by Kim Remesch

Created on: February 10, 2010   Last Updated: May 29, 2010

It's true that you can't squeeze blood from a turnip, but many a frugal consumer has learned to make a penny scream. You can, too, and it won't hurt a bit. I promise.

Some of the easiest and least painful money-saving tips p[roduce the largest gains. That's because once saving money becomes a habit, a way of life, you won't even notice that you gave something up. Frugal living is almost a hobby after awhile. 

I can speak to this because I've lived it. I had lots of money, rips, all the electronic gadgets money could buy, fun cars, mega houses. I've also had nothing. My mom cut paper towels in half, then quarters during one part of our lives. When this economy hit the downturn, I was ahead of the saving money curve because I had already learned that having money doesn't make you happy. Mind you, it buys you nice things, but it may not alter the way you live in terms of happiness, lifestyle, friends, etc. 

My life continued the same because I was taught the principles early on in life. I never felt like I was missing out on things. Savings was a built in part of my life. I'll share with you some of those things I learned as a pre-teen and still use today.

I started a college fund for myself when I was 12 because no one in my family had gone, and they didn't really see why I wanted to go. I knew I wanted it though. That started me on the path to find ways to save money, particularly when you have little or no money to begin with-which would certainly apply to a 12 year old.

Here are some things I learned:

-Change it up. Before you get into big analyzing of your budget and spending, do something small that will give you a quantitative view of the amount of money that slips through your fingers without your even knowing it.  Start out small, with what many deem "chump change."  Do not pay for anything with your change. Always break a dollar bill, and put your change into a jar (something clear so you can see it mounting up) at least every few days. I keep my change in bottles that have narrow necks. That way, it's a bit of a pain to grab a handful when you are running to the store to buy little things.

Once you see it really works, those pennies and quarters add up to REAL money, you'll have the incentive to take things a step further.

-Step it up. At the end of a week, maybe right when you cash your check as you are most tempted to buy a few things, take out a $20 bill, and stuff it in your coin jar. Then proceed to cover the bill with the week's

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