How to Save Money on Household Expenses

The economy is in a terrible state, jobs are being cut, and prices are going up. As the prices of essentials consistently increase, you may find yourself in the position of searching for ways to stretch .

Setting a budget sounds like a good idea, but when there's not enough coming in to handle the basics, there's not much budgeting that you can do. This leads to making changes in your lifestyle to save money.

For those of us who always live on a shoestring this can be a little easier than for families who have had plenty and gotten used to not worrying about money. I am going to give you some tips to help you save money around the house. By using these tips and ideas you will cut back on some household expenses and be able to put more towards other bills.

1. Turn off the lights, turn back the thermostat, and cut back on laundry and other electric usage. This doesn't mean you have to sit around in the dark, and can never use your computer, what it means is if it is not needed don't have it on. Do you really need the computer, television and 3 lamps on in one room all the time? Stop to think about the things in your home that use electricity and teach everyone in the family to limit their energy use. When you save money on your electric bill it will all make sense.

2. When grocery shopping switch to store brands or even visit a store such as Aldi's (www.aldifoods.com) which doesn't carry name brand items but has wonderful prices. You really can't taste the difference in most items. Just switching to store brands can save you several dollars on each grocery visit. Also cut coupons and shop around for sales before you go to the grocery store. Most stores offer special savings to "members" like Food Lion's MVP program. See what the specials are and make a list before you go so that you only get what you need. It is worth the effort to realize that over a month you are saving a couple hundred dollars.

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