By now the economic depression in which we find ourselves has touched just about everyone. Unemployment is going higher, investments are shrinking, and paying those monthly bills is getting more difficult because all the financial institutions (banks, credit companies, and investment companies) are raising their fees. Sooner or later the higher fees and the unemployment situation will meet in the middle and lots of people are going to get caught with too much month at the end of their paychecks. There is no one to turn to for relief; we must help ourselves by finding ways to cut costs and to save every penny. Here are a few ways to make every dollar go a bit further.

1) Take advantage of every benefit you have at work. If you are one of the fortunate people to still be employed, make sure that you enroll in every financial benefit that your company offers. Things like IRA’s, pension funds, or other vehicles designed to help the worker save a few bucks.

2) Start collecting coupons – for everything. People who clip coupons save a huge amount of money because they always look for the best deals. Since there are coupons for almost everything that we buy, it makes sense to pick up coupons wherever we can find them. Look in the Sunday newspapers, fliers that are in every store, and coupons that come in the mail to stock up on many good deals.

3) Get together with friends to create a coupon swapping co-op. Have a weekly "clipping party" where everyone gets together to go through the newspapers to clip out coupons. Then, trade with each other for coupons that would be of the most use to everyone. For example, sometimes there are "one coupon only" sales. If you get together with three friends and each of you gets their one coupon, then one person can get the advantage of four. Each person may like a different product and so working together will maximize what each person can get.

4) Take advantage of coupon promoting websites (such as GoPromoCode.com) to intensify the gathering of great coupons. These websites specialize in presenting all the best coupons available; they have done the searching for the consumer.

5) When it is time to buy a new car, check with the car insurance company before you buy to see what the insurance will cost you. By doing this one simple thing you can save hundreds of dollars. It may be that the best direction to take is toward a car that has cheaper insurance. You still get a new car but you save hundreds on the insurance – every year.

6) Develop the habit of dollar cost averaging  (DCA). This simple technique means that you will buy stocks (or bonds) regularly at a certain fixed dollar amount. When the market is down, you get more shares for your contribution. When the market is up, you get less shares for your contribution. Over time this method has proven to be the best overall way to save money in an investment vehicle. Find an amount that you can comfortably afford each month and set it aside for investment. Saving a little on a regular basis (over an extended period of time) is the best way to accumulate a good retirement nestegg.