Survivor: The Economy

Economy got you down? Struggling to pay bills? Let's talk about your options or maybe you just want to vent. That's OK too.

Join me today for an online chat at Noon ET. If you can't make the chat, read the transcript.

If you're looking for ways to make your dollar stretch, here are some ideas from fellow e-letter readers:

"I get generic brands and can only afford to purchase milk by the half gallon versus the gallon," wrote Nicole D. Gindraw-Parrott, a resident of the suburbs of Atlanta, Ga. "When I do buy name brand items now its only at SAMS or BJ's never in the regular market. It's ridiculous; everything has gone up! I have started recycling small things like zip lock bags, plastic spoons, etc and have actually fussed at my children if they perhaps by accident throw away these reusable items instead of bringing them home for mommy to clean and repurpose!!! (I know they think that I have lost it...my mind that is) The economic strain has caused me to become a coupon clipping, price-matching monster at all the local markets."

Christopher M. Barker of Fairfax, Va., says he and his wife "found that Wegmans is a little cheaper than Safeway and Giant on most items. Plus, we can do our shopping for her Gluten-free food there. Normally we have to go to specialty stores."

"How are we surviving? Cutting back pretty much everywhere," says Vicki O'Brien of Orlando, Fla.

The O'Brien family saves by:

* Rarely going to the movies. "[We] used to go at least twice a month."

* Using cheaper gas - no more premium. "The engine will just have to knock occasionally."

* Scaling back on projects around the house. "[We] budget home improvements carefully."

* Spending less frivolously. "I buy the kids clothes and mine on sale or clearance and only if they really need [it]."

Big Mama Taught Me Well

Ever wondered where I get my snap, crackle and pop for personal finance?

I sat down recently with Harry Jaffe, a columnist at the Washingtonian magazine, to talk about my background and recent journalism award.

As I told Jaffe, my grandmother, Big Mama, "was a cross between a guardian angel and a drill sergeant. She was great with money. She was never late for work or paying a bill. I wouldn't be where I am today without her. When I write my column, I'm always thinking of her."

Read the profile by clicking here.

Ease Off the Gas to Save on Fuel Costs

The Post's Travel blog was abuzz about gas prices on Monday, including a recent survey that showed "57 percent of Americans feel they have less money to spend this year on summer vacations." Our travel team also wrote about an Associated Press report that says airlines are flying slower to save thousands of dollars on fuel costs.

According to the report, "JetBlue adds an average of just under two minutes to each flight, and saves about $13.6 million a year in jet fuel. Adding just four minutes to its flights to and from Hawaii saves Northwest Airlines $600,000 a year on those flights alone."

With gas prices nudging four dollars a gallon, automobile drivers should also slow down to save gas. According to the Department of Energy's Fuel Economy Web site, for every five miles per hour that you drive over 60 mph, you pay 20 cents extra per gallon of gas.

AAA offers these tips for fuel efficiency:

* Take the direct route.

* Change dirty air filters.

* Use the right engine oil. The recommended motor oil for your vehicle will save you 3 to 5 cents a gallon.

* Pack light. A weighed down trunk can reduce fuel efficiency.

Get more helpful hints from the auto club here.

Buy a Blouse and Save the Economy?

Rebate checks started hitting bank accounts this past Friday. Retailers are hoping consumers will spend their windfall rather than squirrel it away.

Jonathan A. Parker, a finance professor at Northwestern University, agrees. He says that spending rebate checks boosts the economy and that spending that money is our civic duty. In Check's in the Mail? Shop Till You Drop (May 4) he writes:

"It has worked before. In 2001, we spent about a third of our rebates within one to two months and two-thirds within four to five months, spending enough to haul the economy out of recession. We spent more on things such as clothes, restaurant meals and health expenditures than on utilities, basic foodstuffs and gas. So head to Sears, Home Depot or Restoration Hardware in good conscience."

Do you agree with Parker? Are you going to spend to save the economy?

What do you plan to do with your rebate? Have you been eyeing a flat screen TV? Or are you planning to pay down debt? E-mail your stimulus stories to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please put "Show Me the Money" in the subject line.

Cracking Down on Credit Card Issuers

The Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration recently announced proposals to end what they call unfair practices in the credit card industry.

Some of the unfair practices include:

* Double cycle billing, which results in cardholders paying interest on debts paid off the previous month during the grace period.

* Credit card issuers charging late fees without giving a reasonable amount of time to make a payment.

* Lenders applying payments to lower interest balances first to maximize a customer's finance charges.

Of course, the banking industry is against the proposal while some lawmakers feel the proposed rule changes are still too lax. Get details about the proposals from Nancy Trejos' articles - Aggressive Fed Rules Challenge Credit Cards (May 2) and Fed Seeks Ban on Some Practices of Credit Card Firms (May 3).

Read my column today, Your Losing Hand, to see what I think of the effort to eliminate some of these practices.

What do you think? Do the proposed changes go far enough? Should certain practices be banned to protect consumers? I want to hear from you, but you should also let the regulators know what you think. There is a 75-day window for public comment. To post your comments, click here and scroll to the bottom.

Green, at What Cost?

A reader wrote to Ask Amy to complain that his girl was green to the extreme. In last week's newsletter I asked if you thought her ecological saving habits were excessive. Here's what some of you had to say:

"I don't think she's too extreme," wrote Debi Turner from Walhalla, S.C. "I choose my grocery based on the fact that it has a self-checkout so I can [put] purchases in my canvas bags."

Turner also said she refuses to return to a grocery store that insisted on putting her two items in a plastic bag.

Joan Miller of San Antonio, Tex., wrote: "Yes, the free napkins and sugars are a little extreme and it's almost like stealing. But, I commend her for the use of her own takeout container and mug. [I] wish that more establishments would encourage the use of this, so some of us wouldn't feel so strange doing so. I've even been known to take my recyclables home from work so they don't go in the trash."

"Run from this unbalanced woman" says Donald Hamilton of Edmond, Okla. "The napkin and sugar stealing is just that. Her price matching at dinner suggests a paranoid fear of being cheated, not thrift. Two people with such different views of money will have a hard time getting along over time."

Gretchen Miller in Reston, Va. says, "Personally, I think that the girl in question needs to find a less uptight boyfriend! Yes, it seems [thrifty] to bring your own mug to Starbucks, but for crying out loud, it's going to take forever for that cup to degrade in a landfill. The issue is that this guy has a problem with part of her life that is important to her, so he needs to understand why and either accept it or move on!"

Tips for the Pocketbook

Last year, consumers paid more than $4 billion in ATM fees. Joan Goldwasser of Kiplinger.com says there are ways to combat those charges. For example:

* Look for a bank/credit union that works with a network that doesn't impose surcharges.

* Switch to an Internet bank that reimburses you for ATM fees.

* Some banks offer accounts with free ATM transactions. Check into it.

Get more tips from Slay the Pesky ATM Fees (May 4).

You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested.

Charity Brown contributed to this e-letter.