How our money experts save money, #4 in a series

My home is heated by oil, and I lock in my price per gallon for the year
each spring. Feeling sticker shock when I was faced with my price per gallon
jumping from $2.96 last year to $4.13 for the coming year, I've become much
more vigilant about all of my home energy costs. Our house has central air
conditioning, but this summer on all but the steamiest days, we're keeping
the AC off and turning on the attic exhaust fan to keep air circulating
through screen doors and windows. It does a surprisingly good job of
keeping the place cool while making my electric bill more manageable.
I'm also having a handyman friend help me make sure all of the windows and
doors are as weather-tight as they can be before cold weather sets in.

The other big increase I've noticed is our tab at the grocery store, so
for the first time I'm regularly paying attention to and using coupons.
Even more important, I've starting using cash for groceries. It's
amazing how much more you weigh the value of whatever you're tossing in the
cart when you're paying with bills out of your wallet rather than with a
check or a debit or credit card. Those junk food things the kids used to
sneak in don't make it to the cash register anymore, and that's a good thing
health-wise in any case.

And finally, I'm following the advice I've always heard about checking my
tire pressure regularly to get the best gas mileage for my car, and
combining household errands into one trip rather than running out on the
spur of the moment to the bank, P.O., or drugstore.—Andrea Rock,
senior editor

How our money experts save money, #3 in a series

I now buy my gas exclusively from Costco. It may not necessarily be absolute rock bottom, but it's dependably lower than most other name-brand stations in my east San Francisco Bay area. On Sunday, only four competitors had a 1- to 15-cents per gallon lower price, while 30 others charged 2 to 32 cents a gallon more than the $4.39 I paid, according to the AAA Gas Price Finder. Gas in California is already more expensive than in much of the country. The peak I've paid was $4.50.

We're taking the advice from my Cut Your Spending by $500 per Month report and repurposing leftovers better. Also stocking up on sale items. Major coup recently: I bought four 30-ounce jars of Best Foods mayonnaise at two for $5. Regular price is about $4.99 each, and it's not always on sale when we run out.

We also buy cat food in 48-can cases and have re-assigned our two cats to "outdoor" instead of "indoor" status, saving us a fortune in cat litter. —Jeff Blyskal, senior editor