Sunday, April 5, 2009

$ave, $ave, $ave!

In class, we read a New York Times article ,"Forced from Executive Pay to Hourly Wage." The article opened my eyes to the terrible struggles people are facing because of layoffs during the current economic recession. I was curious to see if people were making an effort to save money during the recession.

I did some research and found another article , "Save $50 a Day, how Three Super Savers Do It." The article studies three families: The Harrisons, The Silberts, and the Dunshees. Together, the three families collectively saved $17,860 annually! The parents of each family gave tips on how to save. Both the Harrisons and the Silberts observed that eating out less saved them significant amounts of money. Mrs. Harrison decided to take a lunch to work instead of paying for the expensive cafetiria food. Mrs. Dunshee, a pharmaceutical executive, noticed many layoffs in her business and proactively decided to start saving. She created a budget that cut her expenses, such as phone and electrical bills, by 10 to 20 percent. She saved $460 per year by dropping her land line and using only her cell phone, and $100 each month by using coupons for groceries. Mrs Dunshee reflects, "Given my frugality and that I've saved and invested well, the recession isn't causing me the same kind of anxiety others are feeling."

I was very impressed by Mrs. Dunshee's awareness to the recession and the proactive action she took towards saving for the future. This article taught me that the little things like bringing a bagged lunch or clipping coupons can really add up. People who are faced with money troubles should read this article because it offers many helpful tips on how to save.

1 comment:

cecylia f said...

I agree that saving is very important. Especially in this recession. It is amazing how much you can save by paying attention to the little details. An example would be buying items at the grocery store that are on sale. Buying an apple juice brand that is one dollar less than the popular brand may not seem like such a big deal, but if you do that with all your grocery items that money can add up!