I was once married and had no concerns when it came to spending money. My husband made it and I was free to spend it however I chose as long as the bills were paid. Flash forward a few years, I am now single and the income is not there, however by careful budgeting I am able to stay somewhat accustomed to the life I had previously known. These are the main areas that I found I could make changes in to help keep me on track
Clothing I have a growing boy and I also like to look fashionable. This is one of the areas that I knew I would have to budget for as my son will always have a need for clothes. I discovered a local consignment shop that would allow you to bring in your items and exchange them for cash or in store credit. This is a huge savings to me as almost all of our clothing purchases are now done here. This works out really well, as he outgrows clothing the clothes go back to the store and a credit is given for new items. I always get a sense of helping others when using this approach because the cost is kept down for others on a budget and I am using a small business. My suggestion to making this work is to purchase clothing sometimes a size bigger when there is a great sale going on to maximize savings. Also get to know the store owner and find out what items they look for and let them know what you are most interested in. You may find he or she will make you aware of specials that they will be starting before they tell anyone else.
Utilities I found that my utility company offered budget billing and that my bill would be the same each month based on my actually usage of power. Every 3 months they evaluate my usage and it can increase or decrease the price that I pay. I have found that I save around $1000.00 by using this service. Knowing how much I will be paying makes things much simpler and I allow myself a extra cushion just in case the rates should increase.
I also got rid of my cable service. I have several gaming systems in the house that are compatible with Netflix and found that I could still enjoy my favorite shows at a fraction of the price by enrolling in Netflix. I shopped around to find the cheapest wireless internet provider as that is one of the requirements for having the services and in the process was able to save money on that utility as well.
My cell phone proved to be the change that added additional funds to the entertainment budget. I went from having a smart phone with a nationwide carrier to having a smartphone on a prepaid plan. I now have unlimited talk, text and internet for 1/4th of the price I was paying my carrier. The downside was that I had to purchase the phone at full price but after 3 months, I was seeing the savings.
When I look at how much money I have saved by making slight changes, I get eager to try more things to help keep my family afloat during a down economy.
