I love when readers shoot me emails with great tips. Some even write articles on topics that they’re passionate about. Like Henry, who lives in Woodbury and works for Northwest Airlines. “I enjoy cooking and finding creative and inexpensive ways to spice up everyday dishes.  And when that fails, I open a bottle of wine and it makes it all good.”
Here is his tip for saving money on preparing meals. I hope you’ll share your own tricks too.

Every day it seems like the stock market is heading in the wrong direction. I even stopped looking at my 401K because it only mockingly informs me that retirement is getting further and further away. And like most families, I too am cutting back on as many expenses as I can, and one way I found is to look within my kitchen cupboard to lower my food bill. 

The previous night I had made an entire ham. Although it was a great meal as well as an economical lunch the next day, I was not sure that I could take having ham one more time without repackaging it into something a little different. But what could I possibly do with it?

I decided to see what the Internet had to offer, so I Googled “leftover ham” and in .24 seconds I had 283,000 results at my finger tips. I scanned through the results taking into consideration what ingredients I had in my kitchen as well as what would be simple to make.

Since then I have used Google several times to piece together a meal with ingredients that I already had in my kitchen. Sometimes I have to venture to the store to pick up a few things. Sometimes the meals are good and sometimes they are not so good, but in either case it saves a little money and gets my culinary juices flowing. By simply searching for ingredients that I had in my cupboard, I have been able to prepare inexpensive dinner alternatives.

No more do I open the cupboard and stare into the abyss of cans, boxes, and jars wondering what I can make for a meal. Now I let Google help me plan mealtime.

It’s been a busy week in the office and in my in-box.

My e-mail purging is your gain. Here are the most interesting surveys, tools and stats of the week on topics ranging from identity theft to taxes to retirement.

Need help getting your savings on track? Fidelity launched a Guide to Personal Savings (GPS– get it?!) earlier this week that features several tools. Among them– 500 free seminars available to all Americans, live webinars, and a Savings planner.

Why the big campaign for planning? Fidelity said a recent survey found that more about eight in 10 Americans are worried about their savings, but haven’t contacted a financial adviser for help because they figure they can’t afford it.

Another (cynical) reason might have to do with people being unsure about who to trust these days. A frequent refrain I’ve heard is, “Do financial planners know more about these unprecedented times that I do?” Even so, having someone to bounce ideas off of is extremely valuable, and these folks spend 40 hours a week thinking about these issues.

Companies cutting 401(k) matches to cut costs is a troubling trend. But experts say that there are alternatives to cutting the match.

H&R Block shared a couple of tax myths as we head into the last month of tax season

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Every morning, after reading my good old newspapers, I head to the computer and make my rounds, checking out the money news -related web sites to see what everyone’s talking about.

Without fail, I visit the New York Times and WSJ. Then I’ll head to Portfolio, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money and CNN Money. And depending on how much time I have, I’ll browse headlines at Slate, Thestreet.com, The Consumerist, Bloomberg and the public radio program Marketplace.

But this weekend I came across a new one for me from the makers of Slate. The Big Money, a site that launched in Sept to bring you the skinny “on all important aspects of economics and money without getting bogged down in arcane statistics or impenetrable jargon.”

There’s another site I’ve been frequenting recently for money news and that’s NPR’s Planet Money blog and podcast.

Where do you go for your money news and stories related to the economy that make you think?

I’m spending some time today trying to clean out my inbox again after successfully achieving Inbox Zero for maybe 8 days. Buried in the gloomy economic updates and spam, there are some e-mails introducing money-related links you might want to check out if you’re b-b-b-bored.

Mark your calendars, folks. America Saves Week starts Feb. 22nd.

Curious about how economic downturns affect young people’s risk tolerance and investment behaviors over their life spans? Two professors in Cali. were and came out with a study about “Depression Babies” 18 months ago. For the Cliffs Notes, here’s the story from Financial Advisor Mag. I’ve often wondered how entering the stock market in high-flying ‘99 influenced my ideas about investing. Part of me is blase about market losses, but then I look at that $1,000 Roth IRA I opened that year and its current value of $855 and think, “man, this really was a lost decade for stocks.”

Sick of how little money you’re earning on your bank CDs? Then make them fight for your deposit. That’s the idea behind MoneyAisle.com, a site that’s signed up more than 108 small and mid-sized banks to bid for your money. The bank offering you the highest interest rate wins. And so do you.

Popping the big question this Valentine’s Day, but don’t want to blow a wad of cash on the ring? Check out I do now I don’t, a site where jilted lovers can resell rings to hopeful ones. Similar to Shakopee-based Be Iced.

If, like me, you always have the nagging feeling that you aren’t allocating your charitable contributions in the best way possible, check out the Donation Dashboard. It’s a nice concept, but not even small or local charities for my taste.

Any links you’ve run across lately that you found enjoyable or informative? Well, don’t keep them to yourself. Do share!

Discarded wrapping paper and packaging, little plastic toy parts and game instructions. I don’t know about you, but after the presents are open, I am usually overcome by an overwhelming desire to get rid of stuff.

Fortunately, the holidays correspond with the end of the year tax time. So it’s a good time to cull through your unwanted stuff and donate it to charity.

With the economy weakening and the green movement, there’s also been an explosion of sites geared towards swapping and selling your items.

Zwaggle.com, for example, connects parents “who are tightening their belts during in a sluggish economy, but care about the environment and want to provide the very best for their kids.”

Kijiji.com is a free online classifieds site that recently surveyed couples and found 81 percent would like to get rid of dozens of items worth more than $670 in tax breaks, but can’t convince the other person to part with the junk (sound familiar, anyone?).

One local addition to the online classifieds universe is buythechange.com. Co-founder and CEO Zak Steven describes it as a “Twin Cities based alternative to Craigslist that helps community-minded people and businesses buy and sell goods and services with friends, neighbors and others they have something in common with.” Seventy percent of membership fees go back to local non-profits to strengthen communities. Memberships cost from $0 to $100.

If you want to avoid wasting money and space on items you don’t use that frequently, try neighborrow.

I haven’t tried any of these resources. Craigslist.org and Twin Cities Free Market have served me well in the sale or giving away of items. I’d prefer to give real neighbors and friends my unwanted goods if they need them.

Curbside pick-up of donations from places such as ARC and the Epilepsy Foundation make it simple to donate my items in good condition for a tax break.

But if you do use these newer sites, share your feedback.