For many people, money can be tight. With a general decade long trend of spiraling home-purchase costs, coupled with life and its innumerable changes, the average American finds themselves unable to save when the money is tight.

Research by the US Department of Commerce supports this assertion, showing that for the first time since the great depression of the ’30s, consumer spending exceeds net money. That doesn’t mean that saving is impossible for the millions of individuals who are struggling along on a day-to-day basis.

There are many ways that an individual can save money, even when the money is tighter than the abs on an infomercial. Among them, the reduction of spending, postponing of luxuries and penny-and-dime tactics are some of the best strategies possible for accumulating some serious wealth when the bottom dollar is tight.

Reduction of spending is tantamount to any serious saving endeavor. In this approach to saving money, an individual will simply choose not to buy something they do not need. There are many purchases made each and every day that are not inherently necessary. These choices can make money so tight that the option to save money can literally disappear into debt.

As an individual resolves to reduce the amount of elective spending, they can save money through one of two main ways. They can either elect for a keep-the-change program where the purchases are billed to the next dollar, with the change transferred electronically into an interest bearing savings account.

Many banks are starting to offer this as an account option which helps individuals with a tight budget who conduct the vast majority of purchases with a debit card. Or, if a spender wants to save and uses primarily cash for purchases, they can establish a jar. Once the jar is full, the spender can focus on wrapping coins, or utilizing a coinstar machine, and depositing the proceeds into an interest yielding savings account.

The postponing of luxuries can be another effective way to save money when the financial budget is tight. Often any big ticket item purchase could be made slightly more conservatively. Asking yourself do I actually need a 42 inch LCD, when I have a perfectly working 32 inch tube set could save you easily $1000 in the short run, which could be applied to paying off existing debt.

Avoid financing things that are out of your reach if you really find yourself desiring to save when money’s tight. Also, another effective way to save money is to postpone trips and vacations. Traveling off-season can cut the costs of a vacation down to as little as a third of what a peak-season trip will cost your money saving efforts.

Additionally, try booking plane tickets weeks early over the internet, or cruise packages through the various money saving sites out there. Doing so, and waiting for gratification will give you a lot more room to stretch that dollar into a savings account.

Lastly, a fantastic way to save when money is tight is to sell unwanted things. Two easy methods of penny-and-dime savings strategies include shopping tips and being smart when it comes to getting rid of junk. It’s really easy to save when the money is tight while shopping. From using coupons to save money, buying generics, to waiting for sales, there is a multitude of choices available to the thrifty saver. You can find money saving coupons on the internet, in sales circulars, or even by completing surveys and registering products.

It’s also amazing how much money you can save on a tight budget by getting rid of unwanted junk the smart way. Instead of throwing the money you spent yesterday into the trash today, millions of Americans are turning to yard and garage sales where they commit to waking up early on a Friday or Saturday to peddle their own wares for pocket change.

What can you sell during a yard sale? Anything. You could likely snag some small change out of someone for anything, from a scratched record disk, to a stack of old 5.25 floppies, to homemade cookies, and beaten up old books. It’s even possible to find used toothbrushes at garage sales.

Before you peddle some of your bigger items to save money on a tight budget, in particular antiques and electronics, and even old glassware, it might be a good idea to look on eBay and other auction sites to see if there is a hidden value and a bigger money to be made using an online yard sale.

Put them to the side, and prelist them on eBay with a closing date before your yardsale. If they don’t sale on eBay, you can always second chance offer your wares to someone who’ll give you money once they pick it up, just to avoid having to bend back over and put it down.