7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Quick Cash Fixes
You're freaked out about money. Food prices are up, your home's value has depreciated and your job is on the line. While there's not much we can do to reduce the cost of fixed expenses like a mortgage and taxes, there's a great deal of miscellaneous savings staring us right in the face.Click through our gallery to see MainStreet.com's quick cash fixes that can save you at least $100 a week.

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Buy Generic Grocery Brands
Buying generic pharmaceuticals and filling your grocery cart with store-brand products instead of upscale labels can help save up to 50% on everyday goods. While the quality may not be identical, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between most products. Considering the average two-person household spends $200 a month on groceries, a single person could save a quick $50 just opting for basic brands. Want to cut another $30 to $50 a month? Reduce your eating out habits in half, since families spend more than 40% of their food budget on dining out, according to Consumer Reports.

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Limit Your ATM Transactions
ATM transactions, on average, charge about $3 in fees. Take out cash from ATM machines that belong to your bank to limit fees, or ask for cash back (no fee) when you use your debit card at stores like Staples and Best Buy. Visit the ATM once a week, take out as much money you'll need for the next seven days and use that cash for your everyday expenses from gas to coffee, lunch and that must-have sweater that's on sale at Banana Republic. Sticking to that cash with help you better budget and avoid the ATM during the week.
Weekly Savings: At least $3 to $10

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Pre-Game Strategy
The markup on alcohol at a restaurant or bar is easily 100% more than the retail price at a liquor store. Next Saturday night when you plan on going out, first have a little cocktail party at your house to help limit how much you spend at the bars. And of course, drink responsibly. Weekly Savings: At least $25

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Get Rid of Your Landline
Use your cell phone plan exclusively and save at least $25 a month. If you need to make international calls, encourage your overseas friends and family to join you in signing up for Skype.com, which offers free VOIP (voice-over-internet-protocol) services. Weekly Savings: At least $8-$15

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Nix the Gym
A UC Berkeley/Stanford University study found that average gym members visited their fitness clubs just four times a month – or once a week. That's hardly enough times to satisfy a $60 to $100 monthly membership. If you're not using your gym, lose it. Go for a run in the park, instead.
Weekly Savings: At least $15

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Get a Library Card
It's free! From books to DVDs and WiFi, the library is a cheapskate's mecca, and makes Blockbuster and Netflix look like highway robbers.
Weekly Savings: $5

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Self Mani-Pedi
Beauty specialists suggest pampering your hand and toe nails about twice a month. That's at least $30 a visit, more if at a fancy spa. Instead by some white nail polish to give your French manicure tips your own touch-up, or go two weeks without a professional manicure -- no one will think less of you. There's a much cheaper home remedy solution involving a nail file ($1) and nail polish ($6)
Weekly Savings: At least $15

7 Easy Ways to Save $100 a Week

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Get a (New) Life
If you have fantasies of picking up, packing up and starting a new life somewhere, then one of these jobs may be a great fit for you. Continue clicking through our gallery to learn the pros and cons about jobs that you can run away to.

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Cruise Ship Jobs

On one level, cruise ship jobs seem amazingly glamorous. After all, employees receive free food, accomodations, medical care, airline tickets and uniforms. They often don't have to pay taxes, get discounted cruise rates for family members, and can travel for free. As many cruise ship job sites point out, passengers pay thousands of dollars per week to see the same sites that employees enjoy for free.

On the other hand, cruise ships can get claustrophobic after a while, and many jobs are far from wonderful. After all, when somebody gets seasick, a cruise ship employee has to clean it up, and chances are that the captain won't be the one wielding the mop. Still, cruise ships offer a dizzying array of jobs, a chance to escape to exotic climes, and a steady income, most of which can be banked. Anchors aweigh!

Jobs You Can Run Away To

The French Foreign Legion

Long the stuff of legend, it's surprisingly easy to join the French Foreign Legion. If you are male non-felon between the ages of 17 and 40 in relatively good physical shape, simply present yourself with a form of identification to one of the 11 information offices in France, go to the recruitment officer, and say "voluntaire pour Legion." If you pass the subsequent physical and mental tests, you won't have to make any decisions for the next five years: the Legion will clothe, feed, and house you, as well as give you a new name and all the medical care that you need.

The next five years will be a whirlwind of education, combat, and almost constant training. You will pick up a lot of French, and will constantly engage in hand-to-hand combat with other members of your unit. In all likelihood, you will also travel: depending on where your unit is stationed, you may get to visit Africa, Asia, South America or Europe. At the end of your five year stint, you can choose to re-enlist or can leave the Legion. As an added benefit, you will qualify for French citizenship.

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Park Rangers

Full-time Park Rangers earn a salary of between $24,000 and $37,000 and often receive free housing, in addition to other benefits. Unfortunately, these jobs are tenured and competition is fierce. In addition to a bachelor's degree in park management, natural history, forestry, or a related major, applicants need extensive experience as seasonal rangers or interns.

