A cornucopia of smart money tips

Don't know much about money? You can get help -- free help -- online through the OpenCourseWare Consortium. It's -- a group of about 250 universities world-wide, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California-Irvine.:

• A Boost in Online Money Courses

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Don't throw old clothes away. Re-use them!

• Green Cleaning: 37 Reuses For Old Clothes
  

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The Wall Street Journal's Neal Templin about how to talk yourself out of buying things that you don't need:

• The urge to splurge: Don't worry, it'll pass.
  

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You spend $76 a month on what!?! First, make a list of your must-haves and what you can do without. Says Karen Blumenthal:

The bane of my budget isn't a trip to the mall or dining out, but an insidious creature who takes more than his share when I'm not looking. I call him "Bill Creep."

• In the Fight Against Bill Creep, Every Extra Fee Is the Enemy
  

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Yes, you can live mostly in a cash-only world. Funny how it's easy to fight the urge to splurge if you have to pay for it in cash.

Make a plan. Use credit cards to get gas or big-ticket items, but commit to using cash when shopping for everything from food to clothes.

Make a budget before you shop. If the fear is you'll carry too much cash, make multiple trips.

Trash the plastic. But do keep the debit card.

Pay them off. If you keep any credit cards, pay them off in full each month. That's not a new idea, but sticking to that resolve achieves much the same result as using all cash without the drawbacks.

• Yes, You Can Live With Less Plastic

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And finally, I've always maintained that the Internet can help you cut costs.

• Web sites like billshrink.com.
• Hulu.com will let many people save money by canceling some of their cable TV package.
• High-speed wireless Internet, from 3G to new WiMax, should let them save on home Internet connections. (Xohm, the new WiMax service, is priced well below cable- though at this point it has only been launched in Baltimore and rollout to other cities is taking time.)
• Google Talk lets you make video phone calls to family, friends or colleagues around the world for free.
  

More from Brent Arends' Cutting Monthly Bills? Turn to the Web.