The continued tightness of the U.S. economy means that we the people are looking for alternative ways to spend and save our money – preferably alternatives that cost less than what we’re already familiar with.

Here’s a look at two new options we have and how they might work.

Toys R Us and the Saving Bonus

A recent article from the Associated Press announces that retailer Toys R Us has announced an incentivized payment plan for people wishing to begin saving for Christmas purchases (and yes, retailers are already thinking about Christmas).

Here’s the skinny, according to the article:

• You open a card with the Christmas Savers Club with as little as one dollar.
• If you open the account before October 16, you get a three percent bonus on the money you set aside (essentially, you’d earn three percent interest on the final amount of money you save).
• You can save as much as $2,500 on any card (so the maximum bonus you could get would be $75) and can begin shopping with it on October 31.
• Unlike traditional layaway programs, you don’t have to decide what you want to buy before starting your savings.

While a stash of cash at Toys R Us won’t appeal to everyone, it’s an interesting technique to force savings so that you don’t end up swiping your credit card during the holiday season. Bonus: using the store savings plan means you won’t have to pay interest on anything you buy!

Person-to-Person Cash Transfers

In the days where fewer and fewer Americans use cash as their currency of choice, paying individuals (for joint gifts, babysitting, that pint of ice cream they grabbed for you, etc.) isn’t as easy as it once was. But that’s the problem that ZashPay.com seeks to correct.

The service works like this:

• You set up an account at ZashPay.com.
• You enter the name and email address of the person to whom you owe money.
• You make a payment to that person. Some banking institutions will charge a service fee, but users note that the amount is negligible.
• The payment recipient receives an email giving her instructions for how to pick up the payment. If she doesn’t have a ZashPay account, she can create one for free and then access the money.

Some financial institutions already use ZashPay, so if this service interests you, be sure to ask your banker whether it’s already available.

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