Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

not really- I try not to over spend- but that has nothing to do with the economy- and everything to do with me wanting to take advantage of this economy and buy a great house

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Heck yeah! It's crazy out there. We just paid off a car to have less bills. We eat out less, eat less red meat and other more 'expensive' grocery items, use coupons more frequently, consolidate travel as much as possible, watch our electrical usage more, give less $$$ gifts, and so forth. I do notice a difference, overall we are both just very conscience of what we spend. We do all this to put more money into savings, our emergency fund.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Well we havent changed much. However, I am cutting back on how much food i buy at the grocery and watching the prices. We like to eat healthy and that is really hitting our pockets of course. We wont be doing as much traveling on the weekend either. No road trips this summer and less going out to eat.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

I'm definitely doing much LESS driving. We're carpooling and are more conscientious about prices at the stores.

We opted to stay home on Monday and enjoy the pool at our complex instead of driving 60+ miles in our 15 MPG cars to John's sister's BBQ in Brooklyn (which we're STILL getting $hit about ). Sorry, at $4.25 a gallon, that's one expensive burger! As it was, we drove into his cousin's BBQ on Sunday in Nassau and it cost us around $20.00 in gas

We're finding more and more excuses to stay local.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

We've always been penny-pinchers so we really can't save too much more in lieu of the economy. I've always clipped coupons and buy stuff that's on sale/clearance; and we limit the extras like eating out to "rarely".

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

much more attention to prices and less driving..

putting off buying things..improvements to the house..

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Message edited 5/27/2008 6:21:22 PM.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Yeah, I am no longer giving free rides to Queens from Brooklyn to the cheap-arse who never offers me money at work.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

not really - we've always been smart with our money and were never extravagant, so we have a nice little nest egg to still live comfortably

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

I never used to give coupons or sales a thought. I never looked at the prices of anything I bought. Now, I cut coupons and only buy what's on sale. We eat out less and consolidate our errands. I got a discount on my Optimum bill and found other ways to save a little here and there.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Yes and no....I am trying to be more mindful at the grocery store, and with the farmers market opening today that will help. I am very blessed to have many many MANY farmers markets so that helps on food. We do go out to eat about 2-3 days 1 wk and 1 day the next. I refuse to stop this because it is our date night and I cherish this time away. With it also being spring I have started hanging clothes up on the line instead of using the dryer. It may not seem like much but I normally do a load a day and it is helping. I am also not using the a/c...This is a huge deal for me, but I find that I like having the windows open even when it's warm. We are also planting a veggie and herb garden, and buying 1/2 a cow with my mom. It is a large expense up front but in the end is much cheaper since I prefer organic meats. Some things I will not compromise on...organic: meats, milk,dairy, eggs, and healthy foods. I would rather eat this and eat the cost then go back to the way it was. I also try to use cupons and I shop more at Wal-Mart......I may not agree with some of there practices, but $ is $ and if it's cheaper there I will go!

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Trying to drive less, buying food in bulk, looking into higher paying jobs w/ more benefits, hanging out around our aparrtment instead of going out, trying not to eat out a lot, cut out things we did not need (like starbucks, fast food, entertainment, etc).

My husband is starting a new job next week because it pays more too.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

In my line of work, I can make more money in a sour economy. I am trying to keep my personal spending similar so that I can come out ahead from this influx of business. Just keeping my spending the same has been really tough as prices are going up. I have had to increase business spending but I feel that I have done it wisely.

Oh, also, like so many LIFers, I have decided to sell my old gold.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Cursing out Bush... oh WAIT - you said doing anything DIFFERENT....

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

You took the words right out of my mouth LITERALLY

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

I am definitely doing a lot different. Trying to use less energy and water at my house. Really trying to map out my routes to run all my errands at the same time so I can drive less. Trying to use coupons when I can and buy only what I will eat that week at the supermarket. Have also been shopping much less and trying to use things that I already own and haven't used yet.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

No major changes here. I always looked for things on sale and planned my errands accordingly. I carpool and when the weather is nice, DH tries to ride his bike to work at least two times a week. We have always bagged lunch and perhaps order in/eat out once or twice a month at most.

Message edited 5/27/2008 9:10:17 PM.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Dh and I are doing most of our driving in my car while using his big suv a lot less.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

We've been collecting firewood for two months now. My husband split about four cords this past weekend. We plan on using it to heat the house this winter.

Trying to get the oil tank as close to the full mark as possible ... when funds permit.

Laundry in cold water only.

Dishwasher runs only once per day.

Stocking up weekly on grocery items with a long shelf life.

Consolidating shopping trips.

No unncessary driving.

Learning to entertain ourselves more around the house and in the neighborhood.

And ... shopping at Walmart for almost everything ... to save money.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

Doing anything different? Yeah, putting gas in my car every other day and eating 50 cent boxes of mac n cheese from stop & shop for dinner almost every night.... Starting a new and better job soon, cannot wait!

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

There's not much more we can do! We DON'T have a 3000 sq.foot house, we aren't driving crazy cars, we don't take vacations...but there is very little room to downsize.

We have one car, we don't eat out like we used to, we don't take out like we used to, we don't go out...period!

We're not going to get rid of cable/internet bundle. As it is, we don't get premium channels or anything. We use coupons, have netflix, use regular gas.

Re: Is anyone doing anything different with the way the economy is?

The only thing really is not driving as much. I do all my errands on my way home from work so I don't have to go back out.

I always was a sale shopper, clipping coupons & returning plastic bottles of for the $.05 deposit...