What would you give up?

[Homesteadmom]

Not 100% sure this goes in this category so feel free to move it to the appropriate place if not.


Okay, if our econonmy does take a horrible nosedive or crashes completely, what would you be willing to give up the easiest?

I have 3 off the top of my head:

1: cell phones

2: satelite TV

3: netflix package

Not necessarily in this order either. I think I would want to keep my internet as it only costs us $15/mo & I would have access to news & info that I could not get off local channels(antenae tv). By giving up those 3 we would gain at least another tank full of diesel for dh's truck so he could get to work everyday.

Thought of another I could give up the organic feed for my chickens & there would be gas for my van too, or to buy the food we can't produce for ourselves.

 

[roosmom]

You know that is funny, I was just thinking that. I am already at the floor now. If I had to, sorry folks, but the internet would have to go. the full coverage insurance on our vehicles would go. I already got rid of my long distance, we never go out to eat. I honestly cannot think of anything else. Well, I would give up my husbands smoking ROTFL.

 

[countrymama]

My husband and I talked about this very thing this morning. We would cut out our satelite t.v., no extra goodies at the grocery store, and cell phones if it got real bad. We also are putting off purchasing any extra items that are not essentials untill we know what is gonna go down with the economy.
Bow season opens tomorrow, so hopefully we will have a freezer full of venison this winter!

 

[FarmerChick]

good thread HM

well, instead of the economy I am thinking of the "what ifs" right now.

Tony is going to a Cardiologist right now for a 3:00 appt...He doesn't feel well and has symptoms like heart trouble??? He was in the ER about 3 weeks ago and they said his heart looked fine, BUT, I am sending him to a specialist cause I must know if it is a true heart problem or not........so......I started thinking what if he couldn't work, what if something happened, what if, what if......what if cause I have a 3 year old daughter...so my mind is kinding thinking like that right now.

If he got sick I would definitely wittle down everything. I would:

keep his cell phone (only he has one, I hate them...LOL) but if he is sick I want to know he can call if needed

REALLY cut the grocery bill. we do eat too much good stuff...lol...we are frugal but we do overindulge and I KNOW I could get by with less food.

no clothes spending, house items, etc. that would stop immediately. we surely have enough anyway.

turn off AC and truly keep heat down to bare minimum

close the pool if money was tight....chemicals, filtering etc. is money so I would probably shut it down for real or maybe take it down and sell it

if strapped, dogs would go.

sell and go down to one vehicle---keep the truck

sell camper if necessary

downgrade internet to cheapest, but I would keep it cause I might need it for job hunting or who knows.....look up survival skills etc. good resource and probably cheaper than gas to run to the library in the end

definitely all laundry on the line. even if I hate scratchy clothes or not my dryer would be closed

seriously cull my goat herd. now I keep some of my oldest pets cause I can...but if needed, they would go to the sale

truly go thru my "stuff" and yard sale all that is not needed, truly USE what I do have and can be an asset

cut and sell wood from the farm (don't want to but would do it for extra income if needed)

I don't work now, I would get a job and let Tony stay home if truly had problems and such......reverse roles and he could watch Nicole. Gotta do what ya gotta do..LOL

so that is all the things on my mind...granted I am sure he is fine, but, my mind is now wandering.

PLUS I have great parents and great inlaws. They would always help us no matter what so that right there gives me a super sense of security knowing there is family! I smile cause that is my biggest asset and best lot in life---great family!!

just ranting away here...

 

[MorelCabin]

Well, our TV is free. We have free to air satelite. Hubby works from home so he needs the internet. Our phone is already basic service, no frills like call answer and stuff. We do have a second vehicle but we need that because DH works away alot.
What we do have that I would give up is the boats and snowmachines. Heck I think hydro would be next on the list...we are at a point now that we "could" live without it maybe...it would be roughing it...but it would be roughing it even more if we didn't have a roof over our heads LOL
Insurance is a racket...my goodness that alone could save us some good money if the boats and snowmachines were gone:>)
We already heat by wood, so can't save anything there...except by cutting it ourselves instead of ordering it cut and split...which DH will not do...says he works enough hours already. I used to split wood myself but had too many close calls with the axe and won't anymore.
What else could I give up? I have to think about that

 

[Homesteadmom]

Roosmom, I would give up dh's smoking too! Not that he would agree.
I think with the cell phones it would be let mine go & keep his as he travels a little bit for work each day.
We don't eat out much either. Dh says it doesn't taste as good as what he gets at home(big kissup huh?).

