With the economy the way it is, what have you given up?

[Quiver0f10]

I was specifically thinking in terms of food when I was thinking of posting, but I am curious as to what sacrifices you have made so far.

 

We have given up fruits other than a rare treat ( which really bugs me as I want them to eat more fruit). And I hover over them as they pour out thier milk to make sure they aren't over doing it LOL.

 

Other things are trips to town, extra activites etc. I am thankful gas has gone down, but I still don't want to waste what we have.

 

What cuts have you made?

[ssexton]

We've cut back on activities. We did Upward Basketball last year, but it was too far of a drive and the fees for two children proved too much this year. The kids are spending more time playing with their neighborhood friends, and I think they're just as happy.

 

We rarely buy anything new these days. We wait until we can find it second hand. I've cut back on soda (so hard for me!!) and I'm really trying to make curriculum choices I'm less than thrilled with work rather than buying new. Christmas is being scaled way back, also.

 

As far as food, I'm trying harder than ever to stick to a budget, and Aldi's has become my store of choice. :D

[Beth in Central TX]

We haven't given up anything yet, but we did decide to forgo the home improvement project we were going to start next January. It's now on our 3-5 year short term goal list.

[4summergirls]

that we sign up for. If something looked interesting and we had the time, I'd try it. But now I'm really questioning whether activities are worth the money and the kids' readiness vs what I can accomplish at home (ex. art and music lessons, gymnastics, etc) We never ate out much before but now it seems like that's dropped off completely.

[fortheboys]

We have given up our home phones (I know that you can't eat those!). We just use our cell phones now. I am also back to baking our bread...and we only bring in standard fruits and veggie, like apples/bananas/potatoes and onions.

[Once]

We gave up a kitchen reno. The kitchen isn't that bad if you don't mind falling all over each other every time we go to sit down to eat. This is the one that really bothers me cuz I'm a food girl. I like to bake and cook from scratch and I waited a long time for the plans to be made.

 

We have given up lunch out on Saturday, our usual grocery day.

 

We gave up new clothes a long time ago. We make due on all second hand stuff. Right now I'm the only one that notices. Dd is still a tish to young to care. I think.:glare:

 

I gave up haircuts. Dh did my last one as it was bothering me so much. I have always done the haircuts for the kids and dh.

 

We gave up our landline about 6 months ago. We still have two cell phones we need for dh's work.

 

Food wise....I canned and preserved a lot this fall so we won't have to give anything up. Not sure I could go without fruit...my heart goes out to you.

 

For us it is not so much what we gave up. We could have kept all these things but our debt would have grown. So, we made the choice to be responsible and cut back a little.

 

Always interesting to me how this affects everyone. Sometimes I think I am the only one making the changes, even though the news says otherwise. Interesting how it isn't noticable from the outside.

[gardening momma]

We are trying to cut down on our eating out. We mostly do the cheaper places like fast food, but cut down on frequency. I'm trying to cook more homemade meals at home. Sometimes we have peanut butter & jelly sandwiches or ramen noodles for supper. Those are more informal suppers too--more about getting the kids fed and in bed a little later than about a family meal with us all sitting around the table and eating together. I have also been adding some water the the girls' milk, but that's mostly because of bm issues--doctor's advice (cut down dairy such as milk).

[Melissa B]

We gave up our family vacation last month. We had planned a week of swimming, skiing, boating, sleeping and just relaxing on an island in south Florida (we already live in Florida, but it is at least 10-15 degrees cooler in northern Florida. :D) We couldn't justify the cost of gas in taking two cars and a boat. Both the truck and the boat get terrible gas mileage. This was just before the gas prices started to drop. Plus the cost of eating out and the bits of money spent here and there anytime one goes on vacation that really seems to add up in the end.

I do feel bad for dh. He doesn't get another week off until July when he gets the joy of spending the week with my family up north and going to a wedding (not high on his list of enjoyable vacation activities.)

 

We are fairly frugal in all other areas already, so we haven't changed anything else.

[Erica in PA]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet. Food prices seem to have stabilized or actually come down a bit. Gas prices are half what they were a year ago. Nothing else has changed for us, so we are actually doing a little better than we were six months ago. Are we in the minority? Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

 

Erica

[Faith]

We haven't given up anything at all. We have not suffered financially anymore then normal. But, we are putting money back into savings more.

