Cutting back on?

[Aggie_Ama]

Not eating out very often, especially since our state legislature did not pass the no-smoking in restaurants bill.

YUCK!! Ours is done at a local level and we do not go to the towns where we have to chose smoking or non. It is 6 miles to a Chili's with a smoking section but 15 to the one that is completely non-smoking. We only eat Chili's every 3 or so months and you can bet we drive to the non-smoking one.

What I hate is patio dining is still smoking in Austin and my local town. Hello when I am down wind I still have to breath that crud and I do not like it!!

[beccaB]

I think it was Montana that we traveled to and found a state law baning smoking in restaurants. I think it would be nice to move there! Any excuse will do!
Seriously, if I'm going to spend very hard earned money, I want to enjoy the night out. To have a nice restaurant meal with drinks and dessert can cost nearly $100 including tip. I don't want to breathe cigarette smoke. Non-smoking sections do not work.

[ridebikeme]

In Maine, it is a law that every public building is smoke free. In fact, they also just passed a law where you are not able to smoke in a vehicle where children are present.It seems that it would be common sense , but I quess for some it isn't. Now if we could only stop pregnant women from smoking!

[Tri Girl]

Good for everyone for cutting back so much. Every little bit helps!
It's state law that you cannot smoke in restaurants here anymore (unless it's a restaurant where most of the profit comes from the sale of alcohol rather than food). I love not having to sit in the non-smoking section that is usually right next to the smoking section anyway. On vacation this summer I loathed eating in restaurants that still had smoking and non-smoking sections.

We've cut back, but honestly not too much. DH won't let the cable go for anything (it's his downtime after his very stressful days at work- that and running or cycling). We could get rid of the landline- we only use that to answer phone calls from politicians or people begging for money.

I want to cut my car usage to almost zero, but with a job 26 miles away, that won't happen until the end of the school year when I can find a job within 10 miles of home. When I find a closer job- the car is going silent.

I run all errands within 2 miles by bike (and all my errands are almost always within 2 miles).
Oh yeah, and I only buy clothes at second hand consignment stores or thrift stores, but that has more to do with me trying to live more green than trying to save money.

[Karma007]

Brown baggin' it! Cut out movie channels, land line, and avoid driving. I drink my share of beer, but I buy watered down light american beer. Only eat out once a week, and have cut back on magazine subscriptions.

Oh! And left my husband to move in with boyfriend (tee-hee, is that downsizing? It's certainly an upgrade!)

[ginny]

Downsizing.... well I moved to a new town and a new job... I drive only to see the horse (and only in the winter). Unfortunately, with the soft economy, the mortgage won't go away any time soon with the old house, but turning off the phone and internet saves a ton as does having only minimal electricity to show the house. The bf pays his own mortgage and I'm a squatter . As I haven't quite settled in yet, it feels like we are eating out more (or is that something to do with living in town? - I have lived 35 miles from town for six years!). I think I calculated the savings from elect and phone at $120/mo! Good grief! The horse is boarded now (used to keep them at home), but with the savings on gas, I am making money on that deal! - if I could sell the hay I bought for the winter when I wasn't sure of my future, I would be golden! - I'd be even more golden if I could actually sell my house! ...anybody want a nice log cabin in the rockies with views to die for and a phenomenal porch?

[spokewench]

I'm one of those people that hasn't cut back too much; since I was already trying to be frugal. During the Summer, I do almost all my around town driving on my scooter (90 some miles per gallon); or on my bike. If I plan to drive my car (especially in the winter), I try to consolidate my trips so I'm not driving around for no reason and wasting gas.

We burn wood as a supplement to our heater at the house; so the heater is turned down at night, we burn wood while we are home in the evenings; burn wood in the mornings while hubby is still home and then turn the heater down during the day. Turn all lights off when not in use, etc; etc. We do not need airconditioning in the summer since we live in the mountains.

I have become more consistent about buying groceries when there is a great deal; and not buying something if it is not on sale that week. I am now cutting coupons and using those as well. I do not buy flowers or extra things like that any more at the grocery so I have cut down on what I will buy at the grocery.

For the last few years, when we are on a trip to Phoenix or Tucson to visit family, I stock up on Chuck Shaw Wine (or its equivalent) $2.99 a bottle in Arizona so my wine is cheap, but tasty.

I mostly buy my books at the second hand store (used book store) and I've never been a big clothes buyer so I still just buy things if I really need something.

My hubby is handy so he does a lot of our big chores around the house; and I like to cook so we don't eat out a lot. We probably eat out a little less than we did a few years ago now.

That's about it.

[tulip]

There are some things I refuse to cut back on--Life's worth living, afterall!

My kitchen renovation--I could have gone with stock cabinets, but I'm going with custom bamboo. Same for the counter--no laminate for me! I got all nice appliances, but I did get them at the Sears Outlet for half price...

My tea--organic Darjeeling mostly. And travel to see my beau most weekends. And of course, the new dog. That's going to add to my monthly budget (not to mention the crate, the dogbed, the toys, leash...)

[Karma007]

Dogs aren't an expense! They are life sustaining, like air and water!

[shootingstar]

Next yr. I will have to cut back on vacation/getaway expenses. We booked our Christmas getaway (Jasper) before the economy started to take a serious nosedive in Canada.

My hairstylist's rates are gettin' high...but it is a pain for me to find another...it takes me 2-3 different places since I am fussy (and I want a precision accurate haircut, straight hair shows every uneven/off kilter cut line) and have certain preferences (including understanding my cycling and helmet hairstyle resilency. ) But once, I find someone who is expert, I stick with her for several years.

We already buy certain veggies and fruits from the discounted bin at the market....if we know we will eat them up same or next day. For past 12 months, I've been buying more dried Asian noodles --it's cheaper and less fattening/starchy compared to the dried Italian-style noodles. 'Course I continue to buy certain fresh veggies from Chinatown because it is often cheaper.

I wish I could claim that I use a public library more often but I still buy books ...about 1 every 1-2 months or less often. But need to cut down this too.

We will go to the movie theatre ...next month...for the first time ....in um....3 years. Gift movie tickets were given to us. Admittedly I find a movie ticket even on discounted day, is expensive now and eventually the good movies...do make it to TV...maybe a year later or so. I can wait especially for dopey me who no longer keeps on top of the latest and newest movies released at the theatres. I gave up following the movie developments years ago, when alot of it just isn't worth gettin' excited. I also have the excuse in during cycling seasons, I'm out on the bike and doin' other stuff.