Thought of another one - we are members of a credit union, so never pay fees for our checking account. We ALWAYS pay off any balance on our credit cards and get 1% back every year on one of them. We have one CC that has only a $500 limit, which is used for online purchases and those places that are a little more risky -- that one was compromised recently, and that saved us --- we got reimbursed quickly. Also, check out insurance coverage through your credit union -- we save hundreds a year over the old companies we used to insure with. Since the agent is shopping multiple companies, they are working for US by trying to save us $$. Got our kids to switch, too - they each saved hundreds of dollars a year by doing so. Go through your stuff that just sits around and list it on Ebay or Craigslist -- the extra $$ helps and you make it easier for yourself cleaning!