All the gloom and doom talk about the economy got me thinking about how to ride out tough financial times. Of course there are some obvious things you can do:
- Build a 3-6 month emergency fund.
- Don’t switch jobs unless you have a very, very good reason.
- Be indispensable at your job. Make sure your skills are current.
- Don’t try to sell your house right now.
- Pay off your debts (and don’t start any new ones).
- Stay healthy. Eat right, exercise.
- Keep your vehicles maintained.
- Don’t make any major purchases right now.
And while those are solid tips, they don’t really deal with the day-to-day hassles of high food and gas prices.
So here are some other thoughts I have for riding out these hard times:
- Just say no. You don’t need to buy every new gadget or get new shoes for this season. Make do with what you have. Save now and when it comes time to make the purchase later, you may realize you didn’t need it after all.
- Repair and recycle instead of buying new and tossing the old stuff.
- Trade stuff with/borrow from friends and family.
- Hang out with friends and family instead of going out to expensive dinners or movies. Make it potluck and you just might discover a great new dish.
- Explore the outdoors. Go for walks, bike rides, etc.
- Take full advantage of your local library. They have just about everything you could possibly want to read, see, or hear.
- Bring back game night. Pull out those board games or a deck of cards and have a blast without spending much money.
- Become a bargain hunter. Use this website, use the links on my sidebar. Shop thrift stores and garage sales. Make you money stretch.
- Have your own sale. Get rid of some stuff on Ebay. Clear the clutter from your world.
- Learn to cook. You don’t need to eat out. Anyone can learn how to cook.
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