In his travels across the United States, Jack Kerouac often saved money by staying in what he called "Skid Row Hotels," reveling in their low prices and simple charms. Flophouses didn't offer much: just a room about the size of an office cubicle, with a bed, a small table, and a door that the occupant could close against the outside world. Sometimes, they were last-ditch homes, where bums or migrant workers could cheaply buy a night of safety and privacy. Other times, they were a promising, quiet spot to catch a little quick shuteye or (in Kerouac's case) write in relative solitude.

Ultimately, the transient clientele and seedy nature of flophouses led to their downfall. These "workingman's hotels" weren't as profitable as their swankier cousins and tended to drive down property values. Meanwhile, critics accused them of being shooting galleries for drug abusers or "no-tell motels" for gay hustlers. One after another, flophouse owners gave into the inevitable, shuttering their doors and selling out to developers. Meanwhile, hostels picked up the slack, charging budget travelers comparatively high prices to stay in barracks-style accommodations with almost no privacy.

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In the process, something was lost. Years ago, my youngest sister and I met up in Amsterdam. Since she got there first, she was in charge of the night's accommodations, which ended up being a crumbling dump in the middle of the red-light district. For $15 a night, I got a narrow cot, an oil barrel with a locking lid, a shared bathroom that seemed like the perfect setting for a prison-style rape, and an endless parade of drunk, half-naked eighteen-year -olds bumping me awake as they tried to navigate the room (and each other) in the dark. The next morning I found another place for us to stay. It had a door.

With Bolt and other premium lines transforming the face of busing, it's easy to forget just how bad buses used to be. When I was in college, cross-country buses were to transportation what Detroit is to urban planning: overcrowded, malodorous, sticky, and unsanitary. In fact, I still carry dark memories of the first time I took a bus home from college: halfway through the ride, I found myself sitting next to a drunk guy with a seeping, yellowed bandage on his arm. After a few minutes, he fell asleep on my shoulder and started drooling on me. On the bright side, he distracted me from the guy across the aisle who seemed to be kidnapping his son and the woman behind me who was simultaneously hitting on three different men. When I got home, I gulped down a handful of vitamins and barely resisted the urge to skinny dip in a vat of Bactine.

While cross-country buses have massively improved recently, city buses, at least in New York, are still stuck in the last decade. Consistently overcrowded, bumpy, slow, and dirty, they are less efficient and enjoyable than almost any other form of transportation. The sad thing is that the ugliness and boredom are hardly necessary. With very little effort, buses could easily invigorate their image. One of the first things they could do is work on their look: in their heyday, simple touches like chrome, curved corners and pre-printed signage imparted a machine-age feel that, in retrospect, seems both futuristic and old-fashioned. As far as I know, there isn't any rule stating that buses must resemble utilitarian toasters covered in advertisements.

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Another thing is that the cloth seats on NYC buses are pretty gross. They absorb smells and stains and have a texture reminiscent of a brillo pad crossed with Kermit's ass. Given the inexorable march of progress, it seems like someone could come up with an attractive, smooth, vinyl-style fabric that would be easy to clean and would resist stains.

Finally, bus companies seem to be forgetting their key advantage over subways: as they are above ground, they can easily provide internet access. Just as the Bolt bus (and its kin) have made free wireless available to their passengers, city buses could attract riders by installing wireless routers. This would make bus rides seem shorter and more productive. In fact, it's not hard to imagine a future in which bus riding would become the public transportation of choice for hip, creative types!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Growing up, he always wanted to see the country from the back of a bus, just like Kerouac. Once he took an actual ride on a Grayhound, he moved on to other dreams...

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, New York tap water is incredibly fresh and pure. It comes from a reservoir in upstate New York and, as it wends its way to the city, it is filtered, processed, cleaned, and purified. A few years ago, Vogue food editor Jeffrey Steingarten studied the city's water and found it to be every bit as tasty as most mineral waters; ironically, it also had much less bacteria.

On the other hand, old pipes, cruddy sinks, and other delivery-based concerns can sometimes make the city's water less than appetizing. Consequently, it isn't all that surprising to see the bodegas and convenience stores of Manhattan filled with gallons of bottled water. To support this bottled water addiction, Poland Spring trucks clog the streets as they guzzle gas and waste money, transporting millions of gallons of bottled water over hundreds of miles.

