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Economy lifestyle changes?

Posted: Jul 7, 2013

Has anyone changed their lifestyle to accommodate the downturn of the economy? Just wondered if it was just me. I don't drive as much. My thermostat is switched on to 79 in the summer and during the winter I don't have the heat on at night. Haven't had a new car in years, driving a 2001 Toyota that should be replaced. Buying generics at grocery if brand names aren't on sale.

What if anything have you done to spend less?

;

A lot of smarter shopping - BudgetDiva

[ In Reply To ..]
It's been an experience and it's been trial by error, to be sure.

Instead of doing all my shopping at the large convenient chain grocery store, we now pretty much just get out meat there. For staple dried goods (rice, flour, sugar, beans, etc.), we have a small Mexican supermarket in our area. Since dry goods are pretty the same across the board, we get our needs there for about half the price at the regular chain grocery store. They also sometimes have great sales on bottled water and soda and juices.

For fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, snack-type stuff, chips, cheese, and other non-essentials, we've discovered our 99% Plus store. Convenient and fresh shipments of veggies and fruit almost every day at a fraction of the cost of the supermarket. Blueberries, bananas, mangoes, oranges, apples, green table grapes, various types of squash, baby asparagus, brussel sprouts, broccoli. Pretty much anything we could get for at least double that price at the chain grocery store can be found at our local dollar store.

For bread, buns, rolls, etc., we alternate between what is on sale at a reasonable price at the chain supermarket and the 99% Plus store. We prefer whole-grain bread and, if that's not available at the cheap store, we'll break down and buy a loaf from the regular store; luckily, we rarely have to.

We splurge occasionally and get lobster tails when they're on sale (usually around Valentine's Day) and freeze some for later. We also buy the flash-frozen salmon and swordfish when it's on sale. We've found Fresh & Easy (not sure if that's a local or national chain) usually has good buys on fish and shellfish.

We probably went from a food budget of around $600 a month to $300 a month with really no hardship at all, just shopping 3-4 places instead of 1 for convenience. We also find the paper goods at the 99 plus store are decent buys.

I still buy my regular brand-name hygiene products and skin care stuff. I just can justify it more now since we're spending less on food, LOL!

On a side note, we don't have a car at the moment. Our city has a very decent public transit system that runs from about 6 am until 11 pm every day (except weekends stop at 9 pm or so). With me working from home and my husband walking distance from his job, we just decided with the price of gas and insurance, having a car was just a luxury more than a necessity at this point.

We've cut back big time, but we're still managing with very few bumps in the road.

Lots of downgrades - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
We also started buying generics, eating out very rarely, buying a cigarette machine to roll our own cigs, cancelled cell phone contract and swapped out for the very minimum prepay plan. I REALLY want to do the coupon thing, but haven't gotten organized enough to tackle that yet.

You could save a lot - of money

[ In Reply To ..]
if you just quit smoking altogether.

Just sayin'.

And the money spent on cigs is only the start of expenses - CJ

[ In Reply To ..]
.....hopefully there is not also the expense of a bronchoscopy and lung surgery down the road. (I'm an ex-smoker, so I know about these things.) Smoking is legal and it is a choice, and I do support adults getting to do what they choose, but why do something that is so lethal? Just saying.

Quitting smoking - Me

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm not to the point where I want to quit smoking, so therefore I can't. I understand health issues, but a person still has to want to quit, and I just don't.

I was always overweight, my entire life and I tried diet after diet after diet and always failed. I FINALLY lost weight about 5 years ago and I have the body I always dreamed of now. I know now that it wasn't a miracle diet I found, since all of the others didn't work, but I finally WANTED it bad enough that I could give up my addiction to food.

I do hope I come to the point where I want to rid myself of cigarettes, but I haven't yet.

a penny saved is a penny earned is my new motto... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
The first change was I got rid of my $75/month US Cellular plan and bought a Tracfone. I bought a one-year card for $100 bucks and a phone that has triple minutes, so I am paying around $8 a month for cell phone. I very rarely use it to talk but do text quite a bit. Friends and family know they can reach me at home anyway.

Next, I gave up cable TV - I bought a Roku - best thing ever ever ever! Used to pay 65 bucks a month for cable that was rarely watched, so I bought a Roku HD for $80 (it uses wifi to stream content to your TV) at Radio Shack and stream Netflix for $8/month. There are tons of TV shows and movies to watch on Netflix.

I got a Target Red Card so I save 5% each trip to Target, which really adds up, and I buy a lot of generic brands, which my kids actually like better than most name brands, at a local discount store. I also only buy things that are on sale at the grocery store.

Another saver here. - Frugal.

[ In Reply To ..]
Secondhand stores for some clothing (just bought a new pair of big-name jeans, tag still on, for $7). I use Freecycle, but have actually given away more than received. Could probably sell stuff on ebay, but haven't had the motivation to learn how yet. Change my car's oil, have done that since a teenager. Couponing, the normal ways, not the radical ways like on the reality shows. That's too much stress.

Question - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I eat out a lot less and entertain a lot less. Also travel less. I was planning a trip to Southeast Asia, but now do not want to spend the money. I eat only organic food for health reasons and although organic costs more, I think it is a good investment because it prevents me from having a lot of health problems. Also, I am at stage in my life where I do not go out socially as much, so do not need dressy clothes anymore. I am content to read for my recreation. In short, I am just content with a simpler lifestyle.

Canceled cable, land line, internet, gym and... - EscapeFromMT

[ In Reply To ..]
eat out only once a month (budget: $12 and don't go a place where I need to tip (order at counter type of place) or I get takeout so I can only tip $1). I use the envelope system for groceries and do meal planning so as to not waste what's in the fridge. I work on being more careful about making sure I freeze what I'm not eating right up so I don't end up tossing it.

