A collection of the very best tips and tricks for stretching the family dollar from celebrity thrifters.

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It catches your eye every time you head out to the garage to start the car. You remember happy journeys on your 10-speed bicycle, and make plans to start biking again. But your busy life goes on, and your old bicycle collects dust. Before it falls into disrepair, why not go online and sell the bicycle to someone who can use it? Craigslist, the online classifieds website, is a perfect place to sell a bicycle.

Since it is very unlikely you want to ship your bicycle across the country, begin by finding the Craigslist page closest to your hometown. Amid the job offerings and personals, you will find a “For Sale” section with many categories of different types of merchandise. Pick the one that covers bicycles

Start your craiglist ad with a catchy headline. Do not bother with ampersands and asteriks in an attempt to attract attention. People searching for a good bicycle to buy won’t be impressed. Instead, post exactly what you are selling: the make and model of the bike if applicable, the measurement, any special features, and the condition. Be honest, but feel free to put a more positive spin on the bicycle by focusing on its benefits. Something catchy like “Save Gas!” could be an attention getter.

The next thing you need to successfully sell a bicycle on Craigslist is a quality photo of the bike. Leave the computer and head out to the garage. Take some time to wash and shine your old bicycle so it looks its best. Stand the bicycle in front of a plain colored wall or use the driveway as your backdrop. Take a picture that shows the entire bicycle from the side and one from the front. If the bike has any special features such as speedometer or a light, take a close up shot of that section.

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The most common thing that married couples complain about it money. And single people worry about finances as well. Still, adopting a completely frugal lifestyle is not as popular as you might think. The excuses people make to not be frugal range from convenience and quality to perceptions of societal acceptance. The following five excuses people make to not be frugal are common, and really quite silly if your goal is to spend less and save more.

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If you are having trouble making ends meet, or are trying to pay off debt or save up for a car, vacation, new couch, whatever, figuring out a way to make more money – even just a tiny bit more money – can be really helpful.

There are tons of fun places online where you can make money. Check out Get Paid Lots Online Income and Home Business Resource. While it is still under construction, you can find lots of ideas there already.

Most importantly, change your viewpoint about small sums of money. $5.00? Change a sarcastic “whoop-de-do, what good is that?” to an enthusiastic “I can save tons of money on interest by paying more on my bill this month.”

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In just two short weeks, I will be completely FREE of debt! I paid off nearly $40,000 worth of debt in the past 10 years.

The bulk of my debt – all of it left over from my disastrous marriage – was medical bills. They were paid off early. In retrospect, I should have focused on paying off the credit cards my ex-husband opened in both our names first. A lesson learned about interest!

The best way to pay off debt:

1. Pay off things that are current (that way, they won’t negatively affect your credit score)
2. Pay off the highest interest debt first (put as much as  you can on that bill every month)
3. Snowball the payment from the first into the second highest interest debt next
4. Continue till you are debt free!

Another good tip is to negotiate with creditors or debt collection agencies. Some of them can be downright horrible. Simply send them a letter stating clearly that you will not accept any more contact by telephone and that you want all correspondence in writing. By law, they need to abide by that. It makes answering the phone much less stressful.

After that, come up with a payment plan you can actually afford. Mail the collection agency or creditor a letter stating you intend to pay X amount every  month until the debt is satisfied AND send the first payment.

Do not be afraid to renegotiate your debt. There are tons of “debt repair” companies ready to take your money to do this for you, but it is not that hard to do it yourself. You can also do it in writing, or call the collection agency yourself. If the debt is outstanding for long enough, the collection agency will be more than willing to negotiate a settlement amount.

I did this on my last credit card bill. I figure I still ended up paying quite a bit more than the money that was actually spent, but I paid a lot less than I would have if I did not negotiate a lower payment. Just one more payment… and I’m free! Yay!

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A little bit of money can change a lot.

Rising costs and shrinking salaries can cause fear in anyone.the possibility of not being able to pay your bills that do not only financially, but emotionally as well. However, an attitude adjustment can help you become more at ease with your financial situation. As long as you still have your job and it pays your bills well enough to get by all that is needed to truly prosper as an attitude adjustment.

Many people live paycheck to paycheck. While this keeps them afloat it does not let them get anywhere. Not having some money in a savings account for a rainy day is scary. Instead of living with the fear, or having increasing debt pile upon you as you use credit cards for day-to-day expenses, adopt the attitude that little bit can change a lot.

More people are looking for part-time jobs, second jobs to augment their income to deal with rising costs and debt. Lots of times the take-home pay from these part-time jobs is negligible. It also can affect family relationships and your health.

