The government is now bailing out private sector businesses at an unprecedented rate and the American taxpayers are expected - as always - to shut up and foot the bill.  Only this time that bill is said to be over a trillion dollars.

That’s $1,000,000,000,000 and guess what?  We can’t afford it.

Unfortunately it looks as though there isn’t much we can do about it right now but since it was the American people who put the politicians in office it is absolutely imperative that we don’t sit on our hands and remain silent.

We’ve got to speak out with our votes this election season. We’ve got to ask tough questions of these people who want to be entrusted with our money and we have got to expect to get straight answers to those questions.

If you are not registered to vote, get off your butt and get it done.  On November 4th, don’t you dare miss your chance to tell politicians what you want and who you think can deliver it best.

Voting is a responsibility and if you don’t take that responsibility seriously no one is going to take your complaining seriously, especially not me.  The government is supposed to be of, by and for the people, so We The People need to start taking the reigns back and fast.

I received a new Dell laptop about four months ago.  Beautiful machine, lightning fast and has all the bells and whistles. Needless to say it wasn’t something I would have bought myself.  A few days ago - last Friday to be exact - I was working on it as usual when suddenly I got it.  The dreaded Blue Screen of Death.

Then darkness.  Nothing.

I took a deep breath and tried to reboot.  Again, nothing.

A two hour call to Dell Tech Support later (which was an absolute joke, I might add) and I am being sent a new memory card, though that "won’t fix the problem".  I am told that I will need to reinstall Windows Vista.  Thankfully I have a roommate who is tech savvy enough to help me retrieve all of my data before I attempted such a feat.

Well today after installing the new memory I am trying to reinstall Vista.  Still trying at 8:35pm when I started at 1:30pm.

Lovely.

Okay, now on to the point of this meandering post.  While surfing around for alternatives to the various CPU-intensive Windows software programs that come automatically with PCs and laptops these days, I came across an open source program that allows me to access my instant messaging software from AOL, Yahoo and Gmail (and ICQ, MSN and others if I used them).  This software is lightweight, easy on the memory and lightning fast, though it does lack all the incredibly unnecessary bells and whistles that have become attached to AIM and Yahoo Instant Messenger these days.

This program is called Pidgin and it is open source freeware.  If you are so inclined, I strongly encourage you to download it and give it a whirl.  It took all of 2 minutes for me to become a believer.  I have uninstalled the other IM programs and feel completely safe in doing so.

That’s all I had to say, though it took me a while to say it.

Let me start by asking that everyone say a prayer for our friends along the Gulf Coast who are suffering through the wrath of Hurricane Gustav.  I worked at the local Red Cross Evacuation Center here in Birmingham in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita three years ago and I am so thankful that the majority of people in harm’s way evacuated this time before the danger was at their door.

It is September and the kids are back at school.  The summer months are waning and before long the sultry summer nights will give way to the cooler breezes of the autumn.  This time of year always makes me think about where I am in my frugal journey.  I tend to reevaluate myself and take a good look at what I am doing and how I can do it better.

As of today I officially have legitimate health insurance and thankfully it is not costing me an arm and a leg.  Even still, I have been remembering how well I once took care of myself (ah, to be young again) and wondering to myself why I don’t do better these days.  In a post today over at Earthly Garden I talk about the idea of growing and using medicinal herbs.  Until I moved three months ago I had quite a selection of herbal remedies at my disposal but due to the lateness of the season I neglected to start them up again -yet.

I don’t want to make this post a downer, so I am going to encourage all of you to take a few minutes today to look objectively at your frugal practices.  Which ones are working?  Which ones aren’t?  Which ones could use a little help?

If you care to share, I would be happy to offer my support and advice!

In my neighborhood, several families have done exactly that, opting instead to spend the money they would have spent on expensive travel and accommodations on their homes.  Here are a few of the things people are doing:

1.  Increasing the value of their homes.
Small projects can go a long way toward increasing the value of your home and they don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, either.  Why not repaint your house - inside or out.  A fresh coat of paint can make your home look like new.

