OK, it’s January, and it’s time to get down to paying off the bills, saving money and keeping your budget under control.

What are your best tips for getting the new year off on a leaner and more cost-conscious financial footing?

We’d like to hear your ideas, your secret savings ploys and your cheapie habits that will impress, surprise or even freak out your friends, family and co-workers.

Also, tell us if you’ve calculated how much an extremely economical habit has saved you in the past.

Cheap doesn’t have to mean, as the thesaurus says, stingy, miserly, parsimonious, skin-flinty, mean, tight, penurious or money-grubbing. It can be smart, environmentally beneficial, cutting-edge, energetic, healthy and — dare we say it — even fun.

Send your ideas, along with your name and phone number, to features@timescolonist.com.

Or offer your tips in the comments section below.

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