With this in mind, entrepreneur Craig Zucker has begun bottling and selling New York City tap water. After running water through a reverse-osmosis system that removes chlorine and impurities, he markets it under the name Tap'd NY. A 20-ounce bottle runs $1.50, a fairly high price for bottled water. On the bright side, Tap'd NY doesn't need to be shipped from the mountains of Vermont, the Springs of Maine, or the rocky beaches of Fiji, which means that it is, actually, a comparatively green option. On the other hand, even irony-enhanced New Yorkers might have a hard time shelling out cash for something they already get for free!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Last weekend, as he drank PBR from a can at an art opening, he realized that Craig Zucker is a total genius!

It's still too early to know how deep the room rate cuts will be, but we already know they'll be significant, and they're happening in a city where average folks could most use the price break. Last month, the average hotel room rate in Manhattan stood at a staggering $350, up $50 from just 16 months earlier. That price level is unheard of in most parts of America, but in New York's tight room market, the cost was buoyed by big-spending businessmen hitting town to schmooze with the likes of Lehman Brothers. Some estimates say Wall Street accounts for a fifth of Manhattan's economy.

The occupancy rate before the meltdown was a healthy 90%. Hoteliers know that's in the past. Not only are there fewer titans to feed that kind of traffic, but there's also the fact that surviving companies, particularly ones in the financial sector that feeds the city's hotel industry, are seeing the light and are seriously tightening their belts. Last month, hotels were projecting a six percent increase in rates next year, which was already about half as vigorous as usual. Now, they are already predicting that for 2009, room rates will largely hold at 2008 rates, if not drop a bit.

That cushion is not expected to last. Dwindling airline seats and high gas prices are cutting into the parks' ability to draw crowds as big as they once were, even as shareholders demand more profit each year. Even once you pass through the gates, there's less bang for the buck. Once upon a time, you could buy your ticket and get a full day of entertainment, including shows, rides, parades, and fireworks. Less so now.

Some of the country's most major parks, even ones we thought were doing well, are wasting no time in hoarding their pixie dust. Your amusement park dollar just doesn't get you as much as it did a few months ago. Among the casualties:

Did you think it would take long? Broadway theaters, which collectively are Manhattan's top tourist attraction, have figured out a new way to wring a little more out of showgoers: Charge 'em more to sit on the aisle. Hey, it's working for Northwest.

Aisle seats are always the first seats to be sold. They have more legroom, which is in low supply in New York's century-old houses. Although it's considered bad form to dash out to the bathroom in the middle of a live performance, having a spot on the aisle makes emergencies a cinch. Celebs, too, like to sit there since it enables a quick getaway once the curtain comes down.

And the kicker probably won't surprise you: These aisle seats can only be purchased in pairs, one next to the other. Only one of the seats will actually be on the aisle. You'll still pay the extra charge on both, though.

Years ago, I spent a few summers visiting a friend's family in coastal South Carolina. Between the pecans growing on the trees, the peanuts that were available for pennies at roadside stands, and the crabs that were practically begging to be harvested from the creeks, I decided that South Carolina was, quite possibly, the garden of Eden. Of course, the sweltering heat wasn't all that great, but isn't that why air conditioning was invented?

While South Carolina's culinary bounty still looms large in my memory, most of the places where I've lived or visited had some edible specialty that was particularly memorable. In Southwest Virginia, it was wild berries and venison, while Western Massachusetts produced a maple syrup that, in my opinion, rivals Vermont. Even my current home of New York has the occasional berry tree, chestnut trees, and pickles that are mind-blowingly good.

Admittedly, acorns, raspberries, and wild burdock probably aren't going to completely supplant the grocery store as your chosen source of food, but you could save a little money here and there while injecting some new flavors into your diet. If you're interested in giving foraging a try, you might want to take a peek at Prodigal Gardens. In addition to offering tons of recipes and foodlore, the group also sponsors classes in the upper Midwest; however, even if you live in lower Wisconsin, lower Minnesota, or upper Iowa, the site is a wonderful reminder of the free culinary bounty that exists only a few feet from your door!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He realizes that pickles don't count as a natural bounty, but he had a hard time coming up with foraging fodder that's available in the New York City area.

Daily Real Estate News reports that four New Jersey and New York men were charged with "felony fraud for a scheme that enticed people in search of rentals to pay hundreds in bogus search fees."

