Living on love

[Cassi&Charlie]

Well I know I’m not the only person here who is living on love (ie not a cent to my name) so I’m not going to feel too much self pity but since my hours have been slashed, and my bf’s hours have been slashed it’s been a bit tight around the home.

No more eating out, not that we did it very often anyway, only wholesome home cooked meals with lots of rice cause rice is cheap

I’ve never been well off, I’ve never even been comfortable but now I’m dirt poor and it doesn’t feel nice.

So does anyone have any cheap living tips? I’ve already started turning every appliance off at the wall after use to save electricity, our internet downloads have been cut down to the cheapest plan, my mobile plan has been changed to the cheapest and I’m walking everywhere to save petrol money & bf is driving slowly to save money too lol. Any ideas would be appreciated…I know many of you have been in this spot or are now.

And thank you guys, without BB my world would be a whole lot darker at the moment

[Beka27]

I feel your pain. My husband was laid off 3 weeks ago, and unemployment just does not go that far. I’ve had to pick up a few hours at work (not many, b/c they’ve cut hours as well). I pack lunches instead of going out for lunch. Peanut butter and jelly 3 or 4 times a week SUCKS, but it’s inexpensive… so? We also reduced our cell plan to the lowest (since my hubby is home, he can use the house phone for calls). We took all the extras out of the home phone bill (3-way, call waiting, call id all gone for now). I’ve been making a conscious effort to keep lights off and unplug stuff from the walls. We have set our thermostat 2 degrees cooler than usual and we’re just wearing socks and sweaters around the house. I switched my prescription to a place that offers very cheap generic refills. We are stockpilers in terms of food (pasta goes on sale, so we buy ten boxes). We are living out of the pantry as much as we can right now and trying to keep grocery store trips for perishables: milk, eggs, bread, bun veggies.

We chose to keep our netflix account. Mike is home now, so we need something to do at the house. But we’ve also been going to the library to check out movies as well. It’s free and they have a huge selection.

Probably not too much help, but like I said, this is pretty new for us as well. We were certainly not well-off before, but we got by with money leftover each month. This has also strengthened our resolve to make more of an effort to watch our spending after things turn around. We have a little bit of a savings, but it could be a lot more had we really tried.

Hugs for you!

[jerseygirl]

I’m sorry to hear both of you and partners have had this happen recently. It is certainly a nervous time! Cassi, what you are doing is good and probably will make a differance, every little bit counts. Try shopping at the markets close to closing time – like an hour before. In the last 1/2 hour a lot of things get reduced and the stalls want to get rid of as many perishables as they can.
Things I do around home is, turn off appliances at walls, use compact fluroescent lighting, use 1/2 recommended amount of wash powder, does the same job and washing powder last longer.
I’ve cut down a ton on litter but using a raised rack in the litter box. Just enough to soak up the pee and Jersey doesn’t actually come into contact with the litter itself. Thinking soon I just use newspaper if it manages odour alright.

A year ago, I got by with a $30 a month mobile phone plan and no home phone. I also didn’t have internet. I would book in at the library to utilise the free broadband, save everything on a removable then load it up at home to read over.
Packing lunch will save $$ if you don’t do it already – as Beka does. With cooler weather on the way, soup is a good option. Healthy, comforting, yummy and cheap.
Also wiith cooler weather coming – heating. Big expenditure! Try using polar fleece blankets, hot water bottles and wheat heat bags. Obviously you don’t want yourselves or buns to get too cold or sick so if you have heating, use it but reduce the temperature (like Beka mentioned!) Air conditioners can be inefficient. There are some low wattage fan forced radiators that are really effective provided you close of the room you using it in.  Put extra layer on your window furnishings, old sheets, 2nd hand curtains.  Draft proof the doors and windows.

Is there any other roles you or BF can take on at your jobs. Like to tag onto end of normal shift at work? Your employers already know you, have all your details and know your work ethics. May be beneficial to them aswell.
If I think of anything else, I’ll pop back in!

