Tennis Australia Press Conference
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We're in a dow economy and the worst may not be over yet.  Gas prices are through the roof and everything else seems to be going up as well.  Time to make every dime count...one way to do that is to cut back on waste or unnecessary spending.  So what's waste? 

Five things we waste money on (Source, The Street):
   1. Exercise equipment: Remember where in the basement you left it? Just remember how many people keep that New Year's resolution to get back in shape. That promise is toast for most of us within six months.
   2. Swimming pools: Typically, a poll can cost as much as $40 grand to put in, and more typically, the value of your house won't increase by that much just because you've got a hole with water taking up your backyard. Better be passionate about swimming, otherwise, it just won't pay.
   3. Wine cellars: The California Wine Institute says the U-S surpassed France last year as the world's largest wine-consuming nation, but that doesn't make most of us experts on grape varietals and food pairings. Even with a small wine fridge, about the size of a dishwasher, you're storing maybe 50 bottles of wine in the house. Really? For what, the occasional fancy dinner?
   4. Outdoor kitchens: You can really go nuts with these built-ins, from eight-burner gas grills to smokers, mini-fridge, even a pizza oven, all to cook the occasional burger which tastes pretty much the same on a Hibachi as it does on a $10-thousand-dollar backyard kitchen.
   5. Espresso makers: These things can run you up to two grand, which is pretty expensive for something that can end up in the kitchen graveyard with the ice cream maker, the fondue set, and even the oddly shaped cookie cutouts. The less snobbish coffee maker is under $100 bucks. An espresso at Starbucks is $1.75. Do the math.

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