From the recent resurgence of John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," it looks like people in a recession are happy to be entertained by a tale of the Great Depression.

The 1940 movie based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Steinbeck has gained such popularity recently that from September 2008 to October 2008, rentals of "The Grapes of Wrath" on Netflix rose 10%, according to the Nov. 17 issue of Business Week Magazine. A theatrical play based on the novel is also out.

If you haven't taken a look at the plot since it was assigned reading in high school, it's worth another look today. (although now you can just rent the movie.) The parallels to today are strong. People are losing their jobs, unable to pay the mortgage and forced to move elsewhere to find work.

Over the past few months, as the economic outlook has grown increasingly gloomy, various pundits, commentators and all-purpose wing nuts (including yours truly) have offered tips to help the average person weather the financial downturn. We've given suggestions for lowering bills, saving money on food, increasing equity, decreasing fees, and various other mainstream methods for reducing your fiscal burden.

While many of these suggestions have been intelligent, useful, and well-thought-out, they generally aren't all that inspiring. Every so often, however, a wild, off-the-wall solution comes along and shows how a little bit of creativity can shore up one's finances and improve one's community.

A perfect example of this is Blanka Amezkua, an artist in New York City. Noticing the lack of art venues in her area and eager to increase her neighborhood's sense of community, she decided to turn her bedroom into an alternative art space. Christening it "The Bronx Blue Bedroom Project," or BBBP, she began inviting a variety of artists to create art installations in the room, which she subsequently opened to artists and art lovers in her neighborhood. While Blanka doesn't charge for these showings, she and Laura Napier, another artist who lives in her building, also host art sales. These, in turn, help her market her own work while continuing to generate interest in the local art scene.

Holidays are just around the corner and if there's one appliance that'd better be ready for the onslaught it's the toilet. While many household fixtures require repair or replacement, one that's getting renewed attention thanks to the collective green-living consciousness is the toilet. If yours is a water hog, it's a good time to think about getting a new one.

Years ago, if a plumber told you that your family's hardest working appliance needed to be replaced, you'd have had a right to be skeptical. Historically been darn near impossible for a toilet to actually break, thanks to the typically tough vitreous china and straightforward construction with replaceable moving parts.

But today, water consumption is the big issue, and if any of your home's toilets date to 1994 or earlier, you stand to save a lot of money by switching them out for the current generation of high-efficiency toilets (HETs). Worlds apart from the low-flow models that debuted in the early 1990s, WaterSense-labeled HETs provide dependable performance on 1.28 gallons of water or less per flush.

According to the EPA, a family of four that replaces higher-flow toilets with HETs stands to save an average of more than $90 per year on water bills and as much as $2,000 over the lifetime of the HETs themselves. What's more, many local utilities offer special rebates and vouchers to residents ready to make this water-saving investment.

A wide variety of HET styles and price points make it easy to find the right fit for your household, with one- and two-piece design and such features as right-height sizing and elongated bowls. To learn more about HET advantages and browse product information, visit the EPA's WaterSense website.

Tom Kraeutler is the Home Improvement Editor for AOL and co-author of My Home, My Money Pit: Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure. Tom helps listeners prevent plumbing problems each week as host of The Money Pit, a nationally syndicated home improvement radio program.

Eileen Wilbur, a 74 year-old blind woman living by herself, recently got a nasty shock when her daughter was helping her go through her mail. Apparently, Ms. Wilbur had failed to pay part of a water bill from the preceding year, and the city was now threatening her with a lien against her home. The bill, which Attleboro officials noted was among 2,000 that went out, was for one cent.

The letter went on to inform Ms. Wilbur that, unless she paid by December 10, she could face a $48 penalty, in addition to court proceedings. As her daughter, Rose Brederson, noted, Ms. Wilbur has lived in the house for almost 50 years and would most certainly pay the penny. However, given that the bill cost 42 cents to mail, one wonders how the City of Attleboro hopes to make its money back. What's more, while Ms. Wilbur is undoubtedly an outlier, it's reasonable to ask how many of the 2,000 bills, which cost $840 to mail, were worth less than the price of postage.

When confronted with this situation, City Collector Debra Marcoccio responded by pointing out that Attleboro's billing is completely automated, and is not audited by human beings. She went on to defensively ask why Ms. Wilbur didn't pay the one cent the year before, when it was first due. Like anyone else who's ever been through this sort of mess, I have a pretty good idea about what happened: the 1¢ bill is either unannounced interest on the water bill, or represents fractions of pennies that have accrued on Ms. Wilbur's account, which the billing software decided to add to her latest bill. Regardless, this is the sort of thing that any human being (or even a bureaucrat) with a fully-functioning cerebral cortex could probably have handled with a minimum of fuss.

