Sensible Living While Trimming the Fat

Not long ago, the idea of living well generally meant living large or, at least, as large as you could afford. The nations economic upheaval has changed priorities for many home owners and buyers, who are still focused on living comfortably but perhaps more prudently and efficiently than before.

So how do you continue to live well but live on less?

Slash and Stretch where necessary:

1.Give Up the Bottle and Introduce a Faucet Filter. Kill the bottled water and instead purchase a filter that can be installed on your kitchen sink. Reports tell us that most bottled water is not as sanitized as you would think you'll enjoy the same benefits from filtered tap water.

2.Cut your trips to cleaners in half. Most sweaters can go in the delicate cycle with some Woolite and most silks can be hand-washed and hung to dry.

3.Stop ordering movies off your cable channel, i.e. pay-per-view. Did you know that it costs more to order a movie from your cable provider than it cost to rent at your local video chain these days? There's an automated video vendor called Red Box and they only charge $1 per movie, per night. You can order 4 or 5 movies from Red Box for the same price as one movie on pay-per-view.

4.Re-think this summer's vacation. Put that Caribbean vacation on hold and take a road trip. You'll probably save 40%-60% and still enjoy your family time together.

5.Stay Away from the ATM. We tend to run to the ATM several times per week that adds up to over $20. Fees go to your institution for using someone elses ATM machine as well as the third-party machine you're using. At a combined rate of approximately $5 to $6 per transaction you can see just how much you may save by making one trip and obtaining enough to last all week.

6.Perhaps it's time to look at your auto and property insurance. Many times parents forget to call up their auto insurance agent to see if any deductions are available for teen drivers. Many insurance vendors have programs for first time drivers who complete defensive driving programs or after 6 months to 1 year of hazard-free driving. It never hurts to ask for discounts.

When you think about how much you spend each week and each month you can see everyone has some sort of money leak that needs to be plugged. The more we educate and learn how to rely on ourselves to overcome the more money we hold on to and the less debt we incur.