Cut Down on Luxuries

Current economic conditions necessitate that you tighten your belt. Following are ways to do that by cutting down on luxuries.

1. The Internet can help you tremendously in this area. If you don’t have Internet access, go to the library. There you can go to all the job websites and check to see if you can find a job.
2. If you normally go online at home, but your phone or wireless access has been temporarily cut off, utilize Internet access at the library for all your online needs, from paying bills to correspondence with temp agencies to researching a company you aren’t familiar with but who has posted a job opportunity you are interested in.
3. Stop charging on your credit cards. The interest will eat you alive. Call the stores and banks you have credit with to see if they can stop the interest from accruing so all your payment will go toward the principle. The major credit cards will likely close your account if they learn of your financial problems, so call all but one of them. Save the one credit card that has the lowest interest rate. If you are interviewing for a job two thousand miles away from home and need to rent a car, you have to have a major credit card to do so. Watch for the prime rate to go down. Then call your major credit card companies and ask for a lower interest rate. If they refuse, watch the mail for a credit card proposal with a lower rate. They don’t come as often as they used to but I got two of them last week so I know they’re still being sent out.
4. Some people may have taken advantage of credit card insurance with one or more of their credit cards. If you are one of those people, you need to file for unemployment and then call and activate the credit card insurance immediately. You must be proactive so you don’t lose any money you are entitled to.
5. Cancel newspaper subscriptions. Now that you’re home, you can read the newspaper online for free.
6. Practice recycling in your home. Use cloth napkins at the dinner table instead of paper ones. They are so small that they won’t take up any more room in your washing machine. Plus, if you’re like I am, you will feel like you’re pampering yourself by using a thick, cloth napkin instead of a wimpy, paper one.
7. If you are in need of more food containers for storing leftovers or freezing foods, utilize the empty containers that deli meats, whipped butter, cream cheese, and sour cream come in. Freeze seafood and other foods in large orange juice or milk cartons with water added. Their rectangular form stacks easily when frozen.
8. Unless your family really benefits from cable TV, have the service disconnected or at least buy only the basic cable package. Those forty to sixty dollars each month can be used more efficiently elsewhere.