Cutting back is a big deal these days – even folks who aren’t truly interested in improving their finances are cutting back, because, well, everyone else is doing it.  Whether it’s due to job loss, peer pressure, or simply a desire to turn your financial ship around, cutting back is a wise decision.  After all, there are only two ways to improve your finances – spend less, or earn more.  Earning more is tough in the best of times, and even tougher now.  Cutting back is the way to go, especially now. 

There are lots of tips on ways to save money – and there are some great tips out there.  What about terrible ideas to save money?  Let’s take a look at the 5 worst ways to save money:

1. Sell all your pants, and go pants free.  This tip will certainly get you funny looks from your neighbors, and will probably get you fired from your job.  There’s a good chance you’ll also get arrested for indecent exposure.  The money you’ll make from selling your pants, and the money you’ll save on not replacing them, or washing pants, will quickly be eaten up by lost income and legal fees.
2. Sell your children on eBay.  As far as I know, it’s quite illegal to sell humans on eBay.  So you can’t cut your grocery bills by reducing the number of mouths to feed.  And before you ask, Craigslist is off limits as well.  Sorry.
3. Steal gas for your car.  Gas is creeping up in price again, and it’s not as cheap to fill up as it used to be.  Don’t tell me that you haven’t been tempted to fill up and then floor it – racing away.  Unfortunately, the attendant is sure to write down your tag number and call the cops.  Once again, fines and legal fees will negate any savings here.
4. Eat other people’s food at restaurants.  By this, I don’t mean share food with your spouse / meal companion.  Rather, I mean walk through a restaurant, casually snagging a breadstick from one table, a bite of steak from another, and a shrimp from another.  Ignoring potential legal troubles, and being thrown out of your favorite restaurants, this strategy is likely to leave you with a bloody nose, and the hand of an angry patron.
5. Stop showering.  No more daily showers – think of the money you’ll save on water, and heating all that water!  This one has to be a winner, right?  Well, no.  Your kids will avoid you, your wife will leave you, and your boss isn’t likely to keep you around for long.  Unless you work at a fish market for a living.  In that case, skip the showers all you want!