There are a lot of people today who insist that you can’t really save any money when there’s a recession going on, but that’s simply not the case. It can be done, but it’s certainly true that it can be more difficult when times are harder. Being creative with your saving during financially tight times also means that you have to be creative with your spending, and that’s something that you can do with a few good ideas. One thing you shouldn’t do is buy into all of the hype going around that says you can’t save any money in a recession and that you’ll go broke because you won’t even be able to make as much as you’re spending.
Recession times are generally easier overall on people who were already savers and not spenders, because those people usually have some money already put back for stressful times. When there is a nest egg in the bank the recession won’t have that much of an effect on you unless it continues for a very long time, and with that being the case you know that you can just lower your spending a little bit and you’ll generally be just fine. For people who have always been spenders, though, things are a little bit more difficult, since they didn’t save much in the past, don’t have a nest egg, and won’t be that likely to try to save money in the future, especially when there’s a recession going on and they are already seeing their dollar’s worth shrink.
No matter whether you’ve been a saver or a spender in the past, though, you can learn how to hang on to your money even when there’s a recession and there’s not as much money available to you. In fact, that’s one of the best times to start saving because you might need that money at a later date, depending on how long the recession continues. If you can learn to save during a recession and live below your means, you’ll be much more able to continue saving once the recession has ended and there is a lot more money out there for you to acquire and hang onto.
There are a lot of ways to spend less than you make, and most of them are very simple – that’s a great thing because you have to spend less than you’re making if you want to save any money, and that’s true of recession times and other times, as well. If you go out to lunch each day and/or buy yourself a coffee and a doughnut on the way to work each morning, you could be spending hundreds of dollars a month without even really noticing it. Instead of doing those things, fix yourself a coffee at your house in the morning and pack yourself a lunch that you can take with you to work so that you won’t be spending as much money, and over time that will make a serious difference in how much you can save.
You can also save a lot on what you eat at home, because the average family actually spends a lot more than they need to when it comes to the dinners that they fix and the foods that they eat – they eat too heavily and use products that cost a lot. Look for sales instead, and buy the things that are on good sales, offer buy-one get-one deals, or that you have coupons for, but don’t let coupons fool you on brand names, because the store brand is often cheaper than the name brand (and just as tasty) even with the coupon. It might seem like you’re giving up a lot of things, but shopping that way can be a lot of fun and can become a game that you play with your spouse, your friends, and your children as to who can find the best deal.
Don’t buy things that you don’t need just because they’re good deals, either, because it’s not a good deal if you don’t need it, no matter how inexpensive it is. You’ll end up spending money that you really could have (and should have) been saving, and you’ll regret it later on. Make sure to read the sale fliers carefully and make a list of what you’ll need, then go to the store with that list and don’t buy anything extra – you’ll save a lot of money this way because you’ll be paying attention to where your money is actually going when you spend it, making you less likely to spend it frivolously.
Having a budget or keeping a ‘money journal’ is also a good idea because you’ll be able to see exactly how much you’re spending. For a budget, write down absolutely every penny that you spend so you’ll be able to see where all of that money is going. It will help you see areas where you could save even more money without having any big problems, and that will help you to hang on to more of your money, even during a recession.
