ABOUT A YEAR AGO I CREATED A BLOG ABOUT DEALING WITH THE RECESSION.....

Many of the blogs I've created, or pretty much 'one-time' blogs as it pertains to entries. Those blogs give ideas on ways to have family fun without much cost (http://allhappytalk.blogspot.com ). Some blogs were for my family; my mother, for people who wanted to eat a proper diet and lose excess weight, etc. Of course you can click my profile and see the blog names and links. I did one for charity; links to articles and organizations involved with charity. I did one focused on the homeless. The one that I created on handling the rising costs of living and how to reduce and manage those costs is called:

http://rollwiththerecession.blogspot.com

Now, a year later, I'm reading the good news that people have adopted ways of cutting their expenses, and some of those are cutting out the expensive coffee; cutting back on meals eaten out - vacationing 'at home' and finding local points of interest that are either 'free' or low-cost.

Cutting out magazine subscriptions; instead of buying books - reading books on line or at the library.

Cutting out the special added features on cable television such as Home Box Office and Show Time.

Reducing your insurance coverage for only the very necessary coverage and features.

Cutting back on water usage; buying bottled water - putting in cost-effective light bulbs and water-control devices. Keeping your thermostat 'set back' during the winter and reducing air conditioning costs in the summer, but 'tolerating' a little more heat and setting the thermostat a bit higher.

Keeping the blinds lowered in the summer to cut out the heat; opening them in the winter to take advantage of the sunshine.

Buying generic brands in prescriptions; in foods - taking advantage of sales and when shopping for produce, go with what's seasonal.

Shopping only once a week (or less if you've got storage for frozen goods and shelves to hold your dry and canned foods). Not only does cutting down on shopping save you money on gasoline and wear and tear on your car, but you aren't as tempted to pick up items that you don't really need.

Shopping all year for gifts; gifts that will be appreciated, but all too often the prices rise just before the Christmas season. Try to buy after Christmas for the next Christmas - we have storage for those gifts; we can keep them 'free of dust', and ready to give them when that holiday arrives.

Instead of using gift wrap; ribbons - gift bags, buy those reusable bags that are sold at many stores now - most cost $1.00 (the price of a cheap gift bag), and give all the gifts in those bags so nothing is thrown away or wasted.

We removed our land-line telephone; we use just the cellular phone, and we don't waste money on fancy phones - we use our phone 'just to talk on'.

You can share your I-net services and computer with others who don't have access. They can pay you a nominal sum of money to 'go on line', and it reduces your bottom-line cost. Obviously, using the computers at the library is also an option but you often have to wait in line to get access.

Take only the Sunday edition of the newspaper; it usually has a summary of the important news and offers coupons that can be clipped to help with your expenses when you shop.

When you eat out, make it a lunch rather than a dinner - less costly. Order appetizers and 'share' - don't order alcholic beverages; water with lemon will do just fine. Buy your wine and alcohol; enjoy it at home at far less a cost and put in a DVD you haven't looked at in some time - let that be your night out.

Save money on CD's by joining the http://www.playlist.com web-site and get thousands of songs for FREE - listen to them while you're on the computer.

We paid $59.95 for a wireless speaker so we could also hear our chosen music selections in the rest of the house - a lot cheaper than buying CD's that cost $15 for about 12 songs, and right now I have 91 play-lists with over 100 songs on each list, so that's saved us thousands in buying musical CD's.

We also have our money in a Credit Union; safer - less expensive as it pertains to fees that are charged, and we make certain we use our ATM card only where there is not charge for that use.

We keep our long-term savings in CD's that are paying 5.5% interest; we pay twice the amount on our mortgage obligation to pay down the debt sooner.

We buy a whole chicken; make 3 meals for 2 out of it. We don't buy anything pre-made or frozen; we use a convection oven because it takes less energy. We use the microwave efficiently - I can cut up potatoes and 'bake them' in 4 minutes; a lot faster than in the oven!

There are many other ways we live on our fixed income without difficulty - if you want to ask me more about what we do, or have any questions, then write me at kcir114112@cmaaccess.com, and I'll do my best to respond promptly and helpfully.