With frugal living allows families to save money and live a better life, but what do you do if you are in a situation where you are wondering how you are going to make it until your next paycheck? Sometimes life throws unexpected curves at you such as a job layoff, a medical expense, or even an unexpected home repair. If you find yourself in a crisis, it is important cut as many expenses as you can as soon as you can, so you’ll have enough for the basics of food, clothing and shelter. This is especially true when you don’t know when that crisis might end.
The first thing you need to do is inform people. You might feel a little embarrassed, but this is an important step. Family and friends may be able to help. But even if you don’t want to tell anyone you know personally about your crisis, it is still important to let any of your creditors know that you are having financial difficulty. Lenders are surprisingly understanding, if they are given notice and see that you are responsible. Explain your situation and work out a deal to pay part of your expenses until you get back on your feet.
Cut any and all unnecessary expenses. What is unnecessary? Pretty much anything other that food, clothing and shelter or those things that allow you to have the food, clothing and shelter. You can argue that a car is necessary for work, but is the Internet? You can always visit the library if you need to get online. Some immediate expenses that can be cut: cable television, cell phones, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, maid service, gym memberships, baby wipes (use clean rags or washcloths) and paper products.
Cook from your pantry. It goes without saying that when in crisis mode, you never eat out. But that doesn’t mean that you can have a free for all in buying expensive name brand food at the grocery store. Take a look at what you have in your pantry, fridge and freezer and see if you can come up with meals without buying anything but staples. Sure it may be boring to have pasta three nights in a row, but you can doctor it up in different ways, and hey, we are in a crisis mode here.
And who knows, when the crisis is over, you may realize that you can pay some bills ahead, there were some expenses that you don’t need back, and that you actually enjoy getting creative with pantry cooking.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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