Biggest New Year's Resolution and 5 Ways to Obtain Them

With all the ups and downs this last year resulting in an economic recession, I find it only fitting that my biggest New Year's resolution for 2009 is to be more conservative with my money. Basically find ways to cut back in every way possible when it comes to spending the green. Less is more, so I guess I'll put it to the test this year.

I am no stranger to changing my way of living. I used to smoke for 10 years and quit cold turkey. Been smoke free for four years now! I had been diagnosed with a rare disease called Pulmonary Hypertension. I had to learn how to manage my life differently, reduce stress, not to rush, walk slowly, learn my physical and mental limitations...basically totally changing the way I was living my life. Then the following year I was diagnosed with another disease called Ulcerative Colitis. With this I am learning how to eat differently among other things. So I figure I can surely find ways to spend the family's money differently to get the best bang for our buck. Yeah, I have racked up a ton of medical bills so every penny counts these days.

In this economic state I understand that a lot of people are counting their pennies as well. I see story after story on the news that people young and old have to decide whether or not to pay for their medicines or put food on the table. Many people are visiting food banks and soup kitchens to eat because they spent their last dime on their heart medicine. And being on a fixed income doesn't help. So I have come up with 5 ways to cut back our spending.

1. COUPONS: A good way to save a few bucks is to use coupons. The newspaper is an excellent source for coupons and you can also print coupons from the Internet.
2. MEAL PLANNING: I would say one of the largest monthly bills a household has besides the mortgage and car payments is the food bill. Each month we spend several hundreds of dollars on groceries and fast food. I would like to start planning meals by the week that includes meals we cook at home and those we pick up on the road. Limiting the amount of fast food we purchase will not only fatten our wallets but trim down our waistlines. Sticking to a menu that includes snacks can be very beneficial to the food budget. We could save a lot of money, save on excess spending and eliminate any food waste by over buying.
3. LOOK FOR DEALS: A lot of times you can find items online cheaper than you can in the stores. When buying something online you can sometimes find discount or promotional codes that will give you an extra percentage off or free shipping. Do a Google search for promotional codes for the online store you are shopping at and you can sometimes get lucky and find a code that will save you some coin. NEVER pay full price for anything unless its groceries...you really don't have much choice in that department unless you have a coupon. If it's something you don't necessarily need right away then wait for a deal!
4. TRIM THE FAT: Ok so maybe we don't need the biggest satellite package or extra movie channels. Now that I'm not working I don't use my cell phone as much so I could probably save some money by going to a pay as you go type cell phone. Instead of having bottled water delivered we could go into the store and refill the bottles ourselves. Basically taking a good look at all the monthly utility and household bills and doing some research to find out how we could cut back on spending.
5. GIFT GIVING: We have a large circle of friends and family that we buy for. It is a never-ending cycle of birthdays, special occasions, mother's days, father's day and of course the Grand Poobah of them all... Christmas. This year since money has been tight, my girls and I have been making a lot of our gifts for Christmas. So I thought we would carry this idea into the New Year by making gifts to give.

MEAL PLANNING: I would say one of the largest monthly bills a household has besides the mortgage and car payments is the food bill. Each month we spend several hundreds of dollars on groceries and fast food. I would like to start planning meals by the week that includes meals we cook at home and those we pick up on the road. Limiting the amount of fast food we purchase will not only fatten our wallets but trim down our waistlines. Sticking to a menu that includes snacks can be very beneficial to the food budget. We could save a lot of money, save on excess spending and eliminate any food waste by over buying.