Creative Ways Of Making Ends Meet

We’ve all heard the saying that “money is the root of all evil,” but according to an international Reader’s Digest poll, money is in fact the root of most stress. The study examined the sources of stress from 16 different countries, and the hands-down the winner was money, with nearly 50 percent of Americans citing money problems as the primary source of stress in their lives.

Residents of other countries felt the same as well. In Malaysia, for example, the number of those who listed money as their source of stress was 58 percent. “We do find it surprising that with our surveys in general, there is often a strong international consensus of opinion,” Kathleen Fifield, Senior Editor for Reader’s Digest said in an interview with CNN, “We have more in common across national borders than we might realize.”

We wanted to know some of the things that average Americans do to make ends meet, so we asked random people to share some of their tricks they use in their own lives.

Author and Minister Anna Aquino says “I’m couponing more than I ever have.” Even though the coupon has been around for more than 100 years, the popularity of online coupon sites like LivingSocial, and Groupon demonstrate that many Americans are jumping on the coupon bandwagon. When coupled with smart phones, purchasing, and redeeming these deals is easier than ever. Do not overlook the coupons that arrive in the mail either, simply think of them like cash in your mailbox.

Tracy Jones, a wellness counselor who has made saving money an art form, says, “I reflected on my spending and realized that my two biggest expenses were rent and food. I realized that I didn’t need much space and could save a ton by renting a room. This cut my rent down by 63 percent! I saved up enough money in one year to clear out my debt, and put a down payment on my own place. Plus I’m now friends with an amazing group of people.”

She also credits her work with helping her save money, “I lead self-nourishment and nutritional cleanse programs and workshops. It’s very important to me to eat healthy, local, organic food. This can get pricey. So I made friends with the farmers at my local farmers market, and one of them hired me to work one day a week at the market. I get paid, and I get all my organic fruits, veggies, grains, and such for free.”

She has one other creative idea; however, it may not work for everyone. “After I bought my place, I started going through the pains and expenses of home ownership. It depleted my bank account and put me back in debt. I did an experiment and temporarily moved in with a friend while renting out my place as a vacation rental. I was shocked at how easy and lucrative it was! It was just a summer vacation rental, but I was able to cover my expenses and pay off half of my debt. I will be doing this again in 2011,” Jones says.

“I decided to cut cable - with a twist,” says Rachel Davies, CPRW. “I’m replacing it with ‘Internet TV,’ it’s not exactly TV and not exactly internet, but the kids are happy, and the bill is about to drop.”

Davies did some research and found a Blu-ray player that could be used with her analog TV and some subscription services to replace her expensive cable services.“Right now, I have a cable/internet/phone package that I’m paying too much for. All told, I should be saving $60-$70 per month once I’ve finished making the switch.”

Other popular ideas include cutting back on eating out, there are several cookbooks that allow cooks to duplicate dishes from their favorite restaurants, buying groceries in bulk, and planning daily driving trips to cut down on fuel usage.

An article on today.msnbc.com also has some great advice for solving common money problems. Check out the site for solutions on both the short and long-term.

While making ends meet in tough times can be difficult, it is not impossible. Getting back to basics, and focusing on what is really important during these difficult times, may not seem so bad after all.

Sources:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23521980/ns/today-money
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-Dealoftheday_12bus.ART0.State.Edition1.26bc7cd.html
http://articles.cnn