Increasing your curb appeal is another enjoyable way to spend some time and a little money.  This will in most cases increase the value of your property by increasing its visual appeal.

2.  Finish the Honey Do List.
That ceiling fan that has been rattling for the last year?  Fix it.  If you need to replace it you can find low cost replacements at most home improvement stores.  What about that leaky faucet that is costing you gallons of water every day?  If you can turn a knob, you can replace a gasket in a leaky faucet and save yourself quite a bit of money on the water bill in the long run.

3.  Plant a container garden.
I know I harp on gardening a lot, but it is just so darned easy to do and it can save you tons of money on your food budget!  By starting with container gardening you can maintain just a few plants if you are worried about having a garden that overwhelms you.

In the end what you do is up to you, but if you are looking for something enjoyable and productive to do with your time off this summer, think about a staycation!

What can happen when you do?  Plenty.

My credit rating was in the toilet so bad at one point that I was actually turned down for a secured credit card from Bank of America!  You read that right - a bank turned me down for a credit card that I sent money to secure.  If you aren’t familiar with secured credit, here is how it works in a nutshell:

1. The customer fills out an application with basic information such as name, social security number, address, phone ,etc.
2. The customer submits the application along with a check or money order for security.  When I did this, I sent them $300.
3. The credit card company accepts the application and places the security money into an account.  In the majority of cases, the amount you send in as security will be equal to the amount of credit you are initially issued.

In most cases you will be charged an annual fee that the credit issuer will charge to your card when they send it.  When selecting a company for a secured credit card, don’t forget to read the annual fee statement as well as the APR (interest rate) you are being charged.  There are companies that guarantee a 9.99% interest rate for the life of the card whereas many companies will charge as much as 24% even though you are securing the debt with your own money.

As always, do your homework and don’t bother getting a secured credit card if the company does not report to the credit reporting agencies, otherwise you are wasting time and money and who wants to do that?

If you are a student who uses or needs Microsoft Office on your computer, you can’t afford to pass up this deal.  Microsoft is offering their popular Microsoft Office Ultimate at an amazingly low price for registered students.  The program suite normally retails for $679.00 but as part of this offer, students can qualify to receive the complete Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 Suite for $59.95!  In case you just woke up and can’t do the math yourself, that is a savings of 91 percent off retail, and it doesn’t get much more frugal than that!

This powerful suite of the popular Microsoft products allows for seamless integration between programs, a feature that was not available at this level until now.

In order to qualify for the student rate on this product, you must meet the following two requirements, as taken from the web site:

1. You must have a valid e-mail address at an educational institution ending with the domain suffix .EDU (ie, leina@contoso.edu) OR have a valid email address at one of the educational institutions listed here.
2. You must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.

To take advantage of this generous offer from Microsoft and get your own legal copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for less than sixty bucks, visit the Microsoft website here.

Example #1:  Grow Your Own Food
I am the world’s biggest proponent for home gardening and prior to my recent relocation at the beginning of June I had a rather respectable home garden that included tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, green beans and other delectable treats.  When I moved though, my outdoor planting space was severely limited and I was faced with a heartbreaking dilemma.  The compromise came when I found two heirloom tomato plants at a local nursery that were on the verge of death.  When the nursery worker offered the two plants to me for free, I jumped at the opportunity.  Now I have two healthy and happy plants that (I hope) will produce large delicious tomatoes late into the growing season.

While I couldn’t restart my garden, I was able to do something that should amount to a nice savings in a few more weeks, as I spend a lot of money on tomatoes when I don’t have them growing outside.

Example #2:  The Leftover Wars
My partner and our roommate are both very picky eaters and neither of them will lower themselves to eating leftovers of any sort.  This of course goes against everything I stand for and destroys my long standing routine of make ahead meals.  The answer - at least for now - has been for me to simply cook less food, more often.  It isn’t going to save me any money on energy costs, but I had to teach myself again to package and store foods in smaller portions so as to limit and as much as possible eliminate food waste.

