Ike just put another post up on HuffPost. Check it out here. One thing I'd add to his recession list would be to get rid of one car in your household (assuming you have two or more). A while ago, my wife and I decided to go from a two car household to a one car household. It was painful at first but we adapted. We took more public transportation and planned trips better to make use of our one car. I would guess we probably saved thousands every year on gas, maintenance, and insurance by losing that extra car. The other unexpected benefit was that we had more time together on those car rides (maybe not a benefit for some?).
 
For those ditching their own cars all together, I'd suggest a car sharing service - City CarShare or Zipcar come to mind for those in the Bay Area.

Tuyen