Cutting Costs in Hard Times

By Theresa Wilkins
We're all experiencing it, living below our means to get by each day trying to support a family. Making cut backs in what we could consider a luxury in these time can be difficult; and there will be times we may have to pass on the party we traditionally have every year, or streamline the extra-curricular activities our children are involved in. It can be heartbreaking to do, but there are ways to cut down with possibility of having money left over to do family oriented things. All is not lost, even in painful economic times.

Try your hand at easy gardening. There are so many advantages to growing your own food including saving hundreds on your grocery bill each month. A normal family of 4 could spend an estimated $200 dollars on food every week, just to feed ever growing children 3 meals a day. Seems a bit steep don't you think? Just by setting up a small 5 foot by 5 foot garden with a variety of veggies and fruits you could save up at least $100 a month. There are some plants that don't take a lot of time to keep and once they are planted can grow untouched for the whole season. You can freeze most vegetables and fruit to save during the year, this will also help save throughout the winter.

Cut down your phone bills by losing all the fun "bells and whistles". If you can, try doing most of your business calls via cell phone and blue tooth. You can shut off that extra land line and save money every month. You can also get rid of extras such as voicemail services and opt for a cheaper alternative such as a regular phone with an answering machine. Good thing about cell phones these days is that you can get USB charger that can plug right into your computer. This saves time of finding plugs and leaving chargers in the wall which can actually raise your electric bill.

Taking off some unnecessary cable charges. I have heard of some folks getting rid of their cable bill to thwart paying high charges. I recommend do what's right for you. You could just get a basic package for cable and watch anything else online. There are websites like Hulu.com that have episodes of TV shows from popular channels right there to view online and the cost, free for right now. This could also get you back into some hobbies, pick up a book now and then and could change your life in many ways. TV will always be there when you can get back the finical wiggle room you used to have.

Shop when you need to, not when you want to. In the world, we are a largely consumer based society. Even with government money troubles some people can afford to splurge a little, but the majority of people need to make more careful and thoughtful decisions. When your shopping make sure you have a full stomach and a specific list. This can cut down on impulse shopping and over spending. If your using a debit card, only put so much on the card to stop from buying what you may not need. If your shopping online, search around for the best price on an item. All these things can stop you from making unneeded purchases and help you save money for future needs.

The idea behind these tips is to not give you advice on short term savings, but give sound advice for the long term goals. If you can stop yourself from spending too much and save money, this can open up possibilities for future investments like car repairs and emergency cash flow. These are things sometimes not though about until it happens, which could be costly and create a painful domino effect if not taken care of promptly.