The Downsized Budget: How and Where to Cut Back

The Downsized Budget: How and Where to Cut Back is a series of practical household budget-cutting tips aimed at southeast Michigan families who are losing jobs, dealing with lengthy layoffs, or otherwise have less money to live on than they used to.

If you are one of my national readers and the local examples I share don’t pertain to your own community, then use them as ideas as to what to look for in your hometowns.

When do you start on your Downsized Budget plan? You start it as soon as you think your job situation is getting iffy. Don’t wait until that last paycheck arrives. Many of the steps I outline for working class and middle-class families require an investment of time and / or money up front to see savings later. You’ll find a detailed analysis on how that works at There’s no quick fix for a downsized income.

I used the Crown Financial Ministries household budget program as my outline for this series. I became familiar with the CFM program in 1990 when I became a frequent listener of the “Money Matters” financial show hosted by the now-late Larry Burkett on an Ohio radio station. I like the program because it gives specific recommendations on budget categories, but is flexible enough to be adapted to a variety of family circumstances and needs. You also don’t need to purchase an expensive kit to get started, although classes and materials are certainly available if you wish to follow up.

CFM is active in Eastern Michigan. Its local partner churches are Milan Vineyard Church and North Monroe Street Church of God, and there are other partner churches in the Detroit, Downriver and Ann Arbor areas.

You can find some of the program’s books in the collection of the Monroe County Library System. CFM also has a lot of reference materials, worksheets and articles available for free downloads on its web site. And you can listen to the radio program, now called “Money Life,” at 106.3 FM and 96.5 FM in Adrian, on XM Satellite Radio and on Sirrius Satellite Radio.

If you’re wondering how “real numbers” for a local family would look on the CFM budget recommendations, go to one of my post Monroe County median income: what can I spend on what?

And you don’t have be familiar with the program to appreciate the collection of money-saving tips I have sorted into the CFM household budget categories:

• Tithing and charity.
• Housing and utility expenses.
• Grocery expenses.
• Autos and transportation expenses.
• Insurance expenses.
• Dealing with debt.
• Entertainment and recreation.
• Clothing expenses.
• Savings.
• Medical expenses.
• Investments.
• School and child care.
• Miscellaneous expenses.

Are you looking for a list of common household budget items that should be included in the Crown outline or another budget system? I’ve compiled such a list.

Updated June 30, 2009.