[GHbun]

1) FOOD – Look for on-line grocery sale ads and coupons. Check for local food pantry options. Check with relatives and friends to see if any gardeners have stockpiles of home canned/frozen food you could have cheap (return the jars) – sometimes if we gardeners have bumper crops for several seasons, we stock up more than we can use, but just can’t stop doing it, and home preserved food cannot be donated to a pantry. Looking at the long term, try to make arrangements with gardeners, if you’re not one, to do the weeding and hoeing in exchange for part of the crop. Maybe you could grow some fresh food for bunnies. Yes, it’s essentially share-cropping, but it puts healthy food on the table.
2) TECHNOLOGY – Good thinking on using the library for movies. Don’t be closed to the idea of dropping home internet access.
3) CLOTHING – Scout out a nice thrift store. The ones near college campuses tend to have more trendy items.
4) SHELTER – Is it possible to move to a less expensive home, or home-share with another couple?

I worked for a luxury home builder before I was laid off in December – BTW: I have a job interview on Monday, Whoo-hoo! – and I used to read the industry journals that came to the office. The housing industry is in much worse shape than the TV news will tell you. I think the government just wants to avoid a panic. This downturn is going to last longer and hit harder than most people realize, and we haven’t even begun to sacrifice yet. We will all need to watch out for our families and neighbors (a local family just started a food pantry for pets), but if we take care of each other, we can get through this. We will have to be smarter, stronger, and more humble, but we have the ability to keep everybody warm and fed. We can be one anothers’ life lines in our communities.

[Deleted User]

coupons coupons coupons…you can find tons online!
When I was really short on money, I would go to work 15 mins to half hour early every day and then stay as late as I could. It equaled like 10 hours a paycheck and made a big difference. Since hours were cut, this might not be possible for you, but just an idea.
i work at a grocery store in the meat dept. Jersey’s right. We mark down all our ground beef at the end of the night. We also have a bin of yesterday’s cuts which are always way cheaper than the day’s cuts.
Good luck! I know being broke sucks. I’m pretty lucky since the BF has a good job and helps me pay bills, but since I’m in school, I don’t have any extras either!

[Ruffles&Daisy]

My husband was out of work for almost a year and I was pregnant with my second child… YIKES! So I feel your pain. Save electricity, make a weekly menu and shop for those items, quit drinking (if you do, even a beer a day adds up), no need for fancy clothes, get rid of premium channels, go down to one cell phone or none, take public transportation or bike if you can…. but most of all…. try to have fun and spend time together. We were so stressed that we nearly ruined our relationship. There are many great things to do together that don’t cost anything, so try to not be stressed and enjoy each other. ….. That goes for you too, Beka!!

[kralspace]

I second everyone’s suggestions. When totally broke I looked around for things I could do for free around the house. Since I was paying for water/garbage service anyway, I took a summer to clean out the house and garage of stuff that had collected for years in closets, under beds, etc. and made sure I had a sizeable pile for the garbage man each week.

Got rid of a lot in garage sales and sold a bunch of books on ebay. I had boxes of non-fiction, technical type books I had collected over the years and was really suprised at the prices some of them brought. Most were about art, drawing, painting, horses, training and one little book on caring for your pregnant mare brought $45 (I only paid $10 for it new years ago).

I used the local Freecycle site to pass on outgrown clothes and baby items (the ones my bunnies didn’t want..lol) and ask for a few things in return.

I enjoy working on my old house and when I didn’t have money to buy supplies or paint I spent the weekends doing the stuff you put off forever, cleaning with a bucket of hot soapy water and a brush. Worked on the yard, swapping plants, seeds and bulbs with the neighbors.

I have a woodburning stove and a chainsaw so when we had storms, volunteering to help someone clear the fallen limbs netted me next winters firewood — always a good score.

Let us know how you do, you’ll be suprised what you come up with once you start looking around.

[Cassi&Charlie]

Wow, you guys have some great tips. Beka – we take packed lunches cause our food is a lot better than the dodgy greasy food near our work. Bf is trying to lose weight and he gets a salad sandwich everyday…although I don’t know if he eats it!

JG – I never thought of shopping just before the market closes, we shop in the morning…prob when everything is full price
Kralspace, we’ve started sellling our uni books, it’s amazing what my bf collected while doing his degree!

