Saving money is a top priority right now and becoming a hotter topic every day. People everywhere are eager to find out how to stretch their personal budget as much as possible. Learning to scrimp and cut corners is becoming "chic" as well as necessary. Discovering new cost cutting measures and putting them into use is keeping families afloat across the country.

Some of the budget conscious families are finding that it is fun to create new ways to pinch pennies. This gives you money that can be saved for a rainy day or you can use the savings for a special family treat. You can join the ranks of the "Nifty and Thrifty" if you use a few of the top money saving tips.

Here are a few of the best money saving ways to keep more dollars in your pocket.

• Check out the cost savings of shopping at garage sales and thrift shops. You can find great clothes, books, and toys for kids. Some of the items are new or like new and will cost you $1 or less.
• You can re-sell these items at consignment stores or at your own garage sale and recoup your investment. In some instances, you will even make a profit.
• Some stay at home moms have discovered that they can pick up designer clothing for pennies. They can use these clothes or wash and iron them and turn them into cold hard cash through online sites like E-Bay or at local consignment stores.
• Establish a community or neighborhood swap meet where families can exchange their own unneeded items for something that they can use.
• Create a small backyard garden, or a container garden on a porch or patio. There are dozens of veggies that can be grown with very little effort. Crops like peppers, radishes, lettuce, and tomatoes can save you big dollars over the course of a growing season. Your family will also be happier and healthier with the fresh, safe veggies that you grow at home.
• Turn your leftovers into fun projects for you and your kids. You can make new crayons just by melting old broken pieces of Crayolas together. Use slivers of soap to make hand washing liquid or combine these pieces into new bars of soap.
• Teach your kids to make gifts instead of spending money at the mall. These handmade items will be unique as well as thoughtful.
• Make SAVE your family motto and put it into daily action. Don't throw away small containers and jars. These have lots of uses and save you big dollars over time. Jars with tight fitting lids can be useful for holding beans, rice, or even cereal. Kids can have fun making piggy banks and other arts and crafts projects from these often tossed aside containers.
• Recycle aluminum cans and you will make a few extra dollars and be kind to the environment at the same time.
• "Pack a sack". Take lunches to work and send them to school with your kids. You will be saving money and eating healthier meals.
• Pass up those daily coffee and pastry treats and you will find that your savings are mounting up quickly. Some people are able to save more than $50 each week just by passing up items like lattes, doughnuts, muffins, and soft drinks.
• You do not have to give up holiday decorations if that is a big part of your family life. Just remember that you can find these kinds of items on sale after the holidays for 75 %-90% the retail price. They will still be great to use for the next year's celebration.
• Learn to love the library; you and your family can read the latest books and magazines at no cost. Compare this to the purchase of one magazine that costs about $5.
• Discover how many free or low cost events are offered in your community. There are huge numbers of concerts, plays and other fun activities that are available throughout the year.
• Use coupons at the store and you can save as much as 25% to 50% of your grocery bill every week.
• If you don't know how to cut hair there is a great alternative to paying for an expensive hairdresser. Just take advantage of the low prices offered at cosmetology schools.

There are many other ways to cut the costs of daily living. You can walk or bike to the nearby stores instead of using your car. Seed and plant swaps give people the opportunity to obtain new blooms for a garden without paying out big bucks. Your family can also enjoy gathering their own berries or vegetables at one of the Pick-Your-Farms. This gives everyone a healthy, fun activity to do and saves you money at the same