[Plucky]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet. Food prices seem to have stabilized or actually come down a bit. Gas prices are half what they were a year ago. Nothing else has changed for us, so we are actually doing a little better than we were six months ago. Are we in the minority? Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

 

Erica

 

I wonder if some of it is regional and/or job based. All my friends in building and real estate have been hurt, but not any others. We are pretty frugal already. I don't know if I could cut back my kids' milk, fruit, or veggies unless the wolf was really howling at the door.

[Crissy]

In anticipation of our business suffering in the next year and beyond (the corporations who hire us will certainly cut photography services from their budgets first) we will likely look for more free activities to do as a family and allow our memberships to lapse.

We will rely on our library and drastically reduce the number of books we purchase (sob!)

We will take advantage of the corporate sponsorship opportunities that come our way (free equipment and materials in exchange for the use of our personal and business names).

 

There won't be much difference in the way we purchase household items, clothing, etc., since we don't tend to be big spenders in those areas anyway. We have also always been careful about our driving habits, combining trips as often as necessary, and being sure to assign the car with the best gas mileage to the person who will be driving the greatest distance on any given day.

 

What I will not allow to suffer is our nutrition. I will continue to buy and prepare whole, fresh foods and avoid the cheap, processed, packaged garbage.

[CalicoKat]

I've become a dedicated home bread maker. I make 10-12 loaves every 2 weeks to put in the freezer so we don't run out and buy those $4 loaves at the store.

 

No more gymnastics for the girls. No horseback riding lessons either.

 

Thrift store purchases for furniture and clothing.

 

No toys for Christmas. If it's not contributing to clothing their body, filling their tummy, furthering their hobby, or lends towards teaching a new skill to be learned then it's in the toy catagory.

 

I lump my errands together and I do them on Tuesdays or Friday afternoons.

 

Grocery shopping at the discount store Aldi. Coupon shopping at Jewel.

 

CFL lightbulbs in all possible sockets. Still convincing dh to install a 15 min timer in the kids bathroom because that light is forever being left on.

 

There is more, but those are the newer ways we save.

[Renee in NC]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet. Food prices seem to have stabilized or actually come down a bit. Gas prices are half what they were a year ago. Nothing else has changed for us, so we are actually doing a little better than we were six months ago. Are we in the minority? Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

 

Erica

 

Our income has dropped to nothing because we are self-employed. Funny - it's all the people cutting back in anticipation of really bad times that is causing really bad times for us!:lol:

[Kelli in TN]

We gave up cable, home phone, newspaper, restaurants, ballet, schoolbooks.

 

When it gets to the end of a pay period nutrition starts to suffer a bit. The last few days we have had a scarcity of veggies and fruit. (But today is payday and for lunch we had a big, gorgeous fresh salad!!!)

 

We'll be fine. It's tight but we are just fine.

[Crissy]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet.

 

We are preparing to be affected by the budget cuts of those who hire us. We felt the pinch a bit during the summer months when a number of charity organizations couldn't find the usual money in their budget to hire us for annual events that we had been photographing for years. We fully expect that the trend will continue at least through this next year.

 

Our finances continue to be in great shape and making a few small changes will allow us to relax and go with the flow of the economy.

[gardening momma]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet. Food prices seem to have stabilized or actually come down a bit. Gas prices are half what they were a year ago. Nothing else has changed for us, so we are actually doing a little better than we were six months ago. Are we in the minority? Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

Erica

I would imagine for some, as it is for us, it's not what the economy/prices are now, but what it was. We spent tons more money on gas over the last few months than we normally do. We're trying to make up for that now. I know of a lot of places that are laying people off. Fewer jobs means less money being spread around, which can affect a lot of people in different ways. It all filters down.

[CalicoKat]

I've become a dedicated home bread maker. I make 10-12 loaves every 2 weeks to put in the freezer so we don't run out and buy those $4 loaves at the store.

 

No more gymnastics for the girls. No horseback riding lessons either.

 

Thrift store purchases for furniture and clothing.

 

No toys for Christmas. If it's not contributing to clothing their body, filling their tummy, furthering their hobby, or lends towards teaching a new skill to be learned then it's in the toy catagory.

 

I lump my errands together and I do them on Tuesdays or Friday afternoons.

 

Grocery shopping at the discount store Aldi. Coupon shopping at Jewel.

 

CFL lightbulbs in all possible sockets. Still convincing dh to install a 15 min timer in the kids bathroom because that light is forever being left on.

