While the immediate thought is to try to cut back your grocery bills as higher gas prices and grocery prices make your budget tighter, these are often not the most effective.

Today I’d like to review some of the other areas that might help you to cut back successfully.

1. Underutilized monthly memberships.

How much use do you really get out of your gym membership? Are there any other memberships you have that you aren’t taking advantage of?

Canceling poorly utilized memberships is an instant savings that can be significant. The average gym membership is about $50/month. If you still like to go to the gym, find out about their per-use fees, and see if that would be cheaper for your personal habits than the monthly fee. Or start walking, bike riding and other fitness activities at home.

While they’re generally smaller expenses and happen just once a year, look at any magazine subscriptions you have. If you’re not reading it, cancel it!

2. Cut back on telephone services.

Some people these days have cut out their landline telephone and just use cell phones. Others choose to cut their cell phone. Either way, you may be able to save money by cutting one or the other, assuming that it’s practical for your lifestyle. It may not be.

If you keep a landline telephone, review the services you have on it. You may have a big package of services that you don’t take advantage of. Most people only use caller ID and call waiting with any regularity. You can even cut those if you don’t really want them.

You should also review any telephone service plans you’re on, whether it’s your cell phone contract or the deal you get on your long distance calls. You may be paying too much for your plan, or you may have too small a plan and be paying out for excess minutes.

Many cell phone carriers will let you change your contract with no penalty so long as you are going to a new contract with them. This may start your term over, and you do need to think about whether or not that’s the best move for you. If there’s just a little time left on the contract and another company has a better deal for you, it may be a good idea to just switch carriers at the end of the contract.

3. How many television channels do you really need?

Whether you have cable or satellite, you’re paying for a lot of channels you never watch. While cutting subscription television services completely out may not be for you, a more basic package can allow you to still watch many great channels with good reception for significantly less money. Review what you really need.

4. Eat out less.

Eating out is almost always significantly more expensive than eating in. If you’re getting the cheapest of fast food the costs may be similar, but the quality of the food goes way, way down from what you could enjoy at home.

Lunch out is probably the one that many people do on a nearly daily basis. If you can remember to bring your lunch, either with an ice pack or to put in the company refrigerator as you work, you can save a lot of money while doing something with your leftovers.

Similarly, cut back buying coffee when you’re out. Homemade coffee takes just a few minutes to make and is significantly cheaper.

5. Ask for a lower APR on credit cards.

It takes just a phone call, and if your credit is in good shape you have very good odds of getting a rate cut from your credit card company. While I don’t recommend making only the minimum payment every month, knowing that you’ll be paying less over time can be a significant benefit.

If your current credit card issuer won’t decrease your APR, start shopping around. If you have good credit, you may be able to apply for a card with a lower rate, and transfer balances over. Just be aware of balance transfer fees and introductory APR versus regular APR. A lower introductory rate isn’t a benefit if the long term rate is too high.

6. Adjust the thermostat.

In summer, learn to tolerate a warmer house, in winter, a cooler one.

During the summer, I put extra coverings on the windows that get the most direct sunlight. This has a significant impact on the temperature in my home. Depending on the window I may use a blanket, sheet or cardboard box. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done.

In winter, of course, extra warm clothes are the rule.

In any season you can check to be sure that your home does the best it can in terms of insulation. This is one of those cases where you may have to spend money to save money over time, not an easy thing to do if your budget is already tight. But if you can manage it, the benefit will be there eventually.

Check your filters too. A clean filter can greatly increase the efficiency of your heater or air conditioner.

A programmable thermostat can take care of changing the temperatures for you, based on the daily routine you give it. If you tend to be away from the house all day, obviously you don’t need the heater or air conditioner running. But when you’re home you want things to be comfortable.

Another option is to use an efficient space heater. This can be more efficient than heating the entire house, especially if everyone spends all their time in the same room.

Alternatively, keep it in rooms that you don’t use much, and close their heater vents. Turn on the space heater as needed, turn off when you’re done.

7. Drive less and more efficiently.

With gas prices going up, anything you can do to cut back can help your budget. Planning your errands so they can be done can save money both in gas and in what you spend shopping.

