Tip 2. Cut out unnecessary expenses.
If you evaluate what you are spending your money on each month there is a 100% chance you will find a few unnecessary expenses, no matter how much or how little you make. For most people, the places they can cut back is their entertainment. They can get a smaller cable package, a cheaper cell phone, rent fewer movies, or return them on time, not get the newspaper, etc. Do you have a land line and a cell phone with a large amount of minutes? Do you pay for channels you never watch? Are you paying for extra phone features like call waiting, three way calling, etc.? What monthly expenses can you cut out? Consider things like movie rental subscriptions, magazine subscriptions, newspaper, cable or satellite TV, land line phone, cell phone data plan, etc.
Tip 3. Do things to be more valuable at work.
When times are tough economically people start to worry about their jobs. If you want to feel more secure in your job be sure you are someone you would never want to fire. Be more pleasant to your co-workers, be helpful, be efficient, and make yourself as irreplaceable as possible. If people really like you, and you are good at your job, there is a significantly smaller chance of you getting fired.
Tip 4. Keep investing, especially in your retirement accounts.
Just because the market is down does not mean you should stop investing in it. In fact, sometimes that is the best time too, especially if you have money to do so, and time to let the market bottom out and rise up again. If you invest during an economic downturn, when prices are the cheapest, and then the market rebounds, you will probably make your money back, and you will feel great about it. Of course you want to make sure you limit your losses in case it does not rebound. Instead of pouring all your money in, just don’t stop putting money in, instead contribute a regular amount over a regular period of time. Chances are you won’t regret it. Plus it can help the economy out.
Tip 5. Have a cash fund.
One of the things people worry about the most with financial tough times is that their bank will fail and they won’t have any money. This is because history has horror stories of this. Banks are FDIC insured, and they insure your deposits up to $100,000, so you do not have to worry quite as much, however, if your bank fails it could take weeks, if not months to get your money back. This is a long time to not have money for life expenses like food. So, it is always smart to keep a few weeks worth of cash on hand in case there is a run on your bank. Obviously if you keep large amounts of cash on hand you will want to do so in a secure place, and not publicize it. It might also be wise to keep smaller bills on hand. This can come in handy should you need to barter, etc. If a store does not have change, and you need bread and only have $100 bill, you might end up paying more than you should for your goods. It is worst case scenario, but during tough economic times, planning for the worst, and being prepared for it often leaves you in the best position.