In this time of economic uncertainty, nearly everyone is looking for a few extra tips on saving money. Even if you are already very frugal, there are always some areas you may have overlooked. Here are 10 ways that you can save money in a recession:

1. Rent out a room. The number one expense for most Americans is their housing. You could take on a roommate if you have a two bedroom apartment and are single. If you own a house and have an extra room, you could rent that out as well. Not only do you save on the cost of housing, but you can also split the costs of utilities.

2. Carpool/share a car. Instead of being a two car family, make the arrangements you need to make to survive with just one car. You can ask coworkers about carpooling, or take the bus to work. This will allow you to sell one of your cars for cash now, and it will save you the cost of fuel, insurance, and auto maintenance.

3. Quit smoking. Although there are many reasons to quit smoking, especially due to the health risk it poses, that may not have been enough to motivate you. However, smoking costs you money that you are literally burning away. Many smokers are paying in excess of $150 each month to maintain their habit. That is a lot of money.

4. Avoid sales. It’s easy to be lured in by all the supposed savings of department store sales, but if you don’t need it now, keep the money for yourself. Remember, that savings of $60 is really an expenditure of $20.

5. Don’t finance purchases. Although offers to buy it now, and have two years to pay may seem like a good deal, you can be saddled with massively high interest rates when the time comes. Make sure you have the money on hand to pay cash for big purchases.

6. Turn off your electronics. Stop paying for electricity you don’t really need to use. When you are finished with using the computer, turn it off. Shut off lights when you are not in that room. Stop leaving the TV on all the time as background noise. Only turn it on if you are watching one of your favorite programs.

7. Unplug your life. You will save the cost of paying for internet service, cable television, and be forced to find better things to do. You can always keep up with email from the public library, and spend the rest of your free time doing something better for you, like taking a walk, cleaning up the house, or reading a book.

8. Quit your gym membership. Exercise doesn’t need to cost you money. You don’t need to pay for an expensive gym membership and do all that commuting to get a good workout. Walking and jogging don’t cost anything. Elastic bands are inexpensive and will satisfy most resistance training needs.

9. Compare your alternatives. Calculate the expenses of what you area doing now, versus the various alternatives you could try. For example, is it cheaper to take the bus, carpool, or drive. Factor in fares, parking fees, and other expenses. If you need to, make up a spreadsheet to do your comparison.

10. Track expenses. Make a spreadsheet, or list of all your expenditures. By having them in a form that allows you to visually see your costs, you will be more able to see where costs can be cut further.

These money saving tips should help you to cut your expenses. Eventually, the economy will improve, but until then, you will be more equipped to survive the tough times.

With more people within the UK now choosing to carry out their banking online, we are becoming accustomed to having access to our finances and being able to carry out certain transactions on demand.

Indeed, there are a large number of different financial transactions that can be carried out online, from simple tasks such as making payments and transfers to more complex matters like applying for a loan. These days, many of the day-to-day or specific tasks that you would normally organise at your local branch can now be processed online.

One of the clear advantages of an online account is that they often offer preferential interest rates - so looking online could be a great way to get a better deal. As with any financial product, make sure you check the services available and read through the terms and conditions to check that the account works for you before you sign up.

And well as the potential for preferential interest rates, there are many more benefits available to those customers who choose to bank online. Access is one of the key reasons that many of us choose to bank online - allowing you to check your balance and other financial information whenever you have access to the Internet. So, whether you are relaxing at home or away on business, the ability to manage your finances more effectively is never more than a couple of clicks away.

You can also review your statements online - making it much easier to manage your money at a glance and keep a track of all your expenditure. And as most paper free banking services store documents securely online for a specified period of time, you’ll be able to check your previous expenditure at a later date without having to rummage around for your paper statement.

Online banking also makes it much easier to to move money between your accounts. If you choose to set up an online current account and online savings account, you can transfer funds between the two at the touch of a button. The different types of savings account available online are similar to those found on the high street, meaning you can opt for an instant access account if you need the flexibility of being able to make withdrawals without giving prior notice.,

Online banking does make it easier to be in complete control of your finances, so if you’re thinking of opening an online saving account, make sure you take a good look at the different products and services available. You may only be a few clicks away from a more streamlined and responsive solution to your banking needs.

For most of us, a New Year means a fresh beginning with resolutions. Now’s the time to start making those important decisions, especially when it’s in relation to your finances. For those so important decisions, I am recommending five suggestions for your New Years Resolutions.

1. Set up an emergency cash fund.

Most people say, “It will never happen to me”. The importance of an emergency fund is to assist with exactly what it says on the tin, an emergency. It could be that you have a loss of overtime or end-of-year bonus; the washing machine needs replacing; the car has just failed its MOT. What would you class, as a financial emergency?

Under normal recommendations, you should have at least 3 months worth of living expenses. Hold this on deposit in an instant access bank/savings account. If you’re self employed the permutation should be higher to compensate for income fluctuations and seasonal changes.

2. Get out of debt

If you have unsecured loans, credit cards and/or overdraft debts, start budgeting, work as hard as you possibly can to decrease or even pay off these debts as soon as possible.

How to do it?

· Quit using your cards (easier said than done) and/or cut them up now, especially if you can’t afford to pay them off at the end of each month.

· Create a financial statement so that you live within your means.

· Map out your strategy for making the extra payments.

