A thrifty year ....

After 18 months of living it up in China and doing some amazing travel, my bank balance is not looking so healthy, so 2010 is going to be a thrifty year for me.  I've spent some time thinking about which areas I can cut back on ..... perhaps three massages a week is a luxury?!  I like spending money on sports and healthy (but sometimes expensive) foods and I like eating out, so those two areas will remain.  After some thought, I've chosen to tighten the belt in two areas - books and general day-to-day stuff that all adds up.  I've joined the library and my bookshelf is brimming with books, magazines, CDs and DVDs from the Manly library.  For the second area, I've consulted my friend Google for budget and environmentally friendly cleaning and beauty products.  My bathroom is gleaming after a scrub with baking soda, which is much more efficient, less potent and cheaper than normal cleaning products.  Also, sitting in my shower is a huge yoghurt tub filled with a homemade exfoliating scrub.  There were many recipes for this on the net, but I chose for the simplest - white sugar and olive oil.  A word of warning though, add the olive oil very slowly!  Whilst my skin was silky smooth, I was slipping all over the shower that quickly became slick with olive oil, not to mention the oily feeling on my skin.  I wonder how else I can become thrifty without compromising my lovely lifestyle?!