What to do when the chips are down

I'm hearing more and more about folks losing their jobs, their retirement accounts drying up and from those who are trying to scrape by on less.

I've been in situations before when my hours were cut, unexpected expenses came up or a serious error balancing the checkbook threatened to upset the delicate balance between bare existence and poverty.

These days, many people confuse luxuries with necessities.

A little story:

Once upon a time one of my employees had her boyfriend empty their joint bank account and run off to parts unknown. She came crying to me for a payday advance because the bills were due and she had nothing. I got the guys together and we scraped up a few hundred bucks so she could pay her rent and utilities, we were shocked the next day to see her skipping the potluck lunch in the office and coming back with a bag of nick knacks that she bought at the pier one store, a new hairstyle and a new pair of shoes...She was indeed in financial peril but when asked...she thought shoes, hair and therapeutic shopping were indeed necessities.
She had no clue that she had hamstrung herself with poor thinking skills and bad habits.

These things are necessities:
Food
Shelter
Transportation to look for or go to a job
Utilities. Electric, gas and water.

That's about it.

These things are not necessities:
Cable TV
Credit cards
Eating out
Booze
Candy
Shopping
New clothes and shoes
Netflix
Online subscriptions
Newspaper delivery
Membership dues
Internet
Cell phone yes even the kids don't need phones.

Let me expound on some of these:

Internet: ..unless it's for job search or you are using it to make money, if so cut it back to the minimum plan available. Start selling your nick knacks and luxury items on Ebay. It's really easy to do. A couple of years ago I was able to pull in a couple of thousand dollars in one week from selling various crap I had bought but never ended up using, kitchen gadgets, gifts I never opened, CD's DVD's books. electronics etc..

Cell phone: Cancel it. Unless the number has been put on a large number of job applications dump it or reduce the plan to the $19.99 100 minutes and only use it only when absolutely necessary.

Food: Buy cheap and nutritious. Pre packaged foods rarely fit this category. Don't buy pre cut vegetables and fruits, they cost 5 times as much per pound, so cut your own. Buy Bananas, Milk, Eggs, Cheese, Potatoes, Carrots, Dry beans, Pasta noodles and inexpensive canned vegetables like spinach, green beans and peas.

Things not to buy when money is tight:
Cookies, Paper plates, plastic cups, paper napkins,bottled water, expensive cleaning products, lotions, air fresheners, room sprays, candles, flowers, etc..

It's hard to break our buying habits. Make a reasonable list and stick to it.

Here's an example of a cheap, tasty and nutritious dinner.

1 large zucchini 50 cents
1/2 Lb angel hair pasta $1.00 for a pound
1 small onion 40 cents
3 cloves garlic less than 30 cents
1 small can generic tomato paste about 50 cents
2 Tbs oil.

Start the noodles per the directions on the package. Saute the onions, garlic in a skillet on medium heat for a few minutes toss in the zucchini, and tomato paste and mix well, then add 1 & 1/2 cups water and bring the mix to a simmer. Add salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low and cover.

When pasta is done in 9 minutes drain and toss into a serving bowl and pour the sauce over the top. This will feed 2 or 3 hungry people and the whole thing will cost less than 3 bucks not to mention being delicious.
.
Other things to cut back on.

Run the thermostat at 78 or 80 in the summer and use a fan on you at night to help you sleep. This will save big bucks.

Do not make your credit card payments if you don't know where your next dollar is coming from. This is unsecured debt. Nothing is going to happen to you or your stuff for lack of payment. If necessary use the cards to get the max cash advances you can and use this money to survive on. You can call the credit card companies and tell them the shit has hit the fan and you will start paying again when
the money starts coming in again. Even if you never pay, all ill effects on your credit will go away in a few years....and remember folks this is for survival.

My best friend got laid off from his job and he used his entire $5000 severance check
to pay off his credit cards. I pleaded for him not to make that mistake but he was positive that he needed to pay Visa and discover his last few dollars even though he had no money for rent and food...he was just programmed that way.

I'm sure you guys can think of more things to cut back on,
Oil changes, lawn service, gifts, impulse buying, online purchases...etc..
I think you catch my drift...Some things we can do with out when it comes right down to it. It just takes self discipline and a willingness to do a complete 180 in the way you think about money and it's true value.