Fitness is important in all areas of our lives, not just physical.  In these tough times, with such an unfit economy, there are changes that we can make to help ease some of the stress of our financial burdens.  These changes can be as small or large as you want.  

You may want to start with making changes slowly so as to not get overwhelmed.

1.  Eliminate non-essential expenses-decide what is absolutely necessary and stick to it!

2.  Decrease eating out-even just cutting back the number of times you eat out by 2 or 3 per month can make a difference.

3.  Decrease entertainment costs-get creative, go back to board games, family game night cancel channels on cable that you pay for and do not watch.

4.  Decrease the amount of take-out coffee that you drink, again if it is something that you truly enjoy, just cut back a certain number, like 2 per week.

5.  Decrease car or house size.  This is a biggie, but could save lots of money in the end.

6.  Decrease the amount of junk food that you buy, eat a cleaner diet that is rich with whole foods.

7.  Try a 30 day spending freeze.  Write down on a piece of paper when you want to buy something other than a necessity with the date.  Promise yourself you will not buy it for 30 days.

8.  Use envelopes.  Keep an envelope for expenses, one for haircuts, one for groceries and so on, this system will allow you to budget your money, see how much you are spending and keep track of expenses.

9.  Make your savings automatic, pay yourself first, can not stress this one enough!

10. Track expenses for 1 month, write down everything that you spend on a daily basis, you will not know where your money is going if you do not track it.

My family and I tried the 30 day spending freeze and it was amazing how the impulse to buy “something” just disappeared when the 30 days were up.  That impulse of wanting something just seemed to dissolve when it was not satisfied instantly.  Think of all of the impulses we have in life, if we just create a bit of space in between it and our reaction, we may learn a bit about ourselves.  We also have used the envelope system in the past with great success.  We are in the process now of teaching our children the value of money.  Not such an easy task, we use reward systems, allowances and try to help them to be accountable for the money that they earn, in regards to donating, saving and spending.  I believe these concepts should be taught in school and family at a very young age.  I don’t want my daughters to grow up thinking that an ATM machine is just a machine you go to and get money out whenever you need some.  Or a credit card is a substitute for money and not realize that it  needs to be paid back.  Be creative, it is amazing what kids can learn at a young age!

These ideas were taken directly from the free ebook titled Thriving on Less: Simplifying in a Tough Economy

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