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President Obama started last night’s televised speech with a mention of our current economic situation and how our country hasn’t faced a financial crisis like this since the Great Depression. Turns out we could learn a few lessons from our Great Depression grandparents about how to save money, so says Bills.com president Ethan Ewing. Here are 9 such notions we should take to heart.

1. Live below your income.

Simply put: Do not spend more than you earn. Those who are hooked on plastic can withdraw enough cash each week to cover necessities — even groceries and gasoline — and put the credit cards away. Ewing noted that a recent study by Visa found that people who pay for their food with a credit card spend 30 percent more on average than people who pay with cash.

2. Focus on needs, not wants.

Ewing reminds Americans to understand their income and their necessary expenses, and account for these needs before spending money on any wants. To avoid confusing the two, put off purchases for at least 24 hours whenever possible to think about them carefully.

3. Stay home.

Save an average of nearly $2,000 per year by skipping the far-away vacation. Talk, play games, work on a project or watch a movie to relax instead of heading for the amusement park or out to dinner and a movie.

4. Eat in.

Speaking of dinner, consider this: In 2000, Americans ate an average of 4.2 meals per week at a restaurant; in your grandparents’ time, an occasional restaurant meal was a rare treat. With the conservative assumption that each restaurant meal costs $7, the cost for 4.2 meals per week would mount up to $127 per month, or more than $1,500 per person, per year. For a family of four, costs could soar over $6,000 per year. Learn to cook a variety of foods and use convenient tools such as a slow cooker to save time, money and calories.

5. Skip the alcohol.

Have dinner with your grandparents, and odds are good that they most often drink water, iced tea, coffee or soft drinks. At home, choosing iced tea instead of a cocktail will save 50 cents to a dollar per day. In a restaurant, the savings could be $5 or more.

6. Choose regular coffee.

Your best bet is to make a cup of tea or coffee at home and take it with you.

7. Do not shop for entertainment.

Read a good book (get an old-fashioned library card) or learn a useful hobby instead.

8. Keep the old car.

A car is transportation, not a fashion statement. Nuff said.

9. Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.

This is actually an Old Yankee saying, and I love it. (That’s Leah talking!) Do not throw out a bottle of shampoo simply because you are tired of the fragrance — use it all up. Keep jeans past their fashion prime. If your shape of your turkey platter is not perfect for Thanksgiving, does it matter? And do you really need color-coordinated, fabric-lined baskets for your linen closet, or would old boxes work? Think twice before spending by reciting this mantra of the frugal home.