3rd Quarter Financial Results Show Recession
Well, the numbers are in for the third quarter of the US GDP count, and it of course points to a fact that many of us have already accepted, and that is that consumers are feeling the financial squeeze of economic conditions, and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has fallen by a fraction of a percent (which believe it or not is significant when we are talking about the economy and the GDP), forcing economists to acknowledge and confirm that the recession has begun, and that most likely we will see a few more quarters of a depressed GDP before we see it get any better.
As far as the numbers, they really don’t lie, and it’s undeniable that we are at the start of rough economic times, which some say are going to last years and others say that is blown out of proportion and that we will pull out of this before then. Either way, it’s important to know that there are always little ways that you can save money and put more money back in your pocket, and help you and your family to get through the recession as unharmed as possible.
One thing you can do is to scale back on eating out. Eating out is one of the number one wasters of money. Although of course it’s fun and festive to go out to eat, and you always feel like doing it especially if you hate cooking or are low on time, it’s also incredibly expensive when compared to buying groceries and cooking yourself. Now, if we’re talking fast food here, then you may actually break even, I’m talking about eating out at sit down restaurants where you pay a tip to a server and the whole shubang.
Eating out at fast food places of course is another story because you have the infamous value menus, the money saving discounts, coupons and promotions that are often run, and of course because the food is low quality and bad for you, it starts off at a low price. McDonald’s double cheeseburger anyone? It’s still on the dollar menu, and you can’t buy groceries that cheap these days!
How about cutting down on entertainment costs, such as buying things like liquor and beer at bars and restaurants and for your home, and cutting out things like movie club memberships and instead renting free movies at the library (a work friend just gave me that idea the other day)? It saves a little bit of money, or some people’s case a lot, and it’s relatively painless considering the other things you could go without. Cut down on your grocery bill by buying things that are on sale, and veering toward more cost effective brands, or try clipping coupons, that’s a great source of saving!
Try to make it without making any major purchases for a few months to a year. Take us for example, we’ve had a washer and dryer that have been on the fritz for a few months now, but they still work. We decided that due to the economic recession and the fact that there could be layoffs where we work, we are going to scale back, and decided to put off this major purchase until things get better again.
