How to Save Your Money During Hard Times

It’s getting harder and harder to know how to save your money in this horrible economy. Right now, more than 600,000 Americans have lost their jobs since January. Home foreclosures are skyrocketing, and home valuations are plunging. Gas prices are high, and America's still spending more than $10 billion every month on the war in Iraq. Saving money is vital if you want to pay your bills and have money left over for groceries each week. With more and more people going into foreclosure, you need to make sure you keep your home off that list! Tough economic times call for tough economic choices!

There are many things you can do to cut back and reduce your monthly bills without having to sacrifice too much. If your income has decreased, your monthly bills must reflect that. Now is not the time to add on to to them! If you’re thinking about getting a new credit card to help you pay for some of those monthly bills, don’t do it. You’ll only create a bigger hole and add onto the amount you owe. Credit cards are a temporary fix at best and may only come back to bite you in the ass later when you get the bill. Extra bills won't help you save your money!

You can't save money unless you learn to accumulate it. In a down-turned economy, that's a tough thing to do! Money is very magical! It can disappear right before your eyes, if you don't watch it carefully and guard it very closely!

Isn't it always the way too! You get an unexpected check in the mail and before you can say 'yippee', something happens. The water heater breaks down, one of your children gets hurt and has to go to the emergency room, or bad weather takes out your TV and stereo! No matter how hard you try to get ahead, you just keep getting pounded!

To get by you've got to really grit your teeth! Saving money won't happen if you just wish for it! American's especially, have gotten very accustomed and used to comforts they once could afford but cannot anymore. So what do you do? First and foremost, you get back to basics to save money!

There are many things you can do to cut your monthly expenses without drastically reducing your current standard of living.

Ways to Save Your Money

1) Create a Budget! When you look at your monthly expenses, you might be surprised to find how you spend your money each month. First, make a list of all your monthly household expenses and bills for one month. That includes electricity, cable TV, phone, internet service, water, insurance, credit cards, donations, groceries, subscriptions, and any other bills you might have at home.

If for example, what you spend at the grocery store fluctuates, take the mean average by viewing a few of your previous grocery receipts. (Add the grocery receipts together, then divide that number by the number of grocery receipts you added up. That gives you the mean average.) Then add all your bills together and divide that number by 4. That’s how much much income you’ll need per week to keep on top of your bills.

Then for one week, write down everything you spend outside your home. That means everything, and includes snacks, eating out, drinks, gas, splurges, and anything else you happen to ‘pick up’.

Add your weekly out of home expenses with your weekly in home expenses. (What you must make every week to pay your bills.) Then multiply that number by 4.

Are you surprised? Most people never realize how much money they actually need and spend every month. You cannot save your money if you don't know your budget!

2) Pay Cash! Whenever you can, pay cash for what you buy. Cash is a good way to only spend what you have. If you haven't got any cash, then don’t buy anything. It’s really that simple, and is true even when you need groceries! Learn to live without them for a week and you’ll start learning how to save your money by comparison shopping really fast! Also, when you do start paying cash, you’ll be surprised how your unconscious mind will calculate what you put in your basket. It never fails for me. If I take $80 into the store, I usually spend around $75-$79. When I go over (which is only very rarely) Lars and I take something out of the cart! This is not the time to whip out a credit card and charge the difference! 3) Update Your Cable TV! If you have the latest and greatest cable in your home, but you don’t get to watch TV that much, get rid of the cool package. Change it to the least you can get by with without doing without completely. Figure out which channels you watch the most, and buy a cable package that only includes these channels.

Shop around too! There are a lot of great deals you can get if you take a little time to explore them. For instance, recently I called Direct TV to find out if they had local channels in our area. I will need them in February when TV switches over to digital, since I mostly watch local channels and only have analog TV's. I found out that Direct TV doesn't have local channel options where I live.

So I called Time Warner. They do offer local TV in this area and had some really great deals for Direct TV users. I got a really great deal for 18 months with the option of locking it in at the same price after that time. However, if you can’t afford cable after you’ve looked over your monthly budget, get rid of it. If you still have an internet connection, you can find many TV shows online now. Invest in a larger digital flat screen and watch TV from your computer instead. These cut backs can really save your money!

4) Conserve Energy! The costs to power your home have reached all time highs. They can gouge your wallet and make you feel naked! Get in the habit of turning off lights every time you leave a room. Only do full loads of laundry and full loads of dishes. You can also save money by washing your clothes in warm water with a cool water rinse. Many people use hot water rinses because they think that it makes their clothes cleaner, which is not true. Cold water cleans your clothes, prevents shrinkage, and saves your money by not running your water heater as much.

5) Driving! Since gasoline prices have increased so much, going for a pleasure drive has become a thing of the past. If you haven't yet given it up, you must change what you do and where you drive. You will never save your money if you're not willing to change your behaviors! Plan your trips whenever you can. Taking public transportation is also something to look into. Carpooling may not always be possible but find out if it is. Tell your insurance agent if you have cut back on driving. There may be some perks in your insurance that will lower you costs!

When you do drive your car, make sure your tires are properly inflated! If they aren't, you'll wear them out more quickly and lose a lot of mileage. Uninflated tires are the #1 reason why people get lower gas mileage!

6) Talk A lot? Most of us grew up with a home telephone that hung on a wall or sat on a table. They became an icon in our homes. However, many people have opted to get rid of their home phones and just keep their cell phones instead. You will have the convenience of being able to get your calls anytime. The best part is that you have the option of making your home phone number, your cell number. That way, you won’t have to update all your records and inform all your friends of the change!

