The nonprofit Samaritan Ministries transfers money among its members to pay each household's health care costs. Benefits to members include lower monthly payments and faith-based policies, but there's no guarantee their bills will be covered. Several evangelical Christian groups are using similar approaches.

Across the country, cash-strapped cities are coming up with novel ideas for raising money — imposing new charges on everything from sodas and plastic bags to library late fees and emergency-response services. With at least two more years of bad budgets ahead, look for cities to turn to niche taxes.

Cable TV subscribers seem to pay more for the service each year. In fact, the cost has doubled in the last 15 years. But a growing number of consumers are finding ways to hold down their cable bills. They're benefiting from competition, haggling and service bundling.