Out of the blue, Amtrak has decided to allow Americans in on the big rail pass scheme that's usually offered only to international visitors. We don't know why (we don't even know when Amtrak will arrive at the station, so how could we know about its business practices?), but the loosening of the rules can translate into some hefty savings off the usual rates. Just in time, too, for car-weary budgets.

Up to now, the USA Rail Pass was only offered to visitors from abroad. Americans who wanted the discount found themselves out of luck, so most of us didn't know much about it.

The USA Rail Pass works a lot like the more famous Eurail passes. It's good for a defined length of time (it comes in 15-day/$389, 30-day/$579, and 45-day/$749 varieties) and you can take a set number of trips during that period (8 for 15 days, 12 for 30, and $18 in 45 days).

The pass can be used both on trains and on the connecting Amtrak Thruway bus system. It can also be used anytime as long as you start using it within six months of buying it. There are a few notable exceptions, though. You can't use it for the swishy Acela service in the Northeast (although you can use it for regular train service serving the same cities), and the Auto Train to or from Florida (on which you also bring your car) is also out.

Even though gas prices are dipping a little in my area the local media and pretty much every personal finance blog online are still extolling the virtues of walking or biking to work. It seems simple enough; dust off your bike or sneakers, grab a backpack and hit the road. Right?

If you're encumbered by urban sprawl this may not help you out much but if you live in a city of one-way streets, which the walking directions ignore, this may be the best article you've read all week. Google just rolled out a new beta feature to Google Maps which allows you to use the service to get walking directions, no matter the distance. It also avoids areas typically restricted to foot traffic such as interstates and other highways.

Even though it is interesting to see how Google thinks I should walk the 20 miles to work, when I ask for realistic directions to my barber's shop I am shown a much different route than I would normally take in my car in order to avoid crossing a few bigger and heavily trafficked intersections. Another nice feature is that Google estimates the time to cover the distance, so you can even plan out your departure time. Google expects me to cover about a mile every 20 minutes.

One of my pet peeves when reading advice on how to save money is to get a bit of advice without being empowered to actually make use of it. These new feature should help you find a way to add walking into your busy life. Walking to your weekend barbecue or to pick up groceries this month is a great way to save money and get healthier. Make sure you head Google's warning and "use caution when walking in unfamiliar areas", since the service doesn't appear to alert you to areas with frequent muggings. To use this feature, just select "walking" from the drop down box that appears below your destination.

It goes without saying that carpooling saves money, especially with gas now averaging above $4 a gallon. Last month I posted about how you can use Ridesearch.com to calculate your carpool savings as well as find others to carpool with. Even though I have been carpooling for 2 years now, just recently I realized that while the money I save carpooling is excellent but the non monetary benefits can be a huge bonus as well!

This week we added a third person to our carpool and my immediate thought was, "Awesome, more money saved.", but as I was driving home today I realized that I don't have to drive to work for the rest of June! That realization floored me, making a bright spot in a rather dreary day. Rather than take my time as a passenger to enjoy the scenery, I am already planning what I can do with this extra hour of time each day.

One thing I will plan on doing is writing posts to share with you here on WalletPop which replaces the time I had spent writing papers before I graduated in May. A 30 minute commute is also an excellent time for me to catch up on the many science fiction books I want to get through. If I run out of books or productive activities I can even use the time to play some Sudoku on my Nintendo DS.

The point I am trying to make is that even with the inconveniences that carpooling may bring, the rewards are bountiful. Imagine what you could do if you had an extra hour every day on top of cutting your fuel bill in half. For me it's the difference between getting by and putting my money towards debt and savings. If my carpool fell apart, I would need to move closer to work or get a new job!

What would you get done if your daily commute became free time?