· List all your credit cards in order of their balances from biggest to smallest along with their monthly minimum payment.

· Concentrate on paying off the smallest card first while paying the minimums on all your other cards.

· Once the smallest card is paid off, take that payment and add it to the next smallest card.

· Continue this process until all your cards are paid off.

· Replicate the same method on paying off the loans the same way.

· Paying off the smallest credit card first will do a lot for your financial stratagem.

3. Retirement Planning

If there’s one thing that everyone agrees on, it’s that pensions are very confusing, if you don’t understand, talk to a specialist independent financial adviser. Review your retirement planning at least annually. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to review your premiums and rebalance the investment funds. This is crucial as it also helps to manage the investment risk. It’s also important to understand that pension companies change investment funds and their charges from time to time.

The humble state pension, for most people is the steadfast pillar of our retirement income. Make sure you have an up to date future forecast. Company and personal pensions are a key vehicle for long-term savings. While it’s essential that we get to grips with pensions, we needn’t overreact. Pensions should be just one part of our overall long-term investment strategies.

Also, remember that your pension contributions are tax efficient - For every £80, you put into your Pension the Government will add £20, up to certain limits, which will help you to achieve the lifestyle you want in the future. However, if you are a higher rate taxpayer you can benefit from even more tax relief as an extra 20% (please remember tax rules may change in the future), which can be claimed through your tax return.

4. Set up a Financial Budget.

I know, I know, nobody likes the “B” word. How many of you have tried budgeting and think it’s a waste of time? Come on, let’s see those hands. OK, that’s just about everybody.

However, a Financial Budget is a perfect way to see exactly where your money is going. If you don’t like doing this, speak to a financial adviser who specialises in cash flow forecasting (financial forecast planning).

When setting up a Financial Budget, try to keep it as simple as possible. What you’re trying to do with a budget is to prevent overspending, which ultimately leads to piling up debt. Contrary to the way most people budget, it rarely matters what you’re overspending on, dining out, entertainment, clothes, etc. Who cares? It’s still debt, right?

The answer to budgeting is the “70% resolution”. It’s a faster and easier way to structure your budget without having to account for every penny. In other words, by limiting all essential spending to 70% of total income, your savings will soar.

5. Prepare A Personal Financial Statement.

The only reason as to why a person wouldn’t want to prepare a personal financial statement is that they are afraid of what they might find out. Well, if this is you, its time to face reality.

Personal financial statements (I’m talking about a net worth statement and a cash flow statement, which is basically the same thing as a budget) are an excellent way to gauge your progress from year to year. If you go through the year knowing that you are going to be accounting for your habits the next time you prepare your financial statements, you will do a better job of keeping your spending under control.

In addition, once you prepare a net worth statement, you will find yourself wanting to improve on it. With every financial decision, you make, you will think about the effect every transaction will have on your net worth.

If you are struggling to put a financial statement together, speak to a financial adviser who specialises in cash flow forecasting (financial forecast planning).

Having a baby can really hurt your wallet. Before you start counting how much each smile will cost you, here are some money-saving ideas for parents of new babies.

* Babies outgrow things fast. Look for good-quality used items. Babies really don’t care if their things are new. After they spit up on it, it won’t be new anyway! Look for good used items at consignment stores, thrift shops, yard sales, and on local classified ads such as Craig’s list. Be sure that anything you buy is in good, safe condition, and do watch for recalled items. If in doubt, you can do an internet search for recalls on that item. We found a $200 co-sleeper - still in the box- for $80 on a local classified ad and a nearly new $60 swing for $5 at a yard sale.

* Ask around to see if friends will let you borrow or have their used baby items. Many times you’ll find that you can borrow a crib, highchair or other high ticket item.

* If at all possible, breastfeed your baby. Breastfeeding is healthier than bottle-feeding for many reasons. It helps reduce ear infections and colds, so you’ll save money at the doctor too! Formula will cost about $125 a month, plus the cost of bottles. Breastfed babies have been shown to be healthier, learn faster, and have fewer ear infections than bottle-fed babies.

* Trade babysitting with another parent or group of parents. You’ll get a chance to get out of the house and save money too. Even if money is tight, a short break from baby duty can do a world of good for your marriage - and divorce is expensive! Try something inexpensive like going out for ice cream cones or finding a dollar theater. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to take a break. We often use buy-one-get-one-free restaurant coupons for a half-price date.

* Consider cloth diapers. Disposable diapers will cost you about $2,000 or more for 2 years. Cloth diapers, even the really good, easy-to-use kind, will cost about $300-500 over those same 2 years. Even with the minor added expense of electricity and water, you’ll save a lot of money. Reuse those diapers on a second child, and you’ll save a total of $3500! Modern cloth diapers are so much easier to use, and you’ll benefit the planet too!

* Consider whether one parent can stay home or work from home. Although it may seem impossible to give up one income, when you look at the real cost, it can often save money to have one parent at home full or part time. Add up the cost of daycare, additional meals out, a second car, commuting costs, etc., and you may realize a savings very quickly.

Savings can really add up when you combine these money-saving tips. My daughter is four months old and we have already saved more than we have spent on baby things. We actually have more baby things than she can even use, enough to pass along to her younger cousin and still have plenty for our next baby.

A little creativity can make having a baby much more affordable. Just be sure that no matter what you choose to save money on, you never lose sight of how precious your baby is each day.