I don’t have to tell you getting by on our paycheck is getting harder by the day. The recent collapse of Lehman Brothers and now the bailout proposal in limbo has many of us wondering what we can do in our day to day life to keep ourselves afloat. Consumer finance expert Ethan Ewing, president of Bills.com in San Mateo, California gives us some quick and easy ways we can keep more money in our wallet.    

1) Budget. Budgeting may not sound exciting, but it is the # 1, sure-fire way to save money. The key is to set goals – and if you’re in a relationship and/or have a family, to do so with your spouse and family members. Whether your goal is to save on weekly grocery bills, or take a vacation to Latin America write down the goals and build your budget with the goals in mind. For some, it may mean modifying that vacation but whatever happens, you’ll find that you will be spending smartly.

2) Give up expensive coffee drinks. You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again. If you hit Starbucks twice a week, break the habit for a month and save $32. It may not be completely pain-free for some, but the rewards may be worth it. To make the habit permanent, spend $10 on a good insulated container to bring your own hot coffee, tea or chai to work or school. Short-term savings: $50 if you spring for the container. Long-term savings if you bank the money saved and thank compound interest: more than $10,000 in 20 years at just a 3 percent interest rate.

3) Drive less. We all know this, but putting it into action takes thought and planning. If you do, though, you can consolidate trips, carpool, and walk or bike for some errands. Drive your car just about 25 miles less a week (depending on type of car, mileage, and cost of fuel) and you could have another $68,000 dollars over 25-30 years.

4) Eat out less. Make lunch or dinner at home instead of "grabbing a quick bite." Saving $10, $20 or more each week by cutting out a restaurant meal or two adds up to hundreds in a few months. Take your lunch to work and find yourself $36,000 richer in 20 years – and more than $72,000 richer in 30 years.

5) Be creative. Generate some extra cash by selling unneeded items on eBay, holding a yard sale, or putting change into a jar every evening. Even small amounts, saved regularly, will accumulate surprisingly quickly

6) Turn off the clothes dryer. A new electric dryer can use 4,500 watts per hour -- older ones might use even more. This is likely the highest energy use of any appliance besides your furnace. Running the dryer for an hour might cost nearly 30 cents. The average family does 8 loads of wash a week. If each load takes one hour in the dryer, hanging all clothes to dry will knock nearly $10 per month off your utility bill (about $120 per year).

7) Turn off the clothes dryer. A new electric dryer can use 4,500 watts per hour -- older ones might use even more. This is likely the highest energy use of any appliance besides your furnace. Running the dryer for an hour might cost nearly 30 cents. The average family does 8 loads of wash a week. If each load takes one hour in the dryer, hanging all clothes to dry will knock nearly $10 per month off your utility bill (about $120 per year).

Based in San Mateo, Calif., Bills.com (www.bills.com) is a free one-stop portal where consumers can educate themselves about complex personal finance issues and comparison shop for products and services including credit cards, debt relief assistance, insurance, mortgages and other loans. Bills.com holds the No. 257 spot on the 2008 Inc. 500 list, and was ranked as the No. 3 fastest-growing company in America for 2008 by Entrepreneur Magazine.