Yes, our country is in a recession. Has your family's lifestyle has changed in response to this? We made a few changes in our home that I want to share with you. Maybe one of these will save you a few bucks a month:
Cancel your newspaper. I never read it, Seth only read it on the weekends, and we both check our newspaper's website on a regular basis to keep up-to-date. $ saved = $30/month
- Join a family cell phone plan. I upgraded to an iPhone, got the data package, and still pay less. $ saved - $10/month
- Shop at local thrift stores. It's not always a jackpot, but you will occasionally find a good deal. $ saved - $25/month (approximately)
- Cancel your satellite/cable. This was a biggie for us. We weren't sure how we or the kids would react to this, but we decided to go about it like a band-aid - rip it off fast, and it only hurts for a minute. We still have the local channels, so we're not really missing that much. $ saved - $45/month
- Cut your dog's hair at home. This was an easy change. We bought the clippers online, and found a diagram that showed how the hair should be cut. $ saved - $30/month
- Shift to bi-weekly grocery shopping instead of weekly. This was a surprise to me. I didn't think we could go that long between shopping trips, nor did I think this would save money. I was wrong on both counts. I do occasionally need to stop by to pick up milk or bananas, but for the most part I only go every other week. $ saved - $50/month
- Turn up the thermostat 2 degrees during the day. The kids and I are outside for the majority of every day, which means the house doesn't need to be as cool as in the evenings. I do turn it back down around naptime. $ saved - $10/month
- Total amount saved - $205/month
Are any of these ways you could cut expenses at home? Are there any other ways your family is cutting costs? Let us know!
Re: canceling television - There are tons of options for free tv. Air is now digital offering up to 12-15 channels depending on your range. Some of the cooler digital converter boxes even have a built in TV guide!
ReplyDeleteIn addition, there's Youtube, Hulu, Justin.tv, Vimeo, etc. Here's an article on ditching traditional TV from CNET --> www.tinyurl.com/3rvnud
Good post. We too have cut out cable.I coupon like crazy and try not to pay for most of my toothpastes, shampoos, etc. We also cut out our home phone service and just use our cell phones. We've been doing that now for about 3 yrs and I don't even miss my landline. That saves us at least $30 a month. The other big thing for us was to give up eating out. We try to only eat out once at week unless we have a coupon for a freebie. This has saved us a ton!
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