How can a little bit change a lot?

I am completely self-employed and work from home. I’m a great advocate of making money on the Internet.While there are many scams and ways to waste your money, there are also many ways to make a little extra everyday. People with full-time jobs probably would not like a second full-time job on the Internet, or the type of small online business that will use several hours a day to run. There are ways to make very small amounts of money on a regular basis. For some ideas go to Get Paid Lots.

Five dollars extra each day may not seem like a life-changing amount. It is only 435 extra each week or $1825 in the year. Can that amount of money change your life?

Attitude adjustment that has to be made is,”Yes it can!’

$35 in a week and payfor your Internet, your telephone bill over the course of a month, or add to your savings. Paying an extra $140 a month on a credit card bill can reduce the total amount of payment and the time it takes to pay your car off.

There’s a saying: if you pinch your pennies, the dollars will look after themselves. A little bit can change a lot. All it takes is an attitude adjustment.

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They think of Mr. Scrooge or the 60′s mom that could make a chicken stretch through four meals.

Often, we are so caught up in making others think that we have plenty of money that we forget that we don’t. In fact, most of the people who scoff at living frugally aren’t well-to-do. They are the ones that are struggling financially. They wouldn’t even consider letting others think that they are frugal.

It is the well-to-do and those with money that often really understand what frugal living is. It is being in control of our money. This is a characteristic that most successful, and wealthy, people display. They understand that we control our money, it does not control us.

But don’t think that it is easy. Frugal living is quite hard. It takes a lot of thought and discipline. Money is a tough lion to try and tame. It will seem to beat you back every time. But if you look at living frugally as a challenge with great rewards, you will be able to handle it just fine.

Frugal living gives you the ability to own a vehicle without having an auto loan. You are one of the few that can go shopping without a credit card. If you are frugal and wise in your money decisions, you can have everything you want, without the stress and emotions that come with debt.

To be frugal, you have to make a commitment. You can’t simply be frugal once a month and see results. You have to train yourself to be frugal in every situation. You have to make it a part of your daily routine. Look for ways to recycle and cut waste and spending.

The one secret that will keep you frugal lies in setting goals. Once you have identified what you want to achieve, it will be easier to be frugal. You are working towards something. Make a budget and track the things you do that are making your dreams reality.

One of the largest problems that many consumers face is shopping. To be frugal you have to decide to not shop anymore — at least for things you don’t need. The frugal shopper knows exactly what he needs and he looks at all of his options. Being frugal means that you make do with what you have. You use all of something before you buy a new one.

You don’t have to give the things you love up. All you have to do is see that they fit in your budget. If they don’t, you may have to put them on the back burner for a while until you free up some room. Frugal living isn’t about doing without, it’s about doing better.

Know where your give and take is. If you care deeply about your wardrobe, but not so much about your food, spend less on food and keep your clothing the way you like it.

One of the best features of frugal living is that it is based on you. Yes, I can tell you that frugal people save the twist-ties off of bags of bread. But if you have no use for those twist-ties, they are wasting your time. Being frugal is make the best of what you have, not what I have or others have. You are cutting your spending in order to save for your goals. We all do it in different ways.

Frugal living is essentially living beneath your means. You are saving and not spending every cent you make. It’s a challenge, but one that makes you a better person. It teaches us, and our children, self control. Many successful businesspeople come from very poor backgrounds. They are successful because the frugal life taught them how to sacrifice and exhibit self-control.

Answer these questions:

What if you lost your job tomorrow?

What if you were injured and could never work again?

What if you lost all of your investments?

Are you able to survive to live as you are right now?

These are tough questions. You need to work to have answers for them. Living frugally will give you the security you need.

Martin Lukac represents RateTake Refinance marketplace. RateTake matches consumers with multiple lenders offering low rates. Got too much credit debt? Get Debt Relief and you’d be surprised what we can do together.

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One of the best ways to save money around the house is to find creative ways to reuse items that would normally go in the trash. It is also good for the environment. Tuna lovers accumulate a large number of those short, round tuna fish cans. Usually, you would just throw them out or recycle them. But these tuna fish cans can lead to saving money. Below are three money saving things you can do with empty tuna fish cans.

Before you try any of these creative tuna fish can crafts, be sure to wash the can out thoroughly. If the can still smells fishy after a soap and water bath, use some lemon juice and baking soda to scrub them well. Also be careful about the potential for sharp edges where the can lid was removed. Sand these with a file to make them smooth.

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