by Talia Murphy

Created on: August 13, 2009

Every day it seems there are more people who are personally feeling the effects of the recession. Many have lost jobs or have someone close to them that has. All we can do is stay optimistic and give encouragement to those going through these tough times. After all, it could happen to any of us at any time.

It's important to maintain some stability and routine at home. Involve your children in some familiar rituals, such as regularly taking a walk in the local park or going camping. Find some cost free, but fun things to do, such as playing under the sprinkler in the back yard or taking a hike and letting them collect interesting things to show each other later.

Every community has planned events or fairs and many are free to the public. Take advantage of this and plan something for them to look forward to each week. Give them specific chores to do around the house and reward them with handmade awards or treats, such as a banana split or chocolate sundae on Saturday night.

Encourage your family to be creative. Let them use that extra time on their hands to paint, draw or write. Take them to the local library and ask for a book list specific to their age group. Help them pick out some of these books each week to read. Use discarded items and paper ads and circulars to craft birthday cards or new artwork from and encourage them to be resourceful.

Supply glue and scissors and let them find other things to incorporate into their creation. Take them on a hike and let them find natural objects such as twigs, leaves, feathers, stones or plastic pieces, bubble wrap, Styrofoam, string, etc. Cutting out letters from old magazines to express their own words in a poem, book or card is always fun. Start them off with a basic project.

Go on line and find the best sites to print out grocery coupons and watch the local ads for specials. It's amazing how much you can save by just being patient and by planning ahead. Buy what is on sale at your local grocer and plan your menus around those items. Most grocery stores have lots of great recipes in their promotional fliers or you can also collect them from your local newspaper or on line at the library.

Don't forget garage sales and your local thrift stores. It is amazing what you can find there and at tremendous savings. If you have a good fashion eye, you won't need to shop anywhere else and can clothe your entire family. Be unique and encourage your children to express their individuality by letting them choose what appeals to them. If they are older children, teach them to sew and challenge them to redesign thrift items.

Use this time to reconnect with friends and family and have a potluck dinner. Reinstate playing games such as charades or scrabble. Challenge your opponents to a weekly game. Get everyone off the sofa and encourage them to participate in an egg toss, three-legged races or horseshoe contest or play volleyball in the back yard. It will give everyone a few laughs and a feeling of camaraderie. It's all about friends and family and creating happy memories. It's really all about love, not money, anyway.

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