I love these kinds of illustrations. They show us just how quickly a few dollars here and a few dollars there add up to big money. I admit that I'm not that frugal of a spender. I was when I started my business almost nine years ago, but since then I've become accustomed to much more spending freedom. I don't really look for sales at the grocery store, I get a regular pedicure at the salon, and I stop regularly for a cup of my favorite coffee.

Yet how many of us really stop to think about how much we're wasting each week, month, and year? I bet not many. And when people complain about being broke, an analysis like this makes it clear how many of us probably have plenty of fat that can be trimmed from our budgets.

The Digerati Life did an analysis based in part upon a recent feature at AOL Money on Top Ways to Waste Money. She added up many of the common "extras" we buy on a daily or monthly basis: coffee, gum, lottery tickets, bottled water, manicures, car washes, memberships we don't use, cable television, and the like.

When your son or daughter applies for educational aid from the government you first have to fill out the FAFSA, a free application which helps determine how much money you as a parent should be able to contribute towards their education. In most cases the dollar amount that you are expected to put towards his or her future is easily way more than you can actually provide.

The Wall Street Journal took a look at one of the additional expenses of sending your child off to college this fall; spending money. It's hard to believe that you'll need more money after you've already covered room and board but students realistically will need some funds to get by. The amounts which several colleges recommend students have for personal expenses are rather large, especially if all of the money comes from mom and dad. The estimates are different for every school but can go above $2,000 in some locations.

The article also looks at whether the student or the parents should be the ones footing the bill for incidentals at school. One concern they raised is that some colleges suggest students do not work their first semester in order to adjust to college life. Personally I think students should get a J-O-B; there are plenty of student jobs on campus that typically provide low hours and the ability to work around class and sports schedules while still providing spending money.

Even though Fuelly seems to have too many vowels to be a web 2.0 application it has hit the ground running and provides users with a cool new way to track fuel usage. I had previously written about Fuel Frog, which lets you track your gas usage online at each fill up and it does a great job, but Fuelly really raised the bar. Fuelly has added a social aspect to tracking gas mileage by letting you compare your MPG with others driving your car and also with your friends and family to see who is getting the best mileage.

If you can get your friends to start using Fuelly then you'll have more of an incentive to track your gas mileage and be fuel efficient since we all seem to enjoy a little competition. You may find out some interesting stats about your friend's fuel usage while using Fuelly. While I have a fuel efficient car, I tend to drive like I'm trying to put out a fire somewhere while my friends with bigger vehicles are known to drive more like a 90 year old out for a Sunday drive. I can't wait to see who is getting more for their money.

I'm going to take Fuelly for a spin today when I fill up my car, I have fallen behind in my usage of Fuel Frog partly because I am lazy and partly because I couldn't remember the format for tracking it by text message. The competitive angle of Fuelly may be just what I need to stick with tracking my fuel cost and usage better and figuring out how to best budget for my gas needs. No matter how you track your gas consumption doing so is an easy way to empower yourself to watch your finances.



Hat tip to Lifehacker.

While researching the worst dollar store buys, it didn't surprise me to find that there were many more items that even Wal-mart and Costco couldn't compete with for price. And, as some readers pointed out, sometimes you don't have either the budget or the storage space for bulk buys. Anyway, here are a few of my picks for top dollar store buys and remember, I can only report on prices that I find in my neck of the woods, so please check prices in your area.

• Ivory hand soap At three bars for a buck, even the big box stores couldn't compete with 33 cents a bar. Our local Wal-mart sells Ivory bar soap in packages of 16 for $5.98, or 37 cents per bar.

• Tame Shampoo A similar brand, in the same size costs almost twice as much at Wal-mart. If you don't need or want a fancy shampoo, $1 is plenty to pay.

CNN has profiled many families who are taking steps to better their financial lives because of the high price of gas and it's affect on their everyday lives. These 45 individuals and families have been spurred by gas prices to move, budget, ride the bus and even get groceries in suitcase loads just to make ends meet.

We all run into tipping points throughout our lives; we may feel the need to settle down after a bad relationship, or to start up a diet after downing one too many Snickers. Unfortunately the tipping point for many people to make changes in their financial well being only happens after a major increase in our expenses. Can you imagine if all of these individuals had turned to smaller cars, bikes and public transportation a year ago, investing the savings? While they would likely be better off financially, in reality we all need an impetus for change. Many people simply needed the right change to start making better financial decisions.