Coulda fussed at myself on the 4th. I made up a big mess of macaroni salad but then forgot about it and left it out on the counter all night. Gah! Ideally, that's the sort of thing I'm trying to avoid.

Hot dog casserole, anybody?
No more Starbucks.
Waaaah!

Is it just me, or is the USA seeming more and more like a third-world country to you?

My changes - I'm broke

[ In Reply To ..]
We have no TV. I have no cell phone. We don't go out to eat (pizza delivery maybe once every 3 months). I have not bought clothes in 2 years (get tons as Christmas gifts, but I work in sweats and never leave the house so all my old clothes are like new). We cut down our shopping trips to once every 2-3 weeks to save on gas. As for food, I have not gotten the hang of buying all generic. There are some things I'd rather not eat if it's generic (like cheese). We cut out sodas, store bought cookies, chips, etc. I'm drinking mostly water or watered down juice. I bake my own cookies and I make big pot meals to eat over a couple days. Cutting out a lot of meats. Tonight we had rice & salad for supper. We are eating more rice and lentils, rice and beans, stuff like that. keeping lights off as much as possible. Brush my teeth by nightlight :-). No heat in the winter unless absolutely necessary and no A/C in the summer (or for just a little bit).

Another thought - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
Back in the 90s, I was a vegan for a couple of years. It is an inexpensive and very healthy diet.

I have always been on the - stingy

[ In Reply To ..]
side,(don't dare leave a light on you aren't using! lol) so I haven't had to adjust much to the new reality of MT job. For the longest time I have practiced all the suggestions above, eating out hardly at all, buying generics, thrift stores, avoiding meat, small garden in summer, video streamer, cheap cell phone, etc. I also outfitted my little townhome with energy saving windows and bought a Prius, so when I do drive I use very little gas. Also, if you like soda, very economical to use a Sodastream or other soda maker instead of buying bottled.

I really believe that everyone should live with less, even if they have a lot of $$$. I see folks with big houses, cars and loads of stuff and I think it's just crazy.

Not spending money - Hurts the economy...

[ In Reply To ..]
By not spending money, you actually HURT the economy, so not spending money, unless you've had a pay hit or job loss, doesn't help anybody, it just puts places out of business or causes massive lay-offs.

That being said, we've always tried to be frugal. We do use coupons. We like to go out to eat once a week, so we try to find coupons to our favorite places, or take advantage of specials. We have chosen to buy a new car--we have a "thing" where if it starts costing $1000 to have a car fixed, it's time for a new one.

We do shop for our produce at discount produce markets or stands, as opposed to our local supermarket. It helps the "small guy" and we get some great deals. You do have to pick through carefully, though, there's some scary things in those places. But for the most part, the fruit or veggies just aren't "supermarket pretty." There's nothing wrong with the taste or quality. They're just deformed or something, and they're not all waxed and shiny.

We buy chicken in bulk then freeze in portioned sizes.

There are different perspectives on that--sm - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Some would say that spending money can serve to prop up an unsustainable economy that is built upon consumerism.

Feeding our family of 6 has become an endeavor of creativity. It often involves me going to the pantry and figuring it out, instead of following recipes to the letter. I refuse to feed my family ramen noodles though unless it is that or starving. I buy many things in the bulk bins at a local store, waiting for the brown rice (short grain) to go on sale for .69/lb, steel cut oats to go on sale, etc. When something I use a lot is on sale, I stock up.

We do enjoy good coffee. There is a local place that roasts it and sells the beans and we prefer that to Starbucks. It is not cheap but worth it. I am not a fan of conventionally raised meat so we have cut out a lot of it. I do keep a large garden. I have not had cable in 10 years, keep a pre-paid phone (Virgin Mobile, $20 every 3 3 months). I utilize the library for many of my book needs and we can get movies there too. I also carefully consider when I need something before purchasing. I am working on minimizing the expense of "obligation gifts" at Christmas, birthdays for people who are family and I feel I should do something for even though we are not close. Since I drive an F150 truck, I carefully plan all trips and make very few trips out in it. Our Wii broke and we will likely just go ahead and get the parts to repair it instead of upgrading to a Wii U. We also time things to get the best deal, like 1/2 price shakes at Sonic after 8 (we all get minis).

I do look forward to a day when we can possibly eat out a little more (not often but quarterly could be nice). I also long for some good grass fed beef and pastured pork. However, I also am learning to embrace the tapering off of my consumerism. I hate the extra trash that comes from buying things and the extra junk lying around. I can honestly say though that in no way are we like a 3rd world country. Things are not great but they could be so much worse and I am grateful for what we have. Dh should be getting a raise soon and I hope to continue along our same trajectory with the hopes of quitting the MT business for good. I would gladly continue to do without many of the extras if it means I can do other things.

You have to do - What you have to do...

[ In Reply To ..]
I guess my point is that people, even though they have the same income or have not lost their job or are in threat of losing it, all of a sudden decide not to spend anymore. Nothing in their life has changed.

I think it's important what you are doing--you have a large family and you need to make ends meet. That's different from people getting all "funny" when they hear the economy is bad---they stop spending what they normally would have if they hadn't heard that news, and it gets to be a catch-22 with the economy.

Our family's income has been steady and neither my husband nor myself anticipates losing our jobs--even with all this "bad economy," I see no reason not to go on a modest vacation as I always have and buy a new car if we truly need it. We can afford to go out to eat in a decent restaurant once a week, and we are still doing that.

Bad economy - question

[ In Reply To ..]
Whose job is not in jeopardy and why wouldn't even those who have not lost their job or received a cut in pay not save their money for a rainy day?

Are you an MT? Have you taken a cut in pay? If not, please give me the name of your company.

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