11 Ways Businesses are Cutting Costs Without Firing Employees

To hear the media tell it, the entire business world is in flux. But not every company is succumbing to economic despair. While many are laying off employees, closing offices, and slashing budgets, others are preserving employee morale and staying afloat without such painful sacrifices. Following, are twelve ways that these praiseworthy businesses are avoiding layoffs and staying the course.

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Five Ways to Master Your Credit Card Debt After College

No one can argue that current economic times are tough.  But recent survey result shows that times can be tougher for fresh college graduates. According to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, just about 20 percent of 2009 graduates who applied for a job actually have one; accompany this with the report from Sallie Mae that an average student is graduating with over $3,000 in credit card debt — and you’ll have the perfect recipe for financial disaster.

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Four Techniques for Cutting Your Grocery Bill

This is a guest post from Carrie Kirby, a blogger from Wise Bread and Shoplifting With Permission. If you like her post, please visit the blogs above and check out her other work!

When I write about spending $80 a week to feed my family of four in the Chicago area, I get two stock reactions: Members of the general public can’t believe how low that is and ask “What do you EAT?” Members of the frugal blog community shrug and say, “That’s not so low.”

Now that we have been on the $80 weekly budget for about a year, I agree with the second group. The better I get at bargain shopping, and the more my stockpile grows, the easier it is to stay below that threshold each week without even sacrificing treats like the occasional case of beer for my husband or ice cream for the kids (ok, for all of us). Instead of lowering my weekly target, lately I’ve been adding more and more organic produce and hormone-free, antibiotic-free meats.

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12 Ways Companies are Reacting to the Recession

Recessions mean big changes for everyone and everything, including the marketing campaigns businesses use to reach customers. During economic downturns, the “same old, same old” advertising that carry businesses through prosperous times simply will not cut it. Our current recession is no exception, as businesses take to the Internet, radio, television, and billboards with marketing tactics that target the needs and concerns of consumers under duress rather than the products themselves. Here are twelve examples of such recession marketing strategies, as well as the companies known to employ them.

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16 Depression Era Money Saving Tips

We are often told that the current financial meltdown is the most serious since the Great Depression. And while that may be true, comparing today’s times to such an awful and demoralizing crisis has the effect of scaring people, thereby making the situation worse. This is the wrong way to react to the situation. Rather than passively absorbing fear and uncertainty, we would do well to remember that some people managed to stay afloat during the Great Depression - and to learn how they did it. In that vein, here are 16 Depression-era money saving tips and how they can be utilized today.

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9 Ways To Save Money At A Baseball Game

Spring is here and opening day of the baseball season is less than a week away. And while professional sporting events might not seemingly fit into everyone’s budget at the moment, there are many simple ways that individuals can affect theirs spending so that attending a game is not as costly as it seems. In a follow up to our recent post on saving money while on vacation, here is a list of 9 easy ways to save money while attending a Major League Baseball game this season.

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Fun on a Budget: 9 Ways to Cut Costs this Spring Break

Spring break is coming up, and for many people this signals a much deserved and much anticipated break from the minutiae of everyday life. But it’s no secret that the current recession has forced many people to rethink their budget and spending habits.  Here are some proven methods by which individuals can still take their vacation, but practice aware spending practices. By the end of their vacation, hopefully they will have spent a lot less than anticipated.

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Unnecessary Upgrades: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

When purchasing a new product, consumers are often tempted to opt for the latest and greatest version, justifying the higher price tag with their perception of increased value. The actual value is different for each individual, and can be largely rooted in personal preference. While there are certainly benefits to most upgrades, many of these decisions are made impulsively, or based on poor logic. Is the durability of a hardcover book worth paying three times the price? Do you typically wear-out your paperbacks? It is important to consider how much of the benefit will actually be utilized to ensure that the upgrade is not merely out of desire to have the best.

A similar logic is often used upon the launch of a new product, as consumers rush to be the first to own one. These consumers can be found waiting in lines and paying high prices for buggy first versions of products that are typically made obsolete by better, cheaper versions only a few months later. This “early adopters tax” shows that patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to your pocketbook.

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