As wallets lighten and belts tighten across the country, people are scrambling for ways to squeeze just a bit more blood from that stone (or turnip, depending on which version of the fairy tale you’re reading). However, as it turns out, all you really need is love–-and an Internet connection.

Free TV/Movies
As people spend more and more time online, they spend less time watching television…unless that television happens to be online. Lately, many major networks have tried to cut down the number of illegal copies of their shows available on the Internet by offering legal copies on the network’s official web site. The down side to this is that generally only the 4-6 most recent episodes of a show are available. So unless you’ve been watching the show since the beginning of the season, it may be difficult to start watching it.

In addition to the networks, sites such as Hulu and Joost provide access to archived episodes of current and classic TV shows. They may not have everything you’re looking for, but they might also introduce you to a new favorite show. These sites also offer full-length movies to watch for free.

Also, if you’re already paying for a subscription to Netflix, some television shows are available starting shortly after the original episode airs. (I’m currently watching Heroes Season 3 on the site.) Unlike on the main sites, these shows don’t disappear as the season progresses.

If you’re trying to save money by cutting out cable (or just the DVR), these options can help you keep up with your favorite shows.

Free Books
Say it with me: Your local library is your friend. As long as you keep up with due dates (and many libraries will send automatic e-mail reminders to keep you from forgetting), the only cost to you is the cost of gas or whatever mode of transportation you use to get to the library. And, perhaps, patience. Popular books often have a long wait list, but there’s plenty of other books for you to read while you wait (or movies to watch, or audio books to listen to, or…)

If your county library system doesn’t have the particular book you’re looking for, talk to a librarian about getting the book through inter-library loan. If you’re willing to wait a little while, you can get just about anything you might be interested in reading.

If you’re looking for works online, the Internet Public Library is one place to start. It also contains a large collection of useful reference materials and the opportunity to “Ask an IPL Librarian” if you have a question you are having a difficult time answering.

If you’re specifically looking for older works, Project Gutenberg is a collection of public domain fiction and nonfiction works available for free online. If you’re looking for free audio books, Project Gutenberg works with AudioBooksforFree.com, LiteralSystems.org, and Librivox to provide volunteer-read audio books of the free works on their site.

Free Music
I was first introduced to free Internet radio through Pandora. Since then, I’ve been introduced to Last.fm and Blip.fm. All three of these sites allow you to listen to music online for free.

Pandora and Last.fm are sites that allow you to create a “radio station” based on your particular favorite artists and favorite songs. As you rate more songs, the site slowly learns your preferences and recommends new songs you may like. I’ve discovered many new favorite bands this way. You don’t have much control over what songs come next (you can skip a song or express your dislike for a song in order to move on to the next song, but you can’t generally repeat the song you just listened to), but this makes room in your lineup for more new music.

Blip.fm is a bit like Twitter for music, with individuals tweeting their favorite songs. You can subscribe to the music tweeted by your favorite “DJ” or listen to whatever comes up in the global list that catches your attention.

Each of these sites provides you with links to buy particular songs once you’ve fallen in love with them, unless you’re willing to wait for them to come back around on your play list. Either way, if you’re frustrated with your local radio stations, Internet radio can be a good option. Also, many radio stations from around the world stream their broadcasts or particular shows online. So if you loved your local radio stations in Minneapolis but you now live in Boston or even Bhutan, you can often still listen to the stations in real time online.

Free Phone
I’ve heard many good things about Skype, which allows you to make free phone calls to other people over the Internet. I’ve known people to use this service for calling individuals, for setting up conference calls among friends, and for recording audio interviews for podcasts. All of the people involved in the call need to be online, but in this day and age, that’s generally a small thing to ask.

The Internet can help you stay connected to friends and family, entertain you, groove you, and answer your questions. If Simon Delivers still existed, you would hardly need to leave your house (except to pick up and return those books from the library). Still, these Internet resources can help you save money for more important things, like buying books from Apex authors.

If there are any free Internet resources in these categories that I’ve missed, please add them in the comments!