Times are tough. Families are on budgets. Your 401k has taken a beating. In times of economic turmoil, it's often necessary to take a look at the family budget and get yourself back on track. While many will first think to switch to generic food items, buy everyday products in bulk, and forego highlights and spa treatments, what most may not realize is how much the technologies we use everyday are affecting our bank accounts.

If you're unwilling to part with the family necessities, trimming the technology fat and altering how you use it can help you save money regular basis. I won't lie to you... many of the things I'll recommend below can be downright painful to the tech-savvy consumer. But, desperate times call for desperate measures, and even following a few of these could make a big difference to your bank account balance.

#1 -Turn off your computer when you're not using it

There's a convenience to having a computer always "on." With a PC always on, there's no wait to check e-mail, grab a headline, or get the current weather forecast. Even with PCs getting greener all the time, desktops and notebooks in a powered on or idle state still consume a fair amount of power. With one, two, and perhaps several computers all running at the same time throughout your home, it can really make an impact on your energy bill.

In tough times, save every penny you can by taking advantage of the mega-power-saving options your PC provides. Turn the PC off when not in use, or throw it into its hibernation mode. Hibernation gives you a quicker boot up time than from an off state, but gives you all the power savings. If you're not willing to wait a minute or two, use an S3 standby state (if supported), which will consume little power, but turn on almost instantly.

The amount you save depends on the computer you have and how many are running, but it could add up to more than you think.

#2 - Ditch your home phone

A staggering number of households are giving up home phone service entirely and switching exclusively to wireless. If you're already popping for a cell phone for every person in your home, there's little need to have a separate phone just for home use... in most cases. 

A gabby teenager can make a huge impact to the minutes used per month, but in many cases you can increase your wireless plan to cover the difference for less than what the home phone costs you. 

You may have other needs for a home line, like for security systems, fax machines, and other devices. You can find workarounds for most, but if not, you may need to keep the house line. In that case, try #3.

Savings: $240 to $480 per year.

#3 - Lower your cellular phone package

If you can't ditch the home phone line, or even if you already have, you may want to take a second look at your cellular usage. Examine a few months of use and see if the plan you have really makes sense for your situation. Many may find they're paying for 700 minutes a month, but only using 350. If that's the case, you're paying for way more than you really need. 

Don't forget, calls between phones on your plan are typically free, and many other carriers let you talk to others on the network for no charge. Tie in your free evening and weekends to that equation, and you'd be surprised how much you can use a cellphone and not have it affect your minute usage. 

If you're keeping a home phone line as well as cell phones for you and the kids, you may be able to switch to a lower package by enforcing some family rules on cell phone usage. A great example is how many of us (kids, spouses, and even yourself) will make outbound calls at home from a cell phone... even if your landline is right in front of you. Get everyone on board which type of phone to use in what situation (like long distance from the cell, local on the landline, etc) and keep pestering them.

Savings: $120 to $360 per year

#4 - Drop your cable or satellite service

A long time ago, in what seemed like a galaxy far, far away ALL television was free. There was a day when people had these things called "antennas" on their rooftops which allowed them to pull in local broadcasts. 

I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out.  Take a hard, hard look at what you watch on TV. What may surprise you is how much of it is available from local networks, like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, etc. If 90% of what you're watching is available from local broadcast, why spend $80 a month for 150 channels that you don't watch? 

Worried about quality? No need to worry anymore. With TV now all digital (and analog going away next year) you can get high-quality HDTV even from that old antenna rotting in the attic. TiVo owners can still DVR their favorite shows. Plus, with legitimate options to watch some shows online, like HULU, you may not have to give up all your pay TV shows all together.

If you're not willing or able to give up cable, think about dropping some premium channels or going for a smaller package. You may be able to shave off $30 to $40 bucks from your cable bill and wind up not missing a thing.

Savings: $120 to $1440 per year.

#5 - Take advantage of bundled packages where you can

If you're not able to give up any of the big four services (home phone, TV, high speed internet, and wireless) think about picking them up from the same provider. In many cases, you can bundle up two three or even all four services from the same provider and get a huge discount on your monthly bill.

Savings: $60 to $360 per year

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