How to Survive in Hard Times

We all are feeling the hard times, but there are steps we can take to help alleviate the pain. I wrote this ehow to try to help you with that.

Instructions

1

Cut back on the unneeded thing, like name brand foods, the cheap stuff is just as good. Many times you will find that the generic brands are even made by the name brand products. The packaging may be different the product inside doe not change.

2

Try not to cut down on driving, if you can walk to the store then do it. If just took one day off from driving you could save a lot of money over a year. Car pooling and even combining trips can also be beneficial.

3

Find a cheaper phone service. You can get a cheap phone service like Vonage or another digital phone service. This will cut your phone bill in half if not more. Another great option is to reduce bills by cutting the home phone and using your cell phone as your primary phone.

4

Try to eat at home more. You could save a lot of money if you stop eating out so much. For the cost of a diner out you can cook at home for the entire week and even have leftovers for lunch.

5

Turn off lights if you are not in the room. This is a no brainer. You can cut the cost of electrical bills by simply reducing how much electricity you use. Another great addition to this is to use energy efficient bulbs; they give off the same amount of light for more than half the cost of electricity.

6

Take one shower a day to save on your water bill. You can make this one even fun by sharing a shower with a loved one. It is also a good idea to set a timer to reduce the amount of time you spend in the shower. Many people find that they spend a longer time in the shower than they might think. This will help reduce water and sewer bills as well as the cost of fuel or electric to heat the water.