Mindful cutbacks
Posted on March 27th, 2008 – 4:42 PMBy Kara McGuire
Even if economic uncertainty and financial trouble hasn’t hit your household directly, my guess is you’ve thought about it now and then since the start of the new year. Or is it just me?
I don’t think so. I was talking to one woman today who’s been selling unwanted stuff on Craig’s List, not because she had to, but because it makes her feel better. I relate. I’ve only had one garage sale that’s ever felt worth the time and effort. But I look at the amount of stuff I have that I no longer want and want to take a blowtorch to the snow in my yard.
My personal reaction to all of this doom and gloom is to do as little shopping as possible. Even today, I resisted a sale rack shirt for my son, which in the past I would have justified as a need. But c’mon, the kid is two and I have a washing machine.
What he does need is socks, so I used a $10 gift card to get those for free. How satisfying to walk out of a store with what I need and the same amount of money in my pocket.
Are you changing your shopping or spending habits? If so, are you making changes because you need to? Or are you wanting to fluff up that cash cushion to relax your mind? Maybe you think all of this worrying is silly.
11 Responses to "Mindful cutbacks"
I know the house needs new carpet and I have the cash, but it seems to be getting harder to make the decision to spend it.
I agree with the getting rid of stuff but don’t want to do the garage sale thing. I’m a big fan of ARC - donate stuff and write off the donation, they even come and pick up your stuff for you. Can’t beat that. The trick then is to not shop or only buy exactly what you need, which is sometimes very hard in Target. So far the economy has not really affected us, we’re pretty frugal compared to a lot of people in our income level, but we are still plugging away at building up our savings account because as far as I’m concerned you can never save too much.
I have started clipping coupons EVERY week before grocery shopping. I have also been looking for coupons for items from target (i.e toothpaste, socks,etc.) we have also increased the amount that goes into savings each month. It does make me feel better to increase savings and do other things to save cash…all this recession talk is the kick in the pants I needed to actually DO the things I was taught about spending and saving money. I feel better and will feel better, even if the economy doesn’t take a hard downward spriral like everyone is predicting.
I’m not spending as much, not becuase I can’t afford things but becuase I’d rather save the money at this point. Did anyone see this article:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/03/27/foodbank.family/index.html
I know there were a lot of complicating factors-single mom, etc. but at the same time it made me wonder how you could have so little saved for a crisis that in a matter of one month you could be at a food shelf. This is not to criticize the subject of the article, but making $70,000 a year you would think she could have saved a little more money than she evidently did. So with that in mind, I’m putting the new car on hold for a few more months to stash away some more cash, and if the economy keeps tanking, take advantage of great deals on a car when the people stop buying as many and the dealerships start lowering prices, or if it really heads south, to ensure I have enough money to survive a temporary crisis.
No. Shopping habits that were previously criticized now seem to be coming back in vogue. We’ll be at the thrift store tonight…donate old/shop new in one trip. Change #1: we are making is less travel this year relative to past 2-3 years. Change #2: not cutting back…but more closely monitoring restaurant spending.
Yo, I aint changing a thing.
I’m rich!!!
Yes to changed shopping habits. Saving to pay cash for the new Skyline GT-R when it comes out, wanted one in high school, glad it’s finally being released in the U.S. And I do think some of this worrying is just silly.
I read the article that was referenced, and I too cannot believe that at 70K you would be at a food bank in one month. I have to assume there were things to slash, ie) cable tv, extras with cell phones, etc. It is a great lesson for SAVE for an emergency fund, as you want to be worrying about the next job you need, not how will we have food, etc.
We’ve always saved from the top down (retirement, long term savings, short term savings, bills, spending money) so when know how much we have each month to spend on non-essetials and don’t worry about the day-2-day economic news from the media.
I read the article too, and know exactly why they ended up like that. They bought a house that was way more than they could afford at their income level. Interest only loan, too. She was paying 2500 a month for the mortage…just interest! On 70K a year that is insane…of course you’re going to end up in trouble if something happens. People underestimate the actual cost of owning a home. It’s not just the mortgage, insurance, and taxes, there are a lot of other costs involved.
While I agree that the referenced CNN article features someone who could have made better choices, you all do realize that Minneapolis is significantly less expensive to live in than Los Angeles/Altadena. Also, prior to the recent mortgage meltdown, CA prices were very bloated regardless the size house.
