The economy may be tanked but people are still eager to have their furry friends at their sides. An Associated Press poll released this week found that over half of American pet owners consider their pets as much a part of the family as any other person. Another 36% said their pet is part of the family but not a full member. Nearly half of pet owners admit to feeding animals human food, giving them human names, and nearly a third let them sleep in their beds.

All this camaraderie does not come cheap. There is the cost of purchasing the pet, followed by one-time and annual costs that can add up, according to the ASPCA.

One Time Expenses

Time once again to unfurl the flag and celebrate Independence Day. Dollar stores have everything you need for your picnic or barbecue, from flags to red, white and blue dinner ware.

Dollar Tree has a selection of solid red, white and blue party supplies including paper plates, cups, napkins, cutlery and centerpiece/balloon anchors. As always, each package is only $1.

For your picnic needs, check out the Dollar Tree flyer. Get a 2.5 gal. tub with a rope handle for only a buck. They also have Rubbermaid storage containers in two-packs of round, square or sandwich containers for $1 each and 24 oz. Gatorade with sport caps for $1 each. Lots of other picnic supplies here, too.

Looks like even the Terminator can't help them right now. A whopping $24 billion budget deficit and a legal stalemate between California's Democratic and Republican lawmakers over whether or not to raise taxes to balance the budget has led to this: Starting tomorrow, instead of paying its bills, the suddenly not-so-Golden State will be doling out IOUs to some of its vendors as well as agencies that work with the state, including those that provide support for the elderly and college students.

Barring any last-minute agreement between the battling legislative factions, California plans to give out $3.36 billion in IOUs this month alone. It's saving what little cash it does have to pay more urgent expenses, including its general obligation bond, which is sort of like a mortgage for municipalities; blow off that bill and you open up a huge can of worms. Ratings agencies have already downgraded California's debt rating, which is sort of like the state's credit report. A lower rating makes it more expensive for California to borrow additional funds in the future, something the state is expected to have to do.

Even if there is a budget agreement eventually settled on, it doesn't mean California's out of the (red)woods yet; lawmakers say it will still have to sell another $7 to $9 billion in short-term debt just to balance the books, which of course will have to be paid back at a higher interest rate thanks to the state's poor debt rating.

Amusement parks, museums, and other tourist attractions often cut senior citizens and students a break on admission fees, but you don't necessarily need to be a cash-conserving retiree or a scrappy college undergraduate to take advantage of those deals.

That's because the elderly threshold is edging downward, and anyone can become a student again.

While age 65 is widely accepted as the gateway to one's golden years, some places consider senior citizens to be anyone age 62 or older, 60 or older, and sometimes even age 55 or older. So be sure to ask if there's a discount for senior citizens and what the criteria is.

If you're on the age borderline, don't be bashful about nicely telling the cashier which other places gladly consider you to be a senior citizen. A little bit of perceived commercial peer pressure could save you 10% to 25% of the entry fee.

Airfares may be reasonable, and gas prices aren't killing us the way they were a year ago, but there's one travel essential that's bleeding Americans: car rentals.

The New York Times reports that compared to May 2008, the price for a rental car shot up by 73% last month. In June, they were up 63% compared to a year ago.

Those leaps are extraordinary for any product, and the reason is simple: The major renters have cut capacity, selling older stock and waiting to buy new cars. The airlines have done the same thing in order to stabilize what would otherwise be a dramatic collapse of airfares. Even though demand for rental cars has dropped by 15%, the supply of vehicles has plummeted by more.

It hasn't been a fun month, I'd imagine, for anyone with a corner office at Abercrombie & Fitch's rugged New Albany, OH headquarters. The company reported a 22% drop in net sales for May -- and this week, the story of London store employee Riam Dean surfaced.

Dean, 22, was allegedly moved from a sales job to a stockroom post -- away from the eyes of shoppers -- after her managers discovered she had a prosthetic arm.

Yes, it's been the kind of month that might make even the biggest cheerleader of an executive gaze out the window and think, Maybe we should just shut this thing down.

In this case, yeah -- maybe you should.

Kroger posted some pretty impressive sales increases for the first quarter, surprising given the current climate. Are they doing something differently or are grocers simply benefiting from today's new "back to basics" philosophy?

Total sales increased 3.9% over the prior year. Identical supermarket sales, excluding fuel, increased 3.1% over the same period last year. This doesn't include fuel sales since gas prices are much lower than the same time last year. Kroger even confirmed it expects to end the year with supermarket sales growth of 3% to 4%, without fuel. This comes as rival grocer SuperValu says it will miss analyst expectations for this quarter, what with consumers spending less.

Combine a limited home improvement budget with a green frame of mind, and you can find great ways to save on your next DIY project.

There are a lot of worthwhile, beautiful home materials ready to be reclaimed and reused thanks to savvy dealers, demolition experts and everyday folks who rescue them from a landfill fate.

Here are a few resources for trimming your project costs as you create and improve.

• Architectural salvage yards: Modern green-building principles meet the architecture of the past in these gardens of historical finds. Take a stroll through a dealer's offerings, and you may find replacement hardware, a period-correct fixture or an amazing garden ornament. Salvage gurus travel far and wide to collect the nearly-priceless artifacts that renovations and demolitions leave behind, and their breadth of knowledge is as valuable as their road stories are amazing. Visit the online yards of Ohmega Salvage and Recycling The Past to get a coast-to-coast feel for the latest in salvage finds, and then dig in with a visit to your local dealer.

