Week of frugal living eases holiday reckoning

Nancy Twigg, editor of an e-mail newsletter on frugal living, established National Creative Frugality Week, held one month after Christmas (when the bills come due). Twigg suggests ways to jump-start your frugality:

• Write it down. For at least one week, record every penny you spend. This will help you see where your money is going and how you can cut back.
• Cut out extras. Eliminate one or two of the nonessentials. Dropping your daily cappuccino could save you $1,278 a year.
• Put off spending. For necessary items, challenge yourself to delay that spending. Use up what you already have in your pantry; walk instead of driving when running errands nearby.
• Lighten up. Look for ways to make extra money. January is a great time to de-clutter. Sell your extra stuff through the classified ads, at a consignment store or online.
• Enjoy free fun. Cut corners, but don’t cut out all the fun. Curl up with a good library book, or visit a free exhibit.

Merriam-Webster names most-looked-up words

Merriam-Webster Online just released its top 10 words for 2003, based on the number of online lookups.

1. democracy

2. quagmire

3. quarantine

4. matrix

5. marriage

6. slog

7. gubernatorial

8. plagiarism

9. outage

10. batten

Got five minutes? Use it wisely

Whether you’re waiting to pick up your child from soccer, ballet or whatever, Parenting magazine suggests five things you can do in five minutes:

• Call a friend on your cell phone and catch up on gossip.
• Tweeze your eyebrows.
• Turn on the radio, recline the seat, shut your eyes and let the music wash over you.
• Do a crossword puzzle.
• Ease neck stress: Slowly roll your head from left to center, and then right. Repeat from right to left.