Even though I recently turned 31, my father, who was in his 50s when I was born, was a child of the Great Depression. My mother was born much later, but she inherited some kind of thrifty gene that suited her prowess as a homemaker.

Therefore, I grew up eating every scrap of home-cooked food on my plate, enjoying hand-me-down everything from three siblings, and wearing lovely outfits my mother sewed.

I never felt deprived from the hand-me-downs; why would I? I, too, had inherited the thrifty gene. I’d raptly listen to stories of my father’s childhood, trying to imagine what it meant to be alive during a time of such widespread poverty. I’d quietly watch my mom sew in her makeshift craft room in the basement, trying to absorb her technique to copy later with scraps (she always claimed she had no patience to teach me to sew, but she still managed to teach me by example). Like any child, I fell prey to commercials advertising whatever toys tied into that Saturday morning cartoon of the day, but I was also just as happy trying to build my own toys out of the odds and ends my father kept tucked away in his packratty office space.

Today, as the American economy is indeed bleak, my thrifty gene is in full-force. Unsurprisingly, I’m not alone. According to a new study, 58 percent of American mothers who were surveyed think America is “too greedy,” while 52 percent are trying to cut back expenses in general (while 65 percent say they are eliminating all non-essential purchases). And they’re in it for the long (or long-ish) haul: 51 percent of the moms said they expected no improvement in the economic situation within the next year.

We all want to save more money, but it’s easy to actually spend more on accident, as reported in this recent New York Times story. Stressed out brains make for irrational shopping choices.

So, take a deep breath, maybe brew some herbal tea or chant a frugal mantra or something, and read our tips on how to be a bit more thrifty (or even a cheapskate, like me!).

• Breastfeed. It’s free!

• Make a budget. My friend Lisa dutifully sat down with her husband and made a detailed list of monthly expenditures and paychecks. “Then we planned a budget from there,” she says. “We have done really well on clearing up debts and building some savings.” By using coupons and buying clearance items, Lisa feels OK with “a reasonable splurge once in awhile.”

• Use cloth diapers and wipes and wash them at home. This is not at all difficult; we do it! There are many different options in cloth diapering (all-in-ones, pocket diapers, biodegradable inserts), but the cheapest method is to buy cotton pre-folds and diaper covers. The initial set-up cost is more than a box of diapers, but it will save you much more money over time, especially if you wash them at home rather than use a diaper service. For wipes, simply buy a pack of baby washcloths (in a pattern different from bath time washcloths) and keep a squirt bottle of water (with a bit of baby soap in it, if you’re feeling fancy) on the changing table. Seriously—that’s all you need.

• The library is your friend. Remember the library? The place with all the free stuff? If you simply must buy a book, consider a charity shop: my friend Angell buys books for $2 or less at a local Habitat for Humanity bookstore.

• Make your own baby food. Mashing bananas, avocadoes or cooked sweet potato is much cheaper than buying jarred food (and saves resources, too—think of all that plastic and glass packaging). If you can boil water, you can make baby food. You can read more about making your own baby food here on babygooroo.

• On that note, make your own food in general. Now would be a good time to actually read the cookbooks on your shelf (or go to the library and check some out). Add up the money you spend every week eating out—ouch, right? Stock up your pantry with some cheapo basics instead, and consider starting a container or yard garden, too. If you haven’t already planted a winter garden, take this chilly time to plan a spring one.

• Knit and sew. You do not have to be crafty to do either of these things; nor do you need to know advanced math (all of those numbers in knitting patterns put me off for a long time). You just need to be able to follow directions. Yarn can be expensive, but here’s a fun cheat: buy some sweaters at the thrift store, unravel the yarn, and knit with that! (Here’s a tutorial on unraveling sweaters.)

• Consider consignment. Where I live, a local church holds a gigantic consignment sale of maternity and children’s clothes, toys and books twice a year. A lot of Tommy’s clothes that aren’t hand-me-downs from his cousins are purchased here for just a few bucks (literally—some outfits sell for $1 or less on the last day of a weekend sale). My friend Allison buys almost the entirety of her son’s wardrobe twice a year. Check your area for similar sales, and hit up consignment shops that are open year-round.

• Go off the grid. If you afford the initial expense of installing solar panels, do so. You could be eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit. If you use solar panels while connected to the grid, your meter will run backward when you generate more power than you use—and some power providers will purchase the extra energy from you.

• Have a “no shopping month.” Angell designated September as a month in which absolutely no “extras” were bought for her two young sons. In October, they used some of those September savings to buy Christmas presents.

• Or, shop in your house.  Instead of buying new toys, Angell periodically rearranges the playroom, which reignites interest in old toys.

• Entertain in. My friend Victoria cut back to basic cable, but she’s considering ditching even that in favor of her 3-movie plan with Netflix. With flat-rate online DVD rentals, it’s getting dangerously easy to imagine never leaving the house again (but think of all the gas you’ll save!).

• Read your bills. You might be paying for extra services you don’t want. My friend Grisselle pays her bills online, and “I  usually look at the amount due, set it up and go,” she says. “I rarely look at the bill itself. But this month I’ve been going through every single bill and finding and cutting off all sorts of unnecessary stuff that I didn’t even know I was paying for,” like text messaging on her cell phone, for example.

If you’re feeling panicked because of the onslaught of buying on your holiday present to-do list, watch this space for an upcoming article on making your holidays homemade (and cheaper!). Happy savings to you!