Most kids today are spoiled. That’s just the truth. The average 12 year old will tell you they want money, video games, video game systems, and expensive name brand clothes.

And there are some kids who get loads of good presents, whip them all open in a few seconds, and then groan, “Is that all?” While any decent person knows a better response would be “Thank you.”

If you are worried about your kid being spoiled or want to prevent your kid from being spoiled, call up and arrange to take them to a homeless shelter or women and children’s shelter.

Many of these women and children arrive at shelters with nothing but the clothes on their back. These kids have literally nothing and at Christmas only get what the genorosity of strangers provides for them with programs such as Toys for Tots.

Tell your child that in order to get new toys, they need to pick out some of their old toys to give to kids less fortunate.

Then take them to the shelter (don’t just show up, call and arrange for this first) and have your kid donate their old toys to the homeless kids. When they see how little these kids have with often entire families sharing one small room, they will be more appreciative and thankful when they open their own presents on Christmas. (Or whatever you celebrate)

Here is a tip to save a little on your electric bill. Nobody wants to pay a penny more to the utility companies than you have to.

At night, before you go to bed, turn down the thermostat about 4 or 5 degrees. So you won’t be using as much electricity.

For example if you have your heating set to 70 degrees during the day, turn it down to 65 degrees every night. You can even go further and set it to 60 at night and then gradually increase it during the day, so your heating system doesn’t have to work too hard at once. Like turn it up to 63 in the morning, then an hour later turn it up to 65 and an hour later set it to 70. Until bed time again.

And be sure everyone has plenty of nice warm blankets on their bed. 4 comfy, warm blankets should do just fine and keep everyone snuggled up warmly in bed.

If you have a large family and need a lot of blankets, go to a thrift store and you’ll find plenty of blankets you can buy for only $1-$7. That’s a lot cheaper than buying one brand new. Just run it through the washer once before using. And most likely, you’ll be using that blanket for years and years.

The unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in 30 something years and 1 in 10 homeowners are either in foreclosure or late on their mortgage payment.

I’m totally not into fear mongering and wish the media would stop it, but it’s really time for the middle class for cut way back and learn to be frugal. In fact, things wouldn’t be so bad for a lot of households if they simply cut back.

I know a family that constantly complain about how poor they are and about how bad things are money wise, but they keep going on vacations and eat out more than they eat at home-what’s that all about! If they would eat at home and not go on so many vacations, they’d actually have more money. Big surprise!

The older generation things that parents of today are spoiling their kids like crazy and it’s even backfiring.

Way back when kids got homemade Christmas presents like homemade dolls and trucks and crocheted mittens and hats instead of video games, video games systems, cell phones, cash, ipods, and blackberries.

Give a kid today a pair of crocehted mittens for Christmas and they’d probably kill you. Hopefully not literally, but you never know today.

If things are so bad moneywise:

• cancel your cable/satellite
• have a landline phone and no cell phones
• if you have a cell phone stop text messaging unless it’s free
• stop buying video games
• buy clothes and books at thrift stores and not retail
• cook at home instead of eating out

If you’ve done all this and are still struggling, then there are more drastic measures you can take such as moving to a cheaper place or renting a room out if you have an extra room for a homestay or something. (Be sure to get a background check and have rules in place first). Or going to a food pantry if things are really bad.

And if you STILL need help, then it’s time to put yoru efforts into making more money instead of just saving it. You can’t save what you don’t have.

If you are unemployed, fill out applications everyday. Even if you go to the same place more than once, then they will know you’re serious.

Or if you have no income and can’t find a job go on welfare.

Ok these last steps are for the low class/poor and not the middle class.

Anyway the middle class needs to start shopping smarter and not spoil their kids so much. Besides, love is better than any material item period.

The major news has been the economy for quite a while now. There’s been a $700 Billion approved to bail out the greedy, elite bankers that caused this whole problem (So they can party hard, right AIG?)

