I went camping this past weekend and noticed a significant jump in gasoline prices. I paid $3.89 per gallon, for the first time ever. It was $3.69 just last week. I see $4.00 per gallon in the very near future. And unfortunately I think we may see $5.00 per gallon this summer. Long term it could go much higher.

There have been so many mixed signals about the state of the US economy lately. One day a pile of negative reports is released followed by a couple of positive ones the next. I do not like being an alarmist. I am not a negative person by nature. In fact, I try to maintain a positive outlook. That being said, I also don’t believe in slapping lip stick on a pig.

Having trouble building a savings account? Can’t seem to make yourself put any money into savings? Many of us have experienced this problem. What I have found truly works is to make your savings automatic. This takes the emotional decision making out of your hands. It assures you will begin building something for an emergency, rainy day or your future retirement dreams. Whatever the reason you have for wanting to save, start today!

As if it’s not bad enough gas prices have spiraled out of control, then food prices shot through the roof, it now it looks like electricity is poised to take off. After walking my dog this morning, I sat down to eat breakfast with my daughter. I picked up the morning paper and on the front page was “Dominion Power Seeks State’s OK to Raise Rates 18%”. Eighteen percent! Are they crazy? How much more do these companies think we can take? The newspaper article sites higher coal and natural gas prices as the justification for the increase. I understand that these commodities have increased dramatically. I do. I get it. But honestly, 18% increase in one whack. Seems excessive. And look a few sentences back. The reason is higher “natural gas” prices. So it is probably safe to assume that Virginia Natural Gas will be looking for a substantial increase next. And, you can bet that Electric Companies in every state will be following suite, sooner or later. Looks like one day we might be eating canned beans around a camp fire on the back patio. I wonder if I can fit a wind turbine in my back yard?

Got your attention, now bear with me! I will get to the 17% return in a minute.

As most of you are probably aware, the government started direct depositing the economic stimulus payments last week. According to the U.S. Treasury nearly 8 million taxpayers have received their checks, so far. If you are still wondering about the Economic Stimulus Package, check out my post ESP: It’s All Gravy Baby!

In these tough economic times, I believe you should be taking action with regards to your personal finances. I would be working on ways to cut spending, saving more money and I would definitely be working on shoring up your employment. No kidding. The time for action is now!

Up until about seven years ago, we would eat out 2-3 times a week, on average. You would typically find our family dining out Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Occasionally we would venture out during the week as well. Not only did this have a negative impact on our health, but it had an equally adverse effect on our wallet.

It’s that time of year again. Tax time! Yuck! Raise your hand if you hate doing your taxes! John *raises hand* =) I will spend tomorrow doing our taxes. I started getting everything together about a month ago, but stopped when I realized we are not getting any refund this year. So I haven’t exactly rushed to get it done! I usually have it planned fairly close, so we get a small refund. But not this year!

When I first began kicking around the idea of starting a blog, I came up with the theme of Family, Fitness & Finances. Sort of like food, folks and fun; only different! =) My premise was that these three key elements in peoples lives are interconnected. A recent comment to one of my posts “I love the idea of putting physical health and finance together. What’s the sense of having money if you can’t live healthy and long enough to enjoy it. :-))” just about sums it up. Right on, Ms. Cheapy! My thoughts exactly.

I wanted to take a few minutes and share my savings experiences today. I guess you could say this is an update to the post 5 Tips To Cut Your Grocery Bill Today!. I went shopping this afternoon, starting at Walgreens. I stopped by there to pick up some Alli. For those who don’t know, Alli is a weight lose product. I had three coupons totaling $25.00. So stop #1 netted a cool 42% savings! Not bad, right?