Are you prepared for a financial speed bump?

I have been listening to and reading news reports lately that talk about a possible recession coming in the next 12 months. So I have begun to look at my overall fiances to see how and if I would be able to weather a financial storm

One thing that concerns me is that during any time of economic crisis the African American community is usually more effected than the larger population. Already we have seen many cases of African Americans, especially older African American women, being caught in the mortgage crisis. So if there is a general recession what might the impact be on Black America?

Also I read a post at the blog What Tami Said about being frugal and a post by Liz at Los Angelista's Guide To The Pursuit Of Happiness about the so-called black Friday shopping craze.

So I thought this would be a good time to take inventory. And after doing so I feel pretty good. I have been saving for quite a few years. In the last six months I have stepped up the pace of saving a bit. Only occasionally using those savings to splurge on something unnecessary.

I have cut back on my bills and cut out certain 'perks' that I felt I deserved.

Regarding bills, I cancelled my cable t.v. this past August. I was paying about $60 per month. Instead of just getting rid of that bill I decided I would truly save that money. So in August I opened a new savings account. Every month I take the $60 I would have spent on Cable t.v. and put it in that savings account. I know that saving $60 a month does not sound like much but multiply that by 12 and you have $720. And to project into the future that will be $3600 over five years.

I also add to my savings account in the following ways.

I've stopped buying lunch when I'm at work. I figured I was spending between $5 and $10 dollars a day, five days a week. Using $7 as an average spent per day, I have been taking my lunch to work and putting $35 dollars a week into savings. That's $140 per month and $1680 a year. Even when I subtract the $2 to $3 dollars I now spend taking my lunch to work, that's quite a savings over time.

Another 'little' thing I've cut back on is buying USA Today. I'm a news junkie so I have been a big fan of USA Today for a long time. I used to buy it Monday through Friday without fail. I decided that I would stop doing that and only buy it on Mondays and Fridays (unless there was a particular news item I really wanted to read about). Since USA Today costs .75 cents a day, that's $3.75 a week and $15 a month or $123 a year. So buying it two days a week costs $1.50. Saving me $2.25 a week, which adds up to $108 a year.

All those things that I've cut back on are relatively inexpensive. But when I add them up they amount to the beginnings of a nice nest egg.

The savings from my cancelled cable is $720 a year, averaging my lunch savings at $4 a day, that equals to $960 per year plus $108 a year saved by buying USA Today only two days a week. These savings total $1788 a year and $8940 after five years. Not bad.

Are you planning to save or are you saving for a "rainy day"? If so what strategies would you share about your savings plan?

Are you cutting back or cutting out anything? Are you worried about a possible recession?

I have one more thing I want to cut back on, Starbucks Frappuccino. I drink at least one per day and some days two. The 13.7 ounce size costs $2.19 each so that's at least $65.70 a month, not counting days when I have two. That's going to be my next cutback and it's not gonna be easy!