5 Ways to Spend Less and Stay Well

2. Substitute Honey for Antibiotic Cream

You may have used honey to soothe a sore throat, but did you know that raw, unprocessed honey -- the kind you buy at the farmers' market or in the health food section of the grocery store -- can also be used to treat mild skin infections and burns?

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Our ancestors did. Dutch researchers point out that honey has been used since antiquity to treat infections, but now there's scientific proof. Medical grade honey -- honey that has been produced under controlled conditions -- has been shown to kill even antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

But you don't have to go to a lab to stock up your medicine cabinet. Dr. Wayne Anderson, author of "Habits of Health," says to use raw, unprocessed honey on your scrapes and cuts. The heating process used to clarify most grocery-story honey "probably eliminates the antibacterial property," he says. "If it's processed, it won't work."

Research on honey is still in its infancy, he says, but what is not in dispute is that honey contains hydrogen peroxide -- the perfect antidote for staph and other common skin bacteria.

Anderson says that when compared with over-the-counter creams, honey might be even more effective for small burns -- such as the kind you get from the stove or a hot iron. That's because most anti-bacterial creams stick to the skin as well as the gauze, causing further irritation when the gauze is lifted.

Honey, on the other hand, is partially absorbed by the fragile, puffy skin, providing a slippery membrane between the flesh and the bandage.