Financial Survival

Is your family prepared?

Financial survival planning for your family is essential - no, imperative right now! We're all aware of the financial meltdown going on around us. But what to do? Is it too late for your family to plan for survival? That depends on you . . .

Since money doesn't grow on trees . . . it's time to be frugal with everything. Consumers are cutting back and staying home. Not a bad idea either. There are so many little ways to cut spending and every little bit does help.

I don't know how old you are but I've lived a few years (too many to count!) and I've been through some hard times. I frequently thank my parents for a wonderful childhood. They look at me in amazement because, from their perspective, it was tough times. But I had food to eat, pretty nice clothes to wear to school (not as many as the other kids), a middle-class home, my own bed, fields to run in, the perfect dog and plenty of kitties to play with. What more could a child ask for?

Then several years after marriage and four kids later, my husband's employer just up and closed the company. Time and again he was told in job interviews that he was over-qualified. We all know what that means - they don't want to PAY for your experience. We somehow got by for a whole year with part-time jobs, going without ANY extras, but still kept food on the table and the mortgage paid. We couldn't pay anything on our credit cards, which we had charged to the hilt. So they asked us, not too politely, to cut them in half and mail them back. Obviously, they closed our accounts. Guess, what? We lived for many years after that without any credit cards. We paid cash for everything. If we didn't have the cash, we got along without the item until we had enough money.

We eventually started our own business and paid off all those credit cards. Our credit worthiness was ruined, but we learned to live within our means. It was quite a learning experience - for my husband and I as well as our children.

Living within your paycheck means conserving in many areas. Learning to conserve puts you on the right track to financial survival.

Okay, let's see how many ways we can all save a little money:

1. The library is free. Go there for your entertainment. Check out DVD's, music CDs, and books. (Actually read together - WOW! What a concept!)
2. Stop going out to eat - or go less often.
3. Need a beer? Buy less and in smaller quantities. Cheap wine can be great too.
4. Do your kids really need that toy? Put away several toys for a few months. When you retrieve them, they will play with them like when they were new. Then hide some others.
5. Can you cut back on cell phone charges? Disconnect the home phone and only have a cell?
6. Reduce your cable/satellite bill by going back to the "basic" plan.
7. Can you increase your deductible on car insurance, thereby reducing your payments?
8. Don't go to Starbucks for coffee.
9. Brown-bag your lunch. (A little tip: cook your favorite foods in LARGE quantities, then put in serving-size containers and freeze. Lunches are a breeze - just grab and go.)
10. When grocery shopping, only buy what is necessary - no extras. Make a list and stick to it. Buy store brands - they taste just as good an cost lots less.
11. Something broken - fix it instead of buying a new one.
12. Save coupons - for groceries, oil changes, dental visits, hair cuts (or learn how to cut hair yourself and buy a good electric clipper set).
13. Shop the second-hand clothing stores or garage sales for huge savings. Buy undies and socks at discount stores, like Sam's Club or Costco.
14. Wash your own car in the driveway.
15. Watch sales for gift buying and needed items.
16. Freeze leftover food then have a "restaurant night" with all the leftovers. Pretend you're the waitress/waiter and take the kids' orders. Tell them what's on the menu and let them each choose different meals. Then just nuke your frozen leftovers and enjoy.
17. Run the air conditioner a little higher and the heat a little lower. You can always put on more clothes or take of more clothes (uhhh . . . close the drapes!)
18. Take the bus or walk as many places as you can.
19. Try to pay cash for everything - saves interest charged on credit card payments.
20. Don't feel self-conscious or guilty about accepting donations of clothing, money, food or whatever. Just be gracious and say, "Thank you!"

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