How to survive a financial crisis??

Written by: Stephanie King

While the economy continues to look like it’s harder and harder to recover from it shambles, looking for ways to save money is the only way to turn. As commercial products and services increase in price, the income levels seem to stay the same. Companies are cutting jobs and giving salary cuts.
Here are some tips on saving money in these tough times:

· Create your own personal cash flow statement
As for most people, the paycheck amount stays the same regardless of hours worked based on salary workers. For this reason, we know how much money we have and keeping a list of expenses and purchases made will help determine if there have been any unnecessary purchases made.

· Keep debt as low as possible
Using your cash flow statement to determine which expenses can be used using a credit card and limit the uses. Use your income to make big purchases and use the credit card for minor purchases which will reduce your monthly payments.

· Always try to do your best work at your job

As more and more companies are cutting jobs and giving salary cuts, it is extr4emely important now more than ever to insure that the company knows how good of an asset you are to the company. If the company knows you are doing the best job and are indispensible to the company, it will be much harder for them to want to get rid of you.

Sources:

http://www.thinkglink.com/article/2008/10/03/personal-finance-tips-for-financial-crisis

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StockInvestingTrading/7-tips-surviving-a-financial-panic.aspx

http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/tips-to-handle-a-financial-crisis-546679.html

Less Money Earned, more money saved

Written by: KATE SNOW

It wasn't all that long ago that Americans lined up around the block to buy a $600 i-Phone. Hummers crowded the highway. Consumers in this country were spending more than they earned.

Retailers are offering bang-for-your-buck deals as shoppers hunt for bargains and look for the greatest value.

How times have changed.

In just a matter of months, consumers went from a negative savings rate to saving an estimated 5 percent of their incomes. It may not sound huge, but in economic terms, that's a dramatic change in behavior.
"Consumers have been spending beyond their income for 25 years," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "They could do it, because they could borrow and also because their nest eggs were getting bigger, because of rising stock and house prices. That's over."
The third quarter of 2008 saw the worst drop in consumer spending since 1980. And consumer confidence is abysmal. This week's ABC Consumer Comfort Index finds 94 percent of Americans say the economy is in bad shape, matching the record high in 23 years of weekly polls. Only 26 percent of Americans polled call this a good time to spend money.
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And it's not just those who are unemployed who aren't spending. It's people with steady jobs too.
Chris and Beth Gilbert have an old stone home on a treelined street in Doylestown, Pa. They both have stable jobs working for their family car dealership business. But even they are cutting back.

"We are petrified. Absolutely petrified with what is going to happen," said Beth Gilbert.
"We are both in the car business, and the prediction for the car business is not getting any better," Chris Gilbert said.
The Gilberts have made up a new family budget, with fewer pizza nights, and no annual ski trip. The frugality at every income level sets off a brutal chain: The cutback in spending is killing retailers, who in turn cut orders, forcing their suppliers to cut jobs, sinking the economy deeper into a recession.

Posted by : Stephanie King

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