The best Web sites to help you scrimp through the recession.

By Farhad Manjoo

In our not-so-distant time of plenty, the word frugal might have conjured images of hardscrabble folks who've deliberately divorced themselves from modern pursuits. The Amish live frugally; the rest of us may cut back when times get rough, but when the world takes off again, we'll be right there to grab our share. With a historic recession affecting virtually every industry, we are all Amish now, and frugality has become a necessity. In search of tips on austere living, a couple of months ago I stumbled upon Wise Bread, an entertaining two-year-old group blog and user forum whose slogan is "Living large on a small budget." From there, an entire frugal world opened up to me—Frugal Dad, Frugal Village, About.com's Frugal Living blog, and many personal journals documenting lives of cultivated asceticism.

These sites brim with advice ripe for the times: what to do when you suspect you'll soon be laid off, what to do after you've been laid off, and how to spend next to nothing and still have a classy Christmas. (For instance, it's within the bounds of good taste to buy someone a second-hand gift.) But frugality blogs offer more than just a few useful tips—many are on a mission to create a new American money culture, to make scrimping seem not just necessary but normal. "In a country where common sense left the financial world long ago, I felt a calling to remind people of some very basic principles," writes Jason White, whose onetime job in a credit-card call center inspires his work at Frugal Dad. "Spend less than you make; save money for a rainy day; live debt free. I know, I know, earth-shattering ideas here, huh?"

Consumer advice is nothing new online, but the most popular sites have traditionally focused on telling you how to buy stuff cheaply. Behold, for instance, Slickdeals.net, which is flooded with news of sales from around the Web. Sites espousing frugality also push deals, but they do so with advice to remain cautious. A deals site will tell you where to find a high-def TV; a frugality site asks you to consider cutting your cable subscription.

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