Preparing For The Worst – Hoping For The Best

Well lets see what has taken place economically:

$700 billion dollar bail-out of Wall Street ( not working)

$900 billion dollar bail-out by the Feds (not working)

United States government taking equity interests in banks (again, uuuhhhh not working)

All the government leaders saying, we are not in a recession….maybe you are payed too much Mr. Senator. Anyway I digress.  Whether you think we are in a recession or not, it is time to carefully and frugally guard the income you have coming in versus what you have to spend. It’s going to be a rough roller coaster ride for some time. Some of us are already feeling the pinch and making accommodations where necessary. Others have been fortunate that they have not HAD to cut corners yet. For those that are still keeping your heads above water, here are some smart steps to take now to avoid being shocked into frugal living.

If you are still employed, pretend that today you have lost your job. If you are married, pretend thatone of you is now unemployed. Begin to seriously consider what expenses you what have to cut in that situation and do it gradually now. Take the money that you would use for those expenses and start an emergency savings fund for yourselves. Seriously start spending money only on the essentials. Take a realistic look at what you would have to do without in the unfortunate circumstance of losing an income, and cut those expenses today.

Start paying off your credit cards quickly. Credit card companys’ are always changing the rules on you according to the economy and have been raising interest rates astronomically. Even though Wall Street is getting a bail-out, you can be sure that there is no “citizen bail-out” coming. Pay off those credit cards and stop paying those incredible rates for the privilege of buying something now and paying for it later.

When you have your cards paid off keep the accounts open. But only use the cards in an abosolute emergency situation. If you want to purchase something, pay for it in cash. If you can’t pay for it now, you don’t need it yet.

Cut off the digital cable. Sorry football fans, but regular television channels have football too. Seriously, consider cutting out the cable and high speed internet. The costs are high and really you are only paying for a little faster speed and hundreds of channels that show the same thing. Some people think that I am out of my mind with this, but hey it saves you money. Money that you will NEED later on should this economic condition get worse.

Now is the time to take all the money you have normally put out on unessential things and start saving it. How you decide to do that is your call. The point is…SAVE IT! Piling up the cash now will greatly improve your situation should you really have a loss of income. Taking the steps outlined will keep you from going into unemployment stress and shock needlessly. I sincerely hope that nobody would lose their job, but reality is reality.

For more great information on frugal living and frugal recipes as well as other money saving and living cheap ideas see the line of Living On A Dime series.

Eco Friendly Grocery Shopping

Many folks are looking at ways to save money and be friendly to the environment at the same time. Eco friendly grocery shopping shouldn’t be a burdensome process. Keep in mind that it is not always about purchasing the latest eco product but rather purchasing to produce that has less impact on the environment as a whole. Hopefully this article will explain this idea in a practical way.

The biggest trend on the market today are eco friendly products and all natural this and that. The concern over the environment and ….

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Tips For Stretching Your Grocery Dollars

With gas prices going through the roof and the economy going down the tubes, it is becoming more difficult for families to spend money frivolously. Folks are really starting to look at how much prices have risen on everything nowadays. It’s no different at the grocery store either. Between rising transportation costs to get the groceries to the store and the mark-ups store owners are having to place on products. Many folks are having to find unique ways too stretch their dollar. People who normally go out to eat for dinner or grab something quick at the fast food restaurants are now having to look at creating meals at home as well. Here are some tips for stretching your grocery dollars and still have restaurant quality meals.

I am assuming that some people reading this are relatively new to home cooking. If you’re one of those people chances are you don’t have the on hand item that are staples for any home kitchen. This little tidbit is especially for you. …….

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Saving Gas: Improve Our Driving

Gas prices are increasing everyday and for those of us who drive that’s not good news. Since most of us have accepted that fact, as if we had a choice, we must find ways to use less of it. We must increase our fuel economy, though sometimes that seems like a daunting task. But it really isn’t as difficult as you would think. In fact, the most effective ways to save gas are free or inexpensive and most of them are easy to do. The two main areas that must be improved upon is changing the way we drive and improving vehicle performance.

Changing the way we drive has to with planning our trips,

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