Tighten Your Belt!

If you tighten your belt, you need to find ways to economize with your budget and spend less, because things are difficult financially - or you simply have a tighter budget for one reason or another.

1. Do you have to tighten your belt towards the end of the month, just before you receive your next paycheck? Some people have the philosophy of, “Let's eat, drink and be merry" whenever possible. So there are always times of plenty and times of little.

2. Do Brazilians tighten their belts after Christmas and New Year?... Or do they tighten their belts after Carnival?

3. Can you think of any countries that have to tighten their belts? In recent years, Germany has pushed for Greece to tighten its belt, especially since they have been giving Greece financial aid in the form of a bailout package.

4. You have often heard it said, "The more you have, the more you spend." That's why even millionaires have to sometimes tighten their belts.

5. "To spend or not to spend… That is the question." How do you know when you can splash out or when you absolutely have to tighten your belt?



6. Even if you are spending responsibly, a lot of your money might be going into investments or savings plans - such as buying a car or a house, or an upcoming trip. In that sense, we sometimes have to tighten our belts because of commitments and responsibilities.

7. If someone is frugal (avoids wasting) and is always careful about their spending choices, they rarely need to tighten their belts. There is an expression, "Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves."

8. If someone literally needs to tighten their belts a notch, probably it's because they have lost some weight... It may just be that they have less money to spend on food. They may be going through some "lean times".

9. When a company needs to tighten its belt, there are a number of ways to cut back on expenses. One might involve letting employees go. That's why so many people lose their jobs in times of recession, where many companies just try to keep afloat.

10. Do you think a credit card is useful when trying to tighten your belt, or is it more of a temptation than anything?

11. When your family needs to tighten its belt, what are some of the first things you start to cut down on (reduce) or cut out (eliminate? Do you cut down first in the entertainment area, or maybe at the supermarket?

12. When compared to 2013, do you think you will have to tighten your belt a little this year in 2014?

13. In what area will you never tighten your belt? In what area will you never try to save/ economize and sacrifice?