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

How to Install a Rain Barrel

1)Installing a rain barrel is an environmentally friendly way to save run-off water and use it in your garden and it can even help you to save a little money.

If you got yourself a used barrel, you want to sanitize it before doing anything to it. This will prevent any residual mold and other bacteria from growing in the water and contaminating your garden or family. Mix ½ cup of bleach with 5 gallons of water, and wash out the barrel with the mixture.

How to Install a Rain Barrel

2) Next you want to build a platform for your rain barrel to raise it off of the ground a bit. This will allow you easier access to the hose spigot you will be installing, as it should be as close to the bottom of the barrel as possible. A few cinderblocks are a good option for your rain-barrel's platform.

How to Install a Rain Barrel

3) Cut the downspout where the rain barrel sits, about 18" above the top of the barrel. This will give you room to put in a downspout extender between your downspout and the barrel to funnel rainwater in.

How to Install a Rain Barrel

4) Using the downspout extender as a guide, trace the shape of the opening with a marker on to the top of the barrel. Then use a jigsaw to saw out the opening for your extender to fit in.

Once the hole and the downspout are cut, you can attach the extender to the cut downspout with self-tapping screws, and seal the joint with outdoor silicone caulking. Put the other side of the downspout extender through the hole that you cut in to the top of the barrel, and apply silicone caulking there as well in order to seal it.

How to Install a Rain Barrel

5) Now install an overflow pipe on the side of the barrel, about 4-6" from the top. Drill a 2¼" hole for a threaded 2" male adapter. Then screw the adapter in to the hole just drilled, and caulk around the adapter with outdoor silicone caulk to make a good seal. Attach a 2" pipe to the adapter running away from the barrel to divert overflow away from the house's foundation.

How to Install a Rain Barrel

6) The next step is to install the hose bib at the bottom of the barrel. This is where you will connect your hose to water your garden with the rainwater you collected.

Start by drilling a 15/16" hole near the bottom of the empty barrel to attach a ¾ inch hose spigot. If you drill the hole about 4-6" from the bottom of the barrel, this will allow the sediment to settle below the spigot and not get washed in to the garden. Now, screw the hose spigot in halfway then apply a liberal amount of PVC cement to the exposed threads. Continue to screw in the spigot until its snug and facing downward.

How to Install a Rain Barrel

7) The last step is to secure your rain barrel to the side of your house. This is especially important if you have small children or pets running around the yard because a full rain barrel weighs about 400 lbs. You can buy a water-heater strapping kit at any hardware store, and use it to fasten your new rain barrel to the side of your house, and start watering!

How to Install a Rain Barrel

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

Most parents want to leave their kids with a safety net. And for some, that net could be several million (or billion) dollars strong. But a growing number of rich-and-famous parents, afraid inherited wealth could damage their children, are planning to give most of their fortunes away to charity instead.

Click through our gallery to see which 10 famous names are trying to teach their children the ultimate lesson on the value of money and hard work.

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

Paris Hilton's grandfather, hotel magnate William Barron Hilton, made headlines when he announced in late 2007 that he had bequeathed nearly all of his $2.3 billion fortune to a foundation started by his father, Conrad. "My father left 97% of his wealth to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and I am proud to follow my father's example," he said. Of course, he didn't mention that about 20 years earlier, he sued his father's estate after being left only a small portion. Years of legal wrangling ensued, but he ultimately scored 60% of the income from his father's estate for life, with the other 40% going to the foundation.

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

Bill Gates has also promised to give away most of his Microsoft billions. He and wife Melinda established a foundation in 1994 and have been giving away truckloads of money ever since. Gates told CNN that he thinks inherited wealth creates a distorted view of "how you measure yourself, how your friends think about you and how they do things with you. And it's also bad for society. We're picking the grandchildren of the people whose skill and luck accumulated the money and saying to them, they should have this vast control of society's resources. I just don't think that's a great way to run a society. "

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn't believe in spoiling his kids. The Brit, who gained fame and fortune from such hits as Phantom of the Opera and Cats, has said his five kids from two different wives shouldn't expect much of a free ride. "I am not in favor of children suddenly finding a lot of money coming their way because then they have no incentive to work," Webber, who is estimated to be worth some $1 billion, told the Mirror. "So I will give them a start in life but they ain't going to end up owning [his company] the Really Useful Group."