On the bright side, there are a variety of seasonal jobs available from the National Park Service. The education and experience required depends on the position, and interested parties can apply at USAJOBS, the US Federal government's job site. While park ranger jobs were cut after 2006, it seems likely that these could be among the first positions to benefit from the US government's stimulus plan.

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Nanny

Salaries for live-in nannies vary wildly, depending upon the area, the family, and the nanny's qualifications. In general, nannies in major cities get $18-20 per hour, while live-in childcare in less costly areas is about half that. Entry-level nannies with high school degrees can expect roughly $400 per week, while experienced, trained nannies can expect $1000 per week or more.

While live-in nannies may not qualify for time-and-a-half overtime wages, they still are legally entitled to time off and other benefits. Many nannies get complete compensation packages, including subsidized health insurance, paid vacations, gym memberships, cell phones, and educational allowances.

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Overseas English Teacher

While many Americans feel qualified to teach some form of English, most overseas language schools are interested in teachers with at least a Bachelor's degree, preferably in a language-related field. However, for those who didn't major in linguistics or English as a second language (ESL) education, training is widely available, both in person and as a correspondence course. Two common programs are teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Numerous sites offer teaching jobs, but it is wise to consult with friends who have done this before, as school quality varies wildly.

Jobs You Can Run Away To

House Mother

If you're a woman who is over 40 years old who enjoys dealing with adolescents and has experience with running a household, hotel, or small country, this might be the job for you. Basically, a house mother is in charge of the environment of a sorority or fraternity. She deals with the house's staff, plans meals, handles minor disasters, and generally makes sure that her charges' lives run smoothly. Jobs usually include free rent and meals and come with a reasonable salary. Since they are attached to a university, house mother positions may allow you to take advantage of many of the cultural and educational attractions available at your school. Best of all, you get to deal with the wonderful drama of a household full of college girls!

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Ranch Hand

Running away to work on a farm is one of the classic escapist American fantasies. While the dude ranches of the nineteenth century have almost disappeared, there is still a huge livestock industry and plenty of jobs for people with experience in animal husbandry. Depending on the type of ranch, workers can do a wide variety of jobs, including training horses, caring for livestock, taking care of children or young adults, performing general farm work, maintaining corrals, and cooking. While education for this work is generally vocational, some areas will train employees to do the specialized jobs that they require. Depending on the position, the area, the employer, and your level of knowledge, pay and benefits can range wildly. Ranch Work is a good starting place to get a feeling for available jobs, salary possibilities, and benefits involved.

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Camp Counselor

If you sometimes find yourself obsessively watching Meatballs, then camp work might be perfect for you. While salaries vary based on position and experience, you can expect to make a couple of hundred dollars per week, in addition to room, board, and free use of recreational facilities. Positions include lifeguard, counselor, kitchen staff, administrative staff, nursing staff, and maintenance staff, and are available across the country. Added benefits include fresh air, beautiful scenery, and a 50% chance of waking up with your hand in a pot of warm water!

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Migrant Farm Worker

While not quite as bad as The Grapes of Wrath, migrant farm work is tough, and you'll often find yourself in competition with people who are willing to work for next to nothing. On the bright side, however, the world wide opportunities on organic farms network (WWOOF) offers a variety of positions on organic farms around the world. In return for helping with farm work, volunteers receive free food and board. Some farms charge a small organizational fee, but many are free. Best of all, if you've ever wanted to harvest grapes in France, wheat in Italy, or oranges in Israel, this is your chance!

Jobs You Can Run Away To

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Customers Spot Cutbacks
As part of a recent feature on how restaurants are responding to the recession with cost-cutting tricks, we asked AOL users to share examples of what they've seen.


Click through our gallery to see the money-saving maneuvers they reported: some sneaky, some forthright and some just plain disgusting. Keep in mind that these are individual claims of personal experiences and may or may not be reflective of the actual policy at any of the restaurants mentioned.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Robust Salad Is Now Skimpy
AOL User Jolicata66 Claims:

"(We) loved the Santa Fe Chopped Salad from Chevys in Calif. It USED to be a nice big salad, with a whole chopped chicken breast, half an avocado, a nice portion of crumbled bleu cheese, bacon, roasted corn salsa and roasted peppers. The ingredients would cover the romaine lettuce. Dressing was a nice sized portion. NOW, you have to search for everything but the lettuce."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Fake Steak, Chicken
AOL User TFG1HARLEY Claims:

"Restaurants have been using what I call fake chicken and steaks for years. These products are reconstituted meats that have been ground down and mixed with water and other by-products and then pressure assembled to look like real steak. They don't even attempt to make the chicken look like natural parts anymore. Their favorite chicken dishes are "grilled salads" or include chicken cooked in some method that makes the meat unidentifiable."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Diminishing Dumplings
AOL User Fundsage Claims:

