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While pundits and economists worry about Wall Street’s well-being, Americans worry about losing their jobs, paying their bills and the health of the planet. The capitalist marketplace promotes the exploitation of people and natural resources as cheap fixes. But you don’t have to abandon your values to save a buck. Welcome to the People’s Marketplace.

This week we take a flea-market perspective to saving with a motley collection of frugal living tips.

Add to your monthly budget by canceling subscriptions or memberships to anything you don’t use. Cancel magazines you haven’t read lately. The only thing worse than watching a pile of glossy-print news get dusty in the corner is paying for a gym membership that never actually get you to the gym. Cancel it. It doesn’t mean you are not serious about getting healthy, it means you are getting serious about saving money, and exercising is the easiest thing to do for free. If your gym is going to charge you an early cancellation fee, try to sweet talk or lie your way out of it. If this doesn’t work, go ahead and pay the early-termination fee if it will still cost you less than paying the monthly membership for the remainder of the contract. Check out the article, “How to Quit the Gym, (or Anything)”, at www.moneycentral.msn.com for more help.

At home or the office, cut the amount of printer ink you use, and therefore buy, in seconds by changing your default printer settings. Change the default print quality setting to “draft” which prints with less ink. And for color printers set the default to “black and white”, because 99% of your printing doesn’t need all the colors of the rainbow. And, reuse paper by printing on the back of sheets.

With family and friends, increase your social currency while cutting the cost of socializing and buy greeting cards in boxes of 10 or more. Find blank cards with all-occasions appropriate covers. Just personalize the inside for birthdays and farewells. No one will know you didn’t hand-pick it for their moment, and everyone will appreciate the thought.

And finally, when it comes to treating that what ails you, always buy generic. From aspirin to anti-depressants the ingredients and potency are the same. Generic simply means that the original patent expired and that formula can now be reproduced by other companies. Consumer Reports says don’t worry, the Food and Drug Administration regulates generic drugs and brand names the same way, so you’re safe. Find out more at www.consumerreports.org/health.

So, browse your life for small changes that will add up to big bucks. Together, we can take back the economy.