In this recession, I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I’ve heard the following bad advice coming from the mainstream media:

* Cut out internet and cable
* Cancel your cellular service
* Sell your car and get a bus pass
* Cancel your newspaper subscription
* Buy generics

I could go on forever with a list a mile long of all the great “advice” I hear coming from reporters and bloggers that have likely never tried practicing what they preach. And don’t get me started on the personal finance “gurus” out there that talk about tightening their belt by cutting back on “luxuries”….like the internet.

I have yet to understand why these helpful “tips” keep getting circulated across the web, splashed across the newspaper, and blasted on the nightly news. These tips aren’t practical for most people, let alone those who are trying to better their finances.

Let’s start with the “cut out the internet” myth - the biggest one of all in my book. If you’re like a large percentage of the country, you’re either:

A. Unemployed
B. Actively seeking better employment
C. Trying to stay ahead of the game in order to hang onto your job, or
D. Researching new opportunities in self-employment or higher education

If more than 20% of HR professionals are now actively using tools like LinkedIn and Facebook to find and reference new hires, cutting the internet out of your budget is going to severely limit your ability to find and maintain employment. And please, don’t tell me that going to the library to use the free public internet is a suitable alternative. The reality is, when a prospective employer sends you an email or would like you to zip over a resume, you better be able to respond quickly. The free public option internet isn’t going to be good enough to get that done. And particularly if all the new savers who’ve cut the internet out of their budgets are standing in line waiting to use it.

Canceling your cell phone service is also a poor budget saver. I can remember a time in the not to distant past (ok, last year) when all I wanted was for my phone to ring. It didn’t need a data plan, and I certainly didn’t need to send emails from it. Boy was I wrong. Since I got hooked up with my Google phone, I’m much more productive and I get work accomplished in the most unusual places.

But, you don’t need to worry about being productive when you can ride the bus to get to the free internet in the library because you sold your car and canceled the phone. In fact, there might still be a pay phone in the lobby of the library you can use. For most Americans, mass transit is a luxury left to those in larger cities. And even then, with three kids, I’d never trust that I could get to them fast enough on a BART, MAX, MARTHA, or any other cutesy-named mass transit system. Nor would I feel confident if I was in the midst of a job search that I could get enough searching done hoofing it on foot.

More than for just employment reasons, this advice also fails consumers. Skip the newspaper and buy generics means that shoppers are missing access to sales ads, coupons, and deals. If you have to cut back the paper, at least keep the Sunday paper for the coupon inserts. And use that internet service to ferret out deals and savings online. Think about the internet as a tool to help you control the controllable costs in your life. That’s where the real savings is. Savings don’t lie in killing productivity and connectivity tools like the internet, your phone, and even your car. Real savings comes from getting a grip on consumable spending, and finding better deals on toilet paper, dog food, diapers, and milk. If you can learn to manage those costs, that’s where your savings can compound much quicker than the $40 a month you’ll recoup by having no phone.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that in today’s tech world, you NEED to have consistent access to the tools that keep you connected…to employment opportunities, to savings opportunities, and networking opportunities. I might not have felt that way once, but the landscape is significantly different than it was even just a few short years ago.

If you need to make cuts to keep your budget solvent, try using a coupon for a box of cereal, or shopping in the peak of a sales cycle for the best prices on everyday items. Connectivity tools are no longer a luxury. Keeping these necessities in your budget can ensure you never miss an opportunity to move your finances forward and better your life.

Tags: coupon shopping, internet, job hunting, recession