Is everyone broke...or just me?

Why can't I just win the lottery!?!? I grew up in a family that was doing okay in the money department but when I got married it all went away. I had been in school to become a dance instructor one day and then discovered after many years of dancing that my hips were giving out on me. What an old lady! I dropped out not knowing what to do with my life. I married my fabulous husband who didn't really know what to do with his life either. We knew we wanted to be together and figured everything else would just come together on its own. NOT! After 3 years of being married....we are in debt, no real assets, and still living paycheck to paycheck. How am I supposed to get anywhere when I can't afford school, any minimum wage job pays only some of the bills, and no experience in anything that will even pay a tiny bit better. Half the time I have been unemployed I felt that looking for a job was pointless because there are no REAL jobs! I see this all the time! Not being able to go anywhere or do anything because I have no money. I felt stuck! Eventually you learn ways to deal with being dirt poor sometimes. I have a few ways that I coped with not having money so, lets see what we got here.

1. Buy cheaper food! Ramen sucks but if you want a roof over your head...ramen can be your new best friend. Here is a website that helped me find cheaper things to eat:
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/10/13/100-delicious-dirt-cheap-recipes-for-the-starving-student/

2. I happen to love the outdoors so hiking, biking, running, etc. is a great way to go out with friends or family and not spend a dime! My husband and I would walk around at the park, talk, take pictures, and enjoy nature. Its FREE! I do however need an allergy pill so I don't die later.

3. Coupons! I know this is a big thing now but it is difficult when the coupons are for the hirer priced items in the first place. Pick through and get coupons for the things you actually need and will use. For example, you don't need to pay an arm and leg for toilet paper. It may be soft for that cuddly bear on tv but you are basically wiping your rear with the "cash" in your hand.

4. Prioritize your bills. Your home is obviously more important than most of them so start cutting the things you can really live without. I had to give up my HTC smart phone when money got tight after having it attached to my hand for years. You find that when you get really poor, some things just become not as important as you thought they once were. Plus, cheap phones at Wal-mart are around $50 a month instead of the $100+ a month I know your paying now.

5. Look up free events in your community. Parks, libraries, churches, and other places often have events that no one really knows about unless your active in your own community. Great way to meet people too! Check out your local community website and they will have a list of upcoming events.

6. DON'T do car payments! My husband and I got a car when we first got married and got ourselves into a contract for a nice pretty fuel efficient car. We had jobs and were starting a good financial future together with our new ride....Wrong! You can't know your future and banks aren't going to be that nice friend that helps you out when times that you weren't expecting get tough. So, from my experience....not so great. A better idea is take each car payment you would have had and save it. You pay less in interest and own the car right out.

7. DON'T play with credit cards! They may be shiny and fun to wave around but when you get that letter in mail with your updated bill summary you will be looking for that bottle of wine you bought for this "special" occasion. Use your cash....in reality its the money you ACTUALLY have.

8. Taxes, interest, and fees SUCK! Pay attention to fine print on EVERYTHING! I can tell you banks are one thing you want to really pay attention on this with. Every transaction you make with your card takes time to reach your bank and not all of them go in order. I have had to pay so many fees from over-drafting because of that one thing I paid for a week ago that just now popped up on my account. Of course I find out about it later after I made more purchases. Its wasted money!

9. Sell your crap! You have so much junk that you don't need so, get money to replace it. Craigslist, ebay, or even local consignment shops.

10. Online money making sites? Yes, most of them are scams! Do your research and make sure that they are legit before doing anything. I have made a little bit of money on Cha Cha and Amazon Turk. It does take up a lot of your time and you don't make much but when your pinching pennies it helps. Here are the links:
https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome
http://becomeaguide.chacha.com/

I hope I gave some helpful ideas on how to save some money in our poor economy. Share YOUR ideas with me!!!!! Comment below and follow me on my blog :) pretty please.