CLARKONOMICS: Over the last several years, we as Americans became "negative net savers" -- a pointy-headed term that simply means we spent more money than we made. It got to the point where the average family debt versus income had roughly doubled in less than 10 years.

Now, the trend seems to be reversing. We are now saving a nickel out of every dollar, according to preliminary January numbers from the federal government. That's the best we've done in a longtime. Of course, it's not the "dime on a dollar" formula that Clark raves about, but it's a start.

So where are we cutting back in order to sate our newfound hunger for thrift? The car category accounts for nearly two-thirds of it. Americans are simply sticking with their old vehicles instead of buying new ones. The second largest category where we've cut back on is eating out. After that, we're trimming the budget on clothing, jewelry and alcohol.

In most recessions, sales of alcohol do really well. But this time around, people are trading down. For example, fancy wine drinkers may be switching to Two Buck Chuck, while beer drinkers are avoiding expensive and exotic microbrews in favor of cheaper populist choices.