5 Budget Busters for the Unemployed

Losing a job can be very stressful and money worries are often a big part of the concern. I was worried I might lose my job in April and in September, it happened. I remember that day thinking, "How am I going to reduce my costs". Trying to find ways to bust my budget, and cut back on spending while unemployed can be easier than it seems, at least it was for me. Here are 5 (actually 7)budget buster ideas that cut my costs about $1000.00 a month. I hope you can find ways to cut back, too!

One way to bust a budget: Reduce energy usage

Reduced Daily Usage: You may laugh at this but going to work every day required a daily shower and that meant using the hair dryer and the curling iron for me. Now, unless there is an interview pending, a doctor's appointment or some special function, there is no need for me to shower daily as I am not going out. I take a shower every other day now, and I don't use my hair dryer or curling iron unless I am going out in public for some reason. That's about $20.00 a month in electricity for us.

Lifestyle changes: In addition, although we had our home remodeled and have the recessed (in the ceiling) bar cans for lighting, every time we flip a switch it means three to six lights go on. We have taken our old lamps out of the closet and dusted them off. We are using the energy saver lights and if for example, I am sitting in the living room reading, I now have one light that is ample for me to see. We are much more conscious of shutting things off and unplugging equipment such as the extra refrigerator and freezers we have that were not full. This focus has saved us about $40.00 a month.

Furnace and air conditioning maintenance:I noticed that our furnace was kicking on frequently so we had the oil burner technician come out and clean our furnace. I noticed a significant difference in how the furnace operated and believe that part of our monthly energy savings has been attributed to the furnace being maintained and not working so hard. We also re-adjusted our hot water heater so it wouldn't be as hot. Our bill has dropped by about $80.00 a month since I have been home and we have changed the way we are living.

The second way to cut costs: stop using dry cleaning

Having been a white collar professional, I wore suits on a daily basis and that meant a dry cleaning bill of about $60.00 every two weeks or roughly $120.00 a month.

The third way to significantly dent the budget: change eating habits

Take Out lunches: When I was working, on average, lunch at a local restaurant would cost me about $10.00 a day, not including tip. It would also cost money in terms of gas as I went out to grab take out. With today's prices, I'm thinking it was about $10.00 in gas for lunch a week, and between $50.00 and $90 for lunch including tips. Let's say, $100.00 a week, or about $400 a month, I'm not spending anymore on dining out at lunch time.

Take Out dinner: When I was working, I also was attending school full time. We have a daughter, a home, a yard, and two businesses that also required my time. Time was something that was precious and I wasn't willing to "waste it" on cooking or cleaning up. Our version of making dinner was often picking up the phone and ordering a pizza, Chinese or going up to the road near Bradley airport and getting some fast food in one of the many hamburger joints that are scattered on the main drag. Back then, we didn't spend a lot on grocery shopping because we rarely cooked. Now we are spending an average of $100.00 a week, which is much less than what we were paying on take out and tips. So let's say we are spending $400 on groceries vs. the $600.00 a month we were spending on take out and tips. Total savings for changing the way we eat, $600.00 a month.

The fourth way to reduce costs while unemployed: minimize fuel usage

This was negligible for me as I lived in the same town I worked and my commute was about 3.8 miles one way. But for people that travelled a distance to go to work every day, the savings on fuel can be significant. Gas in our area for unleaded is about 2.77 a gallon right now but when the price had soared to 4.00, I was filling up my truck for 75.00 a week. Now it is about $48 to fill it and I'm doing that every other week rather than each weeks. Conservatively, this has represented a savings of two weeks' worth of gas or maybe about $100.00 a month.

The fifth opportunity to save money while unemployed: Stay home and host Leftover Party

Instead of going out these days, we're staying in. Having friends over, bringing their leftovers and playing a game of Wii Fitness, Sport or Play, or pulling out the microphones and singing with the Karaoke Machine are ways that we have found to have fun without spending a lot of money. This saves us about $80.00 month.

That is almost $1000.00 a month in savings.

Surprise Bonus suggestions to save money: Six and Seven - Stop soda and cigarette consumption

Sorry I can't help myself but wanted to include these budget busters too - maybe more for myself than anyone.

a) Six is stop buying soda and switch to juice or a powdered mix like lemonade or tea. I don't like plain water but I have found that if I put a couple of table spoons of cranberry juice or lemonade mix into a tall glass of water, it gives it enough flavor where I like it, and the caloric content and health factors are much better than drinking several cans of soda, as I was doing. Since I have been drinking lightly flavored water, our costs on soda has been greatly reduced as well.

b)Those that know me would say, Quit Smoking is number seven and you are absolutely right! It would be a smart decision and a financially beneficial one. I made it twenty days last time in the month of November. Maybe for New Years Eve, it will be my number one New Year's resolution.

I'm sure there are other ideas so please go to my comment section at Associated Content and give me your suggestions, or twitter me at @kbalbify.

I'll be sure to include them in another article and get the word out.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/665994/kay_balbi.html>Kay's Associated Content profile and stories

Happy Job Hunting!