The Freecycle Network It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns and thus keeping good stuff out of landfills.
Social Eats Home cooked 3 course meal for just $30 and includes wine. Social Eats hosts open dinner parties in the home of an amateur chef and his wife.
Book Recommendations
Rob Grader: The Cheap Bastard's Guide to New York City
Suzie Orman: The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke
April Lane: To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop
Kate White: Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead... But Gutsy Girls Do