Ways Of Dealing With Rough Economic Times During The Holidays

Most of us have dealt with trying to make whatever income or resources we have had stretch to cover everything before. Right now, however, things are really tough all over the U.S. Many people have lost their jobs that have never had to worry about such a thing before. Even those still employed must struggle harder than before to stretch those pennies! Gas prices may have fallen in the last couple of weeks, but still they are high enough to eat up a huge portion of a budget, and grocery prices are unreal.

There are a lot of small things that you can do to help make ends meet if you use your resources! Many resources are available online & in our communities to help us during difficult times.

Groceries: Clipping coupons and watching grocery store sale papers are a good way to save money on your grocery bill. Sites such as Coupons.Com are a great way to find the coupons that you will actually use, as opposed to having to deal with all the different ones that are in the Sunday newspaper. I use Coupons.Com quite often- you can enter your zip code to find coupons that apply in your specific area. Utilizing sites like FoodNetwork.Com and RachaelRay.Com to find creative recipes & tips to use leftovers is another way to help save cash- you are less likely to waste food if there is a way to make leftovers tasty and appealing. There are HUGE databases full of recipes on both sites. Also, rebates are a handy option! Watch magazines, newspapers, and even the store shelves themselves for great rebates on groceries. I got cash back for buying Luvs Diapers and BeechNut baby food- items that I buy anyway! Check out sites like MrRebates.Com for cash back on your Holiday shopping- up to 30% at many stores. If you don't have store savings cards for your favorite grocery stores, get them! Pretty much every major grocery store these days offers some sort of savings card that you just have to fill out a short form to get, and if you are not using it every single shopping trip, you are probably spending way too much money.

These are just a few ways that I use to help stretch my tiny little budget a bit further! Watch for my next few blogs to share other ways that I and others make our dollars go further.