 

There is more, but those are the newer ways we save.

Marilyn's Famous Whole Wheat Bread Recipe.

http://articles.urbanhomemaker.com/index.php?article=83

 

the recipe I use with great success. The vital gluten and dough enhancer are optional--but they do improve the texture. Still a great recipe without them.

[CalicoKat]

We gave up cable, home phone, newspaper, restaurants, ballet, schoolbooks.

 

When it gets to the end of a pay period nutrition starts to suffer a bit. The last few days we have had a scarcity of veggies and fruit. (But today is payday and for lunch we had a big, gorgeous fresh salad!!!)

 

We'll be fine. It's tight but we are just fine.

payday & grocery shopping go together here too. :) Kids are learning to enjoy and savor, rather than gulping those favorite foods.

[PariSarah]

. . . it's a really, really inconvenient time for our grants to be ending. The economy hasn't hit the university sector terribly hard yet--budgets are going down, but people are still hiring for faculty positions and big foundations are still giving out grants. We need to find one of those for next year (and beyond)--a grant or a job; if not, Stephen will have to pastor until we can both finish and find university jobs. Not where I want to be, but we're not there yet, so I'm trying not to worry about it. I'm teaching an extra class next semester, just to get a little extra cash saved for when our grants run out.

 

As far as our outgo, that has been affected. Grocery costs, mostly, utilities, property taxes. We were already pinching every penny until it pinched back, so we've just had to do the best we can.

[kzdaisy]

We are not buying soda, chips, fresh fruit we use canned fruit from aldi now.We went to a movie this afternoon (cheaper before 5)and on the way there.Passing a mini mall we saw 2 stores that were closing circuit city, and linen and things.I don't go to one store any more to buy everything I map out my shopping day to best sales for the week!Things are a little better now that we have State insurance to cover meds.Instead of having to pay out of pocket.Hubby hasn't worked for a year and we are living off our savings.Thankfully our house is paid off.So is our cars. So we are doing lots better than others.

[Titus.Two.Five]

So far, we have been unaffected, personally. However, we are gonna start busting hiney to pay off our home ASAP.

[Rhonda in TX]

Netflix is costing us almost $20 a month and we just don't have time to watch many movies. I thought of dropping down to one at a time, but some months I don't even watch that.

 

I'm also more serious about coupons (using thegrocerygame.com) and we're not going out to eat as much. I'm actually cooking! :)

 

Of everything, I missing eating out the most. I love eating out.

[iquilt]

We are saving more, as a self-employed family we feel we need a much bigger safety net. We have limited our outside activities to the ones we really love, and we eat out only rarely. If we want a dessert we make it from scratch, and I'm making several presents this year.

[Wendi]

Our income has dropped to nothing because we are self-employed. Funny - it's all the people cutting back in anticipation of really bad times that is causing really bad times for us!:lol:

 

I wonder what percent of the crisis is actually caused by people cutting back in anticipation of loss of job, inflation, etc. We hear the economy's bad and is going to get worse, so we cut back on spending, resulting in more people losing their jobs and businesses going under, making the economy worse. It sure is complicated, isn't it?

 

Wendi

[Mommyof4ks]

We really have not given up anything because of the economy. Unfortunately our cars are getting older and our house is in need of some TLC, so we are having to spend money on those things rather and more 'fun' stuff, but that is not because of the economy as much as poor planning on our part.

 

Around here gas is down to $1.89 and food prices are coming down a bit, so hopefully things will stabilize soon for those that are suffering.

[Cornerstone Classical]

We decided to do our lawn maintenance ourselves. Yep, homeschooling doesn't get done on Wednesdays. Right now, me and DS(14) get our there with the leaf blower, rakes and tarp and haul leaves to the road. Then every other week we mow and weedeat. It usually takes us most of the day. But we actually are having fun. But, I wish I didn't have to take the time from school.

 

We also have turned down our heat a bit, kept unnesassary electricity off and try to run our errands all in the same day. We're trying to make it on $100 for groceries a week.

 

My DH owns 4 insurance agencies and he averages writing around 100 policies a month at his main office. This month we are already on the middle of the month and that agency has only wrote 4. At his other agency, he has made no money at all this month.

[chiguirre]

Tuition at ds' school is going up for the first time in 5 years. That's not great for us, but it's manageable. We've also decided to put off replacing my minivan for awhile to see if we can get a bargain or if there are tax incentives that we could benefit from.