Last year our heating bill was huge so this year we are definately cutting down. For some reason my bf & flatmate think that it’s perfectly natural to walk around in t-shirts over winter. THis winter I”m just going to take control of the thermostat and tell the flatmate that if she wants warm, she can pay for it!

Thanks everyone, those are really good tips. I’m going to put them in list form and tick them off when I know I”m doing that.

Ruffles – I’m really worried about it affecting bf & my relationship too. I get so stressed and I”m used to being the breadwinnner so I feel likea failure at the moment…and I may be taking it out on bf I”ll make sure we do fun stuff this weeked! Thanks!!! Maybe one day bf will get a good job, lke your allenj & he can buy me presents

Good luck on your interview Tamera!

[dlscanne]

Hey guys, I’m really sorry to hear about everyone’s economic troubles. I’m graduating from school in May, and although I’m obviously worried about finding a job I feel very lucky because I’m at a point in my life where I don’t have that much to loose financially.

My boyfriend and I are both full time students with close to full time jobs, and we live together. The only day Sam gets off is Sundays. I would say relationship-wise really take advantage of the time you have together during this stressful time. Try to have some fun. We always try to pick something relaxing to do on Sundays, even if is as simple as taking a walk around the block or playing frisbee. It helps to burn off that stress and remind yourself what you are working so hard for!

I really agree with the suggestions everyone else has given. I have a few to offer as well:

1. If you have a Dollar Tree or somewhat decent dollar store around, you can find a lot of money saving items there, especially those for cleaning, kitchen supplies, etc….I even find untreated willow rings for my bunnies. At the dollar tree everything truly is exactly $1, some vary their prices.

2. If you have the money up-front, plant a veggie garden. During the late spring, summer, and early fall, I don’t pay for a single veggie for me OR my bunnies. And its all organic because it is in my control. Its a lot of work, but if you enjoy it its a great de-stressor and saves a ton on groceries if you start from seed. I work at a garden center so my best tip is to make the soil as rich as you can for the best produce. Do some research if you have a little land and are interested!

I live in a cheap apartment with heat included, so I don’t have tips for houses!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

WOW I had NO idea supermarkets marked things down at close!! I will have to try that!

I’ve been shopping at our Walmart Supercentre which just opened up about a year ago (we only had plan walmarts with no groceries). I cannot believe the price difference. I just went tonight ot pick up some veggies for the bunnies, shampoo, and some food to get me through until Thursday payday (I spent a bit too much on disinfectant and getting the feral bunnies poop tested, and then went and bought a fabric xpen last night for pet therapy that I’m starting!) ANYways point was, at any other grocery store, what I bought would have cost 70-80$ anywhere else but at walmart I paid 32$-it’s way cheap and worth the hassel (it’s always busy).

I’m no good with money, and it’s less the economy and more my own stupidity that gets me broke! I did take a huge paycut last year to leave my hated job to return to one I liked but didn’t pay as well (losing almost 7$/hour!!) but I get by; Now my rabbit shelter is sucking all my moola out of me.

Some tips I have-Do not fill your gas tank. First, gas prices fluctuate, so buy low. A full tank can decrease full economy by 33% in some vehicles, never fill more then half a tank. And if you have an SUV or a truck, see about trading in for a car. My car costs 1/2 what Daves truck costs to fill, and goes 2/3 more distance on the same tank-that’s huge overtime.

Also ANYONE can make some part time money. Put an ad up offering to petsit (whether you have room in your home, or go to there home)-I made 300$ over xmas making 9 visits to look after two bunnies-it was a cinch, it was fun and it paid WELL.

Also if your good at any subject-do some tutoring, You can make 20-35$/hour tutoring highschool students!

Spring clean-get rid of stuff you don’t use (yes, if it’s been in a box since you moved in, you dont’ need it!) -sell it on ebay or kijiji or craigslist.

Time to find wood stove pellets-that savings is big. Try buying your rabbit food bulk from a livestock feed supply store. Buy hay in bales from farms-this can be 3-7$ a bale, and bale will last a bunny six months on average!

Got talent? Webdesign, typing, etc? You can do some freelance stuff from home to make extra cash.
If your young or don’t mind-babysit!

