1. Food: Do your grocery shopping at the cheapest grocery store in your neighborhood, rather than the trendy ones.

2. Coupons: Find them, clip them, save them and use them. Look for stores with double coupon specials. However, if you can find an item on sale even cheaper than with the coupon, go for this route.

3. Gas: Gas stations charge more when you use a card so, save yourself about $.05 a gallon and use cash.

4. More Gas: Look for stations with daily specials such as “$.05 off on Tuesdays” and get your gas there, as long as you can’t find it cheaper other places.

5. Windows: Make sure your windows have a good tight seal around them and keep them locked so no air sneaks in and out.

6. Thermostat: For every degree you set your thermostat below 72 degrees, you can save about 2%-4% on your heating bills.

7. Unplug it: If you have a lot of electronics with clocks on them and you don’t use them often unplug them. They will still draw power from the wall to keep the clock running. Any items with a standby mode should be disabled and allowed to shut off completely.

8. Lights: Invest in fluorescent light bulbs instead of the normal ones. Yes they cost a bit more at the store but, in the long run, they use a lot less energy and they last up to 5 times longer then a regular bulb.

9. Daytime: Open the blinds and turn off the lights.

10. The Morning Commute: Many people get breakfast and coffee on the way to work and that runs about $5-$8 on average. Do that 20 times a month and you just spent $100 – $160 on something you have at home. Take coffee with you and eat before you go to work.

11. Telephone: Look closely at your phone bills; are there services on there you don’t need? Get rid of them! You can actually do this on any service you use.

12. Cell Phone: Many people get charged per text message, if you can change your plan to include text messaging, do it. If you can’t, you can make one call and have a conversation with someone instead of texting and racking up charges.

13. Movies: Movies are insanely expensive! Not to mention the $8 you spend for a bag of popcorn. You can easily spend $60 or more for a family of four. Hit up a Redbox near you for family movie nights. The movie costs you $1 and the popcorn you make at home will be a fraction of the cost.

14. Buy Bulk: If you are grocery shopping and you know you always get the same things, get the largest size you can, assuming it has a long shelf life. Normally, the larger a size you buy, the less you pay per ounce or unit. This means you are spending more at the time, but you are getting more for you money than if you bought the smaller size.

15. Think before you buy: We all make impulse buys; a candy bar here, a soda there. Before you buy something not in your budget just because you want it, think it over and decide if you really need it. More often than not, you don’t.

As everyone is very much aware, we are in an economic slump. Actually, it’s more of an economic downfall right now and we all need to think about how we can live within our means. What does this mean? Simply put, it means we only buy the things we need and if you can’t pay cash for it, you don’t get it.

How can this be done when so many of us are used to buying things impulsively when we want them or going out to eat a few times a week? Think about this – how many times do you buy a candy bar or a soda from a convenience store? How often do you make impulse purchases at the checkout of a grocery store line? Do you run through a drive-thru for lunch several days a week?

These are all things, at the time, only cost a few dollars but a dollar here, a dollar there adds up quickly to being $20, $30 and even $50 a week on things you don’t need at all. These little purchases can quickly balloon out of control.

We also overspend without thinking when it comes to recreation and entertainment; things like renting a video game or going to the movies a lot. We get in the habit of spending money this way, without thinking and it becomes habit over time. Most of these expenses are things we don’t need and we can save a great deal of money by eliminating them. Let’s look at an example:

Jon makes $1000 a week at his job and his bills total $700 a week. He also has to put gas in his car, buy food for his family and feed his dogs. After the bills and his other expenses, he is left with about $50 a week. If Jon’s only thought was, “Hey, that’s dinner out for the family each week,” he would be considered to be living above his means.

If you are on a tight budget, you’ll have to sacrifice some things you used to spend money on regularly. Instead of paying $50 or more at the movies, rent one and watch it at home. Instead of going out to dinner, cook at home and save a lot of money.

If you can’t pay cash for something you want without sacrificing paying a bill or buying food, then don’t buy it. If there is something you really want, you’ll have to save up the money over time until you are able to make the purchase. If you only make $500 a week and you have bills to pay, you can’t afford a $200 a week car payment; you just might have to buy a cheaper car. It may not be what you want, but it is in your means to pay for it and it works. Living within your means involves sacrificing many wants in order to pay for the needs.

We all have limits to what we can afford to spend and despite that, many of us spend money on things we do not need or really can’t afford. If we identify the areas where we overspend, we can start living within our means and in the process become debt free.

Nowadays, everyone is trying to cut back and save a little or more likely, save a lot.

While it can seem difficult finding money to save, by carefully scrutinizing your spending habits, you are sure to find some easy dollars you can round up.

Think DIY, or “do it yourself”. Get up and brew your own coffee and grab breakfast at home. Wash your own car, mow your own grass, iron your own shirts. You get the idea.

Visit your public library and check out books, magazines, DVDs, computer games, and CDs all for free.

Wait longer periods of times between appointments for services such as haircuts, manicures or massages. If you normally go every 4 weeks, go every 6 weeks instead. Or better yet, forgo some of this services altogether.

Turn up or turn off the air conditioning when you are not at home. It is easy to cool an average sized house down quickly.

Carpool, bike or walk wherever and whenever possible. Gas is not cheap, so every time you don’t drive, the savings add up fast. Plus, if you ride your bike or walk on foot, you are getting great exercise which can save you more money as you will no longer need that gym membership.

