Debt Help And Advice Blog

Is your job in danger of being shipped overseas? Is your company cutting back on raises and benefits? Are you unemployed? These trying economic times may cause difficulties, but they also represent a tremendous opportunity for each of us to examine our role in the economy and to examine our personal consumption habits. If we all resolve to improve the quality of our spending, even though we may be limited in how much we spend, our world will come out of the current recession much healthier than it was before.

If money is tight, be especially thoughtful about how you spend it. Here are some no-brainer suggestions for ways to cut your expenses. You may think these things are too trivial to bother with, but over the course of a year or two, the savings will really add up:

• When you reach for the last book of checks in your drawer and see that “reorder now” sheet, instead of calling your bank, shop for bank checks online. You can save a bundle over the high markups your bank imposes.
• See if you can save money by cutting your newspaper subscription from seven days a week to only on Sunday. If it is cheaper to just get the Sunday paper, change your subscription. You can save a lot of time by reading the paper only one day per week. Look for the grocery ads in your Sunday paper and clip the money saving coupons. The savings will pay for the paper many times over and will significantly cut your food bill.
• Walk or ride your bicycle to run errands and do shopping close to home. Use high quality reusable tote bags so you can carry your stuff home. If you avoid driving just one mile per day, you will save anywhere from $25 to $75 per year on gasoline, depending on your car’s efficiency and the price of gasoline.
• Use your heating and air conditioning as little as possible. Look for inexpensive ways to improve the energy efficiency of your house. Start by covering windows at night in winter and caulking around window frames and doors.
• Buy unprocessed foods and cook from scratch. Eating at home most of the time will save you a lot of money. But, don’t neglect to support your local eateries on special occasions like your significant other’s birthday!
• Need new clothes? Check your local thrift store first, especially for kids’ clothing that they will outgrow quickly. You can get great deals on high quality merchandise that is only slightly used.

This is just the beginning of ways you can streamline your personal economy. Challenge your creativity and make saving money fun. Be creative when you buy checks. Don’t get the same boring design you have had forever. Get frog checks or something exciting like endangered species checks instead. Make foods you have never tried before, like a green salad with arugula and spinach, or grilled bison burgers. Buy colorful, offbeat clothes at your local thrift store that you would never think of paying retail for. Life is short. Have fun!