Personally, my financial tipping point came about 6 months after graduation when student loans first came due! It was then that I realized I couldn't get by with my college budgeting method. My wife and I are still working on a stricter budget but the onslaught of student loans and the numerous expenses incurred from living away from your parents pushed us to be better stewards of our money. Whatever the tipping point in your life is to get your money in order, the sooner it happens. . . the better! If you've already reached yours take our poll and let us know why you started taking better care of your money.

I haven't done thorough scientific research on this topic. But one thing I've concluded this summer -- albeit, a self-serving conclusion given that I am not a big fan of cooking -- is that going out to eat with kids can often be just as cheap as eating in.

Let's consider a sample meal at, say, Red Lobster. I went there for lunch recently with my three kids.

First let me mention that they serve these delicious cheddar cheese biscuits that are "free" with most meals and quite filling. My girls scarfed them right up and the waiter was kind enough to bring more. Their appetite was then ruined, of course, for the $5 kids' meals they ordered. That meant plenty of leftovers.

My fish entree was just $7.75 and came with those incredible biscuits, a salad and a side dish. My one-year old shared my meal with me and we still had lots of leftovers. Hence, dinner at home with Dad was taken care of with the addition of a few supplemental noodles. Our total bill plus tip for lunch came to about $25 and amounted to nine meals, or about $2.70 a meal.

Of course, a home cooked meal is often much healthier and can be more relaxing and intimate. So I want to be clear to everyone getting ready to write a nasty comment -- I don't recommend you do this every day.

But if you have cut meals with the kids at casual dining establishments from your budget as a way to save money -- and many people have -- you can make a case that a meal out now and then is actually a pretty good deal.

Now that Apple has launched the App store for iPhones it is easier than ever to get a hold of your personal finances. Numerous companies have stepped in to fill the app store with personal finace applications ranging from free tip tools to $15 expense trackers. David at MoneyNing.com put in the effort to create a listing of many though not varied personal finance apps for the iPhone.

While there are enough tip calculators to let you eat out every night and still not have to use the same program to go dutch, split the tip and make sure you hit 20% there are quite a few worthwhile apps out there.

Applications which MoneyNing recommends include:

• Bloomberg - Free app which keeps you up to date on stocks.
• Budget - A nice budgeting tool with graphs.
• Expense2Go - Free expense tracking app which makes use of the iPhone camera.
• Mobile Banking - Free banking app for Bank of America customers.
• Pocket Money - A feature rich expense tracking program.
• Save Benjis - Free price comparison tool.

There are many more programs and further analysis of the pros and cons of each app, which is very useful since the App store currently doesn't offer any way to try out applications.

One part of successfully managing your personal finances is the ease with which you can do just that. Spending $5 to enable your iPhone to track your spending may be one of the best investments you make. Especially once you consider how much your new iPhone contract will cost you over the course of your 2 year agreement!

A couple big stories out today in BusinessWeek and the Los Angeles Times talk about how state and local governments are getting pinched by both high gas prices and falling home values, which cut property tax revenues. They're just as broke as the rest of us. Governments are coming up money-saving schemes that range from creative to despicable. With expenses up and revenues down, governments are hoping to boost other revenues, like traffic tickets and lottery sales. So unless you plan to make up the budget shortfall, watch out.

Twenty-four states are in the red this year, the Times says, quoting stats from the National Conference of State Legislatures. They're cutting the favorite targets of school budgets and public health benefit. Local governments are cutting back on services like buses or parking the bookmobile. Some places are cutting back on all the unnecessary grass-mowing. BusinessWeek says Stillwater, Oklahoma cut its mowing in half, letting parkland turn into prairie. Somewhere Lady Bird Johnson must be smiling.

As much as no one wants to cut back on public safety, for some districts it's inevitable. Cops around the country have to watch their gas spending. Some are switching to alternate vehicles, like golf carts, or just doing foot patrols. Cops in El Paso County, Colo., saw their gas bill climb from $160,000 in 2003 to a projected $700,000 next year, the Times reported, so they stopped car patrols, a move they say will mean they won't be able to catch as many drunk drivers. BusinessWeek says Arizona is going to boost traffic tickets from cameras -- how many speeding tickets can a cop in a golf cart issue -- and stepped up lottery sales. Earlier this year California hatched a new lottery plan and Colorado decided to increase ticket fees. Expect to see these schemes around the country.