Another way to drive less is to carpool or take public transportation. This is generally going to involve some inconvenience, but the savings can be substantial. My sister saves about $80/month carpooling with coworkers, and that’s the number she quoted me about 6 months ago. No doubt it’s more now.

8. Buy used.

Consignment and thrift shops often have great deals on near-new clothes and other merchandise. It may take a couple tries before you find the right shops for your tastes, but there’s a great range of options out there.

9. Rethink your watering habits.

Many people overwater their lawns. Do some research for your area and find out how much water your lawn actually needs a week. I heard a quote of 1 inch per week in my area, and it’s actually better for the lawn to have it in one deep watering, so long as the soil isn’t too dry, than in shorter spurts through the week. The lawn then grows deeper roots and becomes stronger.

10. Review your insurance coverage.

What are you paying to cover your car in case of an accident? What’s the deductable? How often have you really needed to use even a bit of your coverage?

While car insurance is pretty much a must in many places, you may be able to cut back on what it costs you. Increasing your deductible can save you money every month, and only costs you money if you make a claim. This can be a very good deal.

Cutting health insurance can be a bit trickier. There’s still a certain quality of coverage you probably want. But once again, if increasing your deductible will save you money overall with the way you use your health insurance, it may be worth the effort. The only question for many people is ‘Will I remember that during open enrollement?’

Review your homeowner’s insurance too, if applicable. Balance what you will be able to handle paying in case of a claim with what you are willing to spend monthly.

11. Turn it off and unplug it.

Turn what off?

Whatever you’re not using. Turn off unnecessary lights and teach the kids to do the same. Turn off the television… unplug it if you’re willing, as it does use some electricity even when it’s off. Same for the DVD player or any other electronics that have a clock or respond to a remote. Any of those you’re willing to unplug can save you a bit of money.

12. Get a smart power strip.

A smart power strip is an interesting device. It shuts off the power to all devices plugged into it when you shut the first device down. This can work great for entertainment centers and computers… just make sure that if it’s something you want to stay on, such as a DVR, you plug it into a separate strip.

This can seem like a small thing, but the power these things use up just by being in standby mode can really add up.

13. Clean out the house… declutter!

While this won’t necessarily save you money, it can make you money or at least get rid of the things you don’t use anymore. If you think you can make some money, hold a garage sale or sell the best stuff on eBay. It’s a bit of effort that can be quite profitable.

14. Drink more tap water.

Get a Brita or other filter if you prefer, as it will quickly pay for itself over buying bottled water, drinking juice or drinking soda. It’s also very healthy for you.

If you don’t like to have a glass of water at your desk, especially if you’re concerned about spills, get a reusable water bottle. If BPA concerns you, there are metal bottles available, or non-BPA plastic ones. ReusableBags.com carries a good selection. I’m completely hooked on mine.

15. Check your car’s air filter.

A dirty air filter reduces your gas mileage. And cleaning one is so simple even most people who can’t do car repairs may be up to the job.

Cher your owner’s manual to locate the filter. Undo the top screw or release the clamps, take off the top and you’ll see the filter inside. Pull out the filter and use the hose of your vacuum cleaner to suck the dirt out of it. Run the vacuum through the holder as well to get any other dust. Take care not to be too rough with the filter, as you can damage it. Put it back in and reattach the top. The job is done and you didn’t have to pay someone to do it.

16. Talk about ways to save money with friends.

Friends can help you to find new ways to save money and just encourage you in your own efforts.

17. Look for free events in your area.

I went last weekend to a street fair just 2 miles from my home. We walked out of there with a free month of karate classes for my daughter, and a generally fun day. We did spend some on rides for the kids, but not much considering the overall entertainment.

Most cities will have some sort of event calendar online these days. Find your city’s website and check it out.

18. Borrow from the library.

Rather than buy books or rent movies, check out the selection at your local library. While their selection of movies won’t come even close to Netflix, or even a local movie store, you can check to see if the movie selection is adequate to your needs.

But many do pretty well, especially when it comes to finding great titles to read to the kids. Children don’t care how long the book has been out; they’ll enjoy the story regardless.

