Saving Money During A Recession

By Author: Augustine Starcic
Total Articles: 10
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If the worst were to happen and you lost your job, how long could you feasibly support yourself for, whilst searching for another? One month? Two? Most financial advisors recommend you should have a quarter of your annual salary saved up.

Some might argue that with the current jobs climate, you should have more than this since getting a new job may take considerably longer than it used to. Still, whilst it''s obviously sensible to save, not everyone feels able to save 3 months'' worth of salary. But there are certainly ways to make your money grow and reduce spending. Try out the following measures and see how much you can save:

Cut back on ''treats''. All those small treats - a magazine here, a meal out there ? can add up to quite a lot when viewed over an annual basis. Where possible, try to substitute these things for cheaper alternatives. For example, if you love reading fashion magazines, why not try reading online fashion magazines and blogs, which are free? If you enjoy going to the cinema, why not sign up to a DVD film club where you can watch several movies for the cost of one trip to the cinema?

Use ...
... Direct Debit to pay your bills. Lots of businesses prefer customers to pay via this method because it works out simpler and cheaper for them and incentivise customers to pay this way by taking 10% or more off your bill.

When shopping on the internet, keep an eye out for discount voucher codes. Many sites have exhaustive lists of codes for high street stores, and so with a quick Google search you could get over a quarter off the retail price.

Try to live on less. Many goods can be repaired or recycled and indeed, not only is it good for your wallet, but for the environment as a whole. In our consumer driven society, buying new things can be a hard habit to break but just ask yourself, do you really need it?

Take a ''staycation''. The idea that you need to go abroad to go on holiday is fast becoming obsolete and the trend for staying at home, exploring your own country and locale is one that should benefit your bank balance as well as the environment. Just remember to take out holiday insurance when you travel ? just because you''re not going abroad doesn''t mean it isn''t still necessary.

Change providers. Take a look at the products and services you currently have contracts for ? anything from utilities and insurance to internet and telephones - and try to get a better deal elsewhere. Unfortunately, customer loyalty doesn''t generally get rewarded. Instead, shop around and you may be pleasantly surprised. Augustine Starcic recommends that you always take out holiday insurance, just to be safe.