So how are you negotiating the economic freefall?

[quote name='dmaul1114']The essentials are obviously food, shelter and clothing--and we all probably have more than we need of the latter.

You make cut backs everywhere else. If you don't have disposable income, you don't spend money on anything but rent, food and necessary utilities.

Stop buying games, dvds, cds etc. Quit eating out, it's cheaper to buy food and cook for yourself. Stop buying alcohol. Get rid of cable TV/satellite. Get rid of high speed internet if you have to. Use coupons as the other person suggested.[/QUOTE]I have cut back on many things, but there's no way I'd ever cut off high speed internet. I BADLY need high speed internet since playing games online is very important to me, along with having lengthy AIM/MSN conversations with friends, and so on. It may be silly to most, but it has become a necessity for me. I can easily understand cutting back on games though. I don't have much $$$ like I said and still buy a little bit too many games. Thankfully I don't have to pay for gas on my car (I never drive it), so these prices increasing aren't affecting me.

[quote name='Mr. Anderson']This thread rocks, thanks for that link jaykrue. My contribution is don't blow 600 bucks on drugs in two weeks time. I've sold almost all of my Xbox 360 shit for coke, and it does not feel good.[/QUOTE]Ouch, kind of glad I never went down that path, but I understand it isn't easy.
 
Well, I'm carpooling for the first time...because my best friend at work moved closer to me, more than anything. But I am also not going out and buying everything the first week...Besides NGII. Also, when I am cooking at home, I am making enough so that my wife and I have leftovers for lunch if desired. Finally spending more time at home just doing fun stuff with the family helps too...and my 100+ game backlog.

Now if I could only convince Mrs. Number83 that she does not need to go out and attempt to single-handedly jump start the economy...
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Ok, Lund's is a bit overpriced ($26 for maraschino cherries in a Dutch-style painted ceramic jar? Really?), but Rainbow is the fuckin' jam, man. They have tons of whole/bulk foods, raw foods, loose teas and coffees. They aren't cheap, but they aren't expensive for what they offer.

If you cook your food, a place like Rainbow is phenomenal. If you microwave your "Hungry-Man" dinners, then, perhaps Wally World works for you. To be fair, though, I have seen somewhat reasonable-looking produce in Wal-Mart before.
[/quote]
When I moved back up to the Twin Cities to go to school, my first grocery shopping trip was at a Rainbow. My mom used to go to Rainbow for all her grocery shopping when I was a kid (Ages 0 to 17), and I always liked the place.

But my god, this Rainbow was expensive. Now, I can certainly see how, if you're looking to buy the things you mentioned, it can be moderately cheap. But for the stuff I buy, it was just out of control. A bag of frozen chicken breasts at Rainbow was like $9. At Wal-Mart, $6. Of course, I should probably mention that this Rainbow was in the suburbs of St. Paul, and the Wal-Mart Supercenter I buy my groceries at is in Rochester, MN. Quite the difference. Frozen pizzas (blah blah blah, eat real pizza, yeah we get it) at Rainbow were like $5 a piece. $3 at Wal-Mart. Even basic shit like Pasta Roni, at Rainbow it was $1.79, at Wal-Mart, $1. For someone with an incredibly tight budget now because of gas prices (I work on weekends and it's a 75 mile drive from weekday home to weekend work, then a 45 minute drive from weekend work to weekend home, which equates to a hell of a lot of gas spent), Wal-Mart, purely for food, is huge for me.

And maybe Minnesota is just so much better than everywhere else, because the 2 Wal-Mart's I frequent are perfectly fine stores. Sure, there might be some "mouth-breathers" walking around, but I would rather save myself $10 per grocery trip and deal with them.
 
Yeah I guess we have decent Wal-Marts around here too. Granted there is one that is always over-packed and the majority of the visitors are foreign so it's not exactly up to American etiquette standards, but it's not this OMG MOST TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE EVER like others are saying. Wal-Mart food shopping will never beat a surplus grocery store (or heck even it's counterpart Sam's Club) but will almost always trump regular supermarkets.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']$10 gas won't happen, it would kill the global economy.[/quote]

$10 gas won't happen because before it WOULD happen, all the foreign countries would start trading oil in Euros (Which is, FYI, the primary reason the US government is mad at Iran -- they want to stop trading in USD).

Currently, what is really propping up the USD is the fact that in most of the world oil is still traded in USDs.. if the USD spirals out of control, so do fuel costs for anyone using the USD. If ever the USD isn't tied to oil, I foresee the currency going into a free fall, killing the US economy, and paving the way for the Amero/North American Union.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']And Columbus is swank - Detroit, OTOH, is the filthiest place I've ever fucking been to. It's like living in "Robocop."[/quote]

:rofl:LMAO!
 
