11. Consider second-hand.

Besides stops at the thrift store and Craigslist.org, some families with one eye on shaving costs and another on the environment are turning to the Freecycle Network (www.freecycle.org). This grass-roots, non-profit group encourages folks to give away stuff they don’t need and get stuff they do. This, in turn, keeps the stuff out of landfills. “It’s perceived to be as good for your pocketbook as it is for the environment,” Zandl says.

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