A lot of people are getting very worried over the economy. People are worried about losing their home and going from comfortable middle class life to homelessness.

I am not panicked like it seems the majority of Americans are, for one reason because everywhere I go, everyone is talking and texting on their cell phones, the majority of Americans have satellite or cable (around $39-100+ a month) and restaurants are still very crowded on weekend afternoons. I can’t see people starving to death while they are texting on their phones and watching MTV.

On the other hand, some people, including finance guru Suze Orman are saying that the current financial state is worse than the Great Depression of 1929.

Regardless of how serious the economy crisis (caused by the elite bankers) is, here are some tips for you to cut back to keep more money from going out of your pockets:

1) STOP TEXTING- Different phones have different plans, and I’m not a texter, but as far as I know, texting costs money. Someone recently showed me a $600+ phone bill run up by teenagers who got carried away with text messaging. They were even charged everytime someone sent them a text message.

If you want to say something to someone CALL THEM UP and forget about texting them.

2) Cut Back on Winter heating and Summer cooling- learn how to cut back on your utilities. There is advice right here on this website.

3) Pull the plug on satellite or cable- If your finances are so bad that your stomach is in knots, it’s a very unwise decision to throw $50+ away every month for TV channels. Some people are so addicted to TV they would rather die than not have their hundreds of channels. Some people don’t think they can survive without their satellite/cable.

Well guess what? People have survived thousands of years with no TV at all, muchless hundreds of channels. Second of all, it’s not healthy to be a couch potato addicted to TV. You’ll get fat and unhealthy. Thirdly it turns your mind to mush and besides if you have an internet connection which is much cheaper than cable, you can watch tons of movies and TV shows online for no extra charge. So, if things are that bad for you financially, you have no business even having cable until you can actually afford it.

4) Frugal Gifts- You want to get your family and friends nice gifts for holidays and birthdays. Well, that’s hard if money is tight. Bills can add up super fast if you get carried away buying everyone the Christmas gifts you think they want.

You can still get your loved ones gifts without spending a fortune. Remember, it’s not about how much $$$ you spend (although it may be to spoiled teenagers). You are buying gifts for your loved ones, not buying their love.

So learn how to give wonderful gifts for less. (There will be a post on this in the future.) For example, if you are accustomed to spending $50 on a gift for Tina, start spending $25. If you have 3 kids and you spend $100 each for Christmas toys (that you know they will tire of quickly) spend $50 instead and spend it smarter. That would be $150 savings right there.

5) Check out the second hand shops for clothes. Clothes can be very expensive. Especially if you have growing kids, you have to buy a new wardrobe every time the season changes. Before you go to the mall or Wal-Mart or any other store, check the second hand stores.

Recently I went to a Salvation Army Thrift Store to look for baby girl clothes for fall and winter. The infant/toddler clothes there are only 99 cents each. I ended up buying around $50 worth of clothes. Some of them were brands like Old Navy, Gymboree, Children’s Place and The Disney Store. Some of the outfits were so adorable. After folding the clothes at home, I realized if I bought this stuff at a mall, $50 would have only gotten me around 3 pieces of clothes. But I got about 50 pieces of clothes.

Savings like this really adds up.

6) Drink more water- Cut back on sodas, juices, sports drinks, coffees, and drink more water instead. The (almost) free kind of water, that is.

7) Make your own cards- There are cute cards out there for every holiday and birthday and some even play music and there are some you can record your own greeting on. Yeah, they are cute, but these cards cost around $5 each and let’s be honest-most people end up throwing away their cards shortly after they read them. So instead of buying a card for everyone for Christmas or their birthday, make your own cards. People actually appreciate when someone takes the time to make a card for them.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” explains why cash is trash. Why? Because the dollar keeps dropping.

Saving money isn’t helpful, because the lower the dollar drops, the less your money is worth. Inflation and economic crises wipe out savers and the middle class.

If you are a saver, how do you protect yourself? Get rid of your cash, because cash is trash! No, I don’t mean throw it in the trash or give it to me, I mean, if you have extra cash, invest it in something to bring you income like rental property or buy silver or gold.

