Suggestions for Spending Less and Making Gas Cash

From time to time all of us find ourselves unexpectedly without employment. After you apply for unemployment, try these suggestions:

Eat "take out less" and if you do, try to use coupons. The back side of grocery store receipts can often be a source of eatery discounts as well as coupons for other goods and services. Also check for coupons in phone books, newspapers and magazines. Use coupons when you shop and look for bargains. Keep an eye open for those in-store specials and the "reduced for quick sale" baskets. When you shop, look at the expiration dates. Why spend dwindling money on products that are going to go bad in a shorter amount of time? Dig in the rear of that line of milk cartons and get that further away "sell by" date! Consider where you buy certain things. The grocery store may not have as cheap of a price on paper goods as a five and dime variety of store. Many five and dime type of stores may also carry the all important snack food at a price cheaper than the main stream "name brand" grocery store. The only exception is the over-sized product box that has an undersized content weight. You must be a smart shopper and look at the content weight in the package so that you may compare it with the other brand. When you go grocery shopping, avoid puffed up foods unless you can determine the bargain in buying them. The dip chip may outweigh the puff chip in the same sized bag. Often I notice that there may be a difference in the price of groceries depending on the community and the store name that I buy the groceries at. The seedy side of town may actually be worth going to if the savings are right. Sales on foods due to a holiday can be worth checking out.

Thinking of losing some weight anyway? It's a good time to diet. Cut down on the portions and eat the left-overs during another meal. Another money saving technique is to introduce eggs back into the side dish area of the plate thus letting you fill up on a less expensive protein source. Increasing the vegetables in your diet may save you money because meats are very expensive by comparison. Dry bean purchases are always worth-while because they have a long shelf life if they are stored well. Noodle based meals can help save money. Often I find that cake mix and johnny cake mixes are some of the least expensive items in a store. Frosting may be expensive but maybe an off-brand frosting mix will bring down that cost. Ghetto napkins are made by taking your regular roll of paper towels and cutting down to inexpensive napkins. If you do eat out, then those extra napkins from the restaurant bag can be a blessing.

Purchase generic over the counter drugs and generic prescription drugs to save money.

Do you need work clothes? Be a smart shopper and check out the thrift stores first. With a little cautious shopping, you may be able to find very good looking used clothes or newly new clothes at a fraction of the normal price. Many thrift stores have reduced price days or coded tags to indicate reduced prices. You might try looking at the paper for garage sales where clothing is often sold. Some grocery stores have a bargain center where off-brand clothing might be found. Often, those areas have tools, plastic dishes, toys and other goods.

You may want apply for state assistance with your food and utilities budget. Utilities may also have payment programs or know of assistance programs that you can apply for. Another resource that may exist in your church or employer is "Angel Food" or some other kind of emergency food pantry. "Angel Food" pantries sell a grocery package for a lower than market price. Many church organizations give food to the needy or members of the church that fall down on their luck. Avoid the booze. People get depressed when they get laid off. Stay out of the taverns and liquor stores. Booze is a luxury and you will want to stay healthy and on the ball. Your next employer will more than likely want to do a pre-hire drug screen before hiring you.

Credit cards often have insurance or provisions for if their customer is injured and unable to work, or dies, or is laid off of his job. Check your information to see if you have taken out this insurance and if you have, start the paperwork right away. Remember to cancel renewing subscriptions charged to your credit card. Some business offer a free sample magazine and then if you don't call to reject service; they start charging you. Be cautious of small checks sent to you out of the blue because it may be that the sender is wanting to obligate you to do business with them. Suspend unneeded services such as satellite television and magazine subscriptions.

Making money while unemployed may be done by having a garage sale. There is no use in keeping clutter and you need the money. Often, the flea markets offer a space in their lot for either a percentile of your sales or a low fee. Yard mowing and odd jobs can be a good payday for the unemployed- just be sure that you have an agreement on the price with buyer of your services. No one wants to work like a dog on a project just to have a little old lady reward you with cookies and milk. Plasma centers may pay for donations. E-bay may make you money, but you don't really know how an auction will go when you auction an item and you have to consider the listing fee and the fee for shipping your sold item to the buyer. Work-by-day employers often pay out a check daily to temporary laborers.

Employment services often get their employees short term work assignments that pay weekly. If you are young and going to college and providing that you are near a sperm bank, you might try selling your sperm. Wow, what a deal! Dumpster diving can be a source of income. Often one can use what is thrown out as product to sell. These guys love "big junk day". A bottle of wood glue, some thrown out wooden tables and chairs.. you get the picture. Be a collector of lost coins.

Many grocery stores now have machines that count, sort and issue a pay ticket for your coins and if you pinch pennies you can get groceries or paper money. If you are willing to do it, you can collect discarded drink cans to save up a large weight of cans. The cans, being aluminum, can be taken to an automatic collector machine and thrown in where they are crushed and weighed. The collector machine then drops payment to you. The bottom line here is to keep your mind open enough to come up with a legal way to turn a buck.

Gifting for birthdays, holidays and other occasions can be a nightmare for the unemployed. This is where you have to really be discreet and pay attention to detail. Try to find things that you can make into an acceptable gift. Pawn shops may have items that work very well and cost less than new. I have seen shirts in thrift stores that have the mall tag still attached to them. They were donated before they had any great amount of usage- taken to a dry cleaner, put in a generic white shirt box and a gift is born! Costumes can be created from many items found on a thrift store shelf. Five and dime stores can be an inexpensive source of toys. Consider using gifts that you don't wish to keep as a present for someone else. Try gifting homemade items such as food baskets or artwork. Books can make nice gifts. I often see books sold cheaply at thrift stores. Be sure to really look it over for wear and markings. Sometimes you can remove markings. When you remove markings consider what the writing was created by and what kind of material you are removing the marking from. Crayon and grease pencil on hard plastic may come off with a rag and cigarette ashes- just be careful of textured or porous plastics which can tend to hold the stain. Read the labels of remedies such as wd-40 oil before attempting to clean with them.

To keep up appearances try keeping some empty brand name boxes in your shelves. You can substitute off-brand foods to name brand containers. Use generic containers and cookie jars to store snacks. If you don't see an off-brand label then you have to really compare to notice the difference. Seal up your garbage well. Shred thrown away bills. Be yourself and keep a routine of getting up and getting dressed. People see large changes in behavior. Hopefully your rough time is short lived.