Using the name "Innovative Apartments", they claimed to have access to "exclusive apartment listing" and told prospective clients that they would need to to pay $200 for a "credit and background check."

You can probably guess what happened next: $200 paid, and then nothing except for links to apartments listed on numerous other free sites. The New York Attorney General's office accused the foursome of scamming people out $1,000,0000 over the past 3 years.

While I wouldn't exactly describe myself as a problem child, I have to admit that elementary school wasn't an easy thing for me. It wasn't that it was particularly hard, but rather that I had a difficult time understanding why I had to take math, science, art, and all the other classes that weren't directly related to history and literature.

My parents more or less let my questionable grades slide until the day that I brought home an F in Religion. After briefly contemplating hiring an exorcist, they ended up deciding that bribery was a preferable route. Since my personal Achilles heel was things that went fast and seemed dangerous, my father and I agreed that, if I improved my grades sufficiently, I would get a cool two-booster air-propelled model rocket.

For the next couple of years, I worked hard in school and stocked up on rockets with every report card.

As gas prices have continued to rise, it's been interesting to see how people cope. In my neighborhood, it seems like people aren't driving nearly as much, but they are still spending an amazing amount of time working on their cars. I guess it's a good idea to keep the resale value up...

In the meantime, I've seen ever-increasing numbers of people standing on the subway platform, waiting for buses, and generally taking advantage of New York's amazing public transportation grid. For those who don't like to rely on the vagaries of a sometimes undependable subway line, one other choice is available: riding a bike. Of course, bike riding in the city can be a little dangerous, as New York drivers tend to be a little aggressive under the best of circumstances. Under the present circumstances...well, let's just say that when you can feel the meter running every time you hit the gas pedal, you may be a little disinclined to hit the brake!

Luckily, just as a fresh influx of people are discovering the joys of two-wheeled transportation, a website has come along that will help them find the best path through the city. Ridethecity.com offers precise directions for cyclists. It focuses on areas with bike lanes and tends to choose routes that go through parks and tree-rich areas, as they are easier on the lungs. It also integrates user comments, to give visitors a cyclist-eye view of the benefits and pitfalls of any given route.

Unfortunately, Ridethecity is only available in New York City right now, but as more and more people hang up their keys and dust off their Schwinns, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before other cities develop similar websites. In fact, if you're interested in developing a wonderful little site to generate some ad revenue, there are a lot of cyclists out there...

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. He doesn't bike, but that's just because he can't rock the helmet.

Other WalletPop cycle stories:

Bike commuting video

The downside to bike commuting

Emphysema, heart disease, lung cancer, necrosis, crib death, bad smells...smoking has been accused of causing an almost endless list of problems. Recently, however, New York's outrageous taxes have added a fresh one: funding terrorism.

Because of recent tax increases, cigarettes currently cost approximately $9 a pack in New York city. On the other hand, they cost roughly $3 a pack when purchased at Indian reservations on Long Island. For years, New Yorkers have used reservations to help fund their habits by purchasing cartons of cigarettes, either in person or via the internet. The recent tax hike, however, has made cigarette smuggling an easy and relatively safe way to make a lot of money.

According to a recent report, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is currently investigating over 300 smuggling rings that are purchasing cigarettes from Indian reservations or southern states with lower taxes and reselling them in New York City. Some of these smugglers supposedly have links to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda.

In an opinion piece in the New York Post, Congressman Peter King (R-NY) cited the case of cigarette smuggler Mohamad Hammoud, who allegedly made $8 million from 2000-2002 and donated $100,000 to Hezbollah. Congressman King noted that the operational cost of the 9/11 airstrikes was approximately $500,000, a sum that could be generated with only a few cigarette runs. Of course, from the perspective of international terrorists, this is a win/win situation: if the Camels don't get ya, the fundamentalists will.

While I'm sure that cigarettes will end up bearing the brunt of outrage over this issue, it might be a good idea to look beyond the obvious. Congressman King is calling for a repeal of the "forebearance" that allows Indian reservations to sell cigarettes without charging tax. As a student of history, I feel like we've cheated the Indians enough, but I agree that something must be done about this. May I humbly suggest that we stop using cigarette taxes as a way of dictating our health policy, try to treat smokers like humans and, perhaps, find another way of filling our public coffers?

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. As a former smoker, he doesn't like the smell of cigarettes, but tries to not be a jerk about it!