This is from an article about how to save money, courtesy of Consumer Credit Counseling:

'"As to what consumers can do financially when faced with income reductions, there are many options to explore. Of course, cutting or eliminating eating out, planning routes to save on gas and planning your grocery purchases before walking into the store."

Look at carving $10 a month out of every area of "variable" spending, or categories that are not fixed amounts.

"Evaluate your cable," Johnson said. "Is it really a need to have the premium stations? We certainly understand if this is your only means of entertainment that eliminating it won't be viable. That being said, reducing your bill with all premium stations that you can't possibly watch from $150 a month to $75 or so is a huge savings."

Along those lines, look at telephone expenses. If you still have a land line, does it have call waiting, three-way calling and other add-ons that are seldom used? Perhaps you use a cell phone exclusively and don't need a land line. And do you have the right cell phone package?

"Sometimes even incurring the early termination costs of canceling a contract to switch to a new one is more beneficial than continuing to pay for services you don't use or need."

Review automobile and homeowners' insurance policies. Increasing the deductible from $500 to $1,000 can reduce the premium by 20 percent. Compare rates of several insurance companies online.

Utilities are a big expense. Turning down thermostats and turning off lights will go a long way to reducing monthly gas and electric bills, Johnson said. Both Southwest Gas Corp. and NV Energy Inc. have an "equal pay" plan that evaluates usage for equal payments over 12 months.

"It sure makes budgeting easier when you're not experiencing those extremely high power bills during the summer or the high gas bills used for heating in the winter."

Other money-saving tips include buying clothes at thrift stores or discount outlets and taking public transportation when possible.

The credit counseling agency offers other services such as free tax preparation and electronic filing in partnership with AARP.

"Does the consumer receive a tax refund each year? If so, why give the IRS free use of their money for 12 months?" "Change your W-4 with your employer, if you're still employed, and get that money in each paycheck instead of once a year."'