What is your most challenging frugal battle and what have you done to win it?

That’s what I thought.

That statistic showed up in my email inbox this morning.  It was referring to replacing your usual incandescent bulbs not with the expected CFL (compact florescent), but instead with and LED bulb.  Here are a few of the other statistics that I found pretty darned interesting about the LED bulb:

• An LED bulb uses one-tenth of the energy it takes to power a standard bulb
• An LED bulb uses one half of the energy it takes to power even a CFL bulb
• An LED bulb lasts six times as long as a compact florescent - that’s 60,000 hours
• An LED bulb contains no mercury and while the amount of mercury in a CFL bulb is minimal, would you not rather avoid having it at all if you can?

Make no mistake about it, LED light bulbs are going to cost you a little more to begin with, but the savings over the lifetime of the bulb can add up to big bucks - as I mentioned in the opening of this post, as much as $700 or more.

LED light bulbs can also be a lot more flexible than standard bulbs. Some companies even make LEDs that can change color by a remote control device and while that isn’t something that everyone would want in their kitchen or den, it might be fun in a play room or as an accessory for an unforgettable party!  I’m particularly fond of this idea, a bulb that rotates between red, green and blue.

Here are my top five free and legal mp3 music downloads for this week, all courtesy of Amazon.com:

Artist: Eric Lindell
Track: "Lay Back Down"
Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Download: click here
Notes:  In the same vein as John Mayer, Eric Lindell has a laid back, smooth sound that goes down as smooth as a quart of ice cream and a chick flick.

Artist:  The Apples in Stereo
Track:  "Energy"
Genre:  Alternative Pop
Download:  click here
Notes:  Don’t let the name of the band throw you, this is a catchy tune that will have you doing the chair boogie in no time!

Artist:  OMD (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark)
Track:  "If You Leave"
Genre:  80s
Download:  click here
Notes:  If you remember the ’80s, you no doubt remember OMD.  The song available for download is a recent live performance of their mega hit from the era of big hair and parachute pants.

Artist:  Dolly Parton
Track:  "Better Get to Livin’"
Genre:  Country
Download:  click here
Notes:  I don’t care if you like country music or not, you can’t help but to love Dolly.  Any song released from a CD called "Backwoods Barbie" has to be worth a listen, right?  You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Artist: Kidz Bop Kidz
Track: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
Genre:  Children’s Music
Download:  click here
Notes:  The Cyndi Lauper ’80s classic has been revamped for a much younger generation.  Your kids will love this tune and it is made just for them!

Stay tuned for more great music download freebies next week, and don’t forget to link to this post, Stumble and DIGG it and tell all your friends how much you love Frugal Mania!

Most recently I made mention  to my mother-in-law that I was looking for a sale on Cherry 7UP.  Because she loves a challenge, she found a sale - an excellent sale - at Rite Aid.  She got several of the store coupons and went to three separate Rite Aid stores where her search did not yield a single purchase.  That’s right, none of them even had Cherry 7UP at all, most claiming that they were out and the delivery driver hadn’t been there yet.  None of them even seemed to know when the delivery would be made.

In this particular case, dear ol’ Mom was informed that because it is a national ad, not all stores carry the product and as such no rain checks would be issued.  She refuses to set foot in a Rite Aid again.

I contacted the Rite Aid company through their web site this morning to tell them about my problem.  We’ll see if they can do anything to earn our business back again but since this isn’t the first time we have had similar problems I can’t say that I am terribly hopeful about it.

Just yesterday she found a coupon in a weekly sale ad for Publix, who was advertising a sale on the same product.  The coupon turned a 3 for $9 sale into a "buy three, get one free" offer. 

She went to Publix.

They had no Cherry 7UP.

To say that she is frugally frustrated would be like saying that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt like adopting foreign children.

Just before writing this article, I contacted the 7UP company through their web site to tell them about my problems.  I have received a confirmation that my email made it into their system and will report back here when I hear back from them.