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Is your job in jeopardy? Is your company cutting back on raises and benefits? Are you unemployed? These trying economic times may cause difficulties, but they also represent a tremendous opportunity for each of us to examine our role in the economy and to examine our personal consumption habits. If we all resolve to improve the quality of our spending, even though we may be limited in how much we spend, our world will come out of the current recession much healthier than it was before.

If money is tight, be especially thoughtful about how you spend it. Here are some no-brainer suggestions for ways to cut your expenses. You may think these things are too trivial to bother with, but over the course of a year or two, the savings will really add up:

• When you reach for the last book of checks in your drawer and see that “reorder now” sheet, instead of calling your bank, go online to buy new checks. Buying online can save you most of the markup that your bank charges.
• See if you can save money by cutting your newspaper subscription from seven days a week to only on Sunday. If it is cheaper to just get the Sunday paper, change your subscription. Think of the time and trees you will save by only reading the paper one day a week. Be sure to clip grocery coupons from your Sunday paper. The savings will pay for the paper many times over and will significantly cut your food bill.
• If the store is just down the street, walk or ride a bicycle to do your shopping. Use high quality reusable tote bags so you can carry your stuff home. If you avoid driving just one mile per day, you will save anywhere from $25 to $75 per year on gasoline, depending on your car’s efficiency and the price of gasoline.
• Turn your thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer. Look for inexpensive ways to improve the energy efficiency of your house. Start by covering windows at night in winter and caulking around window frames and doors.
• Buy inexpensive grocery ingredients and cook from scratch. Eating at home most of the time will save you a lot of money. But, don’t be a hermit. Spend some money to support your local businesses, like taking your significant other out on his or her birthday!
• Need new clothes? Check your local thrift store first, especially for kids’ clothing that they will outgrow quickly. You can get great deals on high quality merchandise that is only slightly used.

These are just a few simple suggestions. Challenge your creativity and make saving money fun. When you buy checks, don’t get the same plain boring style you have had for years. Get frog design checks or something exciting like checks with wolves instead. Try new recipes and eat things you’ve never tried before (how about a juicy grilled bison burger?). Buy colorful, offbeat clothes at your local thrift store that you would never think of paying retail for. See Life as a grand adventure!