It is that time of year once again!  For the Strohm family the sadness of sending children off to college used to be followed by the horror of spending hundreds on college textbooks.  Over the years my wife Ellen has developed some strategies that have helped us cut the textbook bill by more than half!

Here are simple strategies to help you save considerable monies on your college textbook purchases: 

Summer is coming to a close, the kids are getting restless, but there are several days left to have a great time for little or no money.  Here is a list of inexpensive summer activities for the family to enjoy!:

The 2009 Fuel Economy Guide is available for free download.  This guide covers new cars sold in the United States.  If you want to compare the costs of ownership between cars you can visit our ThriftyTimes calculator at: Car Cost Comparison Calculator.  You can also compare costs between two cars specifically in the area of gas mileage at: Car Mileage Calculator.

The following fuel economy resources are available from the United States Government including the 2009 Fuel Economy Guide:

I am reluctant to post this advice, since I am an Elementary School principal and hate to rush the remaining days of summer, but. . .

My daughter and I went to make a purchase today at our local drug store. They were hanging up “Back to School” signs. It is on us before we’re quite ready for it! Being the parents of four nearly grown children we’ve survived more Back to School seasons than we’d like to admit. But, over the years we’ve learned to cut our Back to School costs drastically.

I just pulled away from the pump. Purchased a full tank and the wallet is crying for mercy. Everyone I know and those I don’t, have been upset about the continuing rise of gas prices. It is causing a financial hardship for those who barely make ends meet and taking a huge bite out of the profits.

Lately, I have been hearing about those websites to check out to see what gas prices are in the neighborhood and I applaud them for taking note. However, if you are like me, Internet access isn’t available in my car and never close by when my tank is on empty.

By Lynne Birch 

Summer is coming and so is the hot weather. Nobody likes to cook in the heat of summer. A really hot meal on a hot day is almost as unpopular. It could be that a cool, easy to prepare summer soup is just what you need.

Below are 3 recipes for soups that can be made in your food processor or blender. If you have the ingredients on hand, none of them take more than 10 minutes to make. They are all delicious, nutritious, and really refreshing on a hot day. While the recipes all suggest you use a food processor, you can get very good results by using a blender or hand blender too.

These are all very simple recipes, so don't be shy to modify them and get a taste that your whole family can enjoy.

Here are the recipes: