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By Virginie Montet, Agence
France-Presse
WASHINGTON: Amid skyrocketing
fuel and food prices, consumers in the United States are hitting the
breaks on spending and even discovering the merits of home-grown
food.
With petrol prices inching toward
four dollars a gallon—up 25 percent in just five months—and
domestic food inflation up 6.3 percent, the American media is full
of practical advice on reducing everyday expenses.
The country known for its
afficionados of 4X4 trucks and sports-utility vehicles is dusting
off old books of advice on saving and reducing consumption,
including recipes on making soap and detergent.
“Make a grocery list and stick
to it. Don’t shop when you are hungry,” the Kansas City Star
advised its readers.
“Eat less. Drink tap water
instead of sodas and bottled water. Use what you have. Set up one
week a month as a use-it-up week and plan all your meals using only
what you already have.”
Janet Fox Kreielsheimer, a
financial consultant, said there were things people could do to free
up extra cash to add to their savings.
“People must learn to make
wiser long-term decisions concerning their finances,” she said.
“They must avoid impulse purchases, which is the granddaddy of the
black hole. That’s where your money disappears, and you don’t
know what happened to it.”
Clipping out discount coupons is
back in fashion, even if, as North Carolina bargain hunter Michelle
Harrison noted, the search for the best deal can turn into something
like a part-time job.
Practical advice on reducing
gasoline consumption is also everywhere. Media tips include reducing
the time you keep the engine running idle, driving more slowly, car
pools and combining several small errands into one big trip.
In some communities and
companies, a four-day working week is beginning to take root,
designed to save fuel by reducing the number of trips to work and
thereby cutting the weekly gas bill by 20 percent.
The frugal lifestyle of the
Amish, a religious community that shies away from electricity and
other technological advances of modern life, is now gaining more
admirers, as are discount stores run by Amish entrepreneurs.
The religious group operates a
network of discount outlets, to which they bring slightly damaged
products or things that went out of fashion, and sell them at
unbeatable prices.
Meanwhile in backyards across the
United States, flowers are being pulled up to make way for vegetable
gardens featuring cucumbers and tomatoes.
According to the Garden Writers
Association, about 40 percent of garden owners plan to use their
patch of land this year to grow vegetables, a 5-percent increase
compared to last year.
Sales of vegetable seeds have
seen double-digit increases.
Overall, Americans spent a total
of $1.4 billion on vegetable producing plans for their gardens last
year, which is a 25-percent increase compared to 2006, said the
National Gardening Association.
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