Saving Made Easier

With a family of 7 in my household, every penny counts and we literally count every penny to make sure we have what we need.

Some days are much easier than others but in the long run we have found some ways that make it more tolerable. Sometimes it's the little savings that add up.

A Harris Poll randomly surveyed adults to find out what they're doing to save money now, and the replies are a step-by-step list on how you can tighten your belt without a lot of sacrifice.

Here's the top 10 best ways to save money now and the percentage of people who are actually doing this:

1. Purchase more generic brands, 65%
2. Brown bag lunch instead of buying it, 48%
3. Switch to tap water and refillable bottles instead of buying bottled water, 39%
4. Go to the hairdresser or barber less often, 38%
5. Cancel one or more magazine subscriptions, 31%
6. Cancel or cut back on cable TV service, 22%
7. Stop buying coffee in the morning, 22%
8. Cancel a newspaper subscription, 17%
9. Cancel landline telephone service and rely only on cell phone service, 15%
10. Carpool or use mass transit instead of driving to work, 12%