If the need would arise, what's the first thing you'd give up to save money for the household? I've thought this over and I'm pretty sure that the first thing to go would be the cable. I rarely watch television and I could get news and weather on the 'net. Anyone else?
It's easiest for us to cut back on food. That way, we don't gain weight while indulging our pleasures.
I don't think we have much left that we can afford to give up. I buy clothing less often but we have to have the internet access because I work online some, and we need that money for bills. In pinch we might drop back to basic cable tv, but then we'd probably end up spending the savings from that on DVD's!
I agree that's a good place to start, SageMother. It sure is more difficult than it would have been before food prices got so ridiculously high, though. Places like Aldi and Save-A-Lot help with certain food items.
I would stop reliance on buying food that I could make so much more cheaply if I do it from scratch. It's amazing how cheaply you can make something if you but find a recipe and refer to it. I love to cook, but I have gotten bad habits lately.
I've noticed a lot of little gardens popping up around the neighborhood. It looks like a lot of people are cutting back on purchasing things they can grow themselves!
Unfortunately the same has happened to me over the last few years. Things I used to make from scratch suddenly became much easier to just buy pre-packaged in all their processed glory. So yeah, I'm working on that one, too.
A couple of days ago I was chopping onion, tomatoes and garlic when the realization hit me that I REALLY was enjoying what I was doing.
I've always loved cooking... it's just that it got "too easy" over the last few years. My biggest bugaboo is side dishes. When I make homemade stuffing or fried potatoes or mac and cheese, it's soooo much better than processed but takes an hour vs. 15 minutes. I just have to free up more hours.