[quote name='mykevermin'] But, hey, I'm goin' rural here in a month or so, moving to Athens, OH. Guess I'll be going to C-bus for fun whether I like it or not.[/QUOTE]
You gonna be at Ohio University, good sir? I hear the parties are fun. :lol:
 
[quote name='mykevermin']
And Columbus is swank - Detroit, OTOH, is the filthiest place I've ever fucking been to. It's like living in "Robocop." But, hey, I'm goin' rural here in a month or so, moving to Athens, OH. Guess I'll be going to C-bus for fun whether I like it or not.[/QUOTE]

I went to OU for a semester, and got the hell out because I hated Athens so much. There's nothing convenient or interesting about it; it's one of those places you'd stay for two days to go hiking only to be relieved when you finally head home.

This is coming from a guy who is from Springfield, the 80,000 person+ city that operates like a shit-ass rural township.


I'd move to Columbus for a while if I could, just while I'm looking for federal employment. I'm going ass-nuts here.
 
[quote name='Kayden']The problem with buying cheaper foods is that they're cheaper for a reason. They're very high in sodium, sugars and HFCS. I think the 10 cents you save on that box of X is probably going to cost you 12 cents in health care for your bigger ass and harder arteries.[/quote]

Not necessarily. An extremely large portion of that price difference goes straight into the advertising budget for those name-brands.

[quote name='The Mana Knight']I have cut back on many things, but there's no way I'd ever cut off high speed internet. I BADLY need high speed internet since playing games online is very important to me, along with having lengthy AIM/MSN conversations with friends, and so on. It may be silly to most, but it has become a necessity for me. I can easily understand cutting back on games though. I don't have much $$$ like I said and still buy a little bit too many games. Thankfully I don't have to pay for gas on my car (I never drive it), so these prices increasing aren't affecting me.
Exactly. If anyone's seen the Tourette's Guy sketch at the supermarket where he doesn't have enough cash to cover his purchase and the clerk suggests putting back the beer...my reaction would be quite similar to the suggestion of no internet. Although I could go without the distraction...

And I'm absolutely certain I've got a backlog so big I could go an entire year without buying a single game or DVD if it came down to it, lol.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']My god you people must either think so highly of yourselves that your shit doesn't stink, or go to Wal Marts in the most ghetto cities in the country. There are 2 Wal Mart Supercenters in the town I work at, and they are perfectly clean stores, and I almost never have to wait in line as long as some of you people are claiming you have to.
[/QUOTE]

It's location. The Wal-marts around my parent's are ok. Lines are long sometimes, but most of them are at least clean and well organized.

But here in the DC/Baltimore area all the Wal-marts I've been to are dirty, smaller, disorganzied, always have huge lines, full of ghetto/welfare shoppers etc. It's so bad here that I don't bother shopping there and pay more at Target and other places to avoid the headache.

[quote name='The Mana Knight']I have cut back on many things, but there's no way I'd ever cut off high speed internet. I BADLY need high speed internet since playing games online is very important to me, along with having lengthy AIM/MSN conversations with friends, and so on. It may be silly to most, but it has become a necessity for me. I can easily understand cutting back on games though. I don't have much $$$ like I said and still buy a little bit too many games. Thankfully I don't have to pay for gas on my car (I never drive it), so these prices increasing aren't affecting me.
[/QUOTE]

Like I said, people have to prioritize how to spend their disposable income. Internet's important to you, others could ditch it without too much pain.

[quote name='daroga']Pretty much not falling for the overblown hype about how grave everything is helps a lot. When you realize the problem is minor most places in the country, and you just realize that you just need to budget a little bit more for gas, it's all ok. :)[/QUOTE]

Exactly. It's not the end of the world for most people. Yeah, if you've got a wife and kids and crappy jobs and were already living paycheck to paycheck then it really sucks.

But most people have some level of disposable income that they can just rebudget to cover rising gas and utility costs. You just have to realize you have to give up/cut back spending on luxuries, hobbies etc. to account for increaes in cost of living.
 
My 3 mile round-trip commute certainly helps with economic woes. Filling up for an extra $10 (or even $20) every two weeks or so isn't a bank-breaker. And God knows I've done my part to pick up the economic slack for all you fools after buying a house. Refrigerators, washing machines, lawn mowers and the like ain't gonna buy themselves.
 
I'm fiscally responsible so thankfully all this shit isn't affecting me too much - it is highly annoying filling up the tank though.
 
[quote name='scsg75']I do all my grocery shopping at warehouse discount type stores. Winco, for example in this town. Every city has these types of food places.[/QUOTE]

I'll second Winco. I got one near me as well. I moved up here from the bay area 2 years ago and was used to shopping at Safeway/Albertsons (which I still do here and there) but Winco saves me a lot of moola. Finding a store like that in your area (like food 4 less or whatnot where you end up bagging your own stuff) can save you a good amount of change. I'll also second the idea of making only one trip a week to pick up groceries or whatnot. Pick a day that you will be out an about or even do it on the way home from work. Coupons are huge and a given and will save you a good amount if you know where/how to get them. Newspapers, mailing lists, etc. are all ways I get mine. Costco (or another seller of bulk items) is great and you should check with family/friends to see if anyone would want to go in on a membership with you. If you are really strapped for cash but can live without gaming... you may want to see if you have a friend/relative in the same boat and possibly go in on a GameFly membership. Get the two games out at a time plan, split it, and you each get a game of your choice that you can swap whenever. That might save you from spending 60+ every week. Last bit of advice is to not eat fast food at all... or maybe once every couple of weeks. That stuff adds up and you can save a lot by buying from a supermarket and cooking it yourself, plus you will be healthier on top of that!
 
