Is your family struggling to make ends meet? In today’s economy many families are living paycheck to paycheck. Expenses add up fast, but there are many different ways you can start saving money. It doesn’t have to be hard to start pinching your pennies.

Use Coupons

Coupons can help reduce the cost of your grocery budget significantly. This is especially true when you wait for an item to go on sale and then purchase the item with a coupon. If you have never used coupons before and want to maximize your savings, you can search for a blog or website devoted to couponing. Grocery shopping will take a little more planning and research, but if you can cut a good chunk out of your monthly grocery bill it is well worth the time.

Mend Clothing Instead Of Buying New

Instead of buying new clothing, you may want to mend the clothing that you have. For example, if your jeans get ripped, use a patch instead of throwing out the jeans. Many times clothing will get tears right on the seams, this is something that anyone can fix just be stitching the seam shut again.

Shop At A Thrift Store

If you do need “new” items, consider shopping at your local thrift store first. Not only is there a large selection of items, but many thrift stores offer discounts on their items too. Certain stores offer 50% off clothing or housewares on certain days. The key is to find out the sale days at your local store and then shop the sales. Doing this, it is possible to find name brand jeans in good condition for several dollars. Many people also donate brand new items with the tags still attached to their local thrift shop.

Eat One Meatless Meal A Day

Cutting back on the amount of meat that your family eats can considerably stretch your food budget. You don’t have to make a drastic change either! In fact, just dropping meat from the menu one day a week can have a nice effect on your food budget. You can also avoid delicacy items such as steaks or desserts. Buying cheaper meats and cutting out unnecessary packaged snacks can save you a lot of money.

Consolidate Your Trips To Save Gas

With gas prices so high, many families spend a good deal of their budget putting gas into their vehicles. You can save money on your gas expenses by planning your trips. Instead of making several trips to various stores, consolidate your trips. For example, plan a day to finish your errands in a certain area of town on one day. The next day, finish your errands in another section of town rather than making separate trips for each errand. There are also gas saving apps which will alert you to the lowest gas prices in your area. Use the app and buy gas at a place with inexpensive gasoline. If you work, try carpooling! This can cut the gas you spend for work in half!

Cut Your Own Hair

This may seem extreme for some, but it is a good way to save money considering haircuts cost about $20. For the men and boys in the family, you might consider a buzz cut. This is easy to do by yourself, but you can watch tutorials on youtube before you start the haircut. For the women in your family, you can also find youtube tutorials on cutting hair in a variety of styles. If you have pickier girls in the family, you can always take them to a beauty school or discount salon.

Use The Library

A library card can save you quite a bit of money. Instead of renting movies or going out to the movie theater, you can borrow a DVD from your local library. If you remember to bring the DVD back on or before the due date, the rental is free! You can also read books or listen to books on tape. If you want a specific book or DVD and can’t find it in your library, your librarian can loan the item from another library for you.

Cancel Cable

Cable is expensive and unnecessary. Instead of cable, you may want to buy a subscription to Netflix or Hulu. These services are less than $10 per month and offer a variety of television shows for patrons.

As you can see, it’s not that difficult to save money and stretch your budget. You may need to invest some time to clip coupons or drive to the library to borrow a book, but the investment is minimal. Over time, saving money will become like second nature to you. Happy saving!