The recession-choked hotel industry is making it easier for guests to score free nights at major chains, so this summer is a great time to embark on that multi-city roadtrip you've been mulling over. In some cases, the complimentary night could be at a much pricier hotel than the ones you paid for.

I just arrived home from a 17-day family roadtrip from Boston to San Francisco. Along the way, we paid for a total of four nights at three Holiday Inn Express hotels and earned two free one-night stays redeemable at more than 4,000 properties worldwide that are also under the InterContinental Hotel Group umbrella, including the much more upscale InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. -- which includes brands like Aloft, Westin, Sheraton, and St. Regis -- also is offering a free weekend night at its top-tier hotels after guests stay at any of its hotels twice by July 31.

These are among the best hotel deals being dangled. The three of us paid $119 for a night at Holiday Inn Express in Fort Smith, Arkansas; $119 for a night at Holiday Inn Express in Amarillo, Texas; and $140 per night for two nights at Holiday Inn Express in Page, Arizona (all prices include taxes and free continental breakfasts). Yet we can cash in our free-stays at some place posh, like the InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles Century City, where a standard room costs $199 to $829 per night before tax, depending on the popularity of the reservation date.

One of my personal style gurus in New York City (ok, it's a friend I bug for tips) is
Holly Getty, a personal stylist. As someone who's hated the idea of shopping
and just wishes we could all wear the same outfit every day, I love knowing someone like Holly who makes personal style easy.

Getting dressed in the morning is all about comfort and wearing something that makes you feel alive, according to Holly. Walletpop has shown you the difference a sophisticated outfit can make through our funny, short video "Bargain Eye for the Laid-Off Guy: Get a GQ look for under $50." Now Holly gives you a money-saving tip when it comes to resisting all those summer sales. Here's what she has to say:

"Even before it is officially summer, summer sales are everywhere. Given the economy, people are catching on to the drill. Retailers put out over-priced clothes, you wait, they mark them down. You think you are getting a deal, when in reality, the entire process is carefully orchestrated.

I recently pulled up at the corner by my house to mail some last minute bills. Jumping out of the car with the door open, I looked in disbelief when I couldn't find the familiar blue box. Glancing around, all I could find was some old rust marks on the sidewalk where the box stood for the last 30 years. So where did it go?

I found out the answer when I picked up the evening newspaper: boxes are being eliminated. The United States Postal Service is attempting to cut costs by removing boxes that are not used extensively. I guess it makes sense, but I wish someone would have told me. Or better yet, inform me where boxes still are available.

Information from the post office lets consumers know that they can simply "mail" a letter right in their box by leaving it for the mail handler. Well, maybe that works for some people, but not if you have the old crab that comes to my house everyday. He's grouchy on even the nicest days and never smiles or says "hi." I can just see him muttering under his breathe if I were to ask for any extras.

Now I know that I am dating myself, but I still remember when mail delivery was twice a day. Really. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. They stopped that a long time ago but I still remember it. I also recall when the postman was not only friendly, but he stopped to chat and talk for awhile.

I guess I have enough friends without the mailman, but I sure would like to know where to mail a letter.

Barbara Bartlein is the People Pro. For her FREE e-mail newsletter, please visit: The People Pro

It's that time of year again, and I can't wait! The explosions, the smoke, the sparkly flames. I'm speaking, of course, about the annual season when your local TV news channel dutifully trots out the clips of fire safety marshals blowing the hands off mannequins to convince us to leave those M-80s well enough alone. More than the smell of the barbecue firing up, more than John Philip Sousa, nothing else tells me Independence Day is finally here again.

This year, they had better air those unintentionally entertaining clips of destruction a few more times, because in many towns, that's all the fireworks they're gonna get.

Because of budget crunches, cities across the country are canceling their fireworks shows.

On the eve of my friend Bill Frank's 80th birthday, his wife Winnie announced that if Bill made the decision to retire she would be forced -- after 60 years of wedded bliss -- to pack up and move in with her sister in Indiana.

I used to think Bill and Winnie were unique. But now as my husband and I approach retirement and the crabby-old-goat stage ourselves, it's clear that arguing over what comes next is hard to avoid.

A survey by Fidelity Investments featured in this USAToday.com story, concludes that 80% of couples don't see eye to eye on retirement.

The Better Business Bureau has a beef with Wal-Mart's ad claims that it saves shoppers $700 a year.

It's been asked to stop running the ads and this little story (subscription required) found in the Wall Street Journal today is an opportunity to shine some light on how retailers assess and set prices, and how you can make sense of it all.

Retailers employ all manner of technology to set prices. They hire consultants, secretly shop the competition and use price optimization software to analyze and determine the correct cost of goods.

So when a company as huge and efficient as Wal-Mart makes a claim that shoppers can save up to $700 a year by shopping its stores, and then says that claim is supported by a study from another large International company, you'd think it would be pretty solid.

HP just announced a new printer that prints directly from the Internet. It's like an iPhone interface met a piece of office equipment, fell in love, got married and flipped off the matchmaker (in this case, the computer).

It's being billed as the world's first Web-connected computer. There are a lot of great wireless features like movie tickets from Fandango and photos printed directly from online sites, but the one HP executives were practically giddy about is the ability to print coupons directly from Coupons.com.