MONEY TALKS

Keeping more of the money that comes into your life is a lot more than just reading hundreds of useful savings tidbits. Each savings idea is like a little recipe to create money, but in order to follow a recipe, it helps to know how to cook first. So let's start by learning some savings fundamentals.

Savings fundamental number one: The best way to save money is not to spend it. And the best way not to spend money is to not buy things you don't want or need. That sounds stupid, but work with me here. Because many, if not most of the things you spend money on now probably fall into that category. We live in a world where our "needs" are largely the figment of someone else's imagination, and that someone else lives in executive suites and on Madison Avenue. In other words, what you think of as your reality may not be so real! There are fundamental physical truths, like gravity, that we know are real because we've experienced them. But we were all raised in a false societal reality created for other people's profit that has nothing to do with what's real. It's imaginary, and it's probably in direct conflict to a different, better reality that you can create by simply deciding what makes you happy and fulfilled.

Around the House

135. Don't buy drier softening sheets. Instead, mix up a spray bottle with half water and half fabric softener. Spray a washcloth with the mixture and toss it in the dryer.

136. Repaint in white. Painting is one of the few home improvements you can make that normally add more value to a home than it costs, assuming you do it yourself. White paint is usually cheaper, doesn't fade, makes rooms look bigger and goes with more stuff.

137. Clean your own carpets. A carpet-cleaning machine is a great neighborhood co-op tool. Share the cost (maybe you can find one at a yard sale) with your neighbors and everybody on the block saves $100 a year or more in carpet cleaning costs.

138. Do it yourself. If you own a home, buy how-to books and stop calling repairmen for everything!

139. Charge it! Batteries that is. Reusable batteries cost more to buy, but can pay for themselves easily.

140. Buy yesterday's technology. One of the fundamental ways to save money is to buy yesterday's technology. A Pentium 366 computer may not play Solitaire at the speed of light, but it will probably be perfectly adequate for the tasks normal people use computers for. And it will cost a fraction of the price of the newest, fastest models. Buying the latest greatest gadget is an expensive hobby. The same concept applies with everything from cars to bicycles to coffee makers.

141. Stop being so darn clean! Americans can be obsessive when it comes to cleaning our clothes. Result? High dry-cleaning bills, high utility bills and high clothing bills. Nobody's suggesting you should use body odor to cull your circle of friends, but the fact is that many items, especially the expensive-to-dry-clean-kind can often be worn more before we have them cleaned. Talk to a haberdasher and they'll tell you that a quality men's suit should be dry-cleaned as infrequently as possible for longer life. They'd rather see you brush them clean than exposing them to the trauma of a dry-cleaner.

142. Use inexpensive decorating techniques. Sometimes you just need to change the look of a room. A new tablecloth can transform a dining room, and you'll probably find one at the Salvation Army for $5. Plants are great decorations that you can get free by exchanging clippings with your friends. A plywood circle sitting on a round trash can look good when you cover it with a nice tablecloth, and the base doubles as storage. Old wooden chairs and boxes look cool when they're repainted in funky colors. Bottom line? When it comes to decorating, an ounce of imagination will replace a pound of shopping!

143. Freeze your scouring pads. They last longer that way.

144. Save a tree or two. Use a clean hand towel in the kitchen instead of always reaching for paper towels.

145. Plastic has a half-life of a million years. Wash and reuse plastic food storage bags.

146. Foiled again. Aluminum foil can often be reused.

147. Clean up on cleaners! You can often make your own cleaners that will save money and work just as well as their heavily advertised cousins. For example, combine 1/2; cup of ammonia, 1/2; cup vinegar and two tablespoons of cornstarch to a bucket of warm water and you'll have a great window cleaner! And while you're at it, use old newspaper to clean windows. Not only is it cheaper, it won't streak. Baking soda does the same work as carpet deodorizer, scouring powder, and toilet bowl cleaner. It can even act as an antacid and a fire extinguisher. And how about vinegar? Combine it with salt, and it will clean your copper pots. It also polishes chrome, removes soap scum, and cleans your coffee maker. Cornstarch is more absorbent than talcum powder, and pure enough to use in place of baby powder. It can also clean carpet and remove grease stains.

Keep in mind: the key to saving money is to do things that are painless for you. Otherwise, you'll never be able to stick with it. And what's painless for you might be ridiculously hard for me, and vice-versa. We've all got things that we are willing to trade our money (and therefore our lives) for. The trick is to find the ones that are really yours instead of blindly following the fake reality created for you by Madison Avenue. Reshape your reality by rediscovering what's important to you and choosing to part with your resources to experience it. Then ignore the ever-present background noise designed to keep you enslaved to debt.

Find more money advice at www.MoneyTalks.org.