How does a single mother of three kids survive on $31,000? First of all, she doesn't live in New Jersey.

After some unfortunate circumstances and some bad moves, Tricia offers some tips for making the most out of what you earn. The MSN article offers all of her tips, but to summarize, the list includes being careful about purchases, taking care of debt regularly, scaling back, and educating yourself.

She also mentions putting your tax refund in the bank; I suggest trying to optimize your withholding so you keep most of what would be your refund in the bank, earning interest throughout the year.

Another article on MSN offers 50 ways to trim your budget. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a chart outlining the average household expenditures as a percent of income, much like I did earlier this month.

In each of the categories, the article offers some suggestions for cutting back costs. Many of these I'm already doing. For example, the temperature has been above 90°F lately, and I've been keeping my small apartment cool by keeping sunlight out and using the air conditioner only sparingly, and turning it off whenever I go outside.

Another suggestion in the article is to "avoid over-packaged, over-processed and highly advertised foods." Although I couldn't say that I eat well or healthily, I do opt for the store brands in most cases.

I looked through the list to find some options that can be applied to my life, and in most cases the items either don't apply to me or I am already doing it. On the other hand, I could probably save some money by canceling all but the basic television channels (though I enjoy some of the cable stations on occassion and I do have a reduced rate) and bringing lunch into work (I haven't been diligent).

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