With the holiday season just days away, your range is about to get its heaviest workout of the year. Before the holiday hoards arrive, here are five fix-ups to make sure it is in tip top shape:

• Check Temperature - "If you're wondering why your oven-baked culinary masterpieces don't come out right every time, don't blame the chef, blame the oven!" says Chris Hall, president of RepairClinic.com. "All too often, home chefs will find out that their oven is not reaching and maintaining the temperature they've set, which means their recipes simply won't turn out right." If you suspect your oven is not keeping the right temperature, first verify that the oven's built-in thermostat is working properly. This is easily accomplished with a separate oven thermometer. Set the oven temperature and then compare the temperature of the thermometer. To get an accurate reading, let the oven cycle on and off at least three times, which takes at least 20 minutes.
• Inspect Gaskets - The oven door has a gasket to keep heat inside the oven. Over time, these gaskets can become torn or deformed and this will allow heat to escape. Inspect gaskets to ensure they are in good condition and replace them as necessary.
• Help Hinges - If an oven door does not close properly, heat can escape. Make sure the door closes tightly and evenly. If it doesn't, check for broken or bent door hinges or door springs, which should be replaced.
• Test Timer - There's a tricky timer issue that has confused even the best of cooks. Many mechanical clocks and timers on ovens (those without digital LED displays) have a setting called "cook and hold." If the clock is accidentally set to this position, the oven may not work at all until it is set back to normal. Consult the instruction manual to set the clock or timer correctly.
• Don't Clean - If your oven is self-cleaning and you run the cycle the night before your festivities, you might find your oven has self-destructed. The self-cleaning cycle puts an oven though major stress. If it's going to break down, it'll happen then, and probably at the exact moment you planned to bake the holiday bird. Better to skip cleaning the oven or to do so a few days before you really need it so repairs can be made.

Tom Kraeutler is the Home Improvement Editor for AOL and co-author of My Home, My Money Pit: Your Guide to Every Home Improvement Adventure. He delivers expert home improvement tips each week as host of The Money Pit, a nationally syndicated home improvement radio program.

We've been seeing a number of questions regarding mitigation services and whether to pay them $1,000 or more to help save a home from foreclosure. Most of these mitigation services are frauds. You not only could lose any money you pay them, you could also lose your house.

You don't need to pay for help to save your home. There are a number of excellent resources to tap that don't charge a fee.

If you're facing foreclosure, you're best first stop is the U.S HUD's "Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure." There you will find answers to many of your questions about foreclosure and how it works. You'll also find a link to a valuable resource - free HUD housing counselors, they can help you sought out your problem and point you in the right direction for help.

Another good place to get help is the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's Home Save Program. NACA provides an effective solution for owner-occupant homeowners with an unaffordable mortgage. NACA's excellent program for restructuring mortgages is a permanent solution to reduce the interest rate and/or mortgage amount to a payment you can afford. You start the process by attending a workshop. All NACA services are free. If you are facing an auction, you'll find a special link for urgent response. They will try to suspend your auction to give you time to complete the NACA process.

A third good source for help is Hope Now. Hope now is an alliance between HUD approved counseling agents, servicers, investors and other mortgage market participants. All services provided by Hope Now are free and the sole purpose of this organization is to prevent foreclosures

Don't pay for foreclosure mitigation services when you can get them for free!

Lita Epstein has written more than 25 books including "The 250 Questions You Should Ask to Avoid Foreclosure" and the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Improving Your Credit Score."

If you feel a wave of hopelessness the next time you look at your utility bill because the cost of heating your home seems like it's more and more out of control, keep your fingers crossed. Sooner or later, geothermal energy will take off. Maybe it already has. A few quick steps and a tax-deductible investment could help you cut your heating bills by two-thirds. Ready to learn what you need to know?

First, what the heck is geothermal energy?
It's energy that comes from ground water.

So why should we care?
You know how caves are always about 55 degrees? If it's the summer and you go in a cave, it's 55 degrees. If's the dead of the winter and minus 11 on the mercury, but you go into a cave, it's 55 degrees. Well, ground water works the same way.

