3 Methods for Saving Money in this Economy

In today’s economy, not too many people aren't looking to save money. No matter the size of your family, a few extra dollars a week can really make a difference. Here are some tips that should put a few extra dollars in your pocket each week!

1. Children, Clothes and Shoes
When you have children, no matter how many you have, one of the biggest expenses is clothes and shoes. Who doesn’t spend a small fortune on outfitting your kids? It helps when you have younger siblings to pass clothes down to. but there are also some other great ways to save. A great place to start is to start shopping at your local thrift store or consingment shop. These places usually have really good deals on the expensive designer clothes all the kids want. You can usually find wonderful outfits for a fraction of the cost, for the whole family. Another trick fis to always look for coupons. Even when planning a trip to your favorite outlet mall, check for coupons. Most outlets have coupons that will allow you to save even more on discounts already offered. Printable coupons all over the internet take advantage of these for all of your purchases. When shopping for shoes, things can become a little more difficult. If you are lucky enough that your children's feet have stopped growing, take full advantage of end of the season sales, and stock up. If you're looking to buy special shoes or sneakers for sports, plan ahead. These do go on sale, you just need to look ahead a couple months and watch the sales flyers.

2. Credit Cards
You can save major money on your credit cards if you're careful. Call all your credit card company's and get them to lower your finance rates. Let them know you can transfer the balance to another card with a cheaper rate, and chances are they will find a way to match that rate. Next, the big thing to remember with credit cards is always pay more than the the minimum payment. If you are only paying the minimum on a card, all you end up doing is paying the finance charges. Of course the best thing to do is don't use them! Pay cash when possible and you will save a fortune in finance charges.

3. Monthly Bills

The one expense everyone thinks they're stuck with is the monthly bills on things you must have - heat, water, gas, electric, and so on. Make sure you have the best rates on all of these monthly bills. You can shop around, even if you don't know how yet. Sometimes, you can save money by just changing companies. Here again, if a company is offering a lower rate, call your company. In a lot of cases, they will match it. Furthermore, you can always cut back on what you are using in utilities. Make sure you always turn things off, and cut back on the length of showers. Just these little things can add up over time. If you can take your monthly expenses and cut back just ten dollars a week, do this with three or four bills, you just saved a hundred dollars a month.

Of course, this really is just the tip of the iceberg. Do lots of research, there are literally a million resources online for helping to save money. A couple of cents here and there can add up to hundreds in a year's time. If you put a lot of these into effect, you will be amazed how quickly they can add up, and put money back into your pockets.

Melissa Jenkins likes to write about finance, economics & saving money at www.grouphealthinsurance.org.