Anon, selling a car worth $40,000 and buying a car worth $20,000 works. It obviously doesnt work in ALL situations, but does work for many. People wont want to do that though. Just curious if you agree about selling jewelry though – I would rather sell my engagement ring (which I love) than have to turn to tzedaka for food when there are so many people out there who dont even have jewelry to sell.
I was working at 14 – I worked on the weekends for my shul caterer. Luckily, my mother didnt need the money so it was all “play money” for me (which I saved a lot of), but if she had needed it, I would have forked it over in an instant.
I am not saying to overwork kids, but there is nothing wrong with having them help out. Its not a good idea in all situations, but in many (especially with older kids) it could work.
I highly recommend http://www.slickdeals.net to find savings. I use the drugstore brick and mortar area to save a ton of money at Shoprite, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Stop and Shop and others. Each store has its own thread (or its own thread per week for the drugstores) so its easy to find what the deals are and where the coupons came from.