Most of all do not let the economy get you down. People survived much bigger recessions and depressions then this will ever be. Talk to your grandparents (or there parents!) to see what they did in those times to save money. Live goes on, we will all make it. We may not get to go out and buy fancy stuff, but we’ll all be fine

[Deleted User]

You can get big bucks at stores like “Last Stop CD Shop” by selling old books, movies, gaming consoles, video games, etc….so if you get real desperate….and of course there’s always Ebay!

[bunnytowne]

If you have electric heater change the filters  also for a/c’s when a/c time comes around  change filters   helps save us 20.00 a month

Or wash the filters dry them and use them again a few times  if necessary til you can afford another filter

[jerseygirl]

Yes, Good Luck Tamera on interview!

Cassi, supermarkets do these reductions too usually on meat and deli items – but you being vegan well… I was thinking more like Food Markets (Like the Central Markets in Adelaide if you ever visited them) or Farmers Markets. The produce is still really good at the end of the day, it’s just that in these stalls, they refresh produce much quicker than in supermarkets so they want to get rid of todays stuff to allow room for the next days produce rolling in. Also, there are competative stalls all offering the same thing so they are angling for your business.

It is also useful though, to get to know when your local supermarket does a restock in various departments so you time it to go in when things are on a quick sale – especially when you’re making big pots of soup! Bad side to shopping late in the day is checkouts get busy and what you went there to get can be out of stock or poor quality. I guess it’d pay to talk to others you know in your area for some more local tips! Do they have Aldi’s in Canberra?

Though you are “used to being the breadwinner” this should not be automatically be assumed. When times get tough, everyone needs to step up. Be careful you do not take the financial responsibilities on board too much on you own.

 

[kralspace]

reading  K&K’s post

Got talent? Webdesign, typing, etc? You can do some freelance stuff from home to make extra cash.

reminded me, if you have the opportunity to volunteer your talents (on a small basis, I know how busy you are) it can bring you other freelance work. I donate a couple of hours a month to run a website for the local ARC (Association for Retarded Citizens) and 2 churches. In return, when members or friends of members need work done they think of me and refer me to them with nice references. I’m available to the local Boy Scout/Girl Scout troops if they need a consultant for the kids working on art/design/web projects and I’ll tutor people in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.

I know it’s hard to think of giving your time away in today’s times, but believe me, people remember little favors and look for ways to pay you back or help you out. Their personal references are priceless and I’ve had casual contacts turn into full time jobs in the strangest ways.

good luck!

[Cassi&Charlie]

I’ve started looking in to tutoring today so I’l see how that goes. I’m also going on a bar work hunt today because my friend works in a bar and says the hourse are perfect for uni. I think I agree as my classes dont start until after midday everyday. Maybe in a few weeks I’ll be a barwench lol Also apparently the tips are really good so I’m putting on my biggest barwench smile and going on a job hunt.
Kralspace, I volunteer at the local community radio…so I really hope it will turn into a full time job one day! My ambition is to work in radio (or TV but I think thats less acheivable ) but the time frame for that is kinda measured in years rather than months.

Good news, my folks coughed up $500 for me. No-one was more suprised than me! Apparently my sister told them bout my troubles and they just putmoney into my account. I called them and thanked them so now we’re on our way to being reconciled I think…so something wonderfully amazing and special came out of this so I’d do it a thousand times again if my folks and I can start speaking to each other regularly and pretending to be normal!

[kralspace]

that’s great CC, not just the money, but the opening of communication between you and your folks. Kudos to your sister!

I bet you are a great barwench…lol,

[Deleted User]

I’d be horrible at working at a bar…i’d rather be there drinking w/ my friends, lol!!! But I do imagine that the tips are great. I think if anyone’s gonna get a side job, they should makes tips. I deliver pizza’s as my second job…made $85 tonight!! So a 7 hour shift at Minimum wage ($6.55 I belive) means that I averaged about $19 an hour!!! Plus since I have the cash that means less money out of my checking account….so good luck getting the extra job!

I’m so glad you are talking w/ your parents….I really need to get working on the relationship w/ my mom now!!!