We would keep our boat so that dh could go fishing to help feed us. Both vehicles are paid for & we do not have full coverage.
I already gave up my one cup of coffee in the mornings & dh will not give up his period!

Great responses ladies, any more out there?

 

[Ellie]

Netflix
Gevalia Coffee
Housecleaner
bug man.... (spray service)

Already gave up Netflix and housecleaner goes in January because it made sense to give her notice... she has to make a living.

Ellie

 

[keljonma]

We've already pretty much cut to the bone on excess spending. What would I give up? .... the animals, the internet, chocolate, tea, and coffee; not necessarily in that order.

We gave up tv over 6 years ago and stopped Netflix over a year ago. We have two paid for cars, an '84 and '02, so insurance is just liability. We gave up the cell phone contract 2 years ago and went to pay-as-you-go phones. These are mostly used for short long distance calls (under 5 mins) and emergencies. We are in a rural area where there is only one internet provider, and ironically, they say they don't have a dial up service, so we have dsl. That's okay because I'm trying to find work and I think dial up would kill me. :/ I could go to the library, but they are only open 8 hours 6 days a week, and they have only 8 computers. So I'd have to reorganize my schedule to get in the queue for computer time. Our landline phone and internet cost us $35 month. It is our highest bill right after the mortgage, electric, car insurance and maybe pet/chicken feed (depending on time of year).

We try to grow the majority of our veggies for the year, so we do can, freeze or dry most of what we grow for winter use. We have also been blessed with some free veggies and fruits this year, so the pantry is pretty full.

We don't have a boat, but there are lots of places for off-shore fishing here. We have bartered yellow perch, bluegill and trout for little things needed around the house.

We make our own laundry, dish, and bath soap, and all our cleaning supplies are basic. I do use the washer for laundry, but hang it to dry. I've only been using the dryer when it is too damp to dry anything.

We buy most our clothes at a local consignment shop, where dh recently got a brand new pair of Levi jeans for $5. (The mall store tags were still on them, originally they were $65.) He also got an LL Bean long sleeve dress shirt for $4, which looks like new.

We belong to a food co-op through our church and between that and the nearby Amish store, get most other foods in bulk and store them. We make almost everything from scratch including jams, juices, fruit leathers, cake and baking mixes, soups, yogurt, breads and pastas. We don't go out to eat, except to relatives'.

We purchase grade B maple syrup from a local farm friend who isn't "into the barter thing".... We purchase honey from a friend in our beek club, as we started too late for honey harvest this year.

Our church provides a free community meal twice a month and we could eat there if we had to cut back on food expenses. We don't eat meat, but our chicken flock provides us with plenty of great eggs. We have used them to barter for fruit, grains and locally made cheeses. Since we don't eat meat, we haven't signed up for Angel Food Ministries, but would consider that, if it became necessary, and then give the meat to one of my sisters and her family.

Our house (1880 farmhouse) has oil heat, so we have been insulating the house the past couple years, to use as little as possible. We keep the temp of the house at 55 during the winter. We layer up if we're cold and use some space heaters. We need to have the chimney completely relined to use the wood stove, and that is just not financially possible right now. We have a pine windbreak that keeps most of winter's chill away from the house. Because we are in a windy area, if all the doors and windows are open in summer, the inside temps are about 70 when it is 90 outdoors. We don't have a/c, but do have ceiling fans in all the rooms, and use them when needed.

We were thinking that if we had to, we could sell everything, get a used motor home, pack up and move with the animals (chickens and great pyr) down to our dd & sil's acreage.

 

[eastTNchick]

If things were to get really bad, we could (and would) give up:

1) satellite TV

2) any extras from the store

3) gas heat - switch to wood - we have about 16 acres of wooded land, so free wood (considering this for next year any way).

We do not have a house phone, so we could not give up our cell phones. I also cannot get rid of my internet access because I have to have it for work. I work from home and need it to download & upload my files.

I already bake most everything and hang almost all of our laundry, so not much else I could do there, unless I wanted to hand wash which I don't, but I would if I had to.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

We are almost to the bare minimum here. Not sure what I have left to give up, internet and that's about it. Maybe the phone, too, if absolutely necessary.

We wouldn't go anywhere. So I would cancel insurance on vehicles. This pay I am paying up our insurance for 6 months, and we only have liability.

I would be willing to let the electric go as well as I am able to cook without it and I have oil lamps. We could just go to bed when it gets dark and wake up when it is light out. Or when the rooster crows.

My chickens would free range 100% and that would care for animal feed.

Right now we are trying to stockpile dog food/cat food for the other animals.