America’s Top Financial Bloggers: What is the Best Way to Manage During Difficult Economic Times?
by Efin Advisor | July 13, 2009
By Christina Brown
Christina Brown writes for Northern Cheapskate, a blog dedicated to helping others live a frugal lifestyle through coupons, freebies, and money-saving ideas. Learn how she saves money as a stay-at-home mom living in the rural northwoods of Minnesota at www.northerncheapskate.com.
Many of us have lived well for a long time. We dressed nicely, we ate out at restaurants and took exotic vacations. But now layoffs arrive with little notice, and families are struggling to make ends meet. The days of spending without thinking have disappeared. For many of us, it is a cold, hard reality we’re not prepared to deal with.
Here are five ways to take control of your personal finances during these tough economic times.
1) Learn to Budget. In order to manage your personal finances properly, you need to know where every penny you make is going. Keep track of all your income and expenditures for at least a month, if not longer. You’ll get a better sense of what your problem spending areas are, and what bills you may be able to reduce (such as your grocery or cell phone bills). Check online for free budgeting resources or visit your local library for more ideas on how to get started.
2) Learn the difference between needs vs. wants. If you’re serious about taking control of your money, then you need to get serious about what you truly need. You don’t need a giant house, but you do need shelter. Downsizing your living space may help you free up extra cash in your budget. Think hard about what you could give up if you needed to. You may discover that you don’t need cable television after all.
3) Recognize that the little things count. While it is important to consider making changes to those bigger ticket items in your budget (such as vehicles, living arrangements, and insurance deductibles), realize that the little amounts you can save do add up. Clip those coupons, find those freebies, and conserve that energy. Every dollar adds up.
4) Use the internet. The internet is the best tool you can use to manage your life. You can find tools for budgeting, scour the internet for coupons, freebies, and deals, and use it to job search. You can watch television on the internet, find free things to do with your kids, and talk with friends and family online. Cut your cell phone, cut out cable television, sell your car, but try to keep your internet. It’s a great tool that can help you on the road to personal financial freedom.
5) Accentuate the positive. Yes, these are tough economic times, but this is also the best time to grow as a person. Learn new skills (such as cooking or sewing). Enjoy more time with your family. Cultivate a simpler lifestyle and you won’t regret it.
What are your tips for saving money? How do you get by during financial difficulties? As always, your comments are appreciated.
I really like the accentuate the positive point you make. Even if you do all of the other things you suggest, if you are used to a more extravagant lifestyle than with budget cutbacks, you may find everything you do disappointing. If you are constantly comparing, you may have money and be better off financially,, but you may also be miserable. If you keep looking on the sunny side of things, life can seem better even if its not. A positive attitude is a wonderful thing
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I want a new car. I need a car. This is the single easiest way to reduce your costs significantly. A new car loses half its value the second you drive it off hte lot. I recommend that people buy used cars or at the very least, lease. You have no idea how much money I saved by doing this
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I just started clipping coupons both from the internet and from my local paper. This alone covers the cost of the paper subscription. What I do is buy products that are on sale now that I know I will need in the future. If i have a ton of paper towels, so what, I go through them way too fast (actually i got a shammy instead of paper towels recently, but you get the idea). One thing i noticed is that a lot of people do not have grocery store savings cards. YOu know, those free things that get you discounts on all of your groceries. If you don’t have one, WHY NOT!?!? This is such an easy way to save
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Do people really not budget anymore? This is not directed to you Christina (I rather liked this article) but more to teh readers in general. Why do you not budget? I’d love to knkow if there is a way to not spend lots of time budgetting but just magically be able to spend within your means and not buy frivilous purchases. Its the only way i can keep track of my spending and stay on track each month
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I’m curious about people’s opinions on this as its an issue i’ve been thinking about for a while. So, after all my budget cuts,, I have extra savings that I’m not entirely sure what to do with. I’m not asking for investment advice (i have a broker for that) but do people think i should use that money to have some fun (random things that my family would enjoy) or would it be better to just put it in a savings account. Having more savings would obviously be good, but is it worth it when i have some savings and I could ensure that my family has better memories?
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