As the country has slipped into recession it has been estimated that more than 26.3 million adults are planning to cut back on their spending this year. January is always a bad month money wise but with the recession lowering a grey cloud over everything, including our moods and bank balances, do we have anything to look forwards to in 2009?
The key to beating the recession and not letting it beat us is to cut back. If you cut back on a number of small things the money that you will be saving can up add over the course of the year, which will leave you better off and help you plan in case the worst should happen and you were left out of a job. The key to doing this successfully is knowing how to cut back without dramatically affecting your life and the lives of those around you.
Some of the main areas that many families are targeting in order to save themselves money are, for example, not having an overseas summer holiday. Opting for a long weekend away within the UK will save you hundreds of pounds. Another example is cutting down on or changing the food shopping by about 21%. This could simply mean instead of opting for a brand name you choose the supermarkets own instead. Also by making a shopping list of everything you need you remove the temptation of picking up a few extra things that you don't really need.
One of the biggest cut backs however comes from not spending money on going out or forms of entertainment. This doesn't however mean you can't enjoy spending time with the family so why not make an effort to have free fun? The best way of doing this is by checking out your local events guide for free concerts and other activities in your area. Also if all else fails you could always go for a walk in the countryside or you could visit a gallery or museum. There are always things that you can do that won't cost you an arm and a leg!
There has been a lot of research and studies done into some of the most effective ways of saving money during these tough times. Some of the results of this research have shown that one of the ways that many people are saving money is by cancelling insurance policies. Around 42% of Brits have cancelled insurance policies or pension contributions to save money, with breakdown cover and private health insurance being the first to go. A massive 19 million people have said to have reduced financial security or got rid of it completely as a way of trying to save money.
In some cases you may not be cutting back but rather changing things. A prime example of this is checking the insulation within your property. A third of heat within your home is lost through poorly insulated walls. By just changing your curtain to thicker ones you are making a substantial difference. Also if you change the light bulbs in your property to energy saving bulbs you will soon start to see the savings add up as they reduce your electrical consumption and they last a lot longer than regular bulbs.
We all have to make sacrifices during the credit crunch but as you can see just by making a few small changes you will make a significant difference to the amount of money you will be spending. You don't have to completely change your life, just as long as you take a long hard look at the things that you don't necessarily need but just simply want; if you can cut back on these then you will be making a big difference to your financial standing.
Lisa Mills is an author based in Essex. She writes for websites and magazines. She also runs a website offering toys and gifts for children. http://www.the-imagination-station.co.uk is a site offering children's gift ideas
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