When bills begin mounting up you may come to the realization that you just may not be able to pay everyone in a given month. In that situation, who do you pay first, in what order do you pay your bills and who do you not pay at all? That’s the question we’ll be dealing with today.

If you want to determine who to pay first you first have to determine what is most important to you. First on that list are your needs. Without your needs being taken care of life as you know it cannot continue. The key is to differentiate between your needs and your wants correctly.

Food

The basic need of a human being to be able to survive is food and water. This expense would be your grocery store bill. There are many ways you can reduce what you pay for food though. You can buy in bulk, you can wait for sales, you can buy generic instead of name brand items and you can use coupons.

Shelter

Another basic need is shelter which is your rent or mortgage payment. There aren’t many ways short of moving to reduce these payments. Not paying these bills can have devastating effects as landlords to evict and banks do foreclose. The best ways to avoid these scenarios is to plan ahead and downsize if you see financial danger looming.

Utility Bills

But shelter is more than just having a roof over your head. You’ll need other basics like water, electricity and heating. You need water to bathe, electricity to cook and heating to keep your house warm during the cold winter months. These bills also need to be taken care of before you pay anything else like a credit card payment or a personal loan.

Your Car

Your vehicle can also be considered a ‘need’. Your car is what will enable you to earn money and get yourself out of this current cash crunch you’re in. If you drive a car to work every day you will also need to make your car payment if you have one. You also need to allocate money to pay for gasoline.

Once these basic needs are met then you can move forward and pay other bills. What bills to pay next will be discussed in the next post: Mounting Bills, But Who Do You Pay? Part II.

One of those monthly bills that you need to pay every month is your electricity bill. When creating a budget, many Americans budget $50 for their electricity bill and move onto the next bill. But don’t assume you can’t lower that bill down to $40 a month. That $10 a month savings equals $120 in your pocket every year. It’s not that challenging either. By taking these 7 simple steps you too can save on your electricity bill.

Change Your Light Bulbs

You’ve certainly heard this one before and you’ll hear it again because it really works. Switching just one incandescent light bulb for a compact fluorescent one will save you $35 over the life of the new bulb. Now imagine doing that for all of your light bulbs. The newer CFL’s use less energy, generate less heat and last much longer, all while being just as bright.

HVAC Inspection

You will want to ensure that your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is running efficiently. You can hire a certified technician to perform a check-up on your system. Issues like leaking ducts could be costing you a pretty penny. While the technician will charge a fee for finding and repairing any issues, you will save more over time by fixing any problems.

Use The Sun

Your air conditioning unit is one of the biggest energy hogs in your entire home so you’ll want to use it less. But during the summer your house can get pretty warm. What you can do is close the blinds or the curtains on sun-facing windows during the day. By doing this you will keep the suns’ hot rays out of your home and keep your house cooler longer. In the winter, the opposite is true, open your drapes and let the bright sun warm your house up on sunny days.

Unplug Electronics

When you leave things plugged in they are still using electricity, even if they are turned off. This is referred to as “standby power”. Rather than unplugging each of your devices when not in use, use power strips and simply flip the switch to stop the energy from flowing.

Ceiling Fans

If you want to cool yourself up a bit you can use ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner. But only use the ceiling fan when you’re in the room because ceiling fans are meant to cool you down, not cool the room down.

Keep Your Refrigerator Cool

Your fridge turns on when the temperature rises above a certain level inside of it. So in order to keep your fridge cool you’ll want to do the following things. Don’t open the door too wide or for too long. Don’t place hot items in the refrigerator, wait until they cool down. Finally, don’t put items in your fridge that don’t need to be in there. The less you have inside the less work your refrigerator needs to do to keep things cool.

Use Less Hot Water

When you use less water you will not only have a lower water bill, but electricity bill as well because of the energy it takes to pump and heat the water. So you will want to not leave the water running while washing the dishes and brushing your teeth and you will also want to take shorter showers. If you want to use less hot water you should also wash your clothes in cold water.

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When we talk about living frugally we are not necessarily talking about depriving ourselves of any and all niceties of living in the 21st century. Being frugal isn’t about that at all. You can adopt a more frugal lifestyle and still enjoy yourself. Being frugal just means that you are cautious about what you spend on, careful on how much you spend and you find ways to re-use previously purchased items.

Living the frugal lifestyle has its advantages. First and most obvious, those who adhere to the frugal lifestyle do so to save money. This can be to pay back high interest debt, save for a big purchase or simply to make ends meet in this rough economy. Second, being frugal is also environmentally friendly, since frugal people do not like to waste things and would rather recycle / reuse them.

One way you can pinch pennies and be green all at the same time is by recycling. Now hold on just a minute. I know you think you have already read or heard everything you need to know about recycling but give me just a minute of your time. I want to talk about changing your state of mind when it comes to collecting that money from recycling. When we were kids and our parents would let us take our empty coke bottles down to the store we considered it “free money.” After all we didn’t have to actually do anything for it other then save the bottles. Our parents are the ones who bought it.

