The Challenge Is to Save Money When We Have So Much Less Money

2011...whew here it is. I will not ask what else can go wrong because it always can get worse. Last year was a real tough one on our family, but so have the last three years been. The outcome of the past is that now my hubby is considered a cancer survivor having survived Esophageal Cancer for that we are truly blessed. He is back to work and doing well only to have faced a layoff and a new job in the same industry starting out with less than 30% of his previous salary. I was laid off in December of 2008, and was able to collect Social Security that started the week after I was finished with all my extended unemployment benefits. After being laid off and my husband so sick I decided to start a business investing all my 401K monies in a home business that I could earn an income while taking care of my husband who is going to need me in the years to come, due to incurable Hepatitis C that he was diagnosed with in 2000. Who knew then how far the economy would fall! I lost my shirt so to speak, but ironically not my will to succeed. We may be facing bankruptcy this year, we are teetering on the edge right now. So how the heck do we go green when we can barely stay in the green; literally!
We unplug everything that is not in use. Even our computers which I used to leave on when I was away. Clocks come on nearly every small appliance from coffee pots to microwaves and they all use electricity even when we are not using them. How many clocks do we need anyway? I happen to have a battery operated clock in the kitchen and that takes no electricity and it is the one I look to most actually. So Unplug. It will save you dollars in the long run.
Using coupons is a great way to save. I was never a coupon user, I figured it wasn't worth my time. WRONG it is worth your time and they are easier than ever to obtain thanks to numerous coupon websites. I found I could save on my coffee creamer by going to the manufacturer's website and joining an email club for extra coupons. I save a lot of pennies that way and pennies do add up.
This year I hope to find one new way to save each week; just one a week, I can do that.