Today’s current economic meltdown is coming as a shock to two generations of Americans who have never seen a recession before. Not only is the news on the economic front unsettling, they, like the majority of Americans, don’t have a clue as to the steps they should be taking to help make ends meet.

Most of the following suggestions are things you can start doing to help you keep your lives as balanced as possible.

1- First and most important, set up and start following a family household budget. Your budget should include all your major expenses (mortgage, car payments, credit card payments, etc).

It also has to include things like groceries, insurance payments, phone expenses, utilities, cable TV and eating out. In other words, all your expenses for living in your home. Only after you’ve subtracted all your expenses from your take home pay can you begin to understand how important a good budget really is.

2- For one week keep track of every penny you spend during the day. The vast majority of Americans haven’t a clue as to how much real money actually flows through their hands every month or how much control over their money they really have. The amount that people spend on a daily basis tend to be small and it’s easy to lose track of how much everything costs. But to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin: “Small pennies add up to large pounds”.

If you are honest with keeping track of every penny you spend daily you will be amazed at what the total amounts to. Getting control of the spending you do without thinking can add up to a considerable amount of cash.

3- Start your own campaign to use energy and resources more wisely. It’s no longer about being green – now it’s all about saving money! You can take a huge bite out of your electric bill by changing the way you use your air conditioner without really changing your lifestyle. Begin by contacting your electrical supplier and signing up for their “interruptible” service plan.

You can save lots on your electricity by simply letting the power company take your air conditioner off-line for about 10 minutes/hour whenever their demand reaches a certain level. Chances are you will never notice any difference in comfort level – only in your electric bill! Install the energy saving light bulbs where ever you use lamps the most. They not only will last longer but the cost/per kilowatt hour is significantly less.

4- Buy and install flow restrictor shower heads in all of your showers. The average shower uses about 10 gallons of water/minute. The flow restrictor reduces that rate to less than 5 gallons/minute with no noticeable reduction in the quality of the shower. Talk to your hardware person about the best type to get and the ease of installation.

5- This is a tough one that you’ve probably already started on. You have to go over your budget (see Step 1 above) and determine which of your non-essential activities you can either cut down on or eliminate.

These include things like health club memberships, facials, massages, manicures, hairstyling, kids athletics, golf memberships and all the other things that quietly take your money.
You might be shocked at how much you can save by changing the way you decide to recreate.

6- Now the biggie. You have to do everything possible to eliminate credit card debt as fast as possible. The average family has way too much and most people never fully realize how much it actually costs to use credit instead of paying cash.

Start looking at the amount of interest you are paying every month and imagine what you could be doing with that money if you weren’t paying it to your credit card company. How much gas or how many groceries would that amount buy for your family? Begin looking at those interest payments as the penalty your family is paying for the “convenience” of using your credit cards.

7-The thing your Grandmother clipped and used regularly to save money is making a big comeback. Coupons are here again and you don’t even have to clip them! You simply go to a site like http://www.CoolSavings.com/couponsite , find the coupons you’re interested in, print them out and take them with you when you go shopping.

How much you save will depend on you. But if it worked for Grandma there’s no reason it won’t work for you, too. These are just the beginning of things you can start doing to help you cope in our changing world. Starting with these simple ideas will lead to more things that will save you money. And keep in mind what good ole’ Ben said.

Wieland is a freelance copywriter commenting on the Common Sense things in our world that many ignore or don’t even know about.
He is a former Financial Planner who specialized in pre and post retirement planning.

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