RainofGold Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I was just trying to remember when was the last time that I went to Starbucks....Can't remember. I do remember that when the economy wasn't as bad as it is now I used to go to Starbucks once a week. Buy a new dress for church every other month, get my car washed once a week, go to the movies once a week. Go out to lunch with girlfriends. Etc. etc. etc.Now those things seem like a very distant memory:rolleyes: I can only afford to do those things only once in a while.Are there somethings that you had to give up or don't do as often because of the economy?? Rain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 The cuts I have made were mostly due to the high price of gas. My gas budget went to 500 a month. I drive 50miles one way to work and with all the other driving we do we had to cut back. We stopped going out to eat as often as we did before. We take our lunches to work. We cut back on our Basic Cable service. We also cut our landline phone service back. We all have cell phones and use them. Our home phone rarely rings....we cut it back to incoming calls only. If wasn't for my DSL I would have gotten rid of the landline altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang90 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Don't rent alot of movies anymore. (on a notso positive note) Don't pay a grotesque amount of mony for gas. (on a positive note) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lusciouschaos Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Took a second look at insurance. Happy to say there are better deals out there. Ditched Farmers and went with a smaller company. Cut the bill in half. I really need to review the whole phone/DSL/Dish setup. We are paying way too much. $200+ a month. I know there is a better set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miztrniceguy Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 not eating out much,no movies, stopped water delivery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisajo Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Living out in the middle of nowhere it has hit us hard, i dont get to go out of town any more (225 miles to walmart or any thing for that matter) And no extras at all It is rather boring in my little town hudreds of miles away from anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Living out in the middle of nowhere it has hit us hard, i dont get to go out of town any more (225 miles to walmart or any thing for that matter) And no extras at all It is rather boring in my little town hudreds of miles away from anything i bet it is tough...you really have to plan accordingly.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I got a 10% pay cut this year, but I've still got a job. We cut stopped all discretionary spending on our horses this year, except for a new wheelbarrow. Much less eating out. Much less fun $$ for outings and whatnot. We've slowed the rate at which we're paying ourselves back for last year's car purchase. We got the car because it got 32 mpg, and we parked the truck which got 12. I've had to slow my 401K contributions, which kills me because now is the time to invest in the market. LM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytor2112 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Nothing has changed for me. But, I typically don't live recklessly beyond my means. Our businesses are stable and we should have a nice year, despite those morons in D.C.My only vice is golf and I only play once a week. So no changes, if anything, I have been spending the same or more to help the economy grow. I wish the pundits and politicians would stop telling everyone the sky is falling....it's not. The economy will recover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Nothing has changed for me as well. I probably should look at making some cuts on things but haven't felt the need to do so yet. Though when gas was over $4 a gallon...I did have to really curb the use of the car to my teenagers. No more using the car to just "drive around." Now that we are below $2..I still try to do that. Mainly for the wear and tear it puts on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Nothing has changed for me. But, I typically don't live recklessly beyond my means. Our businesses are stable and we should have a nice year, despite those morons in D.C.My only vice is golf and I only play once a week. So no changes, if anything, I have been spending the same or more to help the economy grow. I wish the pundits and politicians would stop telling everyone the sky is falling....it's not. The economy will recover.I agree with you.....and I did say in my post...we made cuts when gas was very high.....I wish they would shut up and let the market straighten itself out etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elgama Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 we are actually better off than before the recession but we haven't really changed much, there will be less hot chocolate and food out but purely because we are moving and I won't need to entertain 2 kids in -10C whilst i wait two hours for a bus. -Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthiechan Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Loud Mouth, I almost didn't recognize you! Egads! We're being more frugal and thinking, "do I really need this?" but that's because my husband will not have a job on April 29th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenRaines Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I am with Bytor, the way to help the economy is to spend, spend, spend. Now if you don't have a job or have taken a pay cut then adjust accordingly. If you are still working like you were last year or the year before the only thing that has changed for you is the NEWS. Everyone should be enjoying the gas price reduction. It is less for gas now that it has been for years. Several years. Ben Raines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I am with Bytor, the way to help the economy is to spend, spend, spend. Now if you don't have a job or have taken a pay cut then adjust accordingly. If you are still working like you were last year or the year before the only thing that has changed for you is the NEWS. Everyone should be enjoying the gas price reduction. It is less for gas now that it has been for years. Several years.Ben Raines with gas being low.....our budget looks awesome.....:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrawberryFields Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 We have changed a few things but I LIKE IT! I LOVE penny pinching and I always have. I no longer buy something just because it is ON SALE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elgama Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 We have changed a few things but I LIKE IT! I LOVE penny pinching and I always have. I no longer buy something just because it is ON SALE!lol me too the phrase adequate for our needs is something I am learning about and I keep being prompted with as we are hopefully moving to a new house-Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebble Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 We still are treating ourselves where we can--seem to do alot more value meals when we pull into a drive through to eat out. We evaluate everything in the NEED and WANT category. (Which by the way is great thing for my kids to be learning) For the most part we seem to be truckin' along fairly well at this moment in time, which I am incredibly thankfull for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palerider Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Did anyone see that Walmart is still making money....even in this bad economy....:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebble Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 That wouldn't surprise me at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Did anyone see that Walmart is still making money....even in this bad economy....:) At the expense of their employees who need jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Loud Mouth, I almost didn't recognize you! Egads!We're being more frugal and thinking, "do I really need this?" but that's because my husband will not have a job on April 29th. Oh sorry to hear that ruthie...I hope he is able to find something before then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrawberryFields Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Did anyone see that Walmart is still making money....even in this bad economy....:) We are still making money (what a blessing that is), but our margin has been decreased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenRaines Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Walmart and Target exceeded earnings expectations. Abercrombie & Fitch, The Gap and all those other pricey stores had lower than expected earnings. Keep in mind that lower than expected earnings does not mean they lost money. It means that they earned less than the analysts had forecast. Earning less than forecast is different than losing money. Ben Raines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilered Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thank goodness my wife is a power shopper. She has saved me so much money by purchasing everything on sale. Sometimes she get 50 % to 75% off when shopping at Dillards or Maceys. We must have millions saved up over the years. In fact, I am not aware of anything she ever purchased that she didn't save me money. Now if I can just figure out where all this saved money is, we should be okay thru these tough times. On a serious note, we live on a huge lake and this past summer, a majority of the boaters simply hung around their dock or parked in a cove somewhere for the day and swam etc. as oppossed to running their boats wide open pulling skiers etc. They also packed lunches and fixed their own meals compared to going to a restaurant on the water. Additionally, they packed gas from home as oppossed to buying it on the lake for a $1.00 more per gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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