Where to start? Whether you're looking to set the table, decorate the house in holiday finery or put together gifts that only look expensive, dollar stores have got you covered. I particularly like Dollar Tree's craft sheets. Its latest one shows you how to create two different types of Christmas wreaths or personalize velvet Christmas stockings. Beautiful!

The 99-cent Only Stores are featuring white embossed dinnerware, 99.99 cents each for a plate, bowl or mug, as well as 11.75" round charger plates in a variety of colors for the same low price. Normally, the dinnerware pieces would sell for $5 each. They also have an 18" pine wreath that would sell elsewhere for $10, for 99.99 cents. Moving on to the holiday feast, buy large aluminum rectangular or oval roasting pans for 99.99 cents each, a 9 oz. package of Duncan Hines chocolate chip cookie mix, a 12 oz jar of Franco-American Turkey or Chicken gravy, Swanson fat-free or natural chicken broth in a 16 oz. carton, and 3 lbs. or russet potatoes all for only 99.99 cents each.

At Family Dollar you can buy a 6 ft. Christmas Tree for $20, a 20" decorated wreath for $8., an 18' garland light set with 300 clear lights for $8. or 200 G.E. mini lights in clear or multi-colored for $7 a set.

Dollar General has a special section on its website called Your Holiday Home that has many different sections to explore including toys and gifts, food and entertaining, stocking stuffers, decorating, gift wrap and cards and create the perfect gift. And each one of these sections has a menu of options. For instance, under decorating you can click on trees, tree decor, inflatables, home decor, yard decorations, lights or, my personal favorite, holiday how-tos. This is another place where you can learn how to decorate a wreath or your mantel for under $10.

These projects are both easy and beautiful. There's a lot to explore on this website. Have fun!

Marlene Alexander is a freelance writer and dollar store diva. She writes tips and ideas for decorating your home using only items from the dollar store.

Welcome to WalletPop's new book club, where we will have an author-in-residence to give us a peek into a new book and be on hand all month to answer reader questions. Our inaugural writer is real estate expert Alison Rogers, who was the founding editor of the New York Post real estate section and a licensed real estate broker. The following is a Q&A with her about her book, Diary of a Real Estate Rookie, which was called "must reading" by the Wall Street Journal and a "Witty bunch of horror and success stories mixed with real advice for other Realtor newbies" by Newsweek.

ZB: You went from Harvard to Fortune magazine reporter to New York Post editor to real estate agent. How did that happen?

AR: I graduated from Harvard summa cum laude, at the top of my class -- and then I couldn't get a job. It took me a year to get hired on Wall Street. That was the beginning of a long love/hate relationship with corporate America.

Bascially, the Wall Street gig was a two-year in-and-out, so after I did that I decided to try journalism, and I had a connection at Fortune. That was a great job; it really trained me to write and think.

I then developed a sort of specialty in business-oriented publishing. When the New York Post needed an editor to launch the real estate section, I said, you know, this is the kind of publishing I do, and I love real estate.

Remember, if you've got questions for Alison Rogers, you can ask them here, or below in the comments field.

Amidst the doom and gloom of the economy, there comes, occasionally, a glimmer of hope in the way of a bargain about to happen. According to the latest info from the Department of Energy (DOE), that bargain will come in the cost of heating your home this winter.

In a report released this week, DOE's Energy Information Administration said heating oil prices are projected to average $2.75 per gallon, a reduction of about 17% from the 2007-2008 heating season. Propane prices are projected to average $2.22 this winter, a decrease of 10% from last winter. And natural gas prices are projected to average $13.02 per thousand cubic feet, a slight increase of 2% from last winter.

Bottom line, it's looking like heating your house this winter is going to be close to an all time bargain.

According to today's Los Angeles Times Home and Garden Section, the bunk bed is back in.

Citing the economy, this feature piece says sales of the humble bunk bed are soaring, as growing families have to make due with smaller spaces.

Well, I suppose it needed something to say to wrap around the photos of $3,000 bunk bed sets. Sales may indeed be soaring, but bunk beds are nothing new to Los Angelenos used to high rents and higher housing prices. Three bedrooms? That's a luxury for the money'd classes. When two-bedroom houses in decent neighborhoods go for upwards of $500K (still) it's a pretty big "duh" to claim that bunk beds are "back in." Surely the copy writer is from Kansas.

