Maybe you're smart and you got your dealership to throw in a set of winter tires. Maybe you're like me and settled for the all-weather mats. In any case, some part of the country has already experienced school closures due to snow. It's slick out there and if you're transporting kids winter tires are a necessity. These things are not cheap and run up to $300 per tire. A couple of tips to save on tires: first, comparison shop -- there are a lot of tire dealers out there with lots of stock and independent dealers are more likely to give you a good price; second, take advantage of mail-in rebates offered by manufacturers. You can save up to $50 per tire. Third, consider yourself saving money on the fender-bender you might have had if you'd stuck with your slippery all-season tires.