"I went to a chinese restaurant in Gaithersburg, Md. I ordered the fried dumplings appetizer, which I've ordered many times in the past. This time I noticed that there were only five dumplings. Last time I was there, a couple months ago, there were six at the same price."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Charging for Condiments
AOL User Stpsgrg1 Claims:

"... they advertise a sandwich piled high with toppings and when you ask for more than the four of each condiment they place on a footlong then you get charged for it. They already trimmed the amount of meat they put on each sandwich. I'm a meat girl so three pieces of thin roast beef on my sandwich doesn't cut it."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

No Charge, So They Say
AOL User MUBMUB1 Claims:

"The menu at Mel's Diner in Cape Coral, Fla. specifically says "No charge for Egg Beaters." However, whenever it's ordered, the "computer" automatically includes a surcharge for it. I've told their management several times ... I think that they think they will make more money if people don't realize they get banged for that surcharge by not carefully checking their bill against the menu price."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Buffet Rip-Offs
AOL User Lionesa Claims:

"Having worked in a few restaurants, I'd have to say (buffets) have some of the biggest ripoffs especially when it comes to their overpriced brunches. Not only is the food put out and used and then re-used the following day or to make a dish called the "Lunch Day" special, but sometimes it's put out, used, frozen, and put right back out the following Sunday. You think that's fresh chocolate mousse? It's really last week's chocolate pudding [with] added whip cream."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Veal Switcheroo
AOL User Gerry924 Claims:

"When ordering veal parm or veal cutlet at a restaurant or diner, I have found on quite a few occasions that it was actually pork. Veal should be grey or light brown when cooked. When you see the fried cutlet is white upon slicing it, you've been swindled."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Just Like New, Sushi
AOL User LFGTLO Claims:

"(You may) notice the taste of disinfectant at sushi bars on fish that is older than it should be, and then is palmed off on customers. Rather than chuck older cuts of fish, this is a common practice even in some of your favorite sushi bars. They only do it on certain fish and they do it hoping to get away with it!"

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Shrinking Bread Basket
AOL User SusieG143 Says:

"A couple days ago, I went to an Olive Garden with my fiance. When we were having dinner I asked if they could bring us another basket of bread. The waitress brought the bread basket to the table and when I looked there were only two breadsticks in the bread basket. Before they would serve five at a time."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks You Spotted

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

You avoided the oysters and skipped dessert, so how did the final tab end up double what you expected? It's true that good food rarely comes cheap, but restaurants employ plenty of sneaky ways to fatten up your bill while you're eyeing that prime rib. Here are five tricks to watch out for.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Price estimates are often deceptively low. For starters, there's no telling when that estimate was last updated, "Menus and prices change all the time," says Kate Krader, a senior editor at Food & Wine magazine. More importantly, most ratings only estimate entrée prices.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Tip: Use restaurant reviews and guides as a starting point. Once you've narrowed your options, check out menu prices on the restaurant's web site or try MenuPages, which carries a database of menus.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Restaurants invest big bucks to create an atmosphere that encourages one to linger, says Frank Bruni, restaurant critic for The New York Times. Mark-ups on alcohol easily run 200% to 300% at the restaurant's bar area, which is where you get taken advantage of the most.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Tip: If you plan to drink at the bar, be sure to factor it into your evening's budget. Looking to save? Keep your eye out for Happy Hour specials, which are as common at restaurants as they are at bars.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Anyone who has ever struggled to pick among mouthwatering entrées can tell you how relieving it is to encounter a "tapas" menu, where diners order a slew of small dishes to share. But because the dishes are small, diners often over-order out of fear of walking away hungry.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Tip: At steakhouses you can easily pay as much for sides as you do for the steak. Ordering in several rounds may seem less appealing, but it's the best for both your wallet and your stomach. Start out with just a few dishes and ask your server to leave a menu.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Tap water may indeed be still, but that's not what your server's offering when he queries "still or sparkling?" The mark-up on bottled water is easily 200%, so going bottled can be as much a rip-off as ordering a cocktail. Often Servers will simply open another to top off your glass, and your tab.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Tip: If you want tap water, make sure you ask for it specifically. There's nothing like an over eager waiter arriving tableside with a freshly opened bottle of mineral water to cause a diner to acquiesce and say, "Ah, okay we'll take it."

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More

Traditionally, restaurants charge twice the retail price of a wine, or three times the wholesale cost. So your favorite $30 bottle at home is easily $60 at a restaurant. Think you'll get around it by bringing your own bottle? So-called corkage fees can be 30 to 50 dollars per bottle in restaurants.

Sneaky Restaurant Tricks to Make You Spend More