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Checklist: Easy Ways to Cut Expenses

© Jennifer Krausz

It hit me last week that there will be many more one income families in this country in coming months--not by choice, many of them. When one parent loses a job, or job security becomes threatened, the first impulse is to cut spending. It's a good impulse. Go with it!

But what are the best ways to reduce expenses? Here are what I deem the easiest ways to save the most money. In this checklist, you won't find suggestions for recycling dryer lint or the best way to reuse Ziploc bags. What you will find are ways to save hundreds of dollars a month without radically changing your lifestyle. Not all these ideas will be for you; pick and choose the ones you can live with and forget about the rest.

1) Eat out only half as much. It rarely works to go from eating out several times a week to not at all. You end up feeling deprived and "treating yourself" eventually. If you typically eat out twice a week, you can save $100-300 a month by cutting back to once a week. Of course, now's the time to use your entertainment book or the coupons in your Sunday paper to save even more.

2) Plan your weekly menu according to what's on sale at the grocery store. Just a few minutes with the sale flyers can save you at least $200 a month, especially if you clip coupons. Make it a mission never to pay full price for meats or pre-packaged items (like Rice-A-Roni or Chef Boyardee). By planning ahead, you also don't have that dinner-hour scramble to decide what to make. Bye-bye, pizza delivery man!

3) Visit the clearance racks regularly. Buy next year's clothes at the end of the season, and you will save 50% to over 90%. Also, don't buy clothes you really don't need. Spend a little time organizing your closet, then make a (short) list of items that will complete outfits or that you just can't live without. Then look for these items only, on sale or clearance.

4) Do-it-yourself. Whether it's dropping the health club membership in favor of walks around the neighborhood or firing the Merry Maids and getting your family to pitch in with cleaning, it's usually cheaper to do it yourself than to pay someone else to do it.

5) Before every purchase, no matter how small, ask yourself: "Do I need it, or just want it?" In times of hardship, wants must be examined carefully. Most of us can have some of our wants, but very few can have them all. To think otherwise is to fool yourself. Eventually, you will pay for this self-delusion.

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