Recession belt tightening & your personal spending priorities.

Me, I haven't used my credit card (apart from my monthly newspaper subscription deductions) since about last October. I'm very proud of myself! If I can't pay for it (what ever "it" is) I can't have it.

I had to renew both my house & car insurances recently. For the first time in ages I took the time to shop around for the best deal for both.

I'm buying fewer books & videos. Now's the time to make my way through what I've stock-piled over the past few years ... & use my local library.

I'm buying a second hand computer, rather than buying a new one on credit.

In a nutshell, I'm thinking a lot more before I spend. Do I really need that? (Whatever it is). This can involve small, everyday purchases to the "biggies". It's quite an interesting & novel experience, living within my means!

What about you?

Sadly, I must now avert my eyes & walk very quickly past shoe shop windows! (an area of real weakness, where I have often been known to lose my head! )

And indulgences of boxed sets of some television drama that sounds interesting ... No, no, no! (But it's hard! )

Interestingly, in the area of food, I am probably spending more, rather than less. I'm not quite sure how this happened. I'll enjoy regular little indulgences like good cheeses, good coffee beans, expensive cuts of meat ... & of course, no skinting on the cat's food! I guess, if I can't indulge myself in the big stuff, then I'll have the best on the smaller, less budget-breaking stuff.

Let's just say I'm trying.

We're getting off the credit wagon, too. Difficult at first, but ultimately very good for our financial health.

Also difficult for the economy at first, because I suspect that millions of other people are doing the same thing after being jacked around by their credit card companies.

little or no change to spending habits here.

we are fortunate enought to be about to payout a medium sized loan. (Last interest bill was .39 cents)
we are now looking forward to being able to spend a little.

To be honest this credit crunch thingy has been a godsend to us. Interest rates are at an all time low. Ruddbucks keep arriving in the mailbox. I have bought a new fridge and microwave. mumpad took herself to the bigsmoke for and saw a few shows (comedy festival)

so yeah its all good.

you can do it, Bunny!

Has this impacted greatly on your quality of life (the everyday things) DrewDad?

pay the credit cards every month, and use cards that offer bonuses, air mile points we can exchange for gift cards or store coupons, or a grocery card that exchanges points for groceries

Good for you, dp! (I know it was pretty tough going for a while there.)

I received my $900 Ruddbucks yesterday! (Stimulous package stuff, to those of you who don't live in Oz. $900 from the federal government.) I was so grateful - & surprised! I wasn't expecting it & I certainly needed it! Phew!

damn, we're getting a tax rebate thingy from our government, but not until next year, bastards

Will the tax rebate be based on tax paid, djjd, or will everyone get the same amount like in Oz? We've had department stores sales targetting all these "gifts" of $900 floating around the place! Pretty strange situation, really ...

the government is restructuring a sales tax, they're giving, a $1000 to families (paid over 3 payments) and $300 to single people (again paid over 3 payments), basically as a way to offset some of the changes

Ah, I see. Looks like our government has been very generous with its (borrowed) money!

Most definitely, we’ve changed. My husband has been out of work with no severance or unemployment because he was paid by commissions and his salary was based on a draw so we had to tighten things. We do have a good cushion of money put away (and fortunately with the majority in a savings vehicle) so we certainly can survive, but would like to use this money to buy a house " we currently own a condo and with two kids need a bit more room.

Some of things we have done:
Changed phone service to lower our monthly rates " also changed some additional perks we had on our phone service, cable and internet " just for the minimum services we need.
I’ve used a program offered from my kids’ school that on most of your every day purchases you get a percentage back to buy for school items (tuition, books, lunches, etc.) It is really neat " you “buy” a gift card for various stores, restaurants, movies, etc and you get a percentage back " I use this pretty much for my regular grocery shopping, gas, and places like Walmart and gift cards for what else, but gifts.
I use mygrocerydeals.com to find items on sale, print coupons and plan my shopping ahead of time.
We rarely go out to eat " when we do I use a gift card from above and often times my kids get free kids meals at restaurants for completing x number of minutes each month or reading from their school.
I get passes from the library to go to museums and other events.
I am looking and just signed up for a website called freecycle " people put things they want and/or donate in their area and it is all free.
I use coupons for almost everything. When I need to buy an item (especially a bigger ticket item), I do an internet search to see if I can find a coupon.

Big changes, Linkat.

No unemployment benefits. That's tough. I hope he finds work before too long.

I certainly can relate to the bargain hunting/finding the best price situation.
I have become a great bargainer, too! Surprisingly most traders are quite open to (polite) bargaining & will often give a discount.

Fortunately he has two interviews this week - he should be at one now as we type.

Then fingers crossed for him, Linkat! For both of you!

Off the credit wagon here, too. Cash or debit. I even opened a second checking account where I put money just for online purchases -- for security reasons. I buy the kids clothes at a consignment shop in the richie rich neighborhood. I don't buy myself clothes. We do Costco for the necessities like laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, kids lunch snacks, etc... with the coupons they provide it can be quite a savings. I don't drive at all on my work from home days. I walk to the grocery store and only buy what I can carry back. We canceled our great American vacation but will still do some camping in state parks on the cheap. The kids need new bikes so I scour craigslist and eBay for something used. Cut the cable, switched to Vonage, and debating whether to sell one car.

Tough times.

Exciting!

Good Luck Mr. L