I had heard all the tips on saving electricity and water for all long time now and to the best of my ability was applying ’savings techniques’ in all areas of my life.

But it wasn’t until my niece and her boyfriend came to live with me for three months that I really saw the effect of savings on the planet and on my pocketbook.

Unplug everything

Just unplug it. Kind of a weird concept to actually put into practice after years of simply turning off the lights, cel phone and iPod chargers, computer, toaster, t.v., and anything thing else that goes into the wall, but it really works.

For the past three months, my guests and I have been unplugging everything when not in use and remembering to turn off the lights when we leave the room. To make it easier, in the t.v. room, we plugged t.v, dvd player and lights into a power strip with an on/off switch and we turn it off when we are finished watching.

$ Result: My monthly electricity bill has gone down 20% and that’s with an additional two people in the home. Amazing.

If it’s yellow, let it mellow, brown flush it down

So no, it’s not the most attractive topic to discuss, but let’s face it, there’s a water crisis in the world and water is getting more expensive by the minute. I only have one bathroom at home and was sharing it with two other people (these past three months) and we all made a commitment to practice ‘not flushing’ when we went pee. It took some getting used to and there were many times when I had to talk to myself and say it was okay not to flush and just walk away. Other times, I had to get used to looking at other people’s pee and again tell myself it was okay.

It is a practice but well worth it.

$ Result: My water bill has stayed the same living with three people. Ordinarily, three people means triple the amount of water used but as you can see not in my case. And that includes, taking showers (separately please).  Saving water (by flushing less) has translated into saving $ and the planet.

I have officially changed my habits and am encouraging my boyfriend and friends to do the same.

I am experimenting more these days with creative ways to save $. Next up: saving $ in the winter time by reducing heating costs.  I’ll continue to share my findings with you here.

It’s all about freedom right? I for one, want freedom from the current insanity that is called collective fear and each day I am committed to finding the positive spots in my life that are plentiful and effortless. And there are many.

We all work hard and deserve to feel free, abundant and joyful, no matter what is happening in the world around us. And it is possible.

Here are five tips on finding freedom in troubled economic times:

Support local businesses

Shop locally. Many big industry franchise-type stores have been closing but have you noticed that the smaller mom-and-pops are continuing to thrive with their communities’ support? Get it together people. Support local stores and businesses. They need you right now and it’s easy; just be more aware of where you spend your dollars.

Create an edible garden

Someone once told me that growing your own vegetable garden is as easy as tossing some seeds in the dirt and simply watching it grow. Okay, so maybe we have to put a little more effort into it (like water and some love), but imagine the abundance a small patch of dirt and some seeds in your backyard can yield. Imagine the dollar savings in produce and it’s all organic. If you live in an apartment, look for a community garden where you can grow your veggies. They are popping up in cities worldwide. Check out Craigs list in your city.

Get into your body

Take a dance or exercise class at least once a week (maybe on a Wednesday evening?) to get you out of your head, and into your body. An important step to finding freedom is feeling it in your body first by relaxing tense muscles. What a great opportunity to make new friends and develop a community. Most exercise classes start at $10 per class.

Start bartering for stuff

Bartering or paying for a service by trading a skill, service or product is seriously coming back into fashion. I’m way into it. I’ve traded feng shui/interior design services for back massages, acupuncture and photography, among other things.  We’ve all got skills we can barter for. For example, maybe you know how to organize a closet really well and can help someone who can return the favor with a massage. Always ask. Most people are open to it and excited to participate.

Get rid of clutter

Purging or removing clutter; things like extra papers, clothing and just stuff that is passively just sitting around, can provide you with the biggest sense of relief. I’ve done it many times in my personal life and helped others along the clutter-removing-path and it is powerful. Clearing clutter is living giving, removes old energy and opens up space in your life for other opportunities to come in.

Most importantly, remember to stay as positive as you can during this time. We’ve all got great things happening in our lives. Let’s focus on that and move towards creating more of it.

As a follow up to my post, stay positive, don’t buy into the collective fear I wanted to continue the discussion on how one engages in marketing practices amidst the presence of negative influences like worry and scarcity thinking.

As I mentioned, I started asking businesses (some local, some national) the same question; “How is business and how are you feeling about the economy?” The answers varied, however, those who were fear-based were not doing so well and those focused on staying positive and flexible in changing times were doing much better, with sales on the rise.

I wanted to go a bit deeper, curious about the state of marketing practices among businesses and how that is changing. For me personally, I’ve always followed my intuition in all areas of my life including my business practices. Not that I haven’t made mistakes, but, when a path is shown to me, I’ll get very quiet, go within and when I trust my gut, I’m always successful.

I wondered, however, if was important to just stick with one’s intuitive business sense, remaining authentic and following an organic path and/or also listen to an outside authority (like a Marketing Consultant) who might provide some useful information on a future course of action.

