Do you use any alternative in this recession period?

Well my husband in a sense lost his job. He didn't really lose his job - just his salary - they will now only pay him commission. Of course, I have been (and to a degree) and still worried about the potential to lose mine.

We haven't found or seeked out another source of income - other than my husband sending out resumes. But when things were starting to get bad, we put money away (for a rainy day or laid off day). We also found ways to save money. We have stopped sending the kids to aftercare program at school - even though hubby is still working for the company to try to get as much commission as possible - he works from home and has the kids do homework and play while he works.

We changed phone companies, we looked into saving on tuition through a program at my kids' school. We get museum passes from the library. We find other forms of entertainment - playing games at home, going for walks and hikes and picnics (depending on weather). Before purchasing items (especially bigger priced items) we do a search to see if there are any coupons or discounts.

Same here Linkat - I started working part-time, and could go full time if I needed to. I am a coupon clipper and sales scavenger so that helps tremendously with groceries. We have started cutting back on our outings as well - not eating out as much, not going to movies as much...saving as much as we can. We have also taken into account there are several services we can cut way back on - things we enjoy now but don't absolutely have to have - if we need to we can cut them out. We just have to ask ourselves quite often - "Is this something we can do without?" I haven't had a dishwasher in 6 months. And it really is not that bad. I just wash as we mess up. I always hated loading and unloading the dishwasher anyway.

I also starch and iron my husbands shirts myself...this saves around $30 a month...not a lot...but it certainly helps.

Our dryer quit a few weeks ago so instead of buying a new which was what we would have done a couple of years ago - we did some research...took several parts to a store to have them tested and found that it was just the heating element....it cost $78 for the part and my husband and Father-in-law put it in. So we got by quite cheaply.

Chai told me how to work rebates and I have started trying that. I am interested to see how well it works for me...it is not easy - but it may well be worth the effort.

I have also started having garage sales twice a year. Had one in the fall - am having another in a couple of weeks. Our neighborhood association pays to have a "neighborhood garage sale". They advertise in the paper and so we don't have to. It is not hard to clean out the house and find things we no longer need and set them up in the garage. I don't put any money into it and anything we don't sell we can give away to a charity and use the receipt for a tax deduction. And it helps keep the clutter down.


Sorry to hear about your husband losing the salary Linkat...I know that is worrisome...glad he still has the comission though.

Thanks - well he hasn't gotten any commission yet this year (bummer). But fortunately for us my job is what pays for the health and other benefits. We are also fortunate in that we were able to sack away a big bonus I got last year (to do with relocation - even though in the end, I ended up not relocating).

Although I haven't given up my morning coffee - my husband and I discussed starting making it at home instead - many of these things just takes additional planning and a bit more time.

heh - thanks for the mention mismi.

re rebates, I just discovered yesterday how to do them online with walgreens. A lot easier as you can just enter your receipt number as you buy stuff, and click send when you've bought everything you want for the month. So, no more saving receipts or keeping items off to the side until you're ready to do fill in your form.

Me?
They recently opened a Newflower Market (check out their website) in town, and I would basically describe it as a "no frills Whole Foods" They concentrate on their produce area, and have amazingly low prices on fresh fruit and veggies. Also weekly specials like boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.49/lb., or london broil for $1.87/lb.
I bought a bunch of the chicken, cooked them, and froze air tight in ziplocks (little trick, stick a drinking straw in one side of the bag, close the zipper until it's right up to the straw, suck as much air out as you can, and quickly close the bag - don't try this with raw chicken ) I'll defrost them for a quick stir fry, chicken salad, etc.

Also, I'll clip 2 for 1 coupons for dinners at local restaurants, or what I call "quasi-fast food", meaning good nutritious food you don't have to wait for. Like Boston Market, Taco Cabana, etc. Sometimes at Boston Market if you buy a family meal, you can get an extra whole roasted chicken for $2. At actual sit down restaurants I have a 2 for 1 for, I call them and order when I'm leaving the office, pick it up, and head home to eat it there.


I'm going to plant tomato, okra and cucumbers this weekend.

Re clothing for work, I really like Stein Mart where you can get some great deals.
Just something I realized this weekend....I have a hard time finding tops that really fit and flatter. I'm a teensy bit too big for an extra large, but if I put on a 1X in a womans size, I'm absolutely swimming in it. This weekend I sat down and hand stitched in the side seams of some blouses I got really cheap, but liked the style. Maybe I didn't do a haute couture sewing job, but now they fit much better, makes me look better, and I'll get a lot more use out of them.

An aside....why do they make womens sizes as if you were shaped like a beach ball? The way they are set up, in order to go from an extra large to an 1X, you'd have to gain at least 20 pounds.
I've got the same shape I've always had, just a little larger.

Back on subject, I guess I'm realizing I'm capable of doing a lot of things myself, at not much effort as paying for it.

We switched to vonage and eliminated all cable tv except basic. No after care for the kids. I'm packing my lunch most days. Thinking about selling one car but not sure yet if it's doable. I am worried about layoffs and I'm afraid that if I sell the car before I get another job that I'll be limited as to what jobs I could take. We don't go out much, and I stopped buying new clothes for the kids (won't even go into clothes for myself) as there are some great second hand shops around here. We still need a vacation, so for spring break we rented a house on the beach to share with several siblings and their families, making it cheaper for all of us.

I just thought about something else - we are probably going to have to forget about the summer membership to the pool - I'll have to ask the Prof. about this. We would be miserable without it- but maybe we can find something less expensive than the country club. They have a summer membership for just the pool which is quite affordable in our normal circumstances - but things being as they are it may not be wise - and it is not so crowded. I love that about it...the Y is packed with kids - it's so hard to keep up with mine when all the little heads are shaved and look just alike!

We were just talking about canceling the Y membership the other day but decided we would need the pool in the summer. Piedmont Park is opening their new pool this summer, though, and might be a cheaper alternative. I've taken to walking with the ladies in the neighborhood in the morning so I don't use the work out facilities anyway. Hubby is the only one that still uses it, so maybe we could convert it to an individual membership.

Funny - we just re-enlisted with the Y as an inexpensive alternative to other forms of entertainment (and bonus of keeping us in shape). The kids can go to the pool year round - we have two different Ys we can use our membership in - one has an outdoor center with 3 pools to use in the summer (instead of paying beach priced parking) and a great indoor pool with a slide.

While the kids swim, we take turns working out. Many families in our school have gotten membership to the Y too - many used to have a membership to a much more expensive health club so we have lots of friends to meet up with.

I guess things have changed.

I looked into the Y a long time ago, but for an individual it was too expensive. It only made sense cost wise if the entire family joined.

With no kids, it wasn't worth it.

ah...

here's the rates to join the Y in Austin

Men's and Women's Individual rates are $55/month. An Individual Membership is defined as a membership for one person 16 years of age or older.

A one-Adult Family Membership is $65/month. This membership includes one adult and all children under 23 years in the same household.

A Couple Membership is $70/month. This membership type includes two adults of the same household.

A Family Membership is $75/month. This membership is defined as two adults and all children under 23 years of age in the same household.

We pay $82 a month for the family. It used to be $75 but it has gone up. It's still a bargain, but we don't use it as much as we used to.