Being a young professional myself, it was refreshing to see an article on Bargaineering today about Ten Recession-Busting Money Tips for my generation.
Although recently married, I still consider myself to be at the first stages of life when it comes to money. The tip that hit closest to home was Eat Out Less. Until about a year ago, my spending on dining out was easily eclipsing my grocery budget month after month.
Since then, I’ve trimmed it down to where it stands today, about 10-20% of what I spend on groceries. To this excellent list, I would add a few more items:
- Protect your physical assets. Although the economy is tough and everyone is trying to save, don’t neglect routine maintenance and upkeep of your assets, such as cars, appliances, boats, etc. It becomes a much larger expense if one of these fails and you need to come up with the money to replace it, especially if your income is compromised.
- Negotiate existing expenses. Re-evaluate your fixed expenses, like your car insurance, subscriptions, or place of residence, and determine which can be canceled or reduced. Use the extra money to create space between income and expenses.
- Take advantage of youth. Being young may have some disadvantages, but the biggest financial plus is the power of compound interest. Don’t neglect your retirement and savings contributions on account of the ailing economy. The earlier you get going with earning on your money, the higher you will go.
What would you add?
Photo by Inno’vision
Fiscal Fizzle 
I would agree that negotiating existing expenses like car insurance, homeowners, cell phones, and cable can impact income quicker than taking on another job. We often forget that we have bills that can be negotiated and create more savings opportunities for our family.
I enjoyed reading your blog and finding it through Twitter. I look forward to following your posts.