Especially if you're a mom, who has de facto charge of the household treasury and is charged with most of the daily or weekly shopping responsibility, you need to know how you can save some money in 2009. The United States, we now have been told by those in the know, entered into a recession back in December of 2007. While recessions are "natural", they are painful when you're having them. And when recessionary times hit, there's only one thing for the average person, the average mom, to try to do: save as much money as possible on day to day items and household necessities.
So, what would be some of the very best ways of accomplishing that? Here are five top tips to that end.
1) Clip those coupons. So many people take coupons for granted--or, for an annoyance. "Aren't they just a kind of shameless marketing ploy?" most people ask. Well, yes, coupons ARE shameless marketing ploy...but the problem is that word "just". Coupons are more than that, and those who clip coupons are not merely down-and-out people. Coupons are produced and sent out because they WORK. There are countless middle class household moms who are clipping these coupons.
Coupons work for the stores because they bring in customers. But the reason they bring in customers is because they work for the moms, and the dads, and the Everyperson who is seeking a discount. There's not only no shame in clipping coupons--there's great financial wisdom in doing it.
People who don't like coupons insist that their purchases are controlled too much if they have to limit their buying habits to using coupons. But nobody said they have to be "limited to" that. Still, that idea does lead into a couple more tips.
2) Forget about name brands--just buy quality. A lot of times, people who don't like coupons insist that they can't buy "their brand" with the coupons. Branding is one of the oldest and most superficial marketing ploys ever conceived. Yes, there are certain times, with certain products, when the name brands are just flat-out better. But most of the time, the question is begged why you "need" Brand X when you could pay less money for Supermarket Brand Y, or Sam's Choice for this or Market Pantry for that.
Remember, a lot of the time a coupon is given out to get you to try a new brand or new product for an "intro" price. Get over this "need" to have a brand name product when another product would do just as well. Sure, if you really and truly just can't stand Coke and gotta have Pepsi, by all means buy Pepsi. But most people have simply never TRIED Brand X Cola, so they just don't know--and they are throwing way their money.
3) Speaking of clipping coupons--what are the best coupons to clip. Check out your "local" community forum of money saving moms online to find out how you can find the most highly effective coupons to help you save the most money while giving you the best quality.
4) Stop taking the kids out to eat or sending out for food as much--even when it comes to fast food restaurants and pizza joints. 'Nuff said already.
5) Stop spending so much money on beverages--they have unbelievably high profit margins. When you do eat out, drink the ice water instead of the iced tea, punch, or soft drink. When at home, forget the bottled water--buy a filter for your tap water. Stop drinking so many soft drinks--they're bad for you. Cut back on the alcohol, even at home. Quit it with the name-brand coffee. Once you've got that water filter, learn to love water more.
These are just some of the ways you can save money in 2009.
Katelyn Grace Willett is a busy mom of two boys. She recommends saving time while saving money by checking her favorite coupon forum, TheCouponCupboard.com and comparing grocery prices at GroceryPriceBooks.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katelyn_Grace_Willett
Read More..