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

Warren Buffett may currently be #2 of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans, but don't congratulate his three children. The savvy investor, who built Berkshire Hathaway into a multi-billion dollar juggernaut, has promised to give away most of his fortune because, he has said, "a rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing." In fact, the Omaha, Nebraska native has already started. In 2006, he promised a majority of his Berkshire shares to charity, with a good chunk going to the foundation of good pal Bill Gates. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has received $6 billion worth of shares to date.

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

When Jolie and Pitt scored $14 million for pictures of their newborn twins, they placed the money into their Jolie-Pitt Foundation. Five years ago, when their first biological child Shiloh was born, they were paid more than $7 million, which also went to charity. It's not clear how much she and Pitt will leave their children, but meanwhile, they are busy giving away their fortunes. In 2006, Jolie donated more than $3 million and Pitt over $4 million to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. She also established in 2008 a TB/AIDS clinic in Ethiopia, where her eldest daughter, Zahara, was born. She has said she hopes Zahara will manage it one day.

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

The steel magnate has been dead for nearly 90 years but his legacy lives on. Perhaps his most lasting and influential contribution has been his belief that after you've accumulated your fortune, you must give it away rather than leaving it to your descendants. He certainly lived by what he wrote in The Gospel of Wealth: By the time he died in 1919, he had given away billions of dollars to build thousands of public libraries, Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and a pension fund for workers now known as TIAA-CREF. For his family, he left behind a modest trust.

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

In 2008, the domestic goddess declared she did not plan to leave her two children from her first husband, deceased journalist John Diamond, with much of her cookbook and TV show fortune. Lawson, an heiress to J. Lyons and Co. food empire in England and wife of super wealthy ad guy Charles Saatchi, told 'My Weekly' that she was "determined that my children should have no financial security. It ruins people not having to earn money." After the ensuing outcry, she added she "had no intention of leaving my children destitute, but I believe you have to work in order to learn the value of money."

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

Gene Simmons of the rock group Kiss doesn't want his two kids to end up like a lot of rock 'n roll progeny: broke with no idea how to support themselves. So he's cutting them off -- sort of. In 2007, he said his children with longtime partner Shannon Tweed "are gonna be taken care of, but they will never be rich off my money. Because every year they should be forced to get up out of bed and go out and work and make their own way." How's he going to do it? They'll receive a yearly allowance covering basics like rent and food but "if you want riches, you should do that yourself."

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

When the real estate mogul died in August 2007 at the age of 87, she bequeathed two of her grandchildren $10 million each as long as they visited their father's grave at least once a year. The other two grandchildren were disinherited "for reasons which are known to them." But the bulk of her estate went to the dogs, literally. Her will established a $12 million trust for the care of her dog, Trouble, (who incidentally passed away earlier this year), and the rest, estimated to be worth nearly $8 billion, went to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, whose sole aim is the care of dogs.

Sorry Kids! Surprising Celebrity Wills

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Take-Out Coffee
If caffeine didn't give you the jitters before, this annual figure will: $1,442. That's the cost ($3.95) of a midsized ("grande") cappuccino at a Starbucks near me, multiplied by 365. Subtract weekends from that because you're not at work, and it's still $1,031 over the course of the year.

Ditch that fancy barista-blended concoction for a simpler filter coffee or iced coffee, and you can bring the price down to about $2.50 for a Starbucks grande. But that still tabulates to $912.50 a year for a once-a-day hit.

Annual cost for one cappuccino a day: $1,442

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Gossip Mags
Here's what the major gossip mags cost per issue on the newsstand: Life & Style, $3; Us Weekly $4; OK!, $3.50; Star, $4; In Touch, $3; People $4.

