Stuff you're cutting back on (due to the economy)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

One tip for those who find it hard to cook when they get home from work-
Try using a slow cooker (crock pot or other brands) more often. Good ones only cost about $25 these days, and last for many years.
It's a great way to eat more cheaply, easily, and more healthily.

You can literally just wash and roughly chop up a few vegetables in the morning, or even do the chopping the night before after dinner, and put the ingredients into a bag in the fridge overnight, and start the soup in the morning. Throw it in the crock pot with 6 or 8 cups of water and set it on low and go to work....come home to a wonderful aromatic hearty and healthy soup for very little money. Add a couple slices of crusty whole grain bread and you have a great meal plus leftovers. Also, the food can just stay warm in the pot if two people tend to come home at different times.

Some examples of things that can be thrown into the pot in pretty much any combination, chopped:

potatoes
yams
bok choy
spinach
carrots
celery
turnips or parsnips
eggplant
tomatoes
leeks
beets
cilantro or scallions
squash
green beans
kale
mushrooms
cabbage
onions
canned beans
dried small beans, lentils or split peas
barley
rice
small bits of chicken or cheap cuts of beef or ham if you like meat

There are a couple of good threads on TE already with slow cooker/crock pot recipes and advice.

[Jones]

This month, it's baking our own bread and eating out less.

Does this really save money? I have a bread machine that I have never used and am looking for motivation to use it. I keep thinking about baking bread but don't want to lay out the money for supplies if it isn't less expensive than store bought. I guess my question is, approximately how much does it cost to bake a loaf of bread?
Thanks,
Jones

[Blueberry]

Does this really save money? I have a bread machine that I have never used and am looking for motivation to use it. I keep thinking about baking bread but don't want to lay out the money for supplies if it isn't less expensive than store bought. I guess my question is, approximately how much does it cost to bake a loaf of bread?
Thanks,
Jones

It depends on the recipe. Lots of colorful grains = more expensive. I can bake a loaf of basic white bread for less than $1.50 probably (factoring in something for electricity).

But I'm spoiled - we have an awesome local bakery I'm trying to support!

CA

[Veronica]

I'm very thankful that neither of us has to worry about our jobs. We seldom go out to eat as it is. I'm too good of a cook yes really, and I have the time. We've been working towards "early retirement" for awhile. What that translates into is a lower paying, but local job for Thom (no more 90 minute commute each way) and a job share for me. So every purchase for a few years has been, "Do we really need this?" One of my coworkers has told me that I HAVE to buy some new clothes. I've lost enough inches that a lot of my pants just hang off my hips. But I'm not ready to invest in some new stuff yet.

We're actually thinking about making some big purchases. We really want to get a Sprinter van and convert it into a camper sort of thing - mostly shower and head. I'm at events (biking or triathlon) generally at least two weekends a month. And those two things would be REALLY nice. It would be good to have when Thom is doing SAG on rides as well, a vehicle that can really take 4 people and 4 bikes. And summers... well in 2005 and 2007 we spent the summer traveling. We want to do that a lot more.

Interest rates are coming down too, so we're thinking about refinancing our mortgage. We've been very lucky with the decisions and jobs we've taken. Last December Thom had three job offers and I'm really glad he picked the one he did. I lose enough sleep worrying about my students. Lack of job security would probably send me over the edge.

Veronica

[maillotpois]

We've definitely cut back on going out to dinner. We used to go out several times a week. Now it is maybe 1 - 2 times a month (this month being sort of an exception because of birthdays, etc.).

We also canceled plans to go to France/Italy this summer (and received a nice refund check of our deposit from Backroads. ).

[TrekJeni]

I picked up mystery shopping a little more than a year go. I "work" for several different companies and get to pick my own jobs and hours. When I first started, I signed up for EVERYTHING and got burnt out pretty quickly writing narratives until 2 in the morning and then having to get up in the morning for my regular 40 hour a week job.

Now I'm much more selective. I mostly do restaurants now. Geoff and I hardly go out to eat unless I'm getting paid to do so and even then, it's about four times a month.

This month I picked up a few more shops as they were heavily bonused (extra money due to looming end of the month deadlines). I have two Lenscrafters shops tomorrow along with a Sephora beauty shop. Last night, Geoff and I ate a nice meal downtown. Many restaurant shops require an alcoholic purchase as you have to evaluate the bar too.

