During the economy boom, people spent their money freely and bought whatever their hearts desired. Buying things such as cars, jewellery, clothes, shoes and even eating out was an everyday event that made one's life incomplete if not being done. Now, when the world's economy is at the lowest point, most people start to think hard on how their money or hard earned cash is being spent. Saving money becomes the main agenda in people's life and people start to spend on the important items while luxurious things are at the bottom of the list or being discarded all together. As most people are thinking of ways to save money, here are six tips of how we could save and create opportunities out of this economy down turn. Cook your own food People especially children like to eat out and the children's first choice would normally be a fast food restaurant. It is easy, fast and no dishes that need to be cleaned after. You could take this economy down turn to start cooking at home and improve your cooking skill. If you do not know how to cook, this is the time to start learning. There are a lot of recipes available in books, magazines and even the internet. By cooking at home you know exactly what is being put into your family's mouths. You can also ask your children to help with the dishes or even with the simple cook and this would train them to be more responsible and comfortable around the kitchen. These could also improve the parents-children relationship where you could discuss any issue in the family or at school during the cooking process. Buy groceries with your stomach full Normally people like to eat-out after doing their shopping or grocery etc. I am as guilty of doing that too. So the next thing that you need to do is have something to eat before going out to do your shopping. There are two reasons why you should go out buying your grocery or shopping for clothes etc with you stomach full. The first reason is that as I said earlier, you would not have to eat-out after doing your shopping. If you really compare the cost between eating-out and cooking yourself, you would be surprised with the difference. Additional to this you would be eating healthier food by cooking yourself. The second reason is especially when you go grocery shopping. When you shop with an empty stomach, every food you see tends to look delicious. Even the food that you normally do not like. In the end your shopping cart will be full with junk food and food that you do not really need. Plan what you want to buy You should list out what you want to buy before going out to do your shopping and stick with it. Some people do have a list of what they want to buy however they also end up buying something else that is much more expensive. That is why I said that list out what you want to buy and stick with it. When making your shopping list, you should also set a budget of how much you are going to spend. This is essential to ensure you are not spending more than you are supposed to. By practising to plan your shopping, you are actually training yourself to be a more disciplined and more organised person. Bring just enough money One of the reasons people spend more than they should have is that they bring a lot of money when they go shopping. You already have your shopping list, you already calculate out how much you are going to spend however you bring extra cash, a lot of extra that is. As you already know, we are only human beings - when there is extra we will tend to spend. When we bring extra cash, we will tend to need the things that we do not need originally. So bring just enough cash when you go shopping. You will really start to consider what you really need when you just have enough and prevent you from becoming a reckless spender. Use cash instead of credit card In this modern world, people prefer to use a credit card instead of cash as it is more convenient and you would not need a thick wallet if you want to buy a lot of things. Although it is more convenient to use credit card, if you want to save money it is better use cash to purchase things. It is really easy to purchase something that you do not really need when all that is needed is just to swipe the credit card. Furthermore you would not realise the total amount the money you spend until the end of the month when you receive your credit card bill. Keep your credit card for a really emergency situation and this will help you from getting a heart attack at the end of the month. Keep your debit card at home Another card that could easily let you spend a lot is your debit card. If you are not planning to withdraw money from the auto teller and you have enough cash with you, leave your debit card at home. There will be time when you see something that you suddenly want however it is never in your shopping list and you don't actually need. With your debit card around and the auto teller is just around the corner, would I need to say more? If we look at this economic down turn in a positive way, it actually teaches us to become a better person and lead a better life. These six tips should be the first step for you to start saving, train yourself to become a disciplined individual and improve your family ties. Copyright (c) 2009 Khadijah Ibrahim
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