Pack a lunch each day for work instead of eating out. You can easily save an average of $30-40 a week by brown bagging it. Stock up on snacks and keep them at the ready at your desk too. Snacks can be bought in bulk for a fraction of what you fork over to a vending machine. Same goes with sodas and drinks.

Buy store brand instead of name brand for a great amount of savings. Store brands are typically 20-60% cheaper than the equivalent name brand. Buy in bulk from wholesale clubs or shop on sale. Stock up on non-perishable items that you use often when you find them at an extra low price.

These tips are just the beginning. If you follow them and continue to evaluate your spending, discovering even more ways to cut back, you will find yourself with a full piggyback in no time.

How do you make a 6-inch piece of green paper stretch out to 12 inches on a daily basis? Well, paper doesn’t stretch but you can get more for each dollar if you shop smartly and think before you spend. Here are a few ways to save some money while still getting you and your family the things you need.

Coupons: One cannot have too many of these gems. They are mailed to you, you can find them in the newspaper and stores even have them on the aisles for you to get while you shop. When you are using coupons, look for stores that do double coupons on certain days of the week as well as using them for your regular shopping. Using coupons, can save a lot of money at the grocery store.

Grocery Stores: What grocery stores are around you? If you are like many people, you have a few to choose from within a small area. If you want to make the most out of each dollar, you should be going to the least expensive store around you. It doesn’t matter what it looks like or how fancy it is inside the store. Generally speaking, the fancier the store – they more you are going to pay. Let’s face it, milk is milk and would you rather pay $4 a gallon to be in a store with fancy floors and nifty lighting or would you rather pay $3 and shop in a warehouse with aisles?

Gas: We have to buy gas if we own a car, no way around it. Most people already purchase their gas at the cheapest place they can but many people use their bankcards to pay for it. Some gas stations charge up to $.05 more for using a card than cash, so use cash to buy gas.

More on Gas: Make sure your tires are properly inflated as well. If they are, you will save on gas as well. Also, if you have a lot of heavy items in your car and don’t need them there, take them out. The heavier the car, the more gas is needed to make it move.

Coffee: How many people stop for coffee in the morning? How many of those same people have coffee mugs with a lid on them? The answer is probably the same for each. If you have a travel mug, make some coffee at home and take it with you. With coffee ranging from $1.50 to $4 in some places, you can save a good piece of change simply by cutting out coffee runs.

Baby Food: There are tons of recipes on line to make your own baby food. It is quite simple and will save you a ton of money. You will also have complete control of what your baby is eating, and this is an added bonus.

In the end, it really comes down to this – look before you buy. Compare the prices of everything and if you think you can find it cheaper somewhere else, then go!

In the past, not so many years ago, our Mother’s and Grandmother’s would cook meals totally from scratch. Those were the days before convenience and box foods took over the shelves. Dust off those recipes and start making a list of the items you will need.  

The most commonly used items for scratch cooking will be flour, sugar, eggs, milk, salt and baking powder/soda. Stock up on these relatively cheap staples and you will have an arsenal of ready to make items on hand. If your local grocery store has these items on sale, buy in bulk to have them on hand whenever a recipe calls for it.  

The next step is to find time to prepare the meals. Cooking from scratch will take some time, so chose a day like a weekend to do all of your cooking. If you have an idea of certain meals, make them all on the same day. You can proportion the meals out into single servings and then freeze them for the week.  

The meals you can make are endless. Do a search online for some old-fashioned recipes from scratch. You will find everything from homemade pancakes, to spaghetti sauce. Another benefit from cooking from scratch is how well your family will eat and how good you will feel knowing exactly what is in the food you have prepared.  

Many people turn to convenience foods, well because of the time factor. Time is precious and trying to cook a meal from scratch every night of the week is impossible for most people. If you set aside your one day to cook all of the meals for the week and freeze them, all you will have to do is grab them from the freezer and re-heat.

Each week you open the Sunday paper and see those colorful supplements full of money saving coupons for products ranging from diapers to hair care, but it seems like so much work for such little savings. Is it worth it to pull out the scissors and get to clipping?

While a quarter savings here and fifty-cents savings there doesn’t seem like much at first, these savings can add up quick. When you combine coupons with weekly sales at your local supermarket, you can really save a lot. Sale circulars for each supermarket are published once a week, usually on Wednesdays.

Some grocery stores double coupon values and some even triple them! These offers may not be available everyday, but only once a week. It is good to check around with your local grocery stores to find out if such bonuses are offered. 

Sometimes coupons for free products are offered in the paper. Nowadays it is not easy to come across anything free, so this is an extra nice treat. Experienced coupon clippers enjoy saving up to 85% off their weekly grocery bill. The average total of coupons in the Sunday paper is $350 of savings. Add these savings to coupons available online on websites like Smartsource or CoolSavings and you can easily save hundreds of dollars each month.

It doesn’t take as much time as you might think to get organized to save. Purchase an expandable file to organize your coupons in, so they are convenient and ready to use. You can pick these up at a dollar or discount store. Set aside about a half an hour each week to clip the coupons and organize them. When the supermarket sale circulars come out each week, devote another 15-30 minutes to pair up your coupons with items on sale and make a shopping list for greater savings. It’s really easier than you think and money you save is a great return on a small investment of time.