Four Tips to Save Money and Stay Warm in These Cold Winter Recession Months

Life during recession is a bit of a juggling act. Time to beat the rising bills with four tips to making long winter months truly happy. These tips will keep you ahead of the curve and keep those balls from bouncing from your hands and onto the ground.

1. Turn off the heat and put on the layers.

Instead of jacking up the heat bill while lining the coffers of the electric companies, try wearing layers instead. Thin layers, because they allow the pores of the skin to breath, are very comfortable, and keep you warmer than just a single jacket or sweater. Layers are advantageous because they allow the body to keep the heat it produces. This method of dressing for the cold, creates a space for warm air to accumulate between layers, keeping your body fully insulated against the cold, outside air. The way to wear layers to get the most benefit is the lightest to heaviest strategy. The first layer should be the "wicking" layer. This layer is designed to keep moisture away from your body. This layer should be the thinnest layer and the layer that breathes the most. Thermal long underwear serves this purpose. It is a great choice because it is made of Polypropylene or capilene materials. These fabrics are designed specifically to "wick" perspiration away from all areas of your body. Simply Google polypropylene or capilene long underwear. This will bring up sites like zappos.com or outersports.com where they can be found at the lowest prices online. Next layer is the middle layer. With this layer, you want to trap body heat in, and you also want comfort, so your best choice, for this purpose is polyester or merino wool. Merino wool is an extremely lightweight fabric that feels silky on your skin. You can find merino wool sweaters and socks at sites such as SierraTradingPost.com for less, again just google it. The outer or upper layer should be either fleece or poly/fleece mix. Fleece is a lightweight material that is perfect for around the house wear, is fully insulated, and it keeps the warm pockets created by the inner layers, very close to your body. Socks and hats.

2. Exercise.

Now that you are properly layered up. Get out and get moving. Walking is a great choice. Walking in the cold, is actually better for you, as it takes more energy and warms you up even faster while burning more calories. Walking is restorative, as it serves a three fold purpose of warming up your body, relaxing your mind and restoring your sense of balance. If it is raining outside or if you simply can not leave the house, consider purchasing exercise DVD's. These are an inexpensive and efficient ways to burn some calories, naturally warming up your body, while the baby sleeps. You can get exercise tapes for all levels and styles. Yoga, pilates and aerobics are guaranteed to keep your body producing heat and they are natural stress relievers, especially yoga, because it is beneficial for your inner being as well as your outer body.

3. Hot teas.

Black, green, white and oolong all contain antioxidants and are not at all expensive. Keep a cup of one of these teas with you at all times, it naturally warms your hands while shielding your body from potential cancers.

4. Soul-warming soups.

A hot bowl of soup is the way to save time and money while warming up the whole family. Soups, either home made or store bought can be eaten just about every night of the week in the cold winter months since there are so many varieties to keep from getting boring. You can save time and feed four to five people with canned soups that fix within a couple minutes. My personal favorite is Amy's organic minestrone soup. Amy's just came out with a low sodium selection. This soup is a tomato-based soup, it has red beans, vegetables and noodles and if you add some cheese to it, (I have found white cheddar to be the best,) you have got a perfect hearty, wholesome meal for the whole family, that is guaranteed to warm your soul and save money for unexpected gifts or a less privileged family in need in your community this year.

These tips should help the family budget stretch a bit further during these long winter moths of recession, add a little more time that you can spend with your loved ones and protect your families health while keeping them warm and toasty. And you thought you could never keep more than two balls in the air at once. Cheers!

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