[BinkyBunny]

For us we made the following changes that really have helped us save hundreds of dollars each month:

1. Coupons! Never thought it could really make much of a difference, but it’s amazing. Even on things that we are not willing to compromise with like “free range” and “organic” meats and dairy,  we are able to save.  What i do is actually google coupons for the product names I normally buy, then i make enough copies so I will be able to use them again until the expiration date.

2. We stopped eating out. Even the quicky stuff – like starbucks etc, can add up. (this by far has been our biggest savings).  It’s not like we went out to big fancy dinners, but we found ourselves so busy that we would just grab a sandwich at Subway, our grocery deli or whatever all the time. We now be sure to buy things that are quick to make at home like soups and sandwiches so we don’t fall back into the “lets just grab something” habit, but we also buy a turkey (This doesn’t have to be just for Thanksgiving ya know!), and then we will have tons of turkey meat for sandwiches, salads, full dinners, etc.  We freeze the excess and it really goes a long way.  We may spend $20 buck on it, but with the amount of food we get out of it actually saves.

3. Use only one car. Where we live this works for us because we have great public transportation, subways (aka: bart), the ferry, etc, so even when we weren’t working from home, we really only needed to have one car. So we just sold the second one. This saves alot on insurance, maintenance and registration. We still have to plan ahead sometimes so that we don’t get into a bind where we both need the one car.

4. Cut out the movies on our cable plan – Just back down to some basic cable (saves us about 330/yr. and stopped going to the movies so much. We instead now use nextflix $9.99/mnth. We get the movies via the mail AND we download them as well through our xbox.

5. Plan cheaper fun things to do. For example, we now have Youtube parties once a month. We invite our friends over for Youtube night. My husband connects the computer to the TV and our friends keep track of their favorite youtube videos, then they come over and we watch everyone’s favorites, as well as we can search too and watch it all on our television. It’s actually a blast.

6.  IF you have vacation time, take a vacation at home and rediscover where you live.  We saved on hotels, rental cars, plane tickets by rediscovering some great places right where we live.  Steve has lived here for 20 years, and I have been here for 16 years, but yet, there are some real gems you can discover even via google.   It was fun to find some cool things that we never knew about even after all these years.

7. Like Beka mentioned, we also called our cell phone company and were able to get a better plan. (We don’t have a landline – cell only)

 

[Lily]

Go veggie! Its alot cheaper to eat vegatarian than meat, meats REALLY expensive, and veggies are cheap! Also pastas a really cheap one.

Be enviromentally friendly! ITs also a way of saving money! Like has been said, turn off lights and use a minimum power, read a book instead of watching TV.

Recycling to is a good one, as you do get cash for your empty bottles! Another good enviromentally solotion!

[Deleted User]

#5 sounds like a blast BB!!! Can I come?!?! lol

[Lagomorpheus]

Times are tough for me too

but LOL at someone rating this post as one star…have a heart sheesh. Why do we even have such a negative feature on this board anyways? lol…

[Sage Cat]

Hey, Y’all have great ideas!

Libraries here in the US have tons of movies (DVD’s) and CD -not to mention books – for free! You do have to get on a Que for the more popular ones. We don’t have cable here at my house – which saves us a lot. But we do have Netflix.

We hardly ever eat out. i always make J’s lunch. Normally I divide up a casserole and freeze it and he takes that for lunch. Here is a great article on Casseroles from last Wednesday’s Kitchen Window – with recipes! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101348850

Oh yea, there are some incredible videos on Youtube right now about Depression Cooking with a woman who lived through the Great One! Not bad ideas!

Some of it is totally dorky, but LovingYou.com has lots of cheap and free fun things for couples to do. If y’all are feeling stressed out: light some candles and give each other a massage!

J and I went down to one car last year – It is much easier than we thought it would be, and saves us a huge amount.

I have made as much as $1200 by having a garage sales! I listed everything on Craig’s List before hand. People even called to see if they could come pick things up early.

I don’t think the is going to be over for any of us any time soon. Anything we can do to help each other . . . .

[BinkyBunny]

Oh Lagomorpheus – i honestly don’t know why that’s there either! LOL Its a feature that doesn’t ever work – I think people notice it there and just click on the star to see what it does. There are actually a few changes we are going to be making, but we have been trying to update our forum to a new version so i haven’t touched the things like the star ratings yet.

