Coping Strategies during
Tough Financial Times
-- Part Two

As mentioned in the previous article, Blended families, along with everyone else, are feeling the negative impact of the recession. Many blended families are feeling the personal pain of financial strain, powerlessness and generalized stress as the repercussions ripple through our economy.

Again, we’re not in a position to offer a bailout plan for our blended families, but here we offer some additional strategies to help you take action and feel more in control of your destiny as this economic slump plays itself out.

Enlist your kids in saving family money. As the greening of the environment came alive with the participation of kids, so kids can be actively involved in trimming the family budget to help you feel more control during this economic crisis Explain what is happening without unduly scaring them and devise strategies to make your family financially pro active.

• Encourage kids to look for alternatives to using the family car; walk to the friend’s house or bike to football practice.
• Cook and eat at home more frequently and take lunch to school. Many families on a strict budget report that the most surprising expense was eating out and take out foods that cost them an extra $500 a month There are multiple benefits to cooking and eating at home as well as saving precious dollars in today’s uncertain economy.
• Encourage kids to recycle clothing and buy store brands over much more expensive designer brands.
• Combine errands, car-pooling and outings to save on gas.
• Make outings a treat rather than the norm.
• Encourage kids to come up with new and different ways to save money in their own way

Be aggressive about cutting unnecessary spending from your budget Make it a game to see how much you can save and here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Get rid of the iphone, check out competitive cell phone plans and make sure you aren’t wasting money or extra minutes charges and fancy ring tones.
• Take lunch to work.
• Review the cable TV or satellite TV bill because you may have a plan with a lot of waste. Take out FREE movies from the library.
• Cancel subscriptions for magazines you don’t read or stuff you don’t use.
• Buy kid’s clothing and holiday gifts out of season and on sale.
• Car pool or use public transportation if available.
• Review home owner’s and health insurance plans and make sure you’re getting the most competitive deal.
• Mow your own lawn and have the kids help pick up the leaves. Do your own house repairs and maintenance.
• Check out store brands and shopper’s coupons.
• Pay down credit card debt and make it a policy to buy only what you can afford. Wait and save to avoid credit card debt.
• Save to take care of property taxes, holiday gift spending, vacations, and unforeseen expenses.

These are challenging times and the most effective way to feel some sense of control is to take action with your own family Think outside the box, engage the entire family and be pro active in your own home. If you would like to share some money saving tips with other blended families please contact .