Are you struggling to pay your bills every month - and frustrated that you have no money left over to live a normal life, without worrying about money all the time?

With money being tight, I needed to find some "breathing room". So I started to shop around for the lowest rates and I was able to save myself $285 a month! By cutting out some unnecessary expenses, shopping around for the best rates, and clipping a few coupons, you can save yourself a lot of money and lower your monthly bills, too!

Hey, if I can do it, there's no reason you can't, too. There are lots of little ways to save money that really add up:

When money is tight, you have to be creative (and honest) and get rid of as many unnecessary expenses as possible. Living without modern conveniences isn't easy. But if you want to get out of debt, pull out your checkbook (or bank statement) and your credit card statements, and start looking at all of your expenses. Then put a line through all of those expenses you can eliminate. To get you started, here are 25 ways to reduce your expenses:

1. Bring lunch to work instead of buying, it's much cheaper

2. For entertainment, stay home and play cards or other games

3. Cancel magazine and newspaper subscriptions (read the online versions)

4. Shop at discount stores

5. Dont buy yourself "toys" (fancy electronics, jewelry, clothes, etc.) unless you can pay cash

6. Cancel cable TV (try if for a month, you'll be surprised that you CAN live without it!)

7. Ok, if you must have cable, get a cheaper package

8. No more cell phone

9. Or get rid of your land line and use your cell phone in your home

10. If you have to have a cell phone for communication get a prepaid cell phone where you can cancel it and be in charge of the bill!

11. Buy less junk food

12. Buy less fast food

13. Pay bills online or in person, instead of using stamps

14. Borrow books, CD's, and DVD's from the library instead of buying them

15. Shop at garage sales & tag sales

16. Use coupons for groceries, clothing, etc.

17. Give up "extras" like sweets, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc. (it's healthier, anyway)

18. Cut out anything else you DON'T need (here's where you need to be really honest!)

And while you're cutting your expenses, make sure to "treat "yourself to a reward every once in a while, this will help keep you motivated!

One of the best lessons I ever learned about how to save money is to shop around for the lowest prices. So, for those expenses you can't eliminate, you should shop around and compare before your buy. You can either look in your phone book or you can take a few minutes to compare prices online. Either way, you'll be surprised at just how much money you'll be able to save!

Compare rates & find out how much money you can save on many of your monthly bills, including:

19. Long distance telephone service

20. Internet access

21. Electric

22. Cable TV (you can get cheaper packages)

23. Refinance your mortgage

24. Consider a home equity loan to combine expenses

25. Insurance (home, car, & health)

26. Credit card interest rates

27. Cell phone service

28. Anything else you can shop around and compare!

These tips helped me save a lot of money, and hopefully they can help you lower your monthly bills, too! And if you want a few more ideas, here are 66 more ways to save money from the Federal Citizen Information Center.

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