by Triple Water Astrology

Created on: December 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 18, 2010

Drastically reducing expenses eventually must involve a lot of personal creativity. The key is replacing what you were doing that costs a lot of money with something that is relatively inexpensive or even free.

Cutting out restaurant meals, even fast food, isn't at the top of anyone's fun list. But cooking simple, yet healthy and delicious meals can easily replace eating out. Visiting an extra grocery store (usually reasonably close by for most people) doesn't burn a lot of gas, but can save a nice amount of money through shopping the sales and buying store brands. Cooking for eight or ten people and freezing half of what you made is very economical and also qualifies as 'fast food' on a day when you're too stressed out or busy to cook.

Take care of your car! A lot of routine maintainance can be done by picking up supplies at the store and learning how to do it yourself. Even filling the tires to the proper level saves gas, and therefore money. Find a mechanic who does the right diagnosis and only has to do the work once.

Even a house doesn't have to cost a lot. Change the air filters regularly and take care of what you're capable of taking care of, even if it's just mowing the lawn. Have minor repairs done immediately (cracks in the driveway, missing tiles from the roof) before they become major repairs.

Organize your possessions and seriously consider downsizing. Do you really need cable/satelllite services when we have Netflix and YouTube/Hulu? That debate rages on, but shouldn't be an issue if you're trying to drastically reduce your expenses. Even a small garage sale can quickly bring in a few dollars and having extra space means you won't need that storage unit.

Thought about cutting down to just one or two credit cards? Why would anyone keep paying for stuff they've already bought? (In other words, pay interest on credit card loans.)

Adapting to a cooler or warmer environment in your home might take some work. But turning off or reducing the use of the air conditioning in the summer and the heater in the winter will cut expenses. Use the electricity you need. Getting into the habit of turning off the lights when leaving the room is easy.

Depending on how badly you need the money, you may actually downsize to a cheaper house or apartment, or sell your car and not buy another one. Or, you may feel that cutting much of the superfluous spending in your budget (such as eating out instead of eating in) is drastically reducing your expenses. Whatever you decide to cut, the key is doing it and sticking to it no matter what. The pain of cutting expenses can't always be avoided, but the freedom of having extra money or being less beholden to your sources of income can be quite worth the sacrifice.

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