If you’re temporarily short of cash, your fist impulse may be to borrow it. Getting a payday loan is an option for many people without any assets, but with steady employment. However, sometimes, you can locate extra cash just by taking a look around you to see if you have anything of value to sell or use as collateral. You may be surprised at what people value and how it can be used to secure a quick loan or put up for sale for a quick profit.

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Working people aren’t expecting a significant 2010 cost of living raise any time soon, but they are expecting higher food prices. While trying to pinch every penny in their food budget, many are turning to home gardening. Home and garden centers are trying to turn a nice dime too, by offering plants that people can just put in their garden and cultivate for a vegetable garden. Most of these are annuals, which means you may get a good crop of cucumbers, but if you buy plants you’ll have to buy them again next year. There are several strategies you can use to help you still get the vegetable and fruit garden you want, without wasting too much money on purchasing plants yearly.

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Recession gardens are all the rage this year, and why not? Growing a vegetable garden is one of the best ways to hedge against higher food prices or a lower income, just as when our elders had to grow victory gardens to learn how to survive a depression. One thing to keep in mind when first starting out is that you want to start small and keep track of your gardening budget and expenses. By tracking them each year, you can see where you made more money or lost money, and eventually refine your garden methods to help you preserve wealth, not spend it. You want to make the most of every dollar so that the tomatoes that you grow don’t end up costing way more than if you had simply stopped off at the grocery store.

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People who have started their New Year’s resolutions are either dieting, trying to quit smoking, or going on the wagon. Either way, a new healthier you can also mean a wealthier you. Some positives about the economic situation are that many people are realizing that their unhealthy habits can cost them big bucks. Drinking, overeating, and smoking aren’t just bad for you personally, they’re bad for your wallet. In terms of value, just dropping a few bad habits can put $30 to $50 in your pocket a week.

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Purchasing clothing for yourself can easily be a budget buster, but add the needs of growing children, or a spouse, and clothing costs are a major expense on any budget. These days we need clothing for work, for working out, and for after work. Our children want the latest trendy clothes, plus brand name sneakers that may be pricey. How can one save money on all this and still keep the family dressed well?

Thrift Shops

One place you can find great second hand clothes for sale are thrift shops. If you’re looking for an item that you wear around the house, there’s no reason to get designer labels. However, you can sometimes score designer labels in these stores on gently worn items. They offer shoes in various sizes, the only problem is that what they have on the rack is it. You can’t look for the same style in your size, as often they have one style, one size, and you’re out of luck if it’s not your size.

Discount Stores and Warehouse Clubs

Discount stores can offer you a chance to get something in your size, but obviously it will cost more than if you bought it at a thrift store. It will be new, however, and that’s definitely a plus. You can get great underwear, socks, and bras at these stores at a fraction of the cost of the regular retail stores. Tennis shoes are great buy here too.

Hold a Clothing Swap Party

If you have a bunch of friends and family members with either kids or adults in the same size, this will help to offset costs. You can each bring clothing from you or your kids wardrobes to exchange for other items that you may have tired of wearing now too. It can be a social event and a nice social hour. This works well for families with children at different ages as often kids outgrow their clothing before it is worn out. It can easily go to another family who might want to give it away or trade it for something else.

You may have decided that the best way to save on a vacation this year is just to stay put. That’s what the media has recently been calling a “staycation.” Granted, traveling costs are a large part of the expense of a vacation, but just because you’re staying home doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy yourself with some fun budgeting ideas for a staycation. Take a look and see how you can make this year’s staycation rival even your best vacation plans.

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Saving money for retirement or anything you may want is going to require discipline.  In reality it doesn’t make that much difference how much money you make because studies have shown that those in the lowest income brackets are able to save more.  If you are wondering how on earth they can do it and you can’t, read on.  While there are a few tips that we can impart to get you started it will be up to you to get the determination needed to actually save.

You can use a technique for saving money that has been used to help people lose weight.  It is called behavioral modification and you can use the same theory to train your brain to save.  The process begins when you decide that you don’t need to spend your money on things.  If you think you have to buy that cup of coffee or new suit, don’t.  Take the money you were going to spend on the item and put it away or in a savings account.  You may feel cheated or deprived at first. When this feeling hits, look at your bank account. It will be instantly uplifting.

Instead of buying something new that can be repaired with a little elbow grease or a needle and thread, do it.  You will be amazed at how much you can squirrel away when you make repairs, not more bills.  If you can’t bring yourself to cut up your credit cards at least put them in an inconvenient place so that you have to work to spend money.
There are books on the subject of living with less or you can find several hundred web sites devoted to this very subject.  You may even find that after a few months of less expensive living techniques that you can add some of your own ideas to the list.

If the need to spend money is almost overwhelming use another weight loss technique: exercise.  Take a walk or ride a bike. You will find that you feel so good you won’t need to go spend money. If you are lucky enough to have a job with a 401K plan you should sign up to have money automatically withdrawn.  This is the easiest way to save and you won’t even miss the money.  If your company doesn’t offer this then have money moved to a savings account by direct deposit.  A specified amount can be withdrawn every month on the date of your choice. Not as many people carry cash as they used to, but if you normally do then you can deposit your spare change in a jar or other container every day.  Once you have it filled take it to your bank and deposit it into your account. You will be amazed how fast you can accrue money in your savings this way.

Groceries can use a large sum of money so study your weekly supermarket ads and plan your meals around the specials.  This can be a great cost cutting measure that can be added to your savings account nest egg.  If you can go without meat for a couple of meals you can save even more at the register. Unexpected money doesn’t come along too often but when it does send it directly to your savings.  This money could be from your income tax refund, an inheritance or a purchase refund.  Take any extra money windfall and put it away.

Temptation comes in many forms, but none are as well received as a catalog.  Who can resist the bargains that come in the mail? You can!  Don’t even tempt yourself. Just toss them.  It is just too easy to spend money, and who needs to take out cash advances to pay for unnecessary catalog items?

Now that we have given all of these ways not to spend your money and save it, there will come a time when you have to replace something.  You should be smart when this happens.  If you want to save money, do some research before making any purchase. That way you may be able to find a bargain price.  Don’t forget about eBay and other discount web sites as they can be a great source for savings.  Once you have the proper mindset you can save like a pro.

If you thought the airlines went far with their checked luggage fees, then you are in for a surprise if you take Spirit Airlines for your flights around the United States.  Spirit Airlines may well be the answer to more customers at Nudist Resorts based on their new fee of $45 per carry on.  This airline is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and serves mostly Caribbean flights.  They have recently gained a lot of media attention due to their decision to begin charging for carry-on luggage.  The fees will actually range from $20 to $45 for the carry-on luggage.  These fees will begin with flights starting August 1st, so if you have booked a flight for before that date you are still safe and may not need to join a nudist resort.

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Next to tuition, books are the next most important and expensive item on a college student’s academic list of expenses. Textbooks can range cost hundreds of dollars, and are heavy to cart from one place to another. Many of these books are now available through e-readers, like the Kindle DX, and at much lower cost than in physical format. As college students tend to be early adopters of technology, you will see many of them going for the e-reader instead of buying their textbooks at the college bookstore.

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Food is a necessity of life, but the cost of food for a family can vary depending on diet, financial assistance, and even gardening skills. If you’re trying to make ends meet, one way to help reduce stress in other areas is to pay attention to how much you spend on your food bill. Learn how to create a budget that fills your belly and provides breathing room in other areas for rent, gas, and other necessities with these five simple ways to reduce your food bill.
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