by E.L. Miller

Created on: March 02, 2008

Whether your money shortage is temporary or a permanent fact of life, it takes discipline and creativity to get by on a shoestring. While it's a given that you'll have to make a lot of sacrifices, you can live comfortably,and even enjoy life, on a tight budget. Here are a few tips to make the most when you have the least.

MAKE A BUDGET
It's not a fun activity, but it's a necessity. You can't determine what is and isn't affordable without one. Start by listing your income in one column and your expenses in another. To maximize disposable income, scrutinize all of your fixed monthly expenses and eliminate every one that isn't a necessity. Be brutal at first; you can always add something back to your budget later if you can afford it and find out it's worth the expense not to live without it. Once you pare down your fixed expenses, it's easier to allocate money for other things.

Examples: We turned off our cable TV, intending it to be a temporary solution to save money. As it turns out, we don' even miss it. Most of the time we're too busy to even sit down to watch it, and it was a waste to have the TV on just as background noise. Whenever we do have time for entertainment, we always find something else to do around the house, whether it's watching a DVD we got for Christmas again, reading, playing a board game, or just talking to each other. We also canceled our telephone landline (we already have cell phones, so we don't really need it), scrapped any magazine subscriptions (read them in waiting rooms or do without, most are just fluff anyway), and use coupons regularly (check out the free grocery store flyers and double coupon offers - you can get groceries for a fraction of their actual cost if you time it right).

CHOOSE INEXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVES
Abandon any hang-ups you have about brand names. Except for a very small few, brand names are generally no better than store or discount brands. Food is food. It's regulated by the FDA, so you know the cheaper stuff is as safe for you as the items and products you see in every ad and commercial. Choose clothes that are made well, but lack designer labels. What's important is that you have clean, well-fitting clothing that looks nice on you, not that you're a walking advertisement who's lining the pockets of someone else. Reuse disposables that can be cleaned. Buy cleaning products and other goods at the dollar store, or, better yet, make it yourself out of cheaper (and more environmentally-friendly) household products like

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