With times tight, everyone is looking for ways to save money. One way to do that is by making sure you get the most bang out of every hard-earned dollar you spend. So today we're going to reveal some retail rip-offs that give you less than your money's worth.

These tips aren't about scrimping or cutting out life's little luxuries -- we just want to show you some places where you are paying big price mark ups and may not realize it. Once you see just how little you are getting for your money, you can save a lot with just a few simple changes. Like...

1. Wine in restaurants
The markup on wine in restaurants is outrageous -- 100 to 200% more than what you would pay at the store if you buy by the bottle. It's a whopping 300 to 400% markup if you buy wine by the glass! To make it even worse, the highest markups are on the lowest priced wines.

Here's one thing you can do to combat wine markups: If your state/restaurant allows it, bring your own bottle and pay a small fee for the restaurant to open and cork it for you. You'll normally pay about $10.

Option two: Find out if the restaurant has an "off premises" license that allows you to take open wine bottles home with you. If so, you'll save money when you buy the full bottle even if you don't plan to drink it all. Simply cork it at the end of your meal and bring it home to enjoy later.

I once viewed organic produce with budget-conscious skepticism; is it really worth it? Then one day, I started reading books about sustainable food, starting with Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Mineral and ending with Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. At the beginning of my reading marathon I started going to the farmer's market more often; by the end, I was ignoring the produce aisle at the grocery store unless it said both "organic" and "local" (or I personally knew the story behind the grower).

But: organic isn't cheap, and I'm not made of money. Inspired by these tips at Alternet, here are some ideas on how to afford organic food even if you have a limited budget:

• For staples like flour, oats, rice, and dairy, buy in bulk, preferably through a buying group. It's no secret that bulk prices are cheaper; but I'm talking real bulk, like 25-pound bags of organic whole-wheat flour and sharing 50 pounds of organic pinto beans with your friends. You'll need to figure out ahead of time how much you'll use, and try planning your meals to use your staples wisely.
  
• Eat only seasonal produce. You love asparagus, I know, but you're just going to have to wait until spring. Even if you can get organic asparagus this time of year, it's shipped from Chile, and trust me, it's not worth it. Even better than buying in season is buying at the end of the season, when the end of the harvest is overflowing market bins. On my shopping list this week: green tomatoes, which I make into jam and chutney; enormous heads of cauliflower, which I use along with potatoes in shepherd's pie and in soups; and pears, which I chop up on my oatmeal, bake into pies, and cook into preserves for the winter months.
• Join a CSA. In Community Supported Agriculture, you pay upfront (or a monthly amount) for a season's worth of produce. If the growing season is abundant, you share in the wealth (and vice versa) -- but you almost always end up with very well-priced organic produce at far less than you'd spend in the market.
• Preserve. Buy in-season; collect apples from a neighbor's tree; offer to help weed your friend's garden in exchange for her excess tomatoes; and freeze, can, and jam your wealth for the rest of the year. I'm looking forward to very low costs in January thanks to my busy preserving summer!
• Grow it yourself. If you're not yet an urban farmer or don't have much land, start small, with pots of herbs (those are super-expensive to buy and easy to grow), sprouts, lettuces, and fun crops like garlic (which can still be planted in most areas). If you really get into it, maybe you'll start using your garden to save in other ways, like garbage hauling costs; I now compost all my kitchen scraps and am reducing my garbage pickup to twice a month (and I've only been at this gardening stuff for a year and a half).

Is it hot where you live? It's HOT here in Portland. And I want nothing more right now than a variety of icey cold beverages. Thank goodness for freebies (if only they had an all-night delivery service)! Sundance is offering free samples of its Organic Life Teas. I'm wondering what can be new about iced tea with flavorings? According to the web site, these drinks are "a fusion of exotic superfruits and health-promoting natural teas. So if you think you've had something similar before, you're in for a surprise. These are vibrant, refreshing drinks, blending the best attributes of tea and juice."