[5kidsforME]

I wonder what percent of the crisis is actually caused by people cutting back in anticipation of loss of job, inflation, etc. We hear the economy's bad and is going to get worse, so we cut back on spending, resulting in more people losing their jobs and businesses going under, making the economy worse. It sure is complicated, isn't it?

 

Wendi

 

On tbhe flip side, I think (and hope) people are being more responsible now with their money. We see how screwed up the governemnt is in spending our tax dollars and I think it is great people are cutting back. We should't feel guilty of cutting back because it may or may not affect someone else. Maybe in the long run it will make companies be more responsible with how they budget.

[Maria from IN]

Since we've already been cutting back, it's not difficult to get over having to do without more, but it's harder to figure out additional ways to cut back.

 

The Tall Bald Guy is deer hunting this month, in the hopes of filling the freezer.

 

I have applied for an assistantship at school for next semester. Wish me luck! If I get it I will get a 9-hour credit on my tuition, which will save me about $2800 and will pay household bills for another 2 1/2-3 months--which I really need because I have to attend classes during the summer instead of getting a summer job.

 

I am paying more attention at grocery stores--I'm trying to buy more basics on sale and cook them on weekends when I have time. This also helps cut way down on convenience foods for the Young Man, whose cooking skills are little more than microwaving leftovers when I am gone.

 

I purchased some Knifty Knitter looms a month ago and I'm making legwarmers to help keep me warm during the winter. I have Reynaud's and my cold feet are why my thermostat is up higher than it probably should be. I'm also trying to walk on the treadmill more to keep my circulation going...playing my son's Wii Sports certainly helps, too!

 

I'm cooking dog food now for the food-allergic dog. When I started this food allergy mess we were buying Prescription Diet--$46 for a 17 pound bag! Then I found Brandon Farms at Kroger for about $9 for a 6-pound bag. Lately I'm making a broth out of chicken thighs and cooking brown rice and veggies in it. The dog loves home cooking and it's much easier on the checkbook.

 

Yesterday I vowed to try and recycle paper more. I went to the drugstore and became disgusted at having to spend $6.99 for printer paper for all these things the university deems print-worthy. I'm also trying to print more at school and use the printing credits available to me.

 

For Christmas we as a family have agreed not to spend as much this year. Gifts will be simple, but well thought-out. With the Knifty Knitter I will likely knit scarves and legwarmers for a few people, and I always print my own iron-on thingies from the computer for customized tshirts and sweatshirts for the guys.

[Parrothead]

We haven't really given up anything. We have gotten an handle on the bills this month. I'll have everything but the house and the truck paid off within a year. Other than that, nothing.

[Once]

Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

 

Erica

 

 

Good question. We have been doing Dave Ramsey style debt repayment for about two years now and had a goal of paying off a certain debt by Christmas. The last six months set us back from that goal so we are trying to make up some ground. We would have done the kitchen reno on debt (without DR permission) but decided not too considering the state of the economy. We are currently facing a long winter with higher natural gas prices and I want to make the best of the paychecks we get (and will continue to get as dh's job is as secure as it gets).

 

I was wondering the other day about how much of the economy shrinking is related to the media and what they are focusing on. But I am not an economist and I do not know how these things work. I still think things will get worse before they get better regardless of the cause. As a result, I want my family to be in the best position to face that as possible.

[Ellie]

the "economy" is always doing something, eh? We have mostly always had to live frugally, regardless of what "the economy" is doing, so I can't really tell a difference between *this* "economy" and the one from, oh, 20 years ago.

 

We've known people who didn't have jobs when the economy was "good;" we've known people who had to eat chicken instead of beef; we've known people who didn't drive all over town because they had to be careful of how much gas they used. We've been those people, too.

 

So we're just going to keep doing what we've been doing and chalk it up to "life."

[ssexton]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet. Food prices seem to have stabilized or actually come down a bit. Gas prices are half what they were a year ago. Nothing else has changed for us, so we are actually doing a little better than we were six months ago. Are we in the minority? Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

 

Erica

 

My husband is a commercial real estate appraiser and works entirely on production. His workload has been much, much lighter this month, and we expect that trend to continue, at least for a little while. At some point work might pick up though, as unfortunately, foreclosures and bank held properties must be appraised. We pay for our own health insurance, and our premiums continue to go through the roof. Our rates went up in November and are going up again in January. Not quite sure why, yet. That's another phone call I need to make.

