According to the Wall Street Journal, we should all be stockpiling foods to ensure that we won’t run out when store shelves become empty.  They claim that stockpiling food is a smart economical move in the event of lean times ahead. 

Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster. Source

But for those who are accustomed to only buying what you need when you need it, how do you know what kinds of foods to stockpile? And exactly how much should you purchase?

According to the U.S. Census, the national average commute to work is 24.4 miles.  If you combined average commute times into days, you will find that New Yorkers commute 6.7 full days each year, while people in San Diego commute only 3.9 days a year. 

These numbers do not include extreme commuters who can travel 5 and 6 hour commutes each day. 
 
While there are many good reasons to live in a home miles away from your place of employment -- such as price, and the fact that you may have owned the home before you got the job -- there are also many reasons to live closer to your job. 

While I find I am truly gifted at squeezing blood from a proverbial stone, I have one major weakness.  I love magazines. 

I have a couple of subscriptions, usually purchased through neighborhood kids at a discount.  I also hear Woman's World and First calling my name whenever I am in the grocery aisle.  I have no self-control over my magazine habit.  That is, until now. 

A huge part of being thrifty for me is being natural. 

I find that when I focus on avoiding products that are toxic to either the environment or myself that I save a great deal of money. For example, if you take a visit to The Fun Times Guide to Living Green, you will find many ways to save money.

Here are some of the natural ways I use to save money...

If you have a typical American family, like me, then there are some bad habits you may not even be aware of that are costing you serious money.

Here are 5 bad habits that you should break to recoup some of your household budget...