4 Good Ways to Cut Costs and Save Money

With the recession we are having now, I knew something had to be done about our mounting bills. Changes had to be made to adjust to our new situation. We would have to start determining what unneeded pleasures we could cut back on.

The first thing to go was our satellite dish. Although we loved our 250 channels along with news, sports and weather, this is considered a luxury. It was nothing we could not live without. We opted for the converter box and antenna. Now I realize that during the day, most of the television shows I watch are not on cable. In fact, the only thing I miss about having the pay service was the movies. But too often on a lot of the major cable networks, these movies are repeated again and again anyway. Now I wait until they come out in DVD. Then I only pay for the movie I prefer to see. This saves us a hardy $720.00 a year.

We live in a rural area. It is so far out and away from any town, that it is very hard to get services such as trash pick-up. We attempted to sign up through a trash pick up service, but our garbage was rarely picked up. We were paying $50.00 a month for bad service. We had to figure out another way to be rid of our trash. The answer for us was recycling. We have bins for cans, glass and plastics. Do not worry about having a special bin to place recyclables in. Any large plastic bin with a cover will suffice. All paper products are gathered and burned weekly. If you live with in the city limits you too can burn garbage in your back yard. Since it is only paper products. If it produces black, thick smoke, do not burn it. Recycling is a great way to do your part for the environment. But the best thing about it is saving $600.00 a year.

Our monthly food bill was incredible. We went out to eat three or four times a week. My husband would purchase his lunch everyday from fast food restaurants. When we went grocery shopping, we always went on impulse. We bought whatever sounded the best at the time. Not paying any attention to the cost of the food. This is not only an expensive way to live, but it is also very unhealthy. Something had to be done to regulate food costs. I would cook elaborate meals, and a lot of times over half of the dinners would end up as leftovers nobody wanted. I had to start getting more bang for my buck. So I did this, instead of preparing a whole chicken with all the trimmings for my family, I would now get three meals out of it. I would start by boiling the chicken for broth as the base for a soup. I then portion the meat out for two more meals. They can be as easy as chicken Philly sandwiches with Swiss cheese and peppers. Or a yummy chicken casserole. The options are endless. I also started packing a lunch for my husband. Although he still goes for the fast food on occasions, it is not an everyday occurrence. I used to spend $100.00 a week on groceries. From incorporating food portioning and cutting out going out to dinner altogether, I am down to $50.00 a week. Another $600.00 a year saved.

Cell phones were a regular part of life for us. My husband insisted I have the one in case of emergencies. But after he purchased a really nice one, that even had a camera, I rarely used it. In fact, I did not even know my own cell phone number. I admit at first, it was fun to text my husband during the day. However, I would much rather have the $580.00 at the end of the year, then the cell phone. Especially when we have a perfectly good land line.

If we all step back and examine our spending habits, there are so many ways to save money and cut costs. Although these decisions can be tough to adjust too, others are unusually easy. It is appalling sometimes to observe the things we spend money on, and do not really need.