forget all the naysayers and spend like you just one the lottery. Run up your credit cards, get even more credit and buy more house than you could ever imagine affording.

2. Get more cable channels – work is unnecessary and it’s so much more gratifying to sit around for hours on end flipping through endless channels of nothingness.

3. Wait on help – it’s not important that you do for yourself but only that you know that eventually someone is going to help you out of the situation that you have gotten yourself into.

The only way to not survive is to not adjust to the situation. Choosing to save money, cut expenses and prepare for the rainy season means that these tough times will not last for you.