The economy is in a crisis situation and the costs of everything are rising and falling at record speeds. People are having a great deal of trouble finding the funds to pay for the necessities of life, most especially energy costs. Not very long ago everyone was talking about the price of gasoline on a daily basis. Once gas prices went over $4.00 per gallon, consumers everywhere were trying to find ways to cut back. Many were even canceling planned visits to family and delaying vacations. Car pooling became temporarily very popular although I do believe, even with the current drop in prices, people are still giving a good deal of thought to their travel plans.

The costs of electric have also been skyrocketing and have not shown signs of slowing down recently. The Energy Department has stated that heating oil prices have been greatly reduced since last winter, but are, again, on the rise with a very large increase since February. Homeowners are looking for ways to fight back and many are taking advantage of the opportunity to lock in the price of power for from one to two years. This, of course, is wonderful for budgeting your finances and enables you to calculate in advance what size bill you should be expecting. The problem, however, is what will happen if the cost of electric becomes less and you are locked into a higher price? You cannot simply request the lower price as you have signed a commitment and must honor it.

An example of locking in prices that did not work out well is a heating oil supplier in the New England area who offered to lock-in prices to his customers last summer, when fuel was more than $4.00 per gallon. Many people signed a contract because they were afraid of just how high the price could go. By the middle of last winter, the price was approximately $2.00 per gallon and many expected the dealer to cut his prices to them. The dealer, however, had a similar fixed-price with his wholesaler, and had guaranteed that he would purchase a specific amount of oil at the fixed price. It was not possible for him to accommodate all of the requests he received from his customers for lower prices. Unfortunately, this offer, which was meant to improve the dealer’s relationships with his customers, actually backfired and left many customers feeling cheated, although the dealer did not do anything wrong.

If you were to lose your job tomorrow, how long could you survive without your income? This, of course, depends on how well-prepared you are financially. Even if you feel secure in your current position, it is still a good idea to cut expenses and put away that extra money for a “rainy day”, no matter what form it takes.

Here are some ways to increase savings without too many sacrifices on the part of you and your family:

Consider canceling your private mortgage insurance (PMI) as this may no longer be necessary. If you made a 20 percent down payment on your home, or your equity totals 20% or more, contact your bank and request that this insurance be discontinued. Some people go on paying this premium for years without realizing that it is no longer necessary.

An energy audit and some small changes around your home could help reduce your monthly utility costs by 20% to 25%. Weather strip, caulk, consider plastic covers over windows if they are not double pane, and insulate the attic. All of these can help realize a substantial monthly savings.

Examine cell phone costs and be sure your family has the best plan for them. If you are paying approximately $20 a month for text messaging, discontinue it and tell the family to dial their friends instead.

Food shopping should always be done once a week. Every time you make an extra visit to the grocery store, you will always leave with more than the one or two items you went shopping for. Plan your meals for the week, purchase necessary items only, and do not return to the store until the following week.

Lunch out costs an average of $7.00 per day. If you eat out everyday, that’s $35 per week. If your spouse is also eating out, that amounts to a large portion of your budget. Consider eating out only once a week.

There are many ways to save when shopping and one is to visit the Dollar Store. You can find many toiletries and cleaning supplies for only $1.00 when they are usually three to four times that much in the grocery store. Visit once and you will probably return.

Potluck dinners and at home games or videos are a great and inexpensive way to entertain friends.

Plan vacations near home and make day trips to the many local sites that you have never visited.

Share child care with friends. Everyone gets some free time and there are no babysitting expenses.

Speak to your doctor about the possibility of you switching to generic drugs if medication is necessary.These are available at a fraction of the cost of the name brand drugs and are often just as effective. If a brand name is necessary for your medical needs, and if you financially qualify, they can be available for free from the manufacturer.

Plan nights out attending free local concerts. Check schedules at both parks and nearby universities to see what is available in your area.

In today’s economy, it is almost impossible to even think of requesting a raise in salary as more and more of your co-workers are being laid off. There is, however, a possibility that this raise may actually be available if you request it.

In times such as these, a trusted, extremely productive employee is very valuable to a company. Frequently, your workload has doubled due to layoffs and your employer can appreciate this fact. This is not an unreasonable time to ask for an increase but, first, you must do your research.

Research the web to find out what comparable employees are paid at other companies. Check sites such as salaryexpert.com and salary.com to determine equivalent jobs in your area of the country.

Be prepared to document all of your achievements. It is important that you have won awards and participated in mentoring young employees, but focus on what you have done to improve the bottom line. Employers today consider the “bottom line” to be the ultimate improvement. Prepare yourself to document what you have done to improve this number or to cut expenses. Either of these accomplishments are the way to an increase.

Sit down with your manager and discuss what he feels you need to do to get a higher salary. Then set a future date for discussing your accomplishments leading towards this goal. This date should be set at three to six months away.

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.

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.

We are really somewhat helpless when it comes to the economic problems our country is currently experiencing.  If you are feeling exceptionally stressed by these issues, try to minimize your stress by following some of these thoughts.

One of the first things you should do is to take control over the things you can change.  This may take some effort but will be worthwhile in the long run.

Review all of your discretionary spending and evaluate the necessity of the items.  Begin challenging yourself by seeing how long you can go without using your credit card.  If you give up eating in restaurants, calculate how much money will be saved.  Try to avoid paying full price for anything.  See if you can do it.  Another thought might be to include your spouse in this project and turn it into a competition.  Who can save the most relative to their expenses?

After a specific period of time, calculate yours savings from this extra effort and you might be amazed at how substantial they will be.

Another way to relieve the stress in your life is through physical exercise.  Establish a routine that is simple and consistent.  Find a time of day when you can set aside some time for exercise in whatever form you choose.  The key is to be faithful to whatever schedule you establish.

The following are cost-saving tips that can save you money over the next year. Consider implementing some of them so that your family can stretch their budget.

Plan a visit to your attic to see what is up there. Many internet sites allow you to list these items for sale. If you are not using them, maybe someone else will.

Drink tap water instead of bottled water and you could save as much as $1,250 per year.

Adjust your thermostat so that your heat and/or cooling system is not working as hard and will use less energy. Consider a sweater if you are cool.

Adjust your toilet flow. Instead of purchasing a new toilet, consider filling a plastic drink bottle with water, cap it, and put it in a corner of the tank. This will decrease the water needed per flush.

Switch all light fixtures to fluorescent bulbs as they last longer and use less energy.

A new showerhead with a low-flow can save water over a period of time.

Pull the plugs on your electronics and the savings will be considerable. Disconnect the TV, DVD player, etc. each time you are finished using them. Substantial savings will be realized by this simple act.

Do not hand wash dishes; it actually uses more energy than the dishwasher.

Line dry your clothes.

Weather strip your doors.

Turn down lights using dimmers in several areas.

Plant leafy trees to protect from the summer’s heat.