During the final quarter of 2007, the United States experienced what many now refer to as the Great Recession. The recession reached its lowest point in the fall of 2008, but its effect reverberated long after this so called low point. In fact, employees continued to experienced job loss at a rate that has not been seen since the Great Depression. Even though we are supposedly in the midst of an economic recovery, many people remain unemployed and wondering how to save money. Minimizing expenses is key when it comes to surviving a recession, and thus people must find ways to reduce or eliminate unnecessary expenditures, and learn how to save money. Unfortunately, Americans have adopted the financially unhealthy habit of living above their means. For instance, spending 400 or 500 per month in order to drive a BMW or Lexus is not the best way to save money. Purchasing five different pairs of sneakers to match the color of your clothing is not an example of how to save money. Thus, if Americans truly want to dig themselves out from underneath their massive debt, they need to refrain from making unnecessary purchases if they truly want to save money.
On the internet, there are dozens of helpful websites that offer save money ideas. However, one can learn how to save money by just using common sense. Sit down with a pencil and paper, and under the first column list all of your monthly expenses and when they are due. Under a second column write down all of the income that you receive during a month. Whether you are paid weekly or biweekly, make sure that that is reflected. Next, find the total of the first column and write it at the bottom of the column, and do the same for the second column. Hopefully, the second column is higher than the first. When one truly wants to learn how to save money, they should think about each purchase that they make. The most important thing is to be sure that one never allows the total of column number one to exceed column number two. In order to learn how to save money, one must not only keep expenditures lower than their income, they must be certain that the margin between income and expenditures is large enough to be able to put away as much money as possible.
