Sometimes people are too close to their own situation to make rational decisions about how to cut costs or how to make some extra money to make ends meet. Unless you paid a lot of attention during tougher economic times – or watched your Depression-era parents save everything for recycling and reuse while watching every penny – you may not know how to make better use of your money.
For many, the obvious expenses have been reduced. More and more families are eating at home; many of them are having to …

As the housing boom peaked, consumers saw credit limits raised and lines of credit on their homes offered at attractive rates. Banks and lenders offered new card accounts at record rates, then enticed consumers to transfer card balances to equity lines of credit.
Ads in magazines and on television offered up a lifestyle that was inviting and exciting – all paid for on credit. You could buy whatever you wanted, go on exotic vacations if you only had the right credit card, which lenders were happy to provide. Talk of a …