While $50 may not seem like a whole lot of money, that’s roughly $1,500 a month. That’s a mortgage payment and a month’s worth of groceries for a lot of families. A little bit of savings can quickly add up for you.

By being looking at your expenses and knowing where your cash is going, you can be a smart consumer and find ways to pay less. This does not mean you have to be cheap or cut back on your expenses. By being resourceful and thoughtful about your spending, it is possible to buy the same for less.

The Kiplinger Smart Savings guide breaks down how you can cut your expenses in some of the core areas of your life. This includes areas such as:

• Food and Shopping
• Utilities
• Insurance and Medical Bills
• Gas and Auto Maintenance
• Entertainment Expenses

By being aware of how cash flow (how much is coming in and where money is being spent), many people can quite easily save $50 or more every single day. The best way to get started with this is to print the past three months of your bank and credit card statements. Take a look at where your money is going, and highlight the areas where you could have either done without making the purchase or found a cheaper alternative. You might be pleasantly surprised at just how much of your money you can keep for yourself by being a more responsible consumer.

The scenario is unfortunately common: people have lost their jobs or are suffering as a result of the recession. They’ve exhausted their options, have done everything possible to get a higher paying job in an incredibly competitive job market, and they’re not sure what to do next. The question may be, should you tap into your retirement accounts to pay the bills, or is it better to get behind in payments and ruin your credit.

According to Jack Guttentag, there is no right answer, but often times it’s a matter of missing your payments this money and facing the inevitable, or missing your payments next month. The question may also be a moral dilemma since, as a borrower, you are obligated to make the payments. But if you can miss your payments this month and keep your money to help you get out of a rut, that may be the better long-term strategy.

Of course there are implications to doing this, since it can hurt your credit score if your lender decides to report your late payments to the credit bureaus. However, by delaying your payments you could be buying yourself time to find a higher paying job.

Another alternative for those who are facing financial hardship and don’t have enough money to make their payments, is to see if you qualify for a loan modification. This is the process of re-negotiating your existing mortgage with your bank in order to make your payments more manageable. If accepted, it is important to consider the tax implications that can come with a home loan mortgage modification, and is something you should discuss with a certified financial advisor.

Did you know that if you were to make just the minimum payments on your credit cards that it would take the average person 120 months to become debt free? That’s 10 years to just to pay off your bills, and you don’t want to know how much money in pure interest that you would be paying. Let’s just say that the TV you bought in the year 2000 for $500 would just be getting paid off today, and it would have actually cost closer to $3,000 from interest on your credit card.

But when you follow the Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball plan, you can be debt free in 21 months — that’s 99 months quicker than the average person. It’s not hard, and when you see how it work  you’ll realize why this method is so effective. The great thing is that once you are done paying off your bills, you’ll have so much excess cash that you can start building some serious wealth to become completely financially free.

1. Come up with a $1,000 emergency fund so you have some savings set aside
2. Minimize your expenses by reducing your spending on unnecessary things
3. Follow the Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball plan to eliminate debt
4. Now invest your money to build real wealth

Families are faced with making touch decisions, and the credit card payment is usually the last bill to be paid. More and more people are finding that they have to stretch their dollar in order to make ends meet and at the end of the month there just isn’t enough money left.

Interestingly, the states that are suffering from the highest delinquencies are Nevada, Florida and Arizona. These just happen to be the areas that saw the largest increase in housing prices during the real estate boom and consequently are suffering from being hit the hardest during the mortgage crisis.

Unfortunately thes worst is not over just quite yet. TransUnion stated that they expect things to get worse in the next quarter of the year. Of course that will all depend on if unemployment takes a turn for the better and how these new credit card regulations and laws will affect consumers.

All and all, there is a growing concern that consumers need to be better educated about the use of credit and the ramifications for not being able to afford what they charge. There has been a long standing acceptance of using plastic as an alternative or supplement to income and a “I’ll pay for it later,” mentality. This belief system is starting to catch up with consumers, but unfortunately the pain does not end with the individual who can’t pay their bills.

In the end, the consumer gets a bad mark on their credit score, renegotiates the debt or files for personal bankruptcy. All of which provides a way out for the individuals but always leaves the credit companies left with the debt. It’s a risky business that seems as if it is not turning out not to be so profitable anymore, and stricter regulations may solve those issues for both parties.