Sadly I think subconsciously this belief in the free money has carried over in to our adulthood. That is why we only cash in our recyclables when we feel like it instead of always. It is after all sometimes messy and inconvenient. We have forgotten that this is not free money. This is “our money” that the state charges us. We need to get “our money” back and we do that by recycling your cans.

But don’t stop there. You can recycle your plastic and your paper too. Yes, some recycling places also pay you for your paper. Sure, it might just be $1.00 for 20 pounds of paper, but you’d get nothing if you just threw it away.

Something that you may not know about that brings in good money for recycling is car or boat batteries. Every major city usually has a company that will take your old batteries and pay you cash. Now the prices that they pay are constantly changing but I have always made at least ten dollars on your standard car battery. They pay per pound. You could even make some extra money putting up flyers offering to get rid of your neighbors old car batteries. You could even offer a couple of dollars per battery and still come out way ahead.

Tackling the ever-rising cost of living can seem like a daunting task that reaps little results. When it comes to cutting food costs, there is more flexibility than most other living expenses. Many Americans live near more than one grocer or retailer that sells food, with shelves stocked with thousands of options, giving us little excuse for overspending. Here are steps to help you become a thrifty grocery shopper.

Planning Ahead Saves Money

Taking the time to plan a weekly menu will help you focus on the necessary groceries you need to buy and help to define a grocery list. Not only will you be less impulsive in your spending, but by knowing what you need ahead of time you will be able to choose the store that will offer the best deals for those particular items.

Save with Home Cooking

Who doesn’t appreciate the convenience of pre-packaged foods? But the cost cannot justify what you’re getting for your money; by making it from scratch, an amazing amount of your grocery bill will be cut. Try making foods that you typically by pre-packaged or prepared, like coleslaw or salad greens. Many can be prepared in minutes and as a bonus, will be healthier versions.

Try Something New to Save

Making meals, day after day, week after week, can be exasperating. One neat trick to stave off the boredom and monotony is to serve breakfast for dinner. Many people don’t have the time during the week to enjoy a hearty breakfast, so why not serve one up for dinner. Kids are particularly happy to have pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc. instead of the traditional meat and potatoes.

Another way to save on your food budget is to prepare a meatless meal every week or two. In the process, you’ll be encouraging your family to eat more vegetables, a healthy habit we all should promote. Take advantage of leftovers to avoid wasting food. If you don’t plan to use them in a timely fashion, freeze them in serving portions to be reheated for a later dinner or for lunches.

Discount and Bulk Stores

Consumers can save up to twenty-five percent or more over name brand products by shopping at independent grocers and discount food stores that have recently cropped up across the country. Take advantage of bulk prices on items you can freeze or that you use in great quantity. For example, a small can of mixed nuts will be pricey in comparison to a buy-the-pound purchase at a bulk store. Allow for flexibility in your menu planning to take advantage of items that are discounted.

One last consideration is to take advantage of farmer’s markets and seasonal produce. With a local harvest, fruits and vegetables will be cheaper and fresher. In addition, their nutrition value will be at their peak, providing better health for you and your family.

Frugality has always been synonymous to saving. It has been tried and tested and proved that if you live on a frugal budget, you will remain debt free as you don’t have to borrow money for expenditure that you cannot afford. There are a number of things you can put to practice if you want to live frugally and save money. These are listed below.

1. Buy generic brands – You can reduce the cost of the regular items you buy, including groceries by buying generic products. There are a number of things which you wouldn’t even feel the difference whether it is from a special brand or generic. These are mainly items such as milk, cereals, sauces and ketchup, fruit juice and so on.

2. Make your own coffee – This is actually a very good way of saving a considerable amount of money. Every morning when you go out for work, instead of grabbing coffee from the local café you can make your own coffee at home.

3. Carry brown bag lunch – Eating out is an activity that can increase the expenses that you incur quite a lot. It is advisable that you carry brown bag lunch from home to your work. This will help you in saving money on a regular basis.

4. Save cost on fuels – The cost of fuels is quite a lot these days. There are a number of ways you can save cost of fuels. Using car pools or public transport for everyday traveling is a good option. If you have kids at home, you can buy them bicycle so that they can cover considerable distances on the bicycle and you wouldn’t be required to drive them around.

5. Line trash cans with grocery store bags – This is applicable if you have a trash can. This can save you money as you are not required to buy extra plastic bags for lining trash cans.

6. Buy second hand items when possible – You can save sufficient amount of money if you buy second hand items. However, you should be careful that the items are in good condition. There is no point in buying second hand items if you need to replace them in two or three months. Usually items such as furniture, furnishings, electrical gadgets and so on are a good deal when buying second hand.

7. Buy things in bulk – If you buy items in bulk such as body wash, toothpaste, shampoo, and even grocery items such as cereals, fruit juices and so on, then you can get discount on these items. Most shops keep this as a part of their strategy to increase their sales.