Despite the fact that we recognize following a budget makes loads of sense and that there are many tools available to help us set up and stick to a budget, it is something we have had trouble doing. In fact if I gathered up all of the Excel spreadsheets with "budget" in the title strewn across our many computers you'd likely be able to fill a blank CD! Thankfully, the blogger Saver from She's a Saver, He's a Spender has compiled 7 steps to getting on a budget. With these simple steps, even the most fiscally challenged individual should be able to begin getting their money under control.

Aside from the usual information about budgeting which is always floating around, Saver presents some great commentary to help you get going. One of the most important parts of creating a budget which is pointed out is to be reasonable. If you set an unreasonable budget which throws too much money at debt or savings, you won't follow it and then you may as well have just played it free and loose. Finally, at the end of the month make sure you look over your budget and adjust it based on your experiences. A budget is not a static tool; it should change as you gain experience and have life changes.

As I mentioned I don't have a budget. My wife and I have been playing it by ear, so to speak, with constant monitoring of our checking account before making any major payments. While we spend less than we are currently making and are throwing most of our excess at credit card and student loan debt I think we could do a much better job of making our money work for us, especially by budgeting for minor purchases like meals and coffee. Stay tuned in the coming months and weeks while my wife and I try to choose a budgeting tool and deal with the realities of a budgeted life!

What's your favorite budgeting method? Leave me some advice on what system or tool I should try out in the comments.

More on budgeting-

Budgeting by the year - a better idea?

The Mint- one of may Internet budgeting tools

This is my second pair of black canvas flats from K-Mart's house label, Basic Editions. The first pair cost me about six dollars and change two years ago, and this pair cost about the same, two weeks ago. Sorry, they aren't available online, but if you drop by your friendly neighborhood K-mart, you should find them among the flipflops and summer shoes, in black, white and tan.

The cut is flattering and they look great with nearly everything. I've worn them downtown with cropped jeans, uptown with a designer pencil skirt and out of town with my swim cover-up.

Now, for under ten bucks, you don't get much in the way of engineering. These are thin rubber soles with a canvas lining, and I wouldn't wear them beating the pavement for hours. But for another few dollars, you could pimp them out with cushion insoles. Still cheap, still chic.

Kyran Pittman is a writer and blogger whose essays have been published in Good Housekeeping magazine and elsewhere. She writes about life, family, culture, and anything else she feels like at Notes To Self.

The Economic Policy Institute does an interesting dissection of the 2008 Department of Labor budget for FY2009. Ross Eisenbray shows how we're spending 100 times more to watch unions than employers. He calls the budget "dramatically out of balance." It's hard to imagine this lop-sided politically driven government spending continuing under President Obama -- or even President McCain.

President Bush wants $58 million for the Office of Labor Management Standards. It protects union workers from financial funny business by unions, unfair union elections and unions that violate certain worker rights, like free speech. That works out to $2,500 per union. Unions definitely need regulation and oversight to keep them honest, just like any other organization. But $2,500 worth? It's hard to imagine any government -- federal, state or local -- blowing that much money per institution they regulate.

By contrast, EPI points out, Bush wants only $158 million for the Wage and Hour Division, which enforces child labor laws, overtime rules and the Family and Medical Leave Act, among other labor standards. They're looking out for 150 million workers versus the 13 million under the protection of the OLMS. But the government only wants to spend $26 per employer. Over the whole Bush presidency, Bush has increased funding on the union oversight office by 9%, but cut funding on employer oversight by 21%. If you're a worker, which one are you more worried about?

Britney Spears recently divulged her spending for 2007, which to the shock of many totaled over $61 million! Upon hearing this news, media and bloggers lambasted the star for her extravagant spending, ignoring the fact that Britney actually tracks her spending, something I even struggle with.

On a more interesting note, MSNBC reports that an insider revealed to InTouch Online that Britney has reigned in her spending by 80% per month for 2008!

Even though this new information still puts Britney's monthly spending at a little over $1 million; dropping 80% of your spending is a pretty impressive feat. MSNBC looked into the actual breakdowns of her budget and pulled out several examples that even the average Joe can apply to saving money. Britney cut her transportation costs, housing expenses and money spent on child care in 2008, changes which will help her grow her personal net worth during the current calender year and are useful no matter your tax bracket.

