You know the economy is tight when seemingly every article you read is about how to weather the tough times. They give you tips on bettering your gas mileage, lowering your electric bill and how you can save at the grocery store.

But we officially reached a tipping point. In this month’s issue of Money magazine there is the following headline: “New Ways To Save On Drugs.”

Before they offered that page of advice, I had no idea how to get out from my crippling cocaine bill. And don’t even get me started on how heroin is killing budget this month. I might have to take out a loan just to keep the smack dealers from breaking my leg and stealing my iPod.

In the magazine’s index, they give you little indication they’re actually talking about prescription drugs (a major disappointment). The article itself has a giant picture of legitimate-looking pills to dash your hopes once you get there.

Just when I thought Money was only going to dash my hopes, it delivered something even better than drug advice on the very next page. They had a few paragraphs on a rather creepy service that allows you to send birthday cards with money to your grandchildren for their entire lives. Do the math, and you see that the only way for that to happen is for many of those gifts to arrive long after you’re dead. It’s called AfterThoughts Birthday Insurance, and costs at least $141 a year to guarantee a $100 check each year to your grandkid.

Their Web site has a lovely testimonial-filled video about the wonders of the service. Definitely not for me, but it appears to make some odd people very happy.