I came across this article on Kiplinger.com which provides a variety of ideas for saving money in the areas of investing, food, transportation, travel, utlilities, phone/ internet/ cable, credit, and entertainment.

Among my favorite ideas:

* Investing: Buy beaten down ETF’s & index funds instead of mutual funds.

* Food: Take fewer trips to the grocery store.  This will cut down on the volumne of “impulse” buys.

* Travel: Use a house swap to save on lodging.

* Utilities: Use compact fluorescent bulbs in your lamps.  they can save up to $60 in electricity over their lifetime.

* Phone: For long distance calling use skype.com.

* Money: Track your spending by using the old fashion pencil and calculator or use websites like mint.com or wesabe.com.

* Entertainment: Use your local library to check out books, CD’s, and DVD’s.