How I Save Money on a Low Income

Source: http://voices.yahoo.com/how-save-money-low-income-7693346.html

For those people who don’t make $40,000 plus a year or even $30,000 a year, here are a few ways you can save money in this horrible economy even if your income is low.

Ok, so you don’t make a lot of money and you’ve done all the usual recommendations to try and save money. It’s time to think outside the box and put your thinking caps on.

Here are three sure ways to help you save money even with a low income:

1) Wash laundry by hand to save money. Yup, that’s right. They still sell washboards at some hardware stores and all you need is a large pan to do it in. In fact, while I am living off grid in the middle of the forest, I wash all my laundry by using a plastic container and just using old fashioned scrubbing and wringing to get the job done. I save even more money by catching rainwater instead of buying bottled or city water. This will really help you save money if you have to do your wash at the Laundromat while trying to live on a low income.

Ok, so you live in an apartment where you can’t hang a clothesline? No problem. This is where creativity comes in. Don’t let your low income keep you from trying to save, do small loads and hang your clothes around the apartment or purchase a clothes rack that fits inside your tub in the bathroom. You can save your money that you didn’t spend at the Laundromat to purchase one. Yes, this is more work-but nobody said learning how to save money on a low income was easy. Just think back to “Little House on the Prairie” days.

2) Unplug appliances & devices to save money. Many people do not realize that if the appliance or device is plugged in, you are pulling electricity to that outlet whether you are using the appliance or device or not and spending money that you don’t need to. People of all income levels are typically not accustomed to noticing how many devices and appliances that we keep plugged in continuously. When living on a low income like myself, it is important to save money anywhere we can.

It only takes an extra second or two to reach and unplug the toaster, coffee pot, microwave, TV, VCR, etc. Do you really need to see the time on all these devices for 24 hours a day? Save yourself some money and unplug them when not in use and your low income may be easier to live on. If the appliance is in an awkward place and it makes it hard to unplug, re-arrange it to make it easy on yourself.

Just remember to grab the plug and pull and not the cord because then you will be buying new appliances from destroying the cords on them. Believe it or not, this actually works and you will save some money towards your electric bill. While living on a low income I actually reduced a $100 electric bill down to $75 by just using this idea as a way to save money.

3) Cook with inexpensive staple foods to save money. You may be surprised at how many really good recipes there are that use food items like rice, beans, potatoes, and vegetables that you can buy from the freezer department. Having a low income doesn’t mean not eating well. One great meat source to save money on when living on a low income is to buy a whole turkey.

Most people with a low income do not consider buying turkey but multiple meals can be made from just one turkey. Save money by making meals like turkey and yellow rice, turkey noodle soup, vegetable soup with turkey pieces, turkey and rice with your favorite veggie baked in the oven with cream of something soup (you fill in the blank), and turkey and dumplings from the broth after you boil the bones.

I have been using these three ways to save money on my low income and have been able to live within my means quite comfortably. Of course there are other ways to save money on a low income like renting movies from your local library for free or spending your vacation primitive camping for free in U.S. National Forests.