Victims of the economy… who are the true victims of the economy? Today in Illinois, a report from the Heartland Alliance announced that 250,000 more Chicago-area people were forced into poverty because of the economy.

Joblessness was a strong contributing factor to this. More people are visiting food pantries, because they are out of work, rent takes a large portion of their income and even when working low-wage paying jobs don’t cover expenses.

Illinois’ unemployment rate is approximate 9% right now and this affects those who are working as well as those who aren’t.

Coupons – now that CNN Money has discovered coupons then everyone will use them. Actually using coupons is a good thing. Making purchases to buy items you normally wouldn’t because you have a coupon isn’t the best thing to do.

Using coupons wisely has always been a great way to make your dollars go further. The more money you can save with a coupon the better. Using coupons when items you want are on sale or using coupons to try new items is great. Buying items just because they are on sale and you don’t particularly like the brand will not do much for your budget other than provide you with something that you do not like.

I like waiting until an item is on sale and then using a coupon or stacking a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon for additional deals. In some parts of the country, there are stores that double and triple coupons on certain days. I have never seen one in my area but that would be a great way to save more money. Even before the economy tanked, I was a coupon user. I remember embarrassing a cousin by using a coupon to take him to local arcade/mini golf center and getting pizza, pop and tokens with a coupon. He enjoyed himself even though I enjoyed myself more because I saved money.

Coupons are making a resurgence.  A year or so ago, coupons were disappearing from papers, now they are coming back stronger than ever to get people to make some purchases. Even if you aren’t able to get sales, using a coupon helps make your own personal sale.

Hand washing and hand sanitizer alone will not make the Swine Flu problem go away, but it can help keep you healthy. 

Taking care of yourself is more important that anything else. If that means that you have to stay home from work if you feel ill or keep your children home, then do it. The reason colds and the flu spread so easily is because people still try to work through the illness or they can’t get childcare.

This virulent strain of the flu is too strong to just try to ignore or work around.

This isn’t a pandemic but it is important to take care of yourself. Even if you have no plans to go to Mexico, you may know people who have just returned, or who have been around people who have. It’s not like Mexico is so far away – it’s a driveable distance from many mainland US cities.

Flu season precautions are advised for people. Those with compromised immune systems need to be particularly careful but getting a flu shot won’t help because there is no vaccine for swine flu yet.

• Wash hands regularly – with regular soap and water. Antibacterial soaps are good but hand washing with soap works just as well.

• Use hand sanitizer when you cannot get to soap and water cheap hand sanitizer works just as well as the expensive kind. 

• Avoid touching your face or mouth

• Avoid going to work or sending children to school when sick

• If you need to sneeze or cough, cough into your elbow – it doesn’t touch as many surfaces as your hands

Stay Healthy!

Checking you credit card statements is very important.

I recently opened my bill to find a charge that I hadn’t made on the bill. Instead of placing an inquiry online, I called. When I called, the representative also checked to see if the fraudulent charge was on my bill additional times. This is not something that you can check when you make an online inquiry.

Even when you check your bill regularly, make sure that you haven’t overpaid or underpaid something. Electronic payments that are underpaid even by a few pennies can accrue hundreds of dollars in interest or fees.

Fortunately there were no other charges by this company to my card. A true warning sign that this wasn’t a legit company is that there was no contact information listed. I know when I make purchases and also pay attention to companies that state you will be billed from another company. 

Fraudulent charges may appear on your statement in small amounts to see if you question them, then more charges will be made, if you don’t put up a fuss.

I know when I made purchases and I didn’t make a purchase that day, not does anyone have authority to use my credit card.

When using your credit card, make sure that you keep track of it, and also keep track of purchases. This also applies to ATM and debit cards.

For ATM machines, if the machine doesn’t look right, then don’t use it. A process called skimming duplicates your information and then the information is used to drain your account.

I know other people who have had small charges on their phone bill and on their credit card bill who contacted their service providers immediately to avoid any further problems. By not checking, you may be paying for fraudulent charges – spending money on something that you didn’t purchase.

Be aware and check all of your statements.

Sometimes you don’t feel like sticking to a budget or worrying about what something costs. When that happens, if it happens to frequently you could have a budget buster which throws off your spending for the rest or the money or more. 

Being “good” and not splurging at all can give feeling of depravation. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (or Jill a dull girl). Figuring a little leeway into your budget is important especially for fluctuating utility prices or gas prices. Though considering the non-essentials can make you happy as well. This will give you some spice or entertainment in your life.

The balance between practical and nonessential should not make you go into debt. Doing something you normally wouldn’t with just a few dollars that is not going toward saving or bills is healthy. A stringent financial diet is like a crash diet and bound to fail.

Create a fun fund. Decide what amount you want to set aside in a container and use money out of the container for fun things you like to do. If you add only singles or fives or quarters, you are limited to what you add to the fund but this is separate from your regular budget.

Planning to splurge like setting aside small amounts of money for something big will also give you a goal. If you don’t want something as formal as that, then just save money for small splurges.  I recently went to a birthday party and I didn’t have to buy a gift. I chose to give the recipient cash. This was not breaking my budget because I take dollar bills out of my wallet and put them in a tin. I use the money for movies, coffee and miscellaneous items. I also found that I had enough cash to give my friend a box of singles in a small box I already had at home. No sweat off my back this wasn’t difficult or challenging to do, anytime I get singles from a purchase I put them in the tin. When I want to get a pizza or takeout I could pay in singles (it’s better than a sack of pennies). Some places welcome small bills.

The amount I took out for the gift did not empty the tin and I’ve added a few more singles this week as well. Giving someone a gift or buying Thai food may seem like a splurge if you are trying to save more money and cut costs. In some cases, this could even break your budget. If you have some money on the side, you can use it for gifts, entertainment and not consider it as part of an emergency fund. It’s a fun fund.