Now, you could buy all of them, and that would cost $21.50 a week. But it's a rare person who does that. Instead, they choose about two. Figuring on an average of $3.50 each, that would cost $7 a week.

Of course, if you're really hooked on gossip, you don't pay newsstand prices. You subscribe. That brings the annual rate to about $60 (for OK!) to $78 (In Touch, Star, Life & Style). People Weekly is like the Rolls-Royce of celebrity tattle, costing about $116 a year with a discounted subscription on Amazon.com (steep, but better than the $210 you'd pay without one).

You could also read online for free, but then what would you do with yourself on the bus, at the doctor's office, or while you're taking care of business in the bathroom? There's something about reading the dish on the printed page, and that's going to cost you. Besides, do you really want to get your news from Perez Hilton?

Annual subscription cost for one a week: $78
Annual cost if it's People: $116
Annual subscription cost for two a week (People and one other): $194
Annual cost for one off the newsstand each week: $182

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Lottery Tickets
No one has to tell you that you're not likely to win the lottery. You've heard it before: It's a voluntary tax.

You've also heard the government say its proceeds go toward supporting schools, but did they also tell you that in many cases, a corresponding amount of funding is sliced from the budget in other areas? Or did you stop to think what it would be like if you spent that $2 directly on a child in your life instead?

Whatever. Playing the lottery gives you hope, right? It's fun. It's a good time finding out that today, once again, isn't going to be the day.

Annual cost for playing Lotto 6-49 twice a week: $208. Add a weekly play of Lotto Max at $5, and your total comes to $468.

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Getting Fries With That
We're not calculating the price your thighs pay. You already know that.

In my neighborhood, a Wendy's single combo meal costs $6. But single, by itself, costs $3.79, and a medium soda by itself costs $1.69. Together, they're $5.48 before tax, or 51 cents cheaper if you forget the fries. That 51 cents may not seem like much, but it adds up -- and it may be an even steeper savings in your neck of the woods. Have fast food once a week, and you'll spend $26.52 extra on fries a year. Three times a week, and you'll spend nearly $80 on the fries. That doesn't count the cost of the possible future angioplasty.

That's also based on fast food chains, where the price scale is rigged to encourage you to spring for a combo. At most diners and restaurants, fries are often an entirely different order that cost, let's say, $3.

If you can't cut out burgers and sodas, maybe you can at least step down and cut the fries. You get rid of something fried, and you also cut down on salt. And what is ketchup but a secret delivery system for more sugar?

Annual cost for getting fries with fast food combo meals three times a week: $80 Annual cost for getting fries with restaurant meals twice a week: $312

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Text Messaging
Heaven help you if you haven't had the foresight to sign up for a package plan with your cell phone carrier. Some companies charge iPhone users who haven't 20 cents per text message. Otherwise, you'll spend $5 a month for the right to send 200 messages, $15 for 1500 a month, or $20 to send as many as you want.

Unsurprisingly, that most expensive plan, superfluous for most working people -- but probably not so for the average middle school kid -- is the one AT&T pushes you the hardest to buy. If you fall for that, you'll spend $240 a year, before tax (which varies by area), above and beyond what you already spend on your regular old calling plan.

That's the equivalent of sending 1,200 domestic text messages without a plan and paying 20 cents each for them. Do you send fewer texts than that? You would actually save money without the added option.

Annual cost for an unlimited text messaging option: $240

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Smoking Cigarettes
The price of a pack of cigarettes varies across the country, but it will burn you: $10.

Smoke two packs a day for a year, and the amount you spend -- $7,300 -- could have funded a vacation for two to Tahiti.

Annual cost for a pack a day: $1,825 for $5 packs; $3,650 for $10 packs Annual cost for a two packs a day: $3,650 for $5 packs; $7,300 for $10 packs

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Drinking Soft Drinks
Plenty of people pound soft drinks at least once a day, if not a lot more frequently than that. There are kids who think Gatorade is a naturally occurring juice.