8. Watch movies in DVD’s rather than going to a theater – Going to the theater entails a lot of expenses. Movie tickets, popcorn, parking bill and so on can make your pockets considerably lighter. It is a better idea to stay at home and watch movies in a DVD with family and friends.

9. Carry a list while shopping – Most of the times you get in debt because of excessive spending which happens due to impulse shopping. In order to avoid this, you should carry a list with you after writing down the necessary items that you need to buy. By doing this you will be able to remember what you need and refrain from buying unnecessary items.

10. Regulate your electricity usage – Electricity bill is a major expense every month and reducing this can be vital in reducing your total monthly expenditure.

Thus you can see how the above 10 tips for frugal livings can accumulate to help you in reducing the expenses you incur every month and thus assist you in saving.

Ryan is a contributory writer associated with http://www.debtcc.com and has written several articles for various financial websites. He holds his expertise in the debt industry and has made significant contribution through his various articles.

College textbooks cost a lot of money. Today’s students face not only increasing tuition costs but huge textbook prices for books that have supplemental book sections, frequently updated editions, and textbooks that include complimentary lab notes, CDs, etc. This means that students can no longer use old editions of textbooks to get their assigned reading done. With the frequent textbook updates, which occur on just about a yearly basis, buying used textbooks from the previous years’ students or using old editions from the campus or local library is a lost cause.

On top of that, with professors expecting to receive a hefty fee for, first, writing a textbook, and second, earning the royalties when they assign the same textbook to their entire political science class—it’s no wonder why thousands of students are forced to purchase brand new textbooks at approximately $100 a piece for every class over a 3 year period. It just doesn’t seem fair that colleges and universities see it as acceptable to gouge their student body. I mean, where is the academic integrity?

Online textbooks, however, are one affordable solution for students who aren’t at school on rich mommy and daddy’s dime. In fact, if you Google “rent textbook”, you’ll find numerous sites that offer rental textbooks at a fraction of the cost of buying those new editions from the campus book store. For example, rentscouter.com and chegg.com are just two of hundreds of online textbook rental providers that will ship students their textbooks to use for a semester. The $4.00 shipping cost (on average) pays for shipping to the student’s dorm room, as well as return shipping to the provider, once the student is done with the book.

Thanks to textbook rentals students can receive the most relevant, up-to-date editions of textbooks possible—and not have to sacrifice essentials like food, transportation, clothing or their education in order to buy an overly priced textbook.

Here are four ways that online textbooks can help students save money.

1. Online textbook rentals: A student can rent a new version of a textbook for about $50, on average—that’s half off the cover price of purchasing the same book.

2. Pool resources: A group of students or even a class can split the cost of renting one textbook—then everyone gets a photocopied version of the text for their own reference.

3. Free e-textbooks: The great thing about the internet is that you can find almost anything you want for free. Just like your favorite movies, music and television episodes, sites like Google Books, offer thousands of scanned copies of popular textbooks in their most recent editions. So if you’re an English or sociology major you might be in luck finding popular titles and classics, however, if you study computer science, chemistry or another niche topic, you may have to stick with rentals or used books.

4. Swap bookshops: Taking the idea from traditional swap meets, web book swaps connect college students with other students so that you can swap textbooks free. Check out reputable swaps like Bookins.com, Collegeswapshop.com and Studentpirgs.org.

Tina Jacobs is a registered nurse and freelance health writer who has written for numerous print and online publications on topics ranging from education to health and from homeschooling to money saving tips for college students such as textbook rentals. Tina is a proud Georgetown University and plans to expand her portfolio while she waits to take her nursing licensure via the NCLEX exam. Most days, Tina can be found studying or writing in her beautiful bay window with her cat, Oscar, for company.

In your quest for frugality you can go a little too far. Sometimes you can overdo it and end up spending more money in the process of trying to save a few bucks. Here are several situations where being frugal doesn’t necessarily pay off.

Homemade

Many things that are available in the store can be made at home. You can make your own ketchup or cheese for example. However, this process can take many hours of your time. It may not be worth it to waste half a day doing something that you can just buy at the store for a couple of bucks.

Repairs

It costs money to get things repaired. Another option is to throw it away and buy another one. But you want to be frugal, so you figure you’ll just try and repair it yourself. If the tools you buy for the repair job are worth more than what you’re repairing, you’re not being too frugal there.

Health

You may think you’re being frugal by not going to the gym or going to see a doctor. However you should not save money on your health. You only have one body so you have to take care of it. To save money on health, you can consider the vegan lifestyle, as vegans don’t buy milk, cheese, eggs or any kind of meat.

Sales

It is frugal to buy things when they’re on sale. But, and this is a big but, only when these are items that you actually need. You won’t be doing yourself or your wallet any favors by purchasing whatever is on sale just so you can feel like you got a good deal.