Who have I shopped? Outback, Lonestar, BW3's, Tumbleweed, Amor de Brazil (that one was $140 worth of food), several $$$ upscale dining shops, Panera, Mc'Ds, Hofbrauhus, Papa Johns, etc.

I also have shopped every cell phone carrier known to man, Sunglass Hut, American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger, J. Jill, Talbots, Charlotte Russe, and on and on.....

With mystery shopping, one really needs to like writing narratives. There's a lot of writing involved!

[Meaux]

I made some Christmas presents and started shopping a little earlier, so it wouldn't be such a strain when we were coming up to Christmas. We eat out less and we've been trying to really watch the rest of our frivolous spending. We've been pretty okay in terms of job security, but inflation is killing me.

[northstar]

Well, the timing of the crash of the economy coincided with our baby girl being born and me starting work as a stay at home mom...so we're already cutting down on driving and eating out, since the baby hates both! Hubby has learned to drink black coffee so he doesn't spend $5 every morning. And we're also refinancing our house.

We are still saving for my next bike for this spring, though.

[msincredible]

We are in the process of buying a house, so soon we will be cutting back on rent and taxes.

For real, though, we are cutting back on dining out, my groceries are cheap, I'm waxing at home instead of going to a salon, buying less books/CDs (or buying them used at goodwill), and did most of our Christmas shopping with credit card reward certificates/gift cards.

[Irulan]

local job for Thom (no more 90 minute commute each way)

gah, I'm trying to get my head around a 90 minute each way commute being "local"!!!

We make our last house payment 01/01/09. Then we are putting towards some home renovations: we always pay cash for those and for everything I guess. We are eating out less. We've lived pretty frugally - I've never been much of a shopper, and always been a library fanatic as I've never seen the sense in buying a book that's not reference. We are still rethinking some things as both our boys are now in school so the grocery bill is 1/3 of what it was when they are home. But it's weird to look at where to cut back when we've always been frugal.

[Veronica]

I guess I didn't phrase it well. Our retirement plan is a local job, so he won't have the 90 minute commute into the city. That's all still a few years away though.

Veronica

[Irulan]

oops sorry I had read that initially as "no more THAN a 90 minute commute"...
sorry sorry!!

[shootingstar]

We actually are slippin' into a questionable habit of eating out abit more often. And plan to do more maybe on this Mon. night...depending on what happens during that day.

When it's winter, I actually get more lazy..I stay on the transit train more often instead of stopping off for a Starbuck's coffee. That saving probably gets negated by eating abit more 'cause I'm indoors more often.

We already are frugal in our grocery shopping and have been since we moved to this city.

[Crankin]

Well, we canceled plans to go to Italy this summer for our 30th anniversary, which is next December. We will go in 2010. This past summer we only did 3 four day vacations, all except one in MA. The fourth was in NH and that was paid for by my husband's company. The bike tour we did was camping; while I like camping, I found out that I don't like it combined with challenging riding every day. We might do a tour in NY state this summer, which is about 3/4 the cost of the Italian tour, but there is also no airfare involved and we can bring our own bikes.
I think we are probably going out to eat less. Maybe once during the week and once during the weekend. I do grab some cheap Mexican or other ethnic food when I am in Cambridge for my classes once or twice a week. But, I take a specific amount of money out on Monday and if it's gone, I bring my food.
I've probably cut down on buying regular clothes, since I am not working. But, I have spent some on "wool weenie" purchases, but nothing crazy.
Most of my social life revolves around outdoor activities, which are mostly free (except when we go to a ski touring center) and going out to eat. We go to the movies like once a year and get the Netflix 2 movies a month plan. I always go to the library for books. We have a theatre subscription (7 plays) at the Huntington Theatre in Boston. We could give this up but when it comes up for payment in the spring, though I am pretty sure we won't, unless something has happened. What will make or break some things for us is my husband's quarterly bonus. It's a lot of money, which we usually use for big home expenses (like our new roof) or paying off something. Somehow, we never get to save all of it. If it is significantly reduced, then more things will change.

[Selkie]

DH and I are counting our blessings (stable, recession-proof jobs), but we are cutting back severely on discretionary purchases. We are limiting strictly our credit card use, too. Cash whenever feasible. Christmas this year will be greatly reduced in regards to gifts, but I think that is probably a good change...