I am not impressed by financial writers who advise readers to “stop going to Starbucks” or “pack your lunch every day” as a way to save money.  For the beginning budgeter, those tips can be useful, but what about the rest of us?  I’ve already cut my cable, stopped eating out, and I purchase my clothes secondhand.  What am I missing?

When you are thrifty by nature but still need to find a way to cut expenses to make ends meet, it can take time to sift through budgeting books to find one where you actually learn something new.  I was so excited to discover a few useful books recently that I wanted to share them with you.

Be Centsable: How to Cut Your Household Budget in Half – Chock-full of useful budget ideas, my favorite parts of this book discussed couponing strategies and recipes to create household cleaners.  Nearly every cleaning agent we use can be replaced by an inexpensive, environmentally friendly homemade option, and the authors tell you exactly how to create your own.

Save Big:  Cut Your Top Five Costs and Save Thousands – “Save Big” prides itself on excluding the save-a-nickel-here-and-there variety of money tips.  Instead, this advice applies to the occasional but expensive situations that we all face.  For example: did you know that you can often get your car repaired for FREE if you ask about a warranty adjustment on the problem?   I'll tell you, I thought I was well-informed about bargains, but I was kicking myself by the time I got to the end of this book!

The “America’s Cheapest Family” books by Steve and Annette Economides - Their newest release, “Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half With America’s Cheapest Family,” shares the minutiae of the hardcore Economides philosophy of planning and stockpiling.    This book would be most useful for families with children (especially hungry teenagers!), but it’s not as easy to implement fully these strategies for one or two people.   Still, there’s enough here to enlighten anyone who is serious about trimming costs in the grocery aisle.

I’ve also included links to several Web sites through which I’ve scored terrific deals or freebies.  Do you have favorite thrifty books or sites to share?  Please leave a comment!