I'm moving closer to work and cutting my CD spending to one every two weeks or so.

I'm also going to try not going to so many concerts.
 
I still live with my family but I try to help our household save as much as possible. Sit down and figure out things you aren't using, we cut our long distance phone out and are saving 15$ a month because we simply don't use it anymore.

An internet connection is well worth the money, I would cut cable out first and just go with the internet because you can see most stuff that is on cable on the internet for free. I listen to free internet radio, so that means I don't have to buy music. Also, I can't just listen to the radio because I listen to japanese music and there isn't a local station that carries that type of music.

Groceries are not too bad where I am and some things are actually going down in price like milk and eggs. Some store brand foods are just repackaged brand names anyways. Buy store brand foods. We don't have many of the grocery stores I hear talked about on the net but we do have Aldi. What I have noticed with food prices is that only brand names seem to be going up, I don't see the bread, milk and eggs at aldi going up at all (or other store brands), they are holding steady. The gap between store brand and brand name prices is getting larger and larger, so its more worth it now to purchase a store brand, its not just a 10 cent difference anymore its sometimes a 1-3$ savings per item. If grocery stores here think I am paying over 3$ a box for club crackers when I can get perfectly good crackers at aldi for 1.19 a box they are on crack (no pun intended). I can also save 8-10$ per week just by sending for mail in coupons from the internet and printing coupons, of course I only print the worthwhile coupons since ink is expensive. But I buy remanufactured ink which costs less than brand name and is of the same quality. I find that the ink cost is very minimal and some companies will mail you coupons so you don't have to print. My internet connection probably pays for itself every month just from doing this (not to mention all the other ways I save money using the internet).

I don't own a next gen console so video game costs have become very minimal for me and the only thing I will really spend for are the pokemon RPG games, which come out infrequently so this is not a big deal. My newest systems are the PSP and DS and games for both systems come very cheaply I find, provided you wait for price drops and take advantage of clearance sales. I don't care about going to see movies, because with 10$ movie tickets here per person I could probably purchase the DVD used on ebay or on sale for much, much less. Or better yet get it from the library for free!

Also, take advantage of the local library. No need to pay for books, music, movies and other entertainment when its all available for free. Don't forget when you have access to a library you also have access to many other libraries in your district through interlibrary loans, so chances are if your library doesn't have the item your looking for you can search for it in the catalog or ask a librarian for help and they can get it sent to your library for pick up. The library here rents out everything from audio books, books, dvd's, vhs, cd's, cassettes and even PS2 video games all for free! Also you should support your local library because if not enough people use the library it will close, and that is bad.
 
I eliminated 1 meal out of my day so I'm down to 2 meals...... it also has helped my weight.

I haven't bought a game in about 3 months......

I don't go out to eat anymore.......and if I do, it's to Subway for the $5 subs....

I limit myself to $20 in groceries per week....... Walmart baby.....

I haven't had a haircut in 4 months........
 
When you grow up in an Italian household, you learn to cook yourself a meal. ;)

And oh yeah, I live in Jersey, which is awesome for public transportation. :D
 
I drive slower on the freeway and that's about it. I already live pretty frugally so there's not much I can cut. I don't like to go out or buy a bunch of crap like many people. I suppose I could start buying cheaper groceries but that seems like it would cause health problems later on in life. I don't buy as many games any more although that has more to do with me slowly losing interest then the economy.
 
I don't bother with trying to save money or drive slow (boring). Of course, I still live at home, but that's only because I'm still (barely) in high school. I have like a week left and I'm done. Next Fall I'll be living at the University of Washington dorms, so I can just walk everywhere if I want to.
 
I live like I always do, surviving one day at a time. I usually do without the A/C unless it's 100 plus which doesn't happen now since I'm in Alaska. I shop a lot at Costco since food prices up here are sky high and I rarely ate out in the first place, just need to cut back on wasteful spending like dvds and cds. Need to find a job though, and get ready for college.

The walmarts here are nicer than the ones in California I been to, but I think the main reason why Walmart always seem so dirty and cluster is they fill up the damn asles with islands of products so there isn't much room to navigate.
 
TIP: stay off this website!!!!!!!!!!!!! No seriously, you know how much more money I would have if I didn't find deals for games, movies, etc. on here that I just seem to have to jump on
 
[quote name='shadowkast']TIP: stay off this website!!!!!!!!!!!!! No seriously, you know how much more money I would have if I didn't find deals for games, movies, etc. on here that I just seem to have to jump on[/quote]
Thats crazy talk!
 
Probably the worst bit of advice here. What is the point of life if you're not going to have fun? Living merely to survive is like jerking off to keep your hand full. You're kinda missing the point to the whole deal.

[quote name='shadowkast']TIP: stay off this website!!!!!!!!!!!!! No seriously, you know how much more money I would have if I didn't find deals for games, movies, etc. on here that I just seem to have to jump on[/quote]
 
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