Everyone is trying to find a way to save money right now. We have all been affected by the current economic situation. Many have lost their jobs. Others aren’t just getting the same number of hours that they used to get. Those who work on commissions aren’t making the same kind of sales that they used to. Those who get paid by the job aren’t getting as many jobs as they used to.

That is leaving us with less money to spend. Fortunately, gas prices have backed off so that we aren’t hurting as much on that front, but still, that might not be enough to help us catch up on our bills that we had to let fall behind when the economic crisis began.

So, if you need to find ways to make your money stretch a little bit further, here’s a couple of suggestions that I have found can save you a buck or two. These might seem rather extreme, but they can work.

Take your lunch to work. It sounds simple, but you can save money. Granted, you won’t be eating hot meals such as fish, burgers or chicken every day, but it will be a good meal. If you had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with potato chips, that could cost you a little between $10 and $11 a week. That’s just over $2 a day. If you eat out everyday, that could cost as much as $7 a day. Every week, you could save an extra $25. It would even cost less if you substituted lunchmeat for the PB&J or if you went the frozen dinner route.

Don’t go to stores or shopping centers for entertainment. The temptation will be there to buy something, and more than likely, you will buy something. Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go to the store, but you should only go when you need to. Instead of going shopping, why not take a visit to the park on a nice Saturday afternoon or go use the tennis courts. Go to the library and find a good book to read. Instead of going to the movie theater, rent a movie from the library or you local movie store. That will save you almost $10 more.

I know there are numerous things you can do to cut expenses, but to save money, you have to be willing to sacrifice something to save. Once the economy picks back up, you can add the conveniences again, or you might find you didn’t need them to start with.