7) Heating and Cooling! If your heating and cooling appliances are outdated, it may be time to check into updating them. You can find appliances that are much more energy efficient and save your money by investing in newer ones. Yes, there is an initial expense, however the key word here is investment. Another way to save your money is to change out oil heating or air conditioning units, to electric ones. Yes, electricity costs have also increased but not as much as oil has. Check into purchasing dependable semi-older units that can still help conserve energy in your home. Habitat for Humanity has stores in just about every county now, so these are great places to check! During summer months, set you’re A/C thermostat on higher temps than you’re used to. Many years ago, people lived without A/C, as odd as that might sound! When I was growing up, we only had one A/C unit in our downstairs dining room. Our bedrooms upstairs were not air conditioned at all. However, we did have a huge attic fan in the upstairs hall closet. We left our bedroom windows open and had the fan installed so it blew the hot air out of the house. That also created a breeze at night in our bedrooms. The coolness it created at night was phenomenal! Use mother nature and a bit of ingenuity to help you save your money.

You can also help cool the air inside your house by using more fans in each room. Ceiling fans set on high are great at circulating air. You must clean all of your fans regularly, for optimum results. I recently found a box fan at the trash dump that works great! If you're central A/C unit is outdated, opt for energy efficient window units. Set back your central air and use the window units to help cool the air in your home.

In the winter months, get used to layering clothes when you’re home. Extra socks and hats are a great way to keep your feet and head warm. Install a portable fireplace in rooms where you can. Set your heat back to the minimum you can live with. You will save your money and keep energy costs to a minimum!

8) Refinance! Since interest rates have dropped, it maybe time to check into refinancing your home. I did and was told that I couldn’t. However, as my mom always told me, it never hurts to ask. The worst they can tell you is ‘no’. If current interest rates are at least half a point lower than your current mortgage rate and you plan to live in your home for at least another couple of years, refinancing to a lower monthly mortgage payment may save you hundreds of dollars a month. That can make a huge difference and really help save your money!

9) Stay at Home! If you are used to going out because you’re bored or looking for something else to do, find things you can do at home instead. Invest your money in more family games, hobbies, movies, and other interests you might have. In the summer, you might opt to put an inexpensive pool in the yard to keep your family happy at home. During the winter, a small hot tub or outdoors open fire pit is a great way to stay warm, entertain yourself, and save your money. No one I know can resist marshmallows cooked in open flames!

10) Credit Cards! Paying just a few dollars extra a month over the minimum payment on your high interest credit cards can make a huge difference in how quickly you can pay off your cards. After you pay off your card(s), you will save your money by eliminating that monthly expense altogether. You will save a lot of money on interest and that will add to your income.

If you have other credit cards, think hard before you make purchases for non essentials. If it’s something you simply can’t live without, add it into your budget for the next month so you can pay it off easily. Don’t keep adding more items to it! Pay off one item at a time before you break it out for your next purchase.

11) Insurance! Make an appointment with your insurance agent and go over each and every insurance policy you have with them. If you’ve been with an insurance agency for a long time, you may NOT be able to get more perks by staying with them. Multiple policy holders get more reductions that non multiple policies however, the requirement may only be that you have two insurance policies with them instead of the three you have. I recently switched over my car insurance to another company which gave me better prices, but kept my two other policies with the other insurance agency. I still get my multiple policy holder reductions plus I am saving money each month on car insurance with the other company.

If you are lucky enough to have health insurance, change from complete medical coverage to major medical insurance. You won't have insurance for things like flu shots or doctor's visits, but you will have major insurance in case something catastrophic happens. I purchased health insurance from the N.A.S.E. (National Association of the Self Employed). My son and I have major insurance only but it also provides for prescription drugs, in case we need antibiotics or other medicines.

12) Bad Habits! If you have bad habits you just can't seem to quit, try cutting back at least. If smoking is your thing, then switch to less expensive brands or be more mindful when you light up! If you like a few beers every night or a glass of wine, opt for least expensive brands or cut them out except on the weekends. You'll lose weight, be healthier, and save your money!

13) Plan Meals! Take time each week to plan out your menu and only buy the things you need for it. You can also make casseroles, stews, pasta dishes, and other meals, that will give you more than one meal for the week. Leftovers are a great way to save money and time in a hurried world. Make your actual meal plans on paper on your day(s) off from work. Know ahead of time what you’ll need for each meal. Not only will meal planning help you save your money by buying only the food you really need, it will save you from making unnecessary and expensive extra trips to the store.

14) Stay Healthy! If you don't overeat, learn how to lose weight, and exercise regularly, you are apt to save your money and stay healthier. Being healthier means staying out of the doctor's office and less prescription drugs and lower health insurance premiums.

15) Go Solar! Solar panels can save you an immense amount of money. Check into them in your area. Find out how much they'll cost to install. Alternative energy is a great way to reduce monthly bills and save energy. Push for biofuels in your community and in your state's legislation. For example, Willie Nelson was on TV this morning. His tour bus runs on soybean oil, which is much more environmental friendly!

16) Work from Home! Ever think about working from home? There are many ways to make money sitting at your computer. You can write articles, provide html or javascript skills that pay cash, build your own website, or sell things on Ebay. What you'll earn is what you put into your efforts!

Saving money every month may require you to painfully rethink your priorities, and change some of your long standing habits. Habits have a way of becoming 'normal'. Redefine your definitions! Challenging times call for drastic measures. You can save your money if you just take some time away from distractions and go over your expenses. There are so many ways to save your money if you get creative and make some phone calls! Times a wasting, so do something as soon as possible to change the way you live and get ahead!



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