How to Squeeze Your Household Budget for Financial Emergencies

All of us have faced financial emergencies at some point in our lives. The emergency may be a medical bill we weren't expecting, a broken furnace, or even a car that no longer runs. But, whatever the emergency, it always seems to take a lot more money than what our budget allows. Where does one find the money for those unexpected expenses? At our house, those funds need to be squeezed out of the monthly household budget.

Back during the years of the depression, families took a close look at every dime before it left the house. Purchases were carefully watched, and hiring someone to do a do-it-yourself job was simply not done. Over the years, many of us have gotten sloppy with our spending.

We buy things that aren't wise budget choices, and are paying others to do things we could be doing ourselves. It's in those areas where families can find a little extra cash in their household budget to help fund an unexpected emergency.

Eating out less

According to statistics from the US Department of Labor (www.ars.usda.gov), Americans are spending 40% of their food budget on food away from home. This isn't just dining out in the evenings, but includes breakfast on the go, lunchtime meals and those 64 oz jugs of Coke.

Get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning, and fix yourself a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a sack lunch for noon. And as far as dinner? If you really need to indulge yourself once in a while, set a strict dining-out budget and stay with it. At our place, we limit eating out to Monday or Tuesday nights when restaurants are more inclined to offer special deals.

Ditching the lattes

From the amount of coffee kiosks around our town, everyone and their dog must be drinking a steady supply of $4 double Mocha Lattes or cappuchinos. If you've gotten in the habit of buying a Starbucks every morning, you're spending about $88 a month for coffee. Indulge yourself in some quality coffee beans and brew a mini pot at home to drink on the way to work.

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