I called my friend and marketing expert Cindy Aggson of Carpe Viam Group who, in her opinion and experience has found that not all professionals in the field of marketing have the correct answers and it actually depends on how the consultant aligns him/herself with the client’s vision. For example, Cindy likes to collaborate with businesses (and individuals) who are passionate and stay true to themselves despite the obstacles. She gets deeper into her clients’ psyches by asking more about their vision and where they see themselves in the future. She then uses that information to support and guide her clients in the appropriate direction.

I find that type of collaboration to be very powerful; bringing in intuition as a major piece in positioning oneself in the marketplace. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Here’s what Lara Merriken, the founder of LÄRABAR had to say on the subject:

Listening to my intuition has been a tremendous personal asset. It emanates from such a pure, true, reliable place— unlike logic or emotion, which are governed by the brain and thus subjected to all manner of contrary thoughts, feelings of uncertainty, and even fear.

Intuition, on the other hand, is the ability to know what’s right without reasoning. When I first decided to launch LÄRABAR, more than a few naysayers looked at the saturated energy-bar category and logically advised me not to move forward. My intuition, however, told me that the simple, pure, and delicious attributes of LÄRABAR actually made it unique in the marketplace, which was swiftly confirmed by our #1 ranking in natural foods.

The key thing is to trust your intuition, which can be difficult if your brain keeps getting in the way. But once you begin to temper the logical you, the sky is the limit for the intuitive you.

There are many others out there like Lara who have followed their intuition (despite the advice of some of the smartest consultants out there) and have found success. For example, Katrina Markoff, founder of Vosges Haut Chocolates, talks about following her intuition (prior to reaching success) by opening a store in New York City (for 20K a month in rent) against the advice of her accountant who thought she was crazy. She had to take loans to do it and admits that it was one of the best decisions she made and was what was was needed to put VHC on the map.

Interesting? I think so. Let’s keep our intuition and positive thoughts flowing, and the dialog open.

So we all know about what’s happening in the economy right now like the U.S. deficit exceeding numbers never seen before, the housing market slowing down and some businesses closing. What we must NOT do is to succumb to fear which leads to spiraling into catastrophic thinking. It’s not healthy and does nothing to improve our situation.

I live in Portland Oregon where the majority of people I meet are creative entrepreneurs - take an idea and transform it into a business. I’ve seen a few businesses close over the past several months but I’ve also seen many more succeed. And the successful businesses all have three things in common - they stay positive, believe in what they are doing and offer their clients value.

A few days ago I got an urgent message in my inbox from Ladies Who Launch-one of the most successful women’s networking groups in the nation where some of its members have been noted in Forbes Magazine’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women—explaining how some of the organization’s investors were pulling out and the company was experiencing a temporary squeeze.  I stayed positive to the best of my ability. In our current economic climate where fear spreads faster than wildfire and more people are afraid of failing, I felt compelled to comment on how this is not the case for all of us and as long as we continue to take care of ourselves, our surroundings and move ahead with value in ourselves and our businesses, we’ll be just fine, thank-you.

Over the past week I noticed some interesting interactions in my meetings with business creatives, new individuals and even with my eye doctor. The differences in opinions on the economy and the level of fear present were vast.

For example, as my eye doctor dilated my eyes for an exam, she spoke of people’s anger and then went on to list the many negative things about the current state of affairs. I let is wash over me not allowing it to penetrate my psyche. I could see her fear translate into creating drama around a very improbable glaucoma diagnosis and advised me to purchase a $125 exam for further investigation. Sounded fishy to me and not worth any value. I think I’ll get a second opinion. (And by the way, I’m not worried.) I could also see her taking that negativity into her personal life.

On the flip side, other businesses that I met with like interior design and fair trade rugs (and yes they are expensive) were seeing an upswing in sales. The individuals I spoke with chose to remain positive, flexible in a changing environment and open to new ways to meet their clients’ needs.

Every day I research new ideas and meet with entrepreneurs who make a positive difference with their businesses. My committment is to continue to explore the possibilities and provide you with inspiring true stories. If you think you are one of those people committed to change and are passionate about what you do, let me know. I’d like to hear from you. And to you, my readers, thank-you for continuing to check in. We always appreciate your comments and feedback. Help us continue to keep it positive.

And we all have value. I felt compelled to re-post this article from Seth Godin’s blog post today, In Search of Value, sent to me via Cindy Aggson. Thank-you Cindy!

The stock market is going to be bonkers today.

And for most people, it won’t matter so much. Because most of us aren’t focused on flipping assets. We’re building value by creating interactions that work, by writing stories that spread or by designing products and services that actually create something worth paying for.

That sounds like a treacly mission statement, but it’s easy to get distracted by external noise instead of focusing on what counts. Hint: They started Google in the middle of the dot com melt down.

The short-term consequences of an unstable stock market are real and uncomfortable. More (and better) adult supervision would have gone a long way, imho. But we can’t control this, all we can do is focus on what matters.

Hang in.

–Seth Godin