Hey guys! Back in seven as promised! In today’s tight economy, who doesn’t want to free up some cash? Trim the fat but not the fun from your budget.

Here’s how to slash your grocery bill.

Only shop once a week. The more trips you make to the store, the more likely you are to buy on impulse when you see tempting items. About two-thirds of purchases are unplanned; cut that in half to save around $143 a month (if you spend $100 a week on groceries).

Give up the bottle. Stop drinking bottled water and instead buy a filter for your faucet (about $34, plus $25 for replacements). If your family consumes 12 gallons a month, you’ll save about $15. Not too shabby right?

Eat what’s ripe. Out-of-season produce costs 20% to 50% more than it does when it’s in season. Estimated savings: $7 a month.

Ditch your second (or third) car (Eeks! That’s my department…)

Sure, she turns heads, but that 2009 Aston Martin DBS is an expensive mistress. An oil change can put you in the hospital. If something goes wrong, it can downright kill you! Can’t do without two cars? Trade one in for a new (shudder)Camry and save close to $221 a month.

Visit your local cobbler

Last year’s Cole Haans are so … in this year. Rather than shell out $150 or more each season to buy a new pair of good shoes, clean up last year’s kicks. Your local shoe-repair shop will charge about $10 to fix worn-out heel tips for women. Men can get another year or more out of their dress shoes by replacing the rubber heel and the sole. Cost: about $50. If the lady of the house buys four pairs of shoes a year, and the man buys one (at $150 each), you’d save more than $50 a month.

Twitter to Save
Get timely if terse tips about bargains by following these twitterers. Not up on the technology? Get a tutorial at twitter.com.

Music: @amazonmp3
Travel: @JetBlueCheeps
Fashion/beauty: @DealDivine
General retail: @DealsPlus
Giveaways: @fstimes

Time your buys

Don’t get gouged, buy that air conditioner in January, not July, and get it for nearly half the price. You can save 25% to 40% or more if you know when to buy these goods.

Stretch it out

Look like a million bucks without spending a million by slowing down your personal care regimen. Sounds gross? Please, in this economy, read ahead. Trust me.

Go easy on the dry cleaning. Cut the number of trips you make in half: 65% of clothes that are dry cleaned can be washed by hand or machine. For example, you can put linens in the washer and do most sweaters in cold water by hand (including cashmere and camel hair). Most silks are hand washable too. Exception: bold colors like brick red, deep brown, and navy should still be dry-cleaned.

Do home touch-ups. Add at least two weeks to the time between hair coloring appointments ($100 or so a pop) by using over-the-counter products (about $10) from the drugstore to cover up your roots. Or, damn it, quit coloring your hair! What’s wrong with a little salt and pepper? It’s distinguished.

Get to work cheaper

A suburban driver commuting to the city might shell out $575 a month for gas, parking, and car upkeep, assuming a 30-mile round-trip. These downshifts can help:

Grab a tax break. Sign up for your company’s transportation reimbursement account, which lets you pay up to $230 in monthly parking fees with pretax dollars. (You can set aside the same amount for mass-transit costs.) Savings: about $80 a month.

Drive with a buddy. Carpool to work with a colleague. Soak in some office gossip. Or not.

Go from four wheels to two. Buy a good commuter bicycle ($500) and cycle to work as the weather permits. Try Craigslist for great second hand bikes for even more savings! Do that six months a year and you’ll save $250 a month.

Stepping off the gas

You don’t have to buy a Prius (thank god), trade in your clunker or ride the bus to cut down on the money you spend for gas each month. Just make a few adjustments to your driving habits:

Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving on the highway, speeding, rapid acceleration and braking, can lower your mileage by 33%. Hear that, Speedracer?

Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 miles per hour. Reining in your speed will save you up to 23%.

Keep tires inflated properly. Check your owner’s manual to list your vehicle’s proper tire pressure, buy a good dial-type pressure gauge ($8), and check your tires once a week. Keeping them properly inflated can improve your mileage by about 3%.

Empty the trunk. Don’t carry around unnecessary items, especially in small cars. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your miles-per-gallon by up to 2%.

Buy ink not cartridges

Instead of buying new black and color ink cartridges when your computer printer runs low, just get them refilled at your local drug store or shopping mall. After all, you don’t buy a new car every time you get low on gas, do you? I wish!

Be loyal to your brands selectively

Save your brand loyalty for where it counts, a Chanel bag or a Brooks Brothers jacket. After all, when you’re battling Rafael Nadal in Grand Slam Tennis on your Wii, who cares what batteries are powering your remote? If there’s no innovation happening with the product, the private label can be just as good, or better.

We estimate you can save up to $15 a month by going with the store-brand or little-known brand for batteries and these other products: pain relievers, canned fruits & vegetables, pantry staples and basic beauty products.

Work out for less

Sweat on your high-end health club’s StairMaster, and unwind at the martini bar.

Better: $50-$90. Work out at the YMCA. There are nearly 3,000 locations throughout the nation.

Best: $0. Free online boot camp whips you into shape at www.marinecorpsfitness.com.

College expenses

Tuition is the largest single bill you’ll pay for Junior to get a degree from Bleed You Dry U. But other costs add up fast. Slash these three:

Books: Nix Brief Principles of Macroeconomics from the college bookstore ($146); rent it from Chegg.com or CampusBookRentals.com, which carries the intro econ text for $68 a semester.

Meals: Go for a seven- or 14- meal plan, not a full one. Your kid will be up late partying, er, studying, and skipping breakfast a few days a week. And no one eats in the cafeteria on Saturday night.

Travel: For trips home, buy a Student Advantage discount card ($20) to save 15% on train and bus fares, 10% off selected flights.

Hope this helped! See you in seven!

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