[Elohcin]

Nothing has really changed for us. We think a bit more about purchases, but other than that pretty much same as always.

[Quiver0f10]

My DH's job hasn't been afftected and he is paid salary so that's fine, but the food prices has gone up sp much that it is harder for me to feed my family on what I have budgeted. We are so tight in our budget that there is no money left for anything other than bills, food and gas. It's frustrating.

[Renthead Mommy]

Well we aren't really doing anything different. We've always lived below our means. And we're military, so you know my husband is underpaid!

 

We were looking at trips to Austria/NZ for next year, as well as to China, and we may have to scrap those. Which is dissapointing, as there are some just INCREDIBLE deals for those trips right now. So cheap you almost can't afford to NOT take them! But our cancelling has more to do with timing than with finances. There is a good chance we are leaving here a year early, and we just won't have the time to do what we want to do, and let my husband get in the study time, as well as the interview and testing time he needs to be ready for the residency he's hoping to get (along with all the other things that go on around here). They are trying to push him through an application process in a matter of a few short months that other people take over a year to do, so time is very tight right now.

 

Now if all this does go through in the timeframe we hope, we'd need that trip money for when we get back. We won't be living near a base at all (it's a civilian residency program) so we'd be living on the regular economy. Plus we'll need to lease 2 cars, buy a washer and dryer, living room furniture and two bedroom sets, as well as find a place to live and set up everything (cable, cell phones, landscaper, and all that). Plus we'll have to take a few trips to visit people we haven't seen in two plus years.

 

So all that won't be the economy, but it's just what we need to do, and it will all be at the same time.

[anissarobert]

My dh lost his job two weeks ago. The unemployment rate is so high right now that there are many more applicants than there are jobs, so it is really scary. We have had several financial crises this last year, so our savings is already gone. There are few frugal things that would be too drastic for us right now!

 

The price of food here has gone up over 50 percent on many items. A year ago I could easily feed our family of 5 on $60 per week. There is no way I can do this now. Gas has come down, and is at $2.40 per gallon right now, so that is nice.

 

We have given up gymnastics for our younger two, and we are trying to cut back on everything we can. Any Christmas gifts will have to be made from my fabric stash.

 

I have the most important things though; my family, friends and a houseful of books.:) We made a tree on the window, with fall leaves for each person. On the leaves we each wrote things we are thankful for. Our tree is very, very full.

 

Hard times help us to realize what is really important in life!

[chaik76]

Well, our budget has remained the same. So I guess that means we've cut out a few things. We actually have more gas to go places since gas has gone down so drastically...I can go twice as many places since it's dropped down to half what it was before.

Food...we're still eating the same things...I'm just being far more careful about how I find them, and what I'll pay for them. We also had to add a very expensive hypoallergenic formula for the baby that costs about $200/mo (half our grocery budget) so I'm still not sure how I'm doing it...but I've managed so far.

Other than that, everything else has remained about the same.

[BMW]

I have given up store bought bagels and buscuits and rolls... I make my own from scratch. I have given up my nicely planned meals and shopping lists that I made and now I buy what is on sale and plan around that.

 

I have given up store bought laundry soap and make my own.

 

And, I would love to go out and get some gym clothes, but my children need shoes, so the gym clothes will not be purchased, but I am okay with that.

[lynn]

I don't think we are giving anything up. I am doing more baking and cooking from scrath and trading out certain food items for cheaper alternatives here and there but that's about it. I shop with longer lists or double everything so I do not run out or have to go to the store as often. I also do not run here or there on a whim. I try to plan trips to certain stores around drs. visits or library runs on the side of town of the stores.

[Garga]

1. Letting memberships expire (zoo, aquarium, train museum and science center.)

 

2. Have more cheap dinners every week. (Spaghetti, etc.) Most of our dinners are cheap, but we eat even cheaper ones more often now.

 

3. Buy clothes at thrift stores.

 

4. Relying on Grandma to get the toys for Christmas!

 

5. Careful to combine trips in the car.

 

6. We don't much go out to eat, but am even cutting back on the few times we do.

 

7. Renting movies or taping them off TV vs seeing them in the theater.

 

Of course, I do worry that if we all cut back before we need to, we'll end up putting businesses out of business, like someone posted happened to them.

