Our Daily BreadNovember 23, 2009Day-to-Day Recession Tips
How much more can you cut your expenses?If the recession has brought you face to face with debt and little money to cover the food bill, every right move will help. From car pooling to food pooling, there are things you can do to lessen your anxiety and reserve your energy. Change will come.
• Stop reading scary headlines. You already know about the state of the economy and reaffirmation about high unemployment rates, the housing market and the wave of lay-offs and bankruptcies can only cause more anxiety. If you need to decompress, instead of watching the five o'clock news watch a comedy.
• Find a friend. And not on Facebook. Even friends who are in similar financial predicaments can help one another ease some of the pain. Sharing the burden can relieve some of the anxiety.
• Do what you can to be frugal. If you're using every known resource to cut your expenses, you can also cut your stress.
Here are a few resources to help:
• Check your local gas prices
• Resist the urge to shop for luxury items regardless of holidays, birthdays and special events. Chances are the lucky recipient of your gift doesn't need it for food, clothing or shelter. Your niece, nephew, co-worker or friend probably understands and has adjusted his expectations accordingly. In other words, if you can't afford it, you can't afford it — even if the item is cheaper somewhere else. But if your plan is to spend no matter what, make sure to do online comparison shopping before you start the spree. Check as many items as you can.• Take advantage of free online coupons for thousands of stores and products:
• Consider bartering. Two top sites are craigslist and u-exchange.com. Business barter deals are taxable so understand the nature of each transaction and how you'll have to file them on your IRS tax forms. Also note that bartering exchanges are required by law to submit to you a Form 1099-B, "Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions". For more information on your tax obligations for bartering visit the IRS. NewsSip
Photo Credit: Bread by Peggy Greb
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