How to Save Money on Household Expenses

The economy is in a terrible state, jobs are being cut, and prices are going up. As the prices of essentials consistently increase, you may find yourself in the position of searching for ways to stretch your paycheck farther and farther, and you may be facing the difficult task of juggling bills, as in if it's not being disconnected it can wait. What can you do to save money on household expenses in today's economy?

Setting a budget sounds like a good idea, but when there's not enough coming in to handle the basics, there's not much budgeting that you can do. This leads to making changes in your lifestyle to save money.

For those of us who always live on a shoestring this can be a little easier than for families who have had plenty and gotten used to not worrying about money. I am going to give you some tips to help you save money around the house. By using these tips and ideas you will cut back on some household expenses and be able to put more towards other bills.

1. Turn off the lights, turn back the thermostat, and cut back on laundry and other electric usage. This doesn't mean you have to sit around in the dark, and can never use your computer, what it means is if it is not needed don't have it on. Do you really need the computer, television and 3 lamps on in one room all the time? Stop to think about the things in your home that use electricity and teach everyone in the family to limit their energy use. When you save money on your electric bill it will all make sense.

2. When grocery shopping switch to store brands or even visit a store such as Aldi's (www.aldifoods.com) which doesn't carry name brand items but has wonderful prices. You really can't taste the difference in most items. Just switching to store brands can save you several dollars on each grocery visit. Also cut coupons and shop around for sales before you go to the grocery store. Most stores offer special savings to "members" like Food Lion's MVP program. See what the specials are and make a list before you go so that you only get what you need. It is worth the effort to realize that over a month you are saving a couple hundred dollars.

3. A favorite joke in our family is that if we never eat ground beef again it will be too soon. But because of the price and versatility, this is the main meat product you will find in our freezer. Buy large family packs of ground beef when there is a sale, then divide into dinner size portions, wrap in foil and freeze. This gives you plenty of options for dinners, spaghetti, sloppy joes, burgers, hamburger helper, meatloaf etc.

4. This one is hard to adjust to, but you need to cut out the snack foods. Chips, cookies, all of those items that are so hard to pass by in the store are some of the most expensive. Try to get everyone in the family on a 3 meal a day diet. Cereal (off brand, Fruity-O's) is a main staple for us for breakfast. Sandwiches and fruit for lunches, and then a dinner. If we do splurge on a treat it is usually a no bake cheesecake that we can all enjoy every few weeks.

5. A great tip for many things around the house that will save money is to do it yourself. Grow your own vegetables, sew or repair your own clothes, use household items for cleaning (that's a whole other article), don't pay someone to cut the grass or shovel the snow. If you have children they will have to learn that helping out is not something that they need to be paid for, it is part of being a family member.

6. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Yep that is the catch phrase for the environmentally friendly campaigns, but it should also become your household mantra. Reuse plastic grocery bags as garbage bags, recycle any metal and aluminum (many places pay for these). Reduce your wasteful habits make sure that leftover food is used for lunches instead of sitting in the fridge going bad.

Everything on this list requires the help of everyone in the home. The good news is that it is not difficult to save money; it is just an adjustment in lifestyle, which takes a conscious effort.

Growing up in a society of excess we naturally tend to overdo things, dialing back requires a change in perspective. This can be especially difficult for children and teens, because all of a sudden everything they are used to doing changes.

By making the changes a team effort and explaining to everyone why they cannot have a new pair of $80 jeans when there are 20 pairs in the closet already you are helping to raise the consciousness of a new generation of people who hopefully won't overspend and get themselves into the predicament we are in right now.

This is something that my parents tried to teach me, and I remember sneering at my dad when he said "You don't know how good you've got it" and thinking that I was suffering without that new pair of jeans. Now I know, believe me as I stare at yet another foil wrapped package of ground beef and wonder how to make it interesting, I know.

The good thing is, as the savings become more and more apparent, you won't have to search for ways to save money, they will become apparent and easier as your lifestyle adjusts to the "cutbacks."