19. Make your own cleaning supplies.

Just a few ingredients that you may have around the house already can work wonders. Baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil can replace most of the cleaning supplies that cost you far more, and aren’t toxic.

20. Use rechargeable batteries.

The battery charger and rechargeable batteries are a bit of an investment at the start, but they quickly pay for themselves. We handled the expense in my family during the changeover by just buying rechargeable batteries as needed. Our charger handles all sizes we use.

21. Think about living in a smaller home or apartment.

This one won’t work right now if you’re upside down in a mortgage, and definitely may not be right depending on the real estate market in your area. Going into a smaller home can save you money in many ways if it makes sense to do so, from a lower mortgage payment to lower heating bills and so forth. Do not try this if you own a house unless you are sure you will save money!

On the other hand, renters may have more flexibility to move if they’re not stuck in a lease. If you can move into a place that costs you less to rent every month, you may have a significant savings that will make up for the expense of moving quickly.

Just be sure both the financial and the intangibles are worth the move. If you love where you live, the money may not be worth it unless things are just that tight.

22. Think before you buy.

Anytime you think you want to buy something, consider why you’re doing it. If you can walk away and return to the item later, do so. If the purchase can wait a month, do so. Do what it takes to make sure that it’s something more than an impulse buy.

23. Simplify your gift giving.

You don’t have to cut it out, but you can simplify it and give things that will be greatly appreciated and cost you less money.

Try giving time, especially to friends and family who you know have very little of it. Free babysitting is appreciated by parents of small children. A homecooked meal may be appreciated by grandparents, especially if it means you take some time to be with them.

If you’re creative, take advantage of that fact and make gifts. Homemade gifts don’t always have to be chintzy. Create something that you know the recipient will appreciate and that you’ll enjoy making.

24. Shower more efficiently.

I know, a nice, long, hot shower is bliss for many people. It also uses a lot of water and either electricity or gas to keep the water warm. If you can keep the length down you will save money.

You should also be sure that you have a low flow showerhead on your shower. A good quality one will still provide excellent water pressure, but use significantly less water. I’ve found that the mist setting on mine is good for everything but rinsing conditioner out of my hair, and uses significantly less water than the other settings.

25. Wash your clothes in cold water.

Most of the time, your clothes will come out nice and clean, even if you don’t use warm water. If you’re worried about it, there are now detergents formulated to work in cold water. I’ve never used one and never had a problem with clothes not getting clean enough… except when my kids absolutely stain them. What can I say? They’re kids. They like to get really, really messy.

There are, no doubt, many more ways you can save money. I’d love to hear more suggestions from any of my readers.

I’m noticing a lot of people with concerns about current grocery prices. They’re going up fast in most places. That’s hard on just about any family’s budget.

Time to work even harder on saving money at the grocery store!

That’s not easy to do if you’ve been cutting back for a long time. There’s always a limit to what you can cut back on before the decisions get really painful. So let’s go over some of the basic possibilities.

1. Buy in bulk.

This one can work great, but only if you know that you’re paying less by doing so. It can really pay to compare prices because sometimes foods are cheaper the way you normally buy them.

This also works for things like crackers, although you generally aren’t getting these from the bulk bins. Buy the large boxes rather than the snack size bags, and separate into snack size portions yourself.

2. Know when your stores have the best deals.

In my area, one store has ‘double ad Wednesdays’ where they honor both the current and previous weeks’ ads. It’s my favorite day for shopping there.

Other stores may have double or even triple coupon days.

I’ve gotten a lot of benefit from knowing when and where to go grocery shopping. I look at all the ads for my area and decide which stores I need to go to. I also shop alone as much as possible so that there’s no one begging for treats or impulse purchases.

You can also ask about price matching if you want to cut back on running around town. Some stores will do this, others won’t. But it never hurts to ask.

3. Cut back on prepared foods.

Many prepared foods are significantly more expensive than the cost of their ingredients. I no longer buy most spice or marinade mixes as I can do just fine on my own for less. I don’t buy premade foods that I can handle on my own.

Fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables also go farther than you may think. On the whole they are much better for you, and cost less. In some areas you can go even cheaper at the farmer’s market. Just check the prices carefully, as some farmer’s markets cost more than the grocery store.

4. Weigh prebagged produce.

When you buy fresh produce, such as apples, onions or potatoes, you often have the option to buy a prebagged selection. They may be labeled at a certain weight, but due to the natural variations in the product, these weights do not tend to be exact.

Pick a bag that looks good to you, and check the weight. You should be able to get a good amount for your dollars this way.

5. Buy generic when reasonable.

Sometimes generic foods are made by the same companies that make the brand name products. If you’re not sure of the quality, buy a package of whatever generic product you’re considering and give it a try. If it tastes good enough to you and your family, you can save quite a bit.

Just remember to watch out for brand name coupons that sometimes bring their prices to below that of generics.

6. Don’t go overboard.

It’s easy to overbuy when you see a good deal, whether it’s a sale or a coupon. But especially on foods that tend to go bad easily, don’t buy more than you need. There’s a lot of food waste that is simply due to people buying more than they and their family can possibly eat before it goes bad.

7. Have storage space for real bargains.

Sometimes you will see real bargains at the grocery store. If you have an extra freezer or a lot of room in the pantry, it can be worthwhile to get extra of foods that either freeze well or take a long time to go bad. You can still go overboard on stocking up if you aren’t careful, but if you’re seeing significant price increases in your area, having some extra on hand can’t hurt.

8. Keep a price book, or keep the numbers in your head.

Anything you buy with any regularity at all, you should know what the normal price is and what the usual sale price is. Most foods go on sale pretty regularly, and you don’t want to pay full price unless you have to. At the same time, if it’s a particularly good sale, you want to know so you can decide what, if anything, to do about it. Maybe you buy extra, maybe you just tell some friends.

9. Avoid non-grocery items at the grocery store.

One thing I’ve long since noticed is that I get much better prices for non-grocery items when I go to Target than when I check their prices at the grocery store. Not every time, as sometimes the grocery store will do a good sale, but often enough that it caught my attention.

Target and Walmart also both have at least small grocery sections in their stores. You may be able to get good deals on food in those areas. I’ve had good luck with Target’s cereal selection when it comes to getting a good deal.

When it comes to cleaning supplies, stores like Target can be a great choice, as can making your own. There are a lot of homemade cleaning supplies you can make for much less than it takes to buy them, and hardly any extra time spent.

10. Know when the meat is marked down.

This one can be challenging, but it can mean significant savings. I know that the Albertson’s in my area used to mark their ground beef down at about 8 every night. Then it changed to around 9 at night. Now they seem to do it first thing in the morning.

This means great deals on ground beef. In my area, ground beef that generally runs over $3/lb gets marked down to $1.50/lb. That’s actually a price increase, as they used to mark it down to $0.99/lb. But it still beats $3-4/lb.

Bakery products also get marked down. You can generally figure out where they keep the rack of slightly older baked goods if you want to get a good deal.

11. Know the price per unit.

Most of the time, buying more means a better deal. This is why people like to buy in bulk.

However, sometimes you actually increase your cost. Fortunately, most grocery stores have the price per unit, pound or ounce on the price tag in small print. Take advantage so that you know where the best deal is. This can be good information to add to your price book so that you know when to buy something other than your usual size.

12. Check your receipt.

Price errors in grocery stores are probably more common than many suspect. Not all of the errors will be in favor of the store, but if they are, you definitely want to get the price corrected.

13. Eat your leftovers!

Sure, lots of people find leftover food boring. But they can make for great, cheap lunches. If you’ve otherwise been throwing away your leftovers, you’re essentially getting that lunch for free.

14. Figure out how to cook around your schedule.

There are a lot of ways you can make cooking dinners at home easier, even if you come home exhausted from work.

You can cook in advance over the weekend. Just prepare the parts of the meal that freeze well, cook them during the week or even a month or more in advance, then place in the freezer.

The crockpot is another great alternative. You can start your food in the morning when you aren’t so tired from a day at work or taking care of the kids if you’re at home, and have dinner waiting for you.

