Today's' Economy Demands that We Find Ways to Save Money

I know we are hearing more and more about how bad the economy is, and it is true. Gas, food and utility prices are soaring way too high for the average person. So we have to look for ways to save money and some areas where we may be wasting money and not even realize it.

Let me start with a huge pet peeve of mine. A lot of people stop on the way home and buy a bottle of soda. OK you are thirsty buy your ten minutes from home and there are lots of things to drink right in the fridge. You will pay at least $1.29 for it. Thats as much or usually more than a whole two liter that was bought in the supermarket costs. Then when you go to clean out your car there are lots of half empty plastic soda bottles that are going in the trash. What a waste. If you do this everyday that is about $10.00 including taxes a week that you could keep in your pocket. So I say suck it up and wait until you get home.

There are ways to save at the supermarket too of course. I know that we have all grown up with certain brands so we automatically buy them even if they cost way more. The truth is that sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesn't. For instance of course generic or store brand peanut butter or mayonnaise tastes different, maybe you can deal with it and maybe not. But there are somethings that make absolutely no difference whether you buy name brand or generic. Just some that I can think of right off hand are flour, sugar, salt, spices, milk, eggs, and meat. There is absolutely no difference in those products, generic or name brand. There are other things you can experiment with for yourself and see if they are just as good. For example try the store brand pickles. They cost a dollar less and taste just as good. So next time you go shopping take a look around at the cheaper products, you just might find lots of changes that you can live with very easily. Also if you take a few minutes to go through your kitchen and make a list of what you need for the week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for your family and stick to that list once you get to the store you will save a lot. If you just go in with a few vague ideas of things you need you will end up grabbing twice as much stuff than you would if you had a specific list.