If you’re going to take money advice from anyone, listen to Robert Kiyosaki. He’s a financial genius and he knows what he’s talking about. His predictions do come true, so pay attention. This video was from January 2008.

My grandparents were poor, southern country people. They had to be frugal because they had very little money. They never ate out at restaurants and they had to make do with what they had or starve.

There was no microwave dinners, stops by fast food places, or convenience foods. I don’t know if there was a such thing as food stamps back then when they were growing up, but even if there was, they didn’t get any kind of assistance whatsoever. They grew much of their own food.

They grew gardens in the summer and canned food to eat during the winter. They raised chickens which provided them with eggs and killed the chickens for meat. (Yuck!) They also raised hogs. (Yuck! I don’t eat pork)

Apples grew on trees which they ate for snacks or used to bake. There were walnut trees and hickory trees which provided them with nuts.

Basically the only food supplies they purchased in stores were things like salt, sugar, pepper, flour, and cornmeal. Everything else they provided for themselves or did without. They didn’t have a choice.

A regular and staple dinner for all poor country people was pinto beans and cornbread. It was cheap, easy to make, and filling. It didn’t include any meat which they could not afford to eat meat regularly.

Well now things have changed a lot for this generation. I like Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Americanized Chinese food. I like eating out. And I don’t raise my own food.

People today are also cooking a lot healthier than they did back then. Back then they used grease to cook with (Yuck!!!) After frying some kind of pork like sausage or bacon they would save the grease and use it to cook with and fry foods with. Personally to me that’s disgusting, but doctors have been telling their patients for a long time now, especially those with heart disease and diabetes to use canola oil, olive oil, or corn oil to cook with. Don’t use grease, lard, or fat. It’s unhealthy, clogs up your arteries, and makes your heart disease worse.

People today still enjoy their southern country dinners even though they’ve changed somewhat from way back when.

Why are they so good? Because they are healthy (lots of veggies, no meat), filling, comforting, and cheap.

Here is my version of a cheap country dinner. I don’t like pinto beans, so it’s not included.

*Cornbread- A necessity. Fried or pan baked.
*Corn on the cob
*Green beans and potatoes
*Boiled cabbage
*Mashed potatoes
*Macaroni and cheese

In the old days, people would have put in grease with the green beans and cabbage. I don’t use anything when I cook green beans. Just take some green beans and potatoes and boil in water until cooked.

With boiled cabbage add a little olive or canola oil.

Here is the recipe for fried cornbread cakes:
*1 cup of self rising corn mean
*1 egg
*1/3 cup milk

Mix batter. In a skillet heat a tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil and fry.

For people who grow their own vegetables, this is a very cheap meal since the green beans, cabbage, corn and potatoes are free. This filling meal would only cost a few dollars to feed a whole family.

Here are a few ways to cut back on your electric bill:

*If you have old, outdated appliances like refrigerators, get newer ones. Yes, this will cost more to start out with, but you will recoup your investment and everything after that is savings. Old appliances use a LOT more energy than new appliances. If you have a ten year old refrigerator, washer, or dryer, get rid of it and get a new one. With new technology it uses a lot less energy and they will last you for many years. You will notice cheaper electric bills. It may take you a year and a half to recoup your investment but everything after that is savings. If the appliance lasts you 15 years, then that’s 13 and 1/2 years of savings.

*Turn the thermostat to 76 degrees. Then use big fans to cool the rooms you are using. Ceiling fans are great for making the room feel cooler, but if you don’t have a ceiling fan, stick to regular fans.

*Turn off your computer at night. Some people think it saves energy just to keep it on all the time, but that’s not true. If there will be say, 10 hours you are not going to use your computer, then turn it off and save electricity.

