5 reasons buying local is a good idea...

If you are like the majority of shoppers, you are feeling the shock of higher grocery prices. You stop at your local supermarket for a couple of basic items and twenty minutes later you leave the store with a $50 receipt along with the feeling of "where did my money go?" and "what did I really spend it on?" During these summer months with ravenous hungry kids and their friends hanging around your refrigerator or invading your kitchen pantry, this could be a good time to work on cutting down your food bills. Here are some suggestions:

Benjamin Franklin is often quoted as saying, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy and wise." With a little stretch this same quote can be applied to having a successful retirement. Being healthy is the first requirement for enjoying one's sunset years, followed by having an adequate income. And finally, the accumulation of experience and wisdom will give this final phase of your life significance, value and meaning. To encourage you to think along these lines, these three concepts are expanded below.

A great way to start living a frugal life is to plan for it. And when it comes to finances, the most important plan is a budget. Setting up a budget is possible no matter what you income, how you get paid, or what your current financial situation. Developing a budget is the first (and most crucial step) to becoming frugal. Here are some great tips on how to do it:

While waiting in line at my bank, I accidently dropped a credit card on the table we were slowly circling. The card rested there for a few minutes before I realized it was missing and retrieved it. But that’s all the time it took for someone to replicate my card numbers and damage my credit. The next 14 months were run by the credit card that went astray. Have you experienced anything similar? Your credit history could be ruined by someone hacking into your computer or opening credit accounts in your name. The police might knock on your door, search warrant in hand, because your name, address and phone number have been connected to a Web site containing child pornography.

Adjectives give 'flavor and taste' to the plain old English noun. However, the descriptive character of an adjective can often go from meaningless to the ridiculous...