During the Depression, it was so common for homeowners to share housing costs by renting rooms to strangers that a whole romantic milieu arose from the practice, with teenage (or, in Lolita's case, younger) girls falling for the remote, lonely, mysterious older men who shared a kitchen table with their family. Signs show that practice may be returning. It's green -- more people on your square footage means your ecological footprint lessens! It's friendly -- sharing your lives with others, even just at occasional mealtimes, is a way to break down the barriers that keep our communities stark and lonesome. Best of all, it's financially savvy -- spending to light and heat a 2,000 square-foot home when you really only need 1,200 or so is both expensive and hard to avoid, without the considerable and not easily reversible process of selling your home and buying a new one.

Rooms for rent has been in the news a lot lately, and I know a lot of families here in Portland who choose to offer one or two rooms to a singleton who's willing to help with the mortgage payment, the electric bill, and maybe the gardening or the bike repair. My littler sister has shared a room in a family friend's home for several years, and been through all the ups and downs.

I've discovered, in my experience with house share situations, that it's important to very clearly set expectations ahead of time; whether you will share the food expenses, who can use the kitchen, when; what the rules are about cleaning up after oneself in common areas; how comfortable you feel about leaving the bathroom door unlocked; what exactly is going to be charged for rent and utilities (a flat dollar amount? a percentage?); whether the phone/internet/leftovers are on- or off-limits. What about in your town? Have you rented a room, or are you thinking about it? Any tips to share?

Any parent can tell you that finding a good daycare for your child is a giant pain. Once you've figured out how you'll work it into your budget, you shop around for a long time looking for the perfect place, and then when you've narrowed it down, you spend months on a waiting list just to see if you'll even be offered the privilege of sending your kid and all of your money to the daycare of your choice.

At least, that's how it used to be. The sharp downturn in the economy has had a pronounced effect on the daycare industry, as struggling families can no longer afford it. Parents are pulling kids from daycare and either staying home with them or sending the kids to friends and relatives during the workday. The waiting lists that used to mean job security for all the daycare providers have dried up, and centers are offering part- time services as well as extended hours for parents who work odd or extended hours.

Some parents are quitting their jobs because daycare expenses exceed their income. The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies estimates that day care costs range from $3,380 to $10,787 per child per year. In every state in the country, the monthly child care bill for two children is higher than median rent payments and as high or higher than a mortgage. Those figures are even before factoring in the fuel costs of getting children to daycare, which have been the breaking point for many families, not just lower income.

For families that don't have helpful grandparents, there are no easy choices. Many parents are forced to take on second jobs just to afford the cost of child care while they're at their day jobs. Families are cutting back on child care "until things get better," but so far, things aren't improving.

For parents whose last little bird has finally flown to coop, the combination of available space at home and expanded cash flow offers potential for a new kind of nesting. While the improvement possibilities are many, the current state of the housing market demands projects that'll deliver both immediate enjoyment and a strong return on investment down the line.

Before making a move toward the local home improvement center, wise empty-nesters should review Remodeling Online's Cost vs. Value Report, which delivers recent data on popular improvements and the return on investment you can count on when it comes time to sell. The size of the project, elements and costs are included among the categories, and can help you judge just how far to go with your plans.

For instance, a Major Kitchen Remodel may be tempting, especially when you see that 78.1 percent of the cost could be recouped at selling time, but the less-is-more route of a Minor Kitchen Remodel actually nets a higher return on investment at 83 percent.

My daughter's seventh birthday is coming up, and I know at least one toy I'm purchasing: a board game.

A few weeks ago, I was surveying the household. My daughters, who are four and six, were watching TV and playing a computer game, at the same time. I was working on my own computer. There were probably snacks in the room. And suddenly, I felt like this snapshot of our lives was a scene we had played out all too many times.

So I pulled out a ragged board game of Hasbro's Chutes & Ladders. My six-year-old and I used to play it and Candy Land a few years ago, but for whatever reasons, we had stopped. I wasn't sure if my girls would go for it, but as it turned out, they were interested, and for the next hour, the three of us played Chutes & Ladders. I finally bowed out -- there are only so many times you can go up a ladder and down a chute until your mind starts to become mush -- but my daughters continued playing for at least thirty more minutes. And that's when it hit me: We should be playing a lot more board games.

Board games unfortunately sound like bored games, but they're anything but. They were fun when I was a kid and they're still fun. I have no beef against computer games or TV, but obviously, they're extremely sedentary activities. Board games may not require a lot of running around either, but it is an activity that obliges a family to play together, and that means a lot, especially as more and more outside forces -- from TV to the Internet to school activities and work obligations -- demand our attention.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Underrated In America!