[tricia]

Well I would have to say snacks such as potato chips, pretzels, cheetos, that kind of thing. So instead we have been popping tons of popcorn.:lurk5: Milk for us is only 1.50 a gallon since we get it from a local farmer friend so that saves us tons. I find though that bananas and apples are still cheap enough so I still buy that.

[gardenschooler]

Netflix is costing us almost $20 a month and we just don't have time to watch many movies. I thought of dropping down to one at a time, but some months I don't even watch that.

 

 

 

Thanks for reminding me about this. Did you know you can put your Netflix account on hold for a few months? I've done this before, just to avoid wasting the money when we're super busy. You do have to time it just right so you don't get charged.

[Liz CA]

I was specifically thinking in terms of food when I was thinking of posting, but I am curious as to what sacrifices you have made so far.

 

We have given up fruits other than a rare treat ( which really bugs me as I want them to eat more fruit). And I hover over them as they pour out thier milk to make sure they aren't over doing it LOL.

 

Other things are trips to town, extra activites etc. I am thankful gas has gone down, but I still don't want to waste what we have.

 

What cuts have you made?

 

1. Less trips by car

2. Dry clothes on the line and love it! (Here in CA we can do this into December)

3. Make everything from scratch and avoid higher priced convenience foods

4. Forego the convenience of central heat and exclusively heat with wood stove

[Arch at Home]

The downturn hit really close to home this week as my office laid of 8 people. Luckily I still have a job and I believe that things have to get really, really bad for me to loose mine.

 

Because we both still have jobs, our budget is still the same. That said I shifted my meat of choice. We used to use hamburger as our meat of choice and had roast frequently. Now with hamburger over $2.00 I am cooking more chicken and pork.

[percytruffle]

Our income has not been affected, yet, but the economic downturn has changed our awareness of what we buy and how much. I have been stocking up a bit at the grocery store and using sales and coupons more even though I am busy with work. We are thinking of dropping our land line and going with just our cell phones. Once StarGate ends, we will drop our cable down to basic. If we drop it completely our internet bill will rise. We drive less and combine trips. I have started shopping at the Salvation Army Thrift Store and am loving it! All the teachers at my school do and they know where and when to find good deals. We have cut way back on Christmas this year.

 

It has increased my level of awareness about what the future could hold. Here is NY our property taxes and school taxes will be going up, perhaps dramatically. They are already high compared to other areas of the country. Our utilities will also go up. I just hope that the small increase we are seeing in our income due to my job is not wiped out because of all the increases in costs. We really need that money to go for education. Both of our kids will be in college full-time next year. And, believe me, I do not make much money teaching at a small Christian school. It would not take a lot of increases to wipe it out.

[cillakat]

This might be a dumb question, but could someone share specifically how you are being affected by the economy right now? I haven't seen any changes yet. Food prices seem to have stabilized or actually come down a bit. Gas prices are half what they were a year ago. Nothing else has changed for us, so we are actually doing a little better than we were six months ago. Are we in the minority? Are others of you being negatively affected already by the economy, or are these things you're cutting back on in anticipation of what is to come?

 

Erica

 

1)my dh's business is down by *30%*

2)food prices here in Atlanta are up dramatically. the sunflower butter I buy is $4.99 now. It was $2.29 a year ago. that's just one of many examples. many things are 50-100% more expensive.

3)gas is way down, but only has been for a very very short period of time. 2 weeks? 3 weeks?

 

katherine

[Sharon H in IL]

We eliminated Sunday newspaper delivery, dropped my magazine subscriptions, cut back on restaurant meals, I'm making our bread in a gifted bread machine, dropped boy scouts.

 

I've been experimenting with cheaper coffee, but so far nothing is up to par with my name-brand favorites. Switched from soda to tea.

 

My Dh's business hasn't been hurt, but then we had expected it to improve significantly over the past couple of years and it hasn't. So we are adjusting to bring expenses down to a level where we can put away savings.

 

We've actually increased some expenses. My older son is now taking piano lessons. Now that we have a piano, and the piano teacher is across the street, it would be hard to not find a way to make lessons happen.

 

DH will never give up cable tv or going out after work for a drink, so some things that *I* want to cut back aren't going to happen. I'm considering not attending the next big museum used booksale, though, so I must conclude that the sky must be falling. :lol:

[Blessedfamily]

I almost gave up real maple syrup, but decided against it. :001_smile: