The stock market is plunging at record speed, your checking account balance is much lower than normal, but there is one thing that is rising rapidly. It is the discounts being offered at the local shopping malls. They are increasing daily and, of course, you are extremely tempted to visit and take advantage of this great opportunity, especially now when you have a long gift list and want to make everyone happy. There are some precautions you should take before visiting the mall and spending all of your money, or running up credit card debt that you will be paying for many months from now.

Before you go to the mall, be sure to eat. Eat any meal you want, but do not shop on an empty stomach. Most of us know that we should never visit a supermarket hungry as we will buy all sorts of additional things. The same holds true for mall shopping. Statistics prove that hungry shoppers spend 40% more than those who have full stomachs.

Never shop with your children. Leave them at home and you have instant savings. Once they accompany you, the requests are endless and you eventually give in to buying them something. They will haunt you about what you do not have and cannot live without. Don’t even think about bringing them along.

Before leaving the house, make a list. This is of the utmost importance. List the names of those you want to buy gifts for and the gift you feel is most appropriate. Check the comparison shopping sites on the computer for the best deals and visit those stores. This way sale signs will not divert you from your shopping goal.

If you do not need an item and it is not on your list, do not buy it no matter how much the discount. Remember, if you do not buy it at all, you will have saved 100%.

Do not cut out gift giving. It is much better to scale down the gifts. If you have a large family, encourage each person to pick a name out of a hat and buy only for that one person. This is a great way to have a gift exchange without spending a large amount of money.

Consumers have become accustomed to reward points and bonus miles when making charges to their credit cards. These have been very generous in the past, but many are coming with more restrictions these days. Fewer points are being given today, and purchases through reward programs have become extremely expensive. They can, however, still be profitable if you use them wisely.

One of the best things you can do is change to a cash-back card. These are much less cost intensive for the issuer so you generally get more value in return for his lower expenses.

Be certain that you are dealing with a reputable and established issuer. Many people have joined programs that required long waiting periods before they were allowed to use their reward points. When the time came, the program folded and the cardholders were left with nothing. Be sure that any program you join allows you to cash in your points whenever you want to use them.

Many cards award additional bonus points for certain categories, such as gas stations. Be sure you choose a card where the categories match the type of businesses you patronize most.

Do not use your reward points to purchase merchandise from the catalogs. They are always overpriced when you calculate the value of the item versus the points you are paying. Redeeming points for gift cards can be a much more profitable move. In many instances you will get enough money to purchase the item you wanted and have funds left over for another purchase.

In today’s economy, unemployment levels are increasing on a daily basis. The majority of these people have never been unemployed before and do not know how to approach this new time in their lives. Unemployment causes much turmoil, often resulting in depression, family stress, and a severe drain on your finances and net worth.

While spending a great deal of your time looking for a new position, it is also important that you continue to productively use your time. An interviewer, seeing a large gap in your resume’ since your last day of employment, will likely inquire as to what you are doing these days to keep up with your peers. Obviously, they know you have been job hunting and just what that entails. It would be beneficial for you to be able to say that you are taking a few courses relating to your specific area of employment, or that you are volunteering locally. Volunteering can often result in improved people skills, newly gained knowledge relating to the position, and contact with people who may possibly be able to help you find a new job. Networking is one of the most important things you can do when seeking employment. The more exposure you and your situation have to others, the more likely someone will step up to help you with an introduction or a recommendation.

In addition to the benefits you will receive from taking classes and helping others, you will find yourself busy learning and working so that there will be little time left for the negative side effects of unemployment. If you take the right approach to this time in your life, you will most likely feel better about yourself, which will result in others seeing a strong person who can handle this traumatic time in his life.

If you are among the many who are still comfortably employed with a healthy and successful company, you may well find that your employer offers benefits you do not even know about. Of course, you are most likely taking advantage of the health insurance policy offered, and making regular contributions to your 401K, but a visit to your company human resource department may help you learn about other opportunities available to you.

Because your employer considers your physical health important to the company, many today offer their employees on-site gyms, reduced membership fees at local gyms, or a possible partial reimbursement for their individual annual membership fees.

With the cost of commuting constantly increasing, some employers are trying to assist their employees. One way this is done is through the Qualified Transportation Benefit. An employee is permitted to put pre-tax income into a special account which can then be used to pay for parking and/or public transportation.

Many companies offer discounts to their employees on products they make, or on items they can buy in bulk, sharing the benefit with their employees. One company I recently read about is encouraging their employees to purchase hybrid cars by offering to give them $3,000 after they have purchased the car.

Some employers allow their workers to assist one another by donating unused paid time off into a pool for emergencies of co-workers. This is a great way for employees to work as a team towards a common goal while supporting one another in their time of need.

Tuition reimbursement has been a benefit offered by some employers for many years. New people, however, are not always aware of this opportunity. The company is encouraging you to continue your education and is willing to financially assist you up to specific limits. This is a great way to increase your knowledge and gain additional training at no cost to you and your family.

Consider all of the above and then make an appointment to sit down with a human resources representative to discuss these and any other benefits available to you. It will be time well spent.

“Green” is the word of the day. Everything we read today relates to saving energy, trees, and our environment. Stores are dedicating themselves to this concept and many consumers are embracing the idea and beginning to make major adjustments to their living habits.

Sometimes it is the simple things that need to be adjusted in your lives. Some of the current solutions are centuries old. Adding awning to your home to save energy is still a great idea. Drying clothes outdoors also conserves energy while producing a wonderful scent for your clothing and linens. Solar water heaters are returning from decades ago. Eventually, there will be no such thing as “green” building. Building itself will define ‘green” building as the only acceptable way to go.

A major cost saver available to everyone today is an attic ventilator which controls evening air circulating into a home and lowering cooling costs. It is computer operated so the homeowner does not have to adjust windows, etc. to make the system work properly.

Green products include insulation sprays made of recycled newspapers which are very effective in today’s homes.

Think “green” and join the majority of homeowners who are updating their properties to meet today’s standards.

Saving both money and energy is definitely a winning combination. A few simple changes in your life and you can easily accomplish both. Between the current economy and the move towards “green”, this is the ideal time to look around at little things that can help us accomplish our goals.

When finished, turn the computer off. This has the potential to save you up to $60 per year.

When leaving home for several hours, consider adjusting the thermostat to realize a savings in heating and cooling. This could result in a savings of approximately 10% off your heating costs.

Using the microwave more frequently and the oven less, can result in a substantial savings. A microwave uses about 1/5^th the energy of an oven or stovetop.

Unplugging electronics and adding power strips for televisions and computers could reap a savings of approximately 5% off your energy costs.

Lowering the temperature of your hot water heater can help cut costs. There would be a 3% to 5% difference in cost for every ten degrees it is lowered. Try to live with it set at 120 degrees.

Consider investing in some small changes that can also save on energy and expenses:

Change one frequently used incandescent bulb to a compact fluorescent. Of course, if you change more than one, the savings will increase.

Check air leakage around your home and reseal windows and doors with new caulking and weather stripping where needed.

Replace traditional holiday lights with LED and the savings can be up to 90% of the cost of electric for your display.

The current economic climate in our country has caused people to re-evaluate their priorities and severely reduce the amount of money they are spending. We do not know how bad the economic situation will become, but most consumers are preparing for the worse case scenario and cutting way back on everything. Although consumers are spending less, they are also stretching every dollar as far as possible.

The current trend has people passing the mall to get to the local discounter. Secondhand clothes are becoming popular and many are beginning to look more closely at store brands which almost always cost less than the name brands. Coupons are being clipped more than ever and credit card usage is down.

Some people are taking second jobs, eating more at home and turning down the heat. Most are foregoing clothing purchases and making do with what they already have.

They are patronizing warehouse clubs and thrift shops. People are resisting mid-priced restaurants such as O’Charley’s and going to McDonald’s instead and pocketing the savings.

All of this saving on the part of the consumer may be good for their budgets but is actually bad for the overall economy. Yet, watching the value of their homes decrease and their 401K’s devaluing at record speed, most people are planning on continuing their current frugality. Consumers are learning to say “no, not today” when tempted by offers that they would not have resisted in the past. We may just see a major shift in the attitude of consumers that will stay with us for a long time.