How to Survive a Recession

How To Survive a Recession

Despite the negative reports of our heading into a recession things don't have to be completely gloom and doom. The threats are real with the subprime mortgage problem looming over us, interest rates plummeting, and gas prices growing at a faster rate than our cost of living increase. However in this state of economic confusion we can survive and this is how.

There are five basic needs to survive. They are shelter, food, water, clothing and transportation. Yes other things are important but if we focus on these all other things will eventually fall into place.

First of all let us look in to the shelter problem. This is the most expensive of all things most likely. If you currently own a house and have a high mortgage you may want to consider some options. First try to downsize if you are able to sell your home. If selling isn't an option then you may want to consider renting a portion of your home out, even if it is only a room to a college student. A friend of mine rents her finished basement to college kids. If you are currently renting you may want to consider moving in with family paying them ½ the amount of rent. If family isn't available or desirable you may want to share the current rent with a roommate if your landlord will allow it or move into a new one that does.

Secondly, food doesn't have to be expensive. Organic is "in" but for a short period of time you could skip the expensive organic and choose non-organic. Many discount grocery stores have less expensive products. Some may not be brand name but for a short time it may not matter and most of them taste very similar. Cook more from scratch it saves so much money. Go to church functions that serve dinners and snacks. Have friends over and have them bring a dish to share you will enjoy the company and cut the cost of the meal.

Thirdly, there are ways to save on the expense of water. First of all showers use less water than baths and if you turn the water off while soaping this saves quite a bit of water. Try not to buy bottled water instead, put filtered water from the tap and reuse that bottle water you bought.