These days, it seems like the price of almost everything is pretty darn high. Gas, food, bills … you name it. So is it any suprise that people are trying to cut corners and discounts out of the newspaper?

And if that doesn't work, then what? Spend the rest of your life paying off interest-only loans? Sell your soul to the big corporations? Modern-day slavery, but I won't go into that now.

Instead, I'll just offer you a few ways to put off judgment day just a little bit longer. Some of these ideas have been tried and tested by yours truly, others I've only heard about. So try these at your own risk.

1. Be creative. I know, that's pretty cliché. But if it helps out your wallet, who's to complain? For example, one of my friends just turned 17. I wanted to give her a gift, but couldn't find anything that was within my budget or eye-catching. As a result, I looked around my room for something suitable for a present.

Within a few minutes, I found an empty glass bottle — which at one point contained some fruit drink or other, but which was now perfect for a flower vase. Except I didn't have any flowers. How do you grow beautiful flowers overnight? Just some pretty patterned origami paper, bamboo barbeque sticks, and glue. Oh, and a bit of time and effort.

After adding various embellishments, the paper flower arrangement was finished. It took an hour or so, mostly spent finding other trinkets that I wanted to add. The end product is was quite pretty and would last much longer than than your garden variety blooms. Well, except for the scent — vanilla perfume doesn't exactly last all that long.

2. Use BookMooch. Are you a bookworm? Spend too much money on books? Well here's the perfect place for you: BookMooch. It's quote is fitting: "Give books away. Get books you want." Basically, you list books that you don't want for other people to "mooch" and request to "mooch" unwanted books from others.

The service is free, minus the postage fees. However, you do have to maintain a certain ratio of books given to books received and have positive reviews, similar to other online buying sites.

One man's trash is another's treasure.

3. Food party! Yes, you heard right. Instead of going out to eat at pricey restaurants, why not get a bunch of friends together and have a potluck? Ask everyone to bring a dish or two, and if you get a bunch of people, there'd be a large variety of entrees. It's like a buffet, but cheaper and much more varied!

4. Do it yourself. The Uni library just got a subscription to the magazine Make, a DIY magazine that offers lots of instuctions making your own clock or raising your own chickens. And if your finished products look good and work, you can sell them on sites like Etsy, which takes a percentage of the profits.

5. Buy items online. Online stores generally offer better prices and more varieties than your average Wal-Mart. One that I find really nice is Etsy, a site that sells homemade goods for discounted prices. There's plenty of bargains, and many creators offer to customize their wares the way you want them — but for free or a minimal amount. Does a supermarket do this? To a very limited extent. Worried about wearing the same shirt as someone else? Highly unlikely. Break your piggy bank? Nope.

So what are you waiting for?