Sage – garage sale is a good idea too! We made $800 bucks at a garage sale before too. You can also sell stuff on Craigslist and Ebay.

Allenj – C’mon on over!

[jerseygirl]

Haha BB! So that’s how the stars work! Curious me clicked on them before when Lago mentioned it. So now its 2 stars lol

It’s a good thread, brainstorming tips that are useful for everyone at this time.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I just had to pipe up and say that youtube party is such a great idea!! I find tons of funny animal movies I generally make everyone watch some youtbue with me when they come over-I’ll have to allow them to show some of their fav videos too! LOL (As long as they are funny animal movies heheh)

Also libraries cost ME way more money then they save…that whole scatter brained thing. I used to pay hundreds of dollars in late fees because I’d take out lots of books and forget to bring them back. So watch the return date!! I’ve tried several times iwth diff libraries over the years, I just can’t do it I end up spending more then the book is worth in late fees LOL or worse…if I lose the book altogether!!

[jerseygirl]

Some members have made recent mention of things being tight financially so I thought I’d bump this thread back into the Lounge. Times are still precarious & many of these tips are still useful. Plus, there might be new tips to add….

[Desma]

Back in the 80’s when my husband and I had four small children and he was in construction and it became very slow, miraculously, we got through that horrible recession. He cut firewood on the side to get extra money. When he lost his job at the first of this year after being a building official for ten years, and losing our healthy insurance, I have medical issues such as breast cancer recovery and high blood pressure etc, we were used to and remembered that we would get through it fine. The main thing is to not have fear and thank God because the poor in this country still live way better than in other countries. I even am thankful for toilet paper etc. We are still so lucky but this depression is going to educate lots of us that happiness is not in having stuff. This Christmas people will get back to home made gifts and baking goodies instead of spending money that they do not have on expensive useless gifts. My husband did get that new job up at Lynden and that is a miracle from God. At his age, being picked out of hundreds of applications, we know it is one! We know it is a plan to take care of our whole family when things get worse, we plan to have our whole family with us. This is another good thing that will happen when this depression gets worse. Families will be reconciled and put back together. It has been too long a “me” generation where the attitude was to only care about yourselves and put me first. This will undo that to a pretty good extent. If you have a member of the family who hunts, we also lived off elk and deer meat. (no bunnies) Being a vegetarian is a good idea and I can go without meat except for my husband. Most men are meat and potatoes guys. What people took for granted for so many years will change and make us thankful instead of complaining about maybe not getting those football or basketball tickets etc. It will also teach us our needs and our wants are not the same thing. I am sure glad that I don’t have periods anymore because I always used to pray that God would keep me in being able to have pads because I am so particular about my body being clean. There was also a couple years that I lived in a camper trailer and had no phone and no car and walked a couple miles to work, there and back. I was saving money from not having a car for gas and insurance and no phone because I wasn’t much of a talker anyhow. I had a minimum wage job at that time. I don’t want to sound like a fear monger but it would be wise to really watch what is going on in our government that has been happening for the past 2 decades. They are trying to take all our freedoms away and use the depression to get people on their knees to accept what the government has planned for those of us who are not the “elites”. The news media is being controlled by the government to an extent that people are kept in the dark. Even Fox News is not telling the whole truth. Anyhow, I didn’t want to get anyone into a political discussion, that is not my agenda. I am not a political person that puts any faith or trust in the government but I do feel responsible if I ever get the chance to warn as many people that are brought my way. They do have Fema camps put “domestic terrorists” in and those who will not go along with the NWO agenda. I remember telling my children growing up of things that was going to happen and they took me lightly. Now, my grown children realize that their mom and dad was correct and they take us very seriously now. I am sure some of you younger people have parents that are well aware of some unusual things that are happening also.

[Cassi&Charlie]

This is such a good post, everyone gave fantastic tips to live better with less money. Even though I’m earning a good full-time wage now, I still save a lot more money than I used to by not wasting any of it. It’s good to know that my short time of poverty brought so many good changes into my life 🙂

[Author]

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