Driving home the other day I noticed a billboard that made me laugh out loud. It read Recession 101: Funny thing about recessions, they end. I thought it was a pretty clever way to get the attention of drivers who probably sit in traffic every day at the same time just to be able to afford to put food on the table. Things are rough right now, and we all can feel it. That’s why it’s important to save money when and where you can. If you want to avoid bankruptcy and all the debt that comes along with overspending your credit limit, start thinking about how to save.
It’s not as difficult as you might think. Saving money can be done, it’s just something that we’ve seemed to have forgotten over the years as we were gambling the stock market and buying new cars. Things are different now, and it’s time to teach our families, and possible re-teach ourselves, how to be financially responsible no matter what the economy looks like or how much you are making.
1. Coupons are an amazing way to save money. Sure it can be time consuming, but it can also be a family bonding time on Sunday mornings. I was watching the local news the other day and this amazing lady had a grocery bill of just over $100. She only spent $1.00! Now, the thing about that newscast was they probably had been planning that shopping trip for some time, so they waited until it was triple coupon day, and the coupons matched up perfectly with what she needed to buy, and she only bought what was counted as triple coupon or free promo items. The point is that it’s entirely possible to save $100 a week on groceries for your family if you take some time out to cut coupons and look into sales. You might have to visit a few different stores to get the best deals, but it will save you in the long run.
2. Subscribe to the newspaper. I know it seems like spending money on newspaper delivery is wasted cash that you could be saving for something else, but trust me, if you simply receive the newspaper on maybe Wednesdays and Sundays, it will be money well spent. Coupons and sales are immeasurable when it comes to saving money.
3. Shop only the sales, and the second-hand stores. I’m not going to lie; finding a deal at the mall where you can get two shirts for $10 is like winning the lottery sometimes. If you need to spend money on clothes during a time when money is scarce, look for sales. Everyone is hurting right now, including department stores. They need to make sales as bad as you do, so the discounts are out there. Take your time and look for them.
4. Carpool or use cash only gas stations. Places like Arco that have cheaper prices for cash only are great resources for saving money, if you have to drive. However, it’s better to plan out your day where you can avoid driving. Carpool as often as you can, and if you must drive, plan out the shortest routes and most efficient way to get around town. Utilize those saving-gas methods like not accelerating excessively and driving the speed limit. It truly will save you money.
5. Last, but definitely not least, do the little things around the house that will save you on your energy bills. Find out what sort of time-of-use plan or discount programs your power company offers. We have a time-of-use-plan that saves us hundreds every year. It might seem inconvenient to constantly be conscious of what time it is and what time you can and cannot do laundry and wash the dishes, or turn up your air, but it’s definitely worth it.
These five tips might seem a bit time consuming and might involve a little more effort than you are used to, but tough time call for some tough measures. And, in reality, these aren’t tough measures. These are financially responsible techniques that we should be using all of the time, in a good economy and a bad one.