Coffy's suggestions are good. But here are a few of my own:
- Patronize local small businesses, even though prices may be higher and selection may be less. When you do so, money circulates in the immediate community instead of being locked up in the bank account of a corporate behemoth. Remember that money is the lifeblood of any corporation.
- Work out arrangements with your neighbors to take care of your mutual needs together. By pooling your money and other resources, you can do interesting things like buying staple food at wholesale quantities from local farmers or farmers' markets, or watching each other's houses instead of installing expensive alarm systems.
- Use less stuff. Buy less stuff. Shop with a critical, suspicious eye.
- Sell your television. Or shoot it.
- If you are extremely ambitious, for about $6000 you can buy a house and a decent-sized plot of land in Oklaholma. Of course, your average noder knows about as much about farming as a cow knows about noding, but it's still possible. With a good artesian well and solar panels (or simply learning to live without electricity) you can go off-grid entirely.