Similarly, you can chop vegetables in advance and store in the refrigerator. It makes things go a lot faster if you don’t have to do all the chopping for a salad or stir fry or any other meal.

15. Don’t shop tired or hungry.

A standard piece of advice, but ever so true. Being tired or hungry means your resistance is down and you are more likely to make impulse purchases.

16. Use coupons wisely.

Don’t use a coupon to buy things you wouldn’t otherwise have bought. Know where they’re doubled in your area. Contact the manufacturers of your favorite products and ask if they have any coupons to send to you. Find coupon swap groups.

Be careful of online coupon offerings. Many grocery stores no longer accept coupons printed off home computers due to problems with scammers. You can ask at your local store if they will accept these or not. If they do, it can be worthwhile to join a site offering coupons online.

17. Consider the occasional vegetarian meal.

You don’t have to cut meat out entirely unless that’s your preference, but some vegetarian meals cost less to prepare than those that have meat in them. It can be worthwhile to invest in a good vegetarian cookbook. Even going meatless once a week can make a difference.

18. Consider frozen vegetables.

Frozen vegetables can cost less than you would pay otherwise. They go on sale pretty regularly, and of course they keep a good length of time.

One advantage I find for them is that I can use them when I’m not out of other ingredients and not quite ready to go to the store, but I need vegetables. Since they don’t go bad quickly, they can help me to extend the time between trips. This can help to cut down on excess spending and food spoilage.

I’m not so fond of canned vegetables. Many varieties have added sodium, although others do not, and to me most don’t taste as good. Your experience may differ.

19. Learn to make your own cake, pancake, etc. mixes.

If you love your pancakes or other such foods that you normally buy a mix for, consider learning how to make a mix on your own. This can save you quite a bit of money, and you may find some variations you really enjoy.

This particularly saves you money if you love frozen waffles and such. A waffle iron can be bought for as little as $30 if you don’t have one already.

20. Start a garden.

Starting a garden costs money, especially the first year when you have no gardening supplies at all. But over time you can save money and enjoy produce far superior to what you can buy at the store.

You don’t have to live in a house with a big backyard to garden, either. Many people have small container gardens in their kitchen to grow herbs such as basil for cooking. Others place somewhat larger containers on patios and grow tomatoes and other vegetables that grow well that way.

If you’re still struggling with your grocery budget after doing everything you can, it’s probably time to cut other areas. I posted some time back about daring yourself to save money, and in times like these it’s something to think about.

Easter is coming up really soon here, and with my husband still out of work, obviously we’re going to be pretty reluctant to spend a lot of money on fun stuff for the kids’ Easter baskets. Which will no doubt disappoint my daughter, as she already is talking about what she wants in it.

Candy, candy, candy, of course. Some things are just obvious.

I haven’t done my buying for them yet, but I have been out looking at prices and figuring out what we can do for cheap.

To start out with, save the baskets from year to year, somewhere that the kids can’t get them out and play with them. My kids’ Easter baskets are pretty sturdy, so they should keep going for a long time.

If you use the plastic grass, try to keep that from year to year too. I’m thinking that shredded paper could be an alternative to buying if you don’t have it - not as pretty, but if you have a shredder and lots of junk mail, well, that junk mail could finally come in handy.

One nice thing about little kids - they don’t care about the quality of the candy you buy for them. I can’t stand the taste of cheap chocolate, and to be Easter-specific, I loathe Palmer’s chocolates, but kids really don’t care. Jelly beans go over well, and you can get them pretty cheaply.

More ideas:

Use Plastic Eggs

Those plastic eggs you can get this time of year can be a pain, but if you want the basket to look like it has more than it does, put the candy and other small items in the eggs, and reuse them from year to year. I can tell you from experience that the eggs can be hard to reclaim after the holiday, but do your best. Better to reuse them than to have them end up broken in the trash after just one use.

Fresh Fruits

I buy fresh fruit for the kids anyhow, and switching some of the candy out for fruit means the basket is healthier and really contains things I would have bought holiday or no holiday. Just pay attention to each child’s favorite fruits, and this could be a hit.

Compare Prices

For some people, those preassembled Easter baskets can be a good deal. For others, they cost too much for what you’d get.