Sounds like marketing-speak to me but I'm willing to try it for free! The web site says you'll also get some "cool stuff."

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

It's funny how the notion of "eating well" seems to constantly change. When I was a kid, it meant only eating out at McDonald's once or twice a month, only adding two or three packets of sugar to a glass of Coke, and trying to limit our fish stick consumption to three meals per week. Three years ago, it meant cooking most meals at home, reading labels to minimize high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) consumption, and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Today, it means cutting out refined sugars, buying local food, and eating as much organic produce as possible.

The last one is the hardest part, as I discovered a few weeks ago, when I got a major craving for celery. Unfortunately, celery is on the list of the top danger foods, which means that when I eat it, I am also eating a witches' brew of nasty pesticides, many of which are impossible to wash off. However, when I went on my quest for organic celery, the best option that I was able to find was Whole Foods, which was charging $5 a bunch, or four times the regular price. Torn between the choice of poison or highway robbery, I went the third route and ate some carrots.

This problem increases when I eat out. At this point, I'd rather not even think about the ingredients that go into my food. A couple of years ago, I stopped eating at McDonald's and Papa Johns because I could detect the foul taste of HFCS in every bite. Today, I try to only eat at privately-owned and operated restaurants, as there's a much smaller chance that they're using vile chemicals and questionable ingredients. Beyond that, I just pretend that the hot dog bun I'm eating is HFCS free and that the onions are organic. Of course, there's a problem when eating out forces me to live in a fantasy world, but them's the breaks. After all, it's taken years for McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and the other fast food companies to put "healthy" choices on the menu. I don't think I'm going to live to see them go organic.

It's Earth Day and everywhere I turn, I keep seeing green. Last weekend alone, I read articles on green remodeling and chemical-free gardening and yesterday I watched a segment on The Today Show called "Green Your Diet."

According to Today Show guest Annie Bell Muzaurieta of Greendaily.com, the five fruits and vegetables worth springing for organic are peaches, sweet bell peppers, apples, celery and strawberries-those most likely to retain the highest level of pesticides.

The big question is, Does it pay to buy organic? According to a Weight Watchers article titled "Organic Foods: A Shopper's Guide," buying organic is worth the extra cost for pregnant women and children under three, when buying foods you eat most often or a lot of, and food that contains a lot of pesticides (Their list includes peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes).

Of course, it's hard to measure the benefits of switching to an organic diet, but it comes down to whether there's room in your budget for the added cost of produce made without pesticides or fertilizers. The good news is that organic produce is more widely available in supermarkets than ever before, but it can still be up to 100% more expensive than conventional produce.

When I buy conventional produce, I wash it with a product called Veggie Wash sold in many supermarkets for about $4. The spray bottle lasts months and was recommend to me by a naturopath when I was doing a detoxification program last year. I'm sure it doesn't remove pesticides absorbed into food, but it helps me feel like I'm doing something to reduce the toxins in my family's diet.

More than ever these days, people are rolling up their sleeves and finding ways to help themselves.They're also interested in helping their neighbors, their country and the planet. These attitudes are commendable, compelling and powerful.

That is why today I am bringing to you a few of my favorite responsible living links. The following websites have been created for you with great thought and care. Each of these sites will reward you for the time you spend there reading. Remember, reading equals knowledge and knowledge always pays dividends.

First on my list today is the blog, DIY Life. It's one of my favorites and it's a member of our Weblogs family. The site is a fast paced, informative blog which seeks to deliver to you the "cream of the crop" in do it yourself living. I must disclose that I'm a bit biased towards their blog because my extraordinary wife is a member of their fine writing crew. Check it out if you're into the fix it and make it yourself lifestyle. On their pages you'll find everything from home remodeling and gadget tweaks to jewelry making and unique home furnishings. Their staff is dedicated to bringing you up-to-the-minute do it yourself brain storms. In their capable hands, you can never go wrong.