Chapter 4
Cutting Spending and
Boosting Income
In This Chapter
Cutting back on housing costs, utilities, food, and more
Boosting your household income
W
hen your monthly expenses are greater than your income, you must
rein in your spending and stop using your credit cards. The same
is true if you're just barely getting by each month, if you're paying only the
minimum due on your credit cards, or if you have little or nothing in savings.
Finding ways to increase your family's income may also be essential, espe-
cially if you've cut your budget to the bare bones and you're still sliding
backward, just treading water, or paying for every unexpected expense with
a credit card. You may also want to consider working at another job or work-
ing more hours at your current job.
This chapter gives you practical suggestions for reducing your spending and
boosting your income. Although every idea in this chapter probably doesn't
apply to you, the advice we offer here may help trigger other ideas that do
make sense for your particular situation.
Finding Ways to Spend Less
In this section, we offer a treasure trove of ideas for spending less, organized
by category of everyday expense: housing, utilities, food, transportation,
healthcare, and so on. Some of the ideas are small and simple but yield big
benefits over time, especially when done in combination with other money-
saving suggestions.
