by Amber Shannon

Created on: October 21, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

Boosting savings during a recession sounds like an idiom but it isn't. Although your income may be tight and good pay checks are few and far between there are still some sure fire ways to put back money and begin subsidizing your own savings account. If you feel as though you are drowning in debt with more money going out then coming in you are not alone. The majority of Americans are feeling this way, with the housing market down and

foreclosure rising it's a scary feeling to think that your family might be next on the statistics list.

Cut your paycheck in half. Whether you are a two income family or a one income family the savings is the same, you need money to spend but you also need money to save. Take at the bare minimum two hundred dollars out of every paycheck you receive. By placing it in savings you will boost your bank account. Having a substantial amount of money stocked in savings allows you to borrow that money (provided you replace it) to help aid in paying bills and mortgages.

If you only have five hundred dollars to work with it can seem like your last dollar. However, with smart managment and some crunching along with frugal spending you will have enough money left over at the end of two weeks to add to your pay check coming in. At the end of the week that you will be getting paid if you still have two hundred dollars left over take out a hundred and put it into your savings. Hundreds of dollars do add up and over time your savings will catch up to your bank account supplementing your weekly income.

Tracking your spending is the best way to know where your money is going. If at the end of each week you look back and wonder where did a hundred dollars go you're just one of the many Americans wondering the same thing. Keep a ledger of all the spending you do in a weeks time, at the end of each week sit down and ask yourself "where can I cut back". A large portion of money that each person spends tends to be on frivolous items. Eating out and driving too much can be the down fall of any American family. Tracking your savings and knowing where your money is going each week will allow you to cut back and take practice runs at deciding what you can live without. Cutting out non-essentials for a month will boost savings giving you extra money come bill time, keeping you on track, up to date and paying bigger amounts.

Be frugal and spend less money at the grocery store then a normal trip would entail. Stock up on staple pantry items giving you the

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