Let's put the price at $1.50, which is about what you'd pay for a 16-ounce bottle of Pepsi or Coke at a gas station. That's a median estimate. When they're not at work, heavy drinkers can economize by buying two-liter bottles, which you can get on special for about 99 cents but generally cost in the $1.50 to $2 range. Likewise, some corner grocers will charge around $2 for a bottle. So $1.50 is a fair average depending on where you live.

Paying $1.50, if you have one soda a day, means you've spent $547.50 a year (before tax). If you have three a day, you've just flushed away $1,642.50. And while you were at it, you filled yourself with either fattening high fructose corn syrup and/or with mysterious chemical sweeteners.

Annual cost for just one a day: $547.50

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Playing Online Poker
Let's pretend you spend $100 a session, which is a reasonable limit a person might impose upon oneself. (If you have a gambling problem, you're likely to spend much more -- "Just one more hand!" -- but we're talking about typical cases here.) Do that twice a week, and you've spent $200 in seven days.

Do that all year long, and there goes $10,400, a hefty chunk of the typical salary.

There may be a few returns here and there, but if you keep playing, the trend is not in your favor, and mathematically speaking, you're more likely to play at a loss. There's a reason why gambling is worth $92.27 billion a year, and it's not because players keep winning the jackpot.

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Ignoring Car Maintenance
A car is not a mobile storage unit. Leave junk in the trunk at your own peril, because the U.S. Department of Energy says that a vehicle's mileage rates are calculated based on the assumption that your car is hauling a total of three hundred pounds of passengers and cargo. For every 100 pounds of weight you add (golf clubs, camping equipment -- whatever you didn't feel like putting in the house), your fuel economy drops by as much as 2%.

Assuming a car burns 10 km per litre (a typical rate) and gas costs $1.30 a litre (a typical price), over the course of 20,000 km (a reasonable distance for a year), you'll spend about another $30 per 100 pounds of extra weight. That doesn't just include clutter. This could also happen if you don't cut back on the soda and french fries.

We'll all get better gas mileage by properly inflating our tires: the rounder the tire, the less energy it takes to roll. Tires that are just 4 to 5 psi below their suggested pressure (your owner's manual will tell you your wheels' ideal psi) may look fine to the eye, but in fact can weaken your gas mileage by as much as 10%.That's about another $150 based on our typical example, but your inefficient tires may hit you for even more, depending on your car's mileage and how much you drive.

The AAA adds this: A smooth-running engine can also save up to $180 a year. Why? Things like clogged air filters just make your machine work harder and burn more fuel. Have it checked every six months.

Annual cost for hauling 100 extra pounds in a typical car: $34 Annual cost for improperly inflated tires: $172 Annual cost of a clogged air filter: $180

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You

Watching Porn
DVDs, which were handily the biggest medium for adult entertainment in the past decade, are fading away, to be replaced by the much more private, and space-saving, method of watching streaming videos online.

There is free stuff available, but usually for only a few minutes at a time, and often, it comes to you stolen. To view professionally-produced stuff legally and fully, you have to subscribe. Without naming any names, we submit that a monthly membership to a typical pornography website, gay or straight, costs about $25 if you agree to stick with it for a while, or $30 if you take it a month at a time.

You could get a few days' worth for about $5, but as the gargantuan size of the adult entertainment industry -- it pulls in an estimated $12 billion a year -- proves libidos don't go away just because a limited membership has expired.

Even mildly erotic Skinemax -- pardon me, Cinemax -- has its cost. Keep those images of car-washing ladies off your TV screen, and you will save about $15 a month, or $180 a year. Surprisingly, in my market, the relatively spicy programming of the Playboy channel (heterosexual only) costs $13, or $2 less than vanilla Cinemax.

Annual cost for a regular monthly adult subscription: $300 Annual cost for subscriptions to three sites: $900

10 Bad Habits And What They Cost You