How to make ends meet in hard financial times

Hi iam from india and its 5 $ per gallon here too But whe u look at the average income of india then relatively its way too high in comparison to us, uk or aus u can cut of stuff like colas, icecream, pateries. etc Transportaion and electricity along with telephone are the major partswhere u can cut out You may also stop buying expensive stuff for a while till the crisis is over Honey u r not alone entire world is facing such problem

Well geez I can't say for sure except give up anything and everything and remember that when it's all said and done that what I didn't have still doesn't matter. I am still very upset over the financial problems My family has had to endure. I can't imagine anyone living with me not feeling the crunch. Whether it be new clothes vs used clothes. No mcdonalds vs. another night of I served some other home made hamburger helper. I for one hang out as much of my clothes as I can and that I am sure helps a lot. I will hang them in winter also. If I don't freeze my hands. I would love to give up paying for the "middle class" items we have like auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, home owners insurance and the like but I am not willing to let them go. I cannot consiously give up really anymore than I have. Almost every item I purchase for consumption by my family is generic. When it's not it's probably because the shelf was empty of generic. We do not drive through and if it is done, it's off the dollar menu. I have put off licensing my daughter since I know auto insurance will go up 50 or more per month. I would love to sell a vehicle and take a bus but there are no buses here where we live. I would have loved to never open my inground pool the last 2 years but my husband wouldn't give it up. We probably spent 600-1000 for the last 2 summers between chemicals, water and electricity to run the pump. Not to mention we needed new hoses for the pool cleaner. I would love to not be behind on one mortgage since that would afford me a great late fee monthly. I do feel like we will rise out of this but we have probably one more year. 3 for things to be at the best. I doubt I will change much then either so maybe I can save a bit. But then again I have a husband. He didn't give up on the pool, golfing, camping, or volunteering which all cost gas to do, and other fees. I look forward to the winter although I know that camping won't quit for the winter it does cut down. Meaning to me there is far more money to go around in winter, less air conditioning. We only burn wood to heat the house all winter. I am sure that saves, but not much since it's probably 600 to heat the house with electric at most and we have since chooseing to go all wood, have purchased a wood splitter at 1200. and a chain saw for 600 so I feel like we have 1 more year to get a payback out of those choices. But maybe if we burn for 5 more years it will surely payback in the long haul. Good luck! God Blesses! Sandy