Bad habit: Skipping meals

Letting yourself get too hungry is one of the worst things you can do if you're trying to lose weight. When you finally do eat, you're likely to gobble down too much. It's also much harder to make good choices if you're ravenous.

Fix it: Eat breakfast and then refuel every four to five hours. If you rarely stop once your day begins, plan what you'll eat. Consider easy options like microwaveable healthy meals, low-fat cottage cheese and fruit, or a high-fiber nutrition bar and a container of nonfat Greek yogurt. The healthy carbs and lean protein will provide long-lasting energy.

Bad habit: Eating out all the time

Restaurants are a caloric minefield. Portion sizes can be huge, and chefs often have a heavy hand with salt, fat, and sugar.

Fix it: If you can't cook at home, limit the damage. Avoid alcohol, which contains empty calories and loosens inhibitions, making it tougher to order wisely. Stick with water or have a glass of wine or a light beer if you really want a drink. Tell the waiter not to bring the bread basket, and order a salad instead. This will help curb your appetite. Ask for olive oil and vinegar on the side and go light on the oil. Next, pick a lean protein entrée, such as fish or chicken, and choose preparation methods that use little fat, such as poaching, grilling, or broiling.

Bad habit: Using food as comfort

Most people who struggle with their weight use food to help them deal with negative emotions or stress. When the food is all gone, the problem is still there, and it's been compounded by guilt over having eaten too much.

Fix it: Try labeling your feelings ("I'm sad, not hungry"), and remind yourself that eating won't solve things. Visualize how you'll feel after eating, and ask yourself if it's worth it. Then choose an alternative activity, such as calling a friend, taking a walk, or reading. Over time, these activities, not food, will be the first things you think of when you need a pick-me-up.

Bad habit: Eating when you're not hungry

Snacking even though you are full makes the pounds add up.

Fix it: The next time you're about to pop something into your mouth, assess your hunger level. If you're not truly hungry, don't eat. If you're a little peckish, allow yourself to get a bit hungrier. When you do sit down to eat, adhere to the Japanese saying hara hachi bu, which means "eat until you are 80 percent full." Chances are that in 15 to 20 minutes, you'll be perfectly satisfied.

Meet the Harrisons

They've put saving first and mended spendthrift ways. Their ideas add up to: Annual Savings of $5,200.

When her daughter McKenzie was born three years ago, Michele Harrison decided to reform her spendthrift ways and pay down about $6,000 in credit-card and auto-loan debt. "Saving was a new concept," says Harrison, 42, a single parent. "It was always: Spend everything once you have it. Every payday was a windfall."

Harrison, who lives in Maricopa, Ariz., where she is a data-center coordinator for Wells Fargo Bank, started saving by studying her budget. She found that dining out every day was gobbling up her income. Brown-bagging her lunch and eating dinner in saves her about $1,820 a year. And capping her grocery budget saves another $125 a month, on average.

Harrison's Costco membership got her a cheaper auto-insurance policy (with free roadside assistance). That cut her annual car expenses by about $300. Plus, she makes fewer driving trips, saving hundreds of dollars on gas. Harrison also dropped her $28-a-month land line and her $65-a-month cell phone, and she now uses her work cell phone exclusively. And she scaled back satellite-TV service.

Meet the Silberts

They set out to save on everything from diapers to taxes. Their ideas add up to: Annual Savings of $10,000.

Lawyers Mike and Vjera Silbert of Philadelphia welcomed their third daughter in August. And although bringing a baby into the world can put stress on anyone's finances, the super-saving Silberts have managed just fine.

Since introducing Lola to big sisters Anya, 7, and Maya, 4, the Silberts have trimmed their budget, starting with food. The family eats out less often and cut $30 from its weekly grocery bill by using coupons and buying store-brand products, says Vjera, 36.

The Silberts save on formula, diapers and wipes by buying in bulk on Diapers.com. And they will save an impressive $2,300 in taxes this year by using a flexible spending account through Vjera's employer, Wolf Block LLP, to pay for child-care expenses.

But their biggest savings yet, says Mike, 39, was refinancing their 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Slashing the interest rate from 6.125% to 4.75% put about $500 per month into the family budget. The Silberts also invested in a programmable thermostat to lower the heat while the family's out or asleep, cutting their heating bill by about $150 a year. -- Stacy Rapacon

Meet Ms. Dunshee

She created a budget that cut expenses by 10 to 20 percent. Her ideas add up to: Annual Savings of $2,660.

Stephanie Dunshee was always careful with money. But the 46-year-old pharmaceutical executive really began to focus on saving when layoffs became more common in her field. "I started cutting back about two years ago to see if I could live well on less," she says. "I could."

Dunshee drew up a budget of everything she buys, then tried to cut each expense by 10% to 20%. That exercise, she says, "really causes you to get creative."

Dunshee saved $460 per year by dropping her land line and using only her cell phone. She and her extended family saved $700 by consolidating their cell-phone bills with a family plan.

Coupons from grocery circulars and Web sites, such as Smart Source and Red Plum, cut Dunshee"s expenses by about $100 each month. She takes advantage of double- and triple-coupon offers, and tracks down coupon codes for online retailers. Using a credit card with rewards points saved her $200 on Christmas gifts. A programmable thermostat saved another $100.

The strategies have paid off in more than just savings. Dunshee took a severance package from her employer in October and is considering a career change. "My overall goal is to work at a job I really enjoy, even though it pays far less," she says. "Given my frugality and that I've saved and invested well, the recession isn't causing me the same kind of anxiety others are feeling." -- Kimberly Lankford