Go local and save money; too.

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LOCALIZE YOUR HOME!
The biggest expense most of us have is our mortgage. Actually, 60 percent of our annual expenses go to shelter. This money often flies out of our pockets into the hands of absentee landlords or corporate banks in other places. By renting from a local landlord, or buying your own home with a mortgage from a community bank, you can limit this expense. Local banks and credit unions typically have the best rates anyway, possibly saving you-money. Try to find a bank that doesn't repackage and sell loans on the secondary market, a move that stops your money from flowing through the community. This would localize $7,800 per household per year!

The figures are from the Consumer Expenditures Report released in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Labor.