Take a calculator and figure out the total cost to buy everything you’d put in an Easter basket on your own. Then compare it to the preassembled ones and decide which way it makes the most sense to go. The preassembled ones can be in the $15 and up range in a lot of cases, which really adds up when you are buying for more than one child!

Toys That Will Actually Be Used

A couple toys can be nice, even on a budget, provided they aren’t the kind of thing that your child will be ignoring the next day.

Cheap toys can include sand toys for the kids still young enough to play with them, crayons, toy cars and so forth. Dollar stores can have some great finds if you get shopping early enough, but I always try to stick with the principle of “will it really be played with? Tomorrow? After that?”

You can also make play dough, slime and other fun things for the kids and put them in the Easter basket. Little kids of course love bubbles, and if you have old bubble wands around the house it’s pretty easy to make your own bubble mix from water and liquid dish soap.

Encourage Their Hobbies

Think about cheap art supplies, seeds and pots for a garden, and so forth. I love it when I can give my kids things that encourage them to follow their own interests.

Books

Always a good idea to encourage kids to read. It’s pretty easy to find books in the dollar range for younger children, but this does get more challenging as the kids get older.

It’s rough when you stay at home and you find out your spouse has been laid off. A real shock to the system, even if you do earn a decent amount at home, as I do. After all, I don’t earn enough to support my family solo.

Having my husband get laid off has meant rethinking all our money plans. We are fortunate in some areas, such as our landlord being willing to go month to month with us for a time when she really prefers the security of a lease. Add that to his accumulated time off pay and severance pay, and we’ll be able to hold out for a little.

What may be the most helpful, however, is the outsourcing company we’re working with. I have high hopes of finally getting my husband’s career upgraded to the kind of path he has been wanting to be on. He has been completely rewriting his resume and the outsourcing company has a lot of job hunting resources.

That and I’m utterly shameless about telling people he’s looking. How else will they know to tell us about any jobs they’ve heard of.

I would love to see my husband finally get a career in the direction that he wants to go. I’ve been differing with my father-in-law in this. He wants my husband to get a job in the industry he’s already established in. I don’t, because with the way the economy is going such jobs are going to be scarce and unstable. Home decor doesn’t do so well at times like this.

We know for certain we can stretch things through February and quite probably through March. We’re not going to gamble all the way to the end, though. And of course the jobs he knows he could get but doesn’t want quite so badly will be applied for if necessary.

But the hardest part is making the financial cuts to help stretch things out. We don’t buy a lot of extras as is. Add in the fact that job hunting does cost money (just think how much gas is used in applying for and interviewing for jobs!), and it’s pretty hard to cut down on actual spending.

It’s hardest to explain to my daughter why we won’t be doing much of the fun little things like going over to 7-11 for a Slurpee, unless she brings her own money. On the other hand, 5-1/2 is a great age to start working with her own money a bit more anyhow, so that she gets more of an idea of how to use it well.

Some cuts we haven’t made yet. We still have cable television, for example. While it is perhaps not the best logic, my feeling on that is quite simply that we’re giving things one month, two at the most before we move in with my inlaws. The cable would be a pretty easy sacrifice for me, since I only watch a little television, but much harder on my husband and kids. Two months of paying extra, when we’re either going to keep living on our own or not… doable.

I’m going to be making heavy use of my frozen food supplies. In part this is to save money, and that’s what it’s all there for anyhow. But also I don’t want to have to find room for it at my inlaws should we have to resort to that. At worst I’ll have to restock it later.

It is so nice to not have to buy a lot of meat at the store! And I’ve really been needing to make those turkey bones into soup anyhow! Mmm!

The big thing I’ve been doing is trying to ramp up my own business. It’s not all on my husband, after all. It’s hard to acheive something that I’ve been working on for ages, but this has been the push to make me try some new things. I’ll be releasing my first ebook for sale soon, for example.

The scariest part is doing a bit of my own job hunting. Nothing saying my husband and I can’t trade positions. We’re determined to keep ONE of us at home, but which one?

I do NOT want to work outside the home. I love what I do. But if that’s what it takes, yes I will do it, gladly.