Its not often that I would recommend you look to the stars as an example of fiscal responsibility but this time I'll make the exception. It seems that Britney took a look at her life and decided to reel back in some of her indiscretions and wasteful spending as part of a new life plan. Taking steps to ensure you have money for the future is important for anyone, from a multi-million dollar entertainment icon to someone pulling in $20K at a 9-to-5. These examples apply to both categories.

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

I was pregnant with my first son, Everett, when my family bought a membership to the Oregon Zoo. Here in Portland, obstetricians actually suggest eager moms-to-be walk up and down the hills at the zoo when they're trying to stimulate contractions.

It didn't work much, but it started a family connection to the zoo (and hilariously, a baby mountain goat was born the same day as Everett), and now that we have three children, we've upgraded to the most serious membership of all. My husband's favorite thing to do with the children is to get on the bus (we've given up our family car) and take the boys to see animals. With the $100 annual membership, all our visits are free but for snacks.

Ahem. But for snacks. Visits have been few and far between lately, because the snacks at the zoo now seem so expensive. Even though the baby doesn't ask for elephant ears, buying even one treat for every family member with a full set of teeth can set us back $20 -- more than our typical family grocery budget for a day (and we haven't had a zip of nutrition, in all likelihood). I don't mind packing snacks for the boys to go on an afternoon excursion (especially if that leaves me home alone in peace), but have you ever taken a five-year-old and three-year-old to the zoo and refused to buy them the treats offered at every turn? Umm-hmmm. Avoiding the "gimmes" when we truly can't afford to satisfy them is the reason we now spend a lot more of our entertainment time enjoying the wildlife in our own backyard.

The Journal of Consumer Research recently released a study which looked into the accuracy of budgeting for different periods of time. They found that consumers budget better when tasked with planning for a year rather than on a monthly schedule. For the study they used college students and had them predict their spending over a month or year and then tracked the real world results. The study showed that long term budgeters were more accurate in estimating expenditures, almost 25% better on average. This accuracy was attributed to the subjects taking unknowns into account better when dealing with a longer period of time.

These findings weren't too surprising to me, I have tried to budget before on a monthly basis and usually fall off the wagon around the third month when a random expense turns up. The last time I did a real month to month budget I didn't have an emergency fund of any kind which can really do a number on your monthly plans. My guess is that the college students who took part in this study also didn't have an emergency fund, well an emergency fund that wasn't tied to six packs and Doritos anyway.

Given that the inaccuracy of monthly budgeting is often attributed to unforeseen expenses the usefulness of a monthly budget may hang on whether or not you have an emergency fund. My wife and I need to start a budget pretty soon and I am planning on doing a best of both world's approach. I want to institute a monthly budget and a budget for the year. In order to accomplish this I hope to include a portion to go towards our emergency fund and other savings, rather than allotting the leftover to video games and scrap booking.

Readers, have you had better luck with either short or long term budgeting? What are your favorite budget tips or methods of staying on track?

If George W. Bush wants to do something to stimulate the economy and cement a positive legacy for himself, I have his magic solution right here. If he could get this done, he'd salvage his entire presidency. I'll warn you right up front though, Democrats won't like this idea. So, if you are of the progressive socialist ilk, you may want to move to the next blog post right now. Here's my plan.

If even only temporarily, we need to make the interest charged on consumer debt tax deductible. If I'm not mistaken, didn't they do away with that consumer perk sometime in the mid seventies? If I'm right, and that was part of the old tax code, we should reinstate it immediately. If it's a new and original idea of my own, please leave a dollar in the hat on your way out.

By making consumer credit interest charges tax deductible (again), we'd get an economic triple play. First, consumers would get excited knowing they could finance stuff again, Second, they'd get those interest charges back as tax credits. Third, banks could get a helping hand because consumers might step up their borrowing activity again. The government would just have to bite the bullet and tighten it's belt.

There are only two facets to this plan which would require some serious attention in order to make it work. First, we have a majority of society which needs to be schooled in responsible credit usage. That means we have to teach them how to understand budgeting and what it means to over extend yourself. Second, we need a complete overhaul of the tax code from top to bottom. In fact, the enactment of a "Fair Tax" system might render this entire blog post moot.