If you really want to save money, try cutting back. Cutting back on certain things can save hundreds or possibly even thousands of dollars a year. Here are some ways to cut back and keep more of your money:

1) Cancel your satellite or cable- *Gasp* I know some people are simply addicted to their favorite TV shows and might not even cancel all those channels if their life depended on it. However, if you decide there are better things to spend money on than hundreds of TV channels, you can save a lot of money by turning it off. Try watching less TV and rent movies free from the library. You can also watch movies and TV shows for free on various websites. If you spend $50 a month for all those channels, that would be a savings of $600 a year.

2) Get a less expensive phone plan. If you have a monthly phone plan that costs a lot, get a cheaper plan. If you talk a lot on the phone, most companies offer free nights and weekends so you can plan to do more of your talking on nights and weekends. If you get a plan that costs $20 less a month, that’s a savings of $240 a year.

3) Cut back on eating out. If you eat out a lot, cut back to one time a week. Eating at restaurants is nice because you don’t have to cook or do dishes, but it can add up. Unless you are eating off the dollar menu everytime and that can’t be healthy.

4) Don’t pay retail for clothes. Look at thrift stores for clothes. You can find some good clothes at good prices if you find the right store. Also check yard sales or ebay. Shop at the big stores when they have big sales. Pay attention to your junk mail to see when the stores in the mall are having clearance sales.

5) Pack your lunch to work instead of eating out. If you work and regularly eat out for lunch, packing your lunch can save you a lot of money.

6) Find free or cheap entertainment. If you spend a lot of money on entertainment like going to the movies, look for alternative entertainment. Invite friends over on Friday nights for snacks, games, and chatting. Go on a picnic, ride bikes, hike, play family games or take up a sport or hobby.

Now that summer is here you can save on your utilities by running appliances at night time when it cools down. Running the dishwasher and dryer releases heat in your home. If you have on the air conditioner, you don’t want to be releasing heat in your home.

So wait till the evening until you use the dishwasher and dryer so the temperature will have cooled down by then.

According to a news report, $7 a gallon gas is likely in 2 years time. With high gas prices, Americans would have to change their lives.

People would have to live closer to where they work. People who currently have to drive a long distance to work would either need to move closer to their job or get a job closer to where they live. It doesn’t make sense to work all day just to be able to pay for your commute to work.

SUVs and gas guzzlers could be wiped into extinction. Obviously we need to look at alternative fuels.

Here is the report from CBS:

A new energy report predicts $200-a-barrel oil in as short a time as two years. If that happens, gas would likely go up to $7 a gallon - and that would have an enormous impact on the way Americans live

Mitchell Igelko in Miami complains rising gas prices are threatening his 20-year-old landscaping business. His two biggest trucks sit idle - he can’t afford to fill them up.

Right now, Igelko’s business averages $30,000 a month in gas - at $7 a gallon, that would jump to about $50,000 a month, CBS News correspondent Priya David reports.

“I think at that time, I’m gonna put a sign ‘gone fishing,’” he said.

Economist Jeff Rubin predicts the $7 mark will arrive by the year 2010.

Hardest hit will be those for those making less than $25,000 a year. For them, gas will go from 7 percent of their income to a whopping 20 percent.

“People are going to be spending more on gas than they are on groceries,” said Rubin. “And that’s not a sustainable choice.”

In fact, by 2012, higher prices could send an additional 10 million vehicles off the road.

It would certainly ease congestion. Having that many cars come off the roads is like permanently parking twice as many cars as there are in the whole state of New Jersey.

Some look to Europe for solutions to the skyrocketing gas prices.

“They drive these nice little cars which maybe we should start doing,” one U.S. driver said.

Expensive gasoline has led Europeans to also drive less than we do. In America, over 90 percent of all households commute to work by car. Compare that to just 60 percent of British households.

“People’s entire mindset as to what kind of vehicles they drive, where they live, choices they make on holidays, and vacations are going to be quite different, because it’s starting to bite,” said Joseph Romm of climateprogress.org.

For Mitchell Igelko, $4 gas is trimming his profits, but $7 gas would be a knock-out blow.