What to Give Up When Money Gets Tight
71When times are good and the money is flowing, you may enjoy some of the finer things in life, and may even consider them necessities. But when the economy falters, you may find your finances are no longer able to support you in the style to which you have become accustomed.
Here's a list of a few things that may have become so ingrained in your lifestyle, and in your budget, that you don't consider them as items that you can eliminate from your day to day life. If you want to, or have to, live a more frugal lifestyle, take a closer look at your expenses, and see what is necessary, and what is an indulgence.
Premium Movie Channels
Watching television is now a monthly expense, and premium channels are high-end items in the entertainment category of your budget. Reduce your service to basic, but do not replace the movie channels with a delivery service such as Netflix unless you eliminate your television services altogether. Watch the DVDs you purchased when you had extra money for such items.
Land Lines
If you have a cell phone and it's your primary form of communication, eliminate your land line telephone. It's just an added expense at this point.
Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions
Do not renew your magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Most of these types of periodicals are now available online and you can enjoy them for free.
New Books
Hardback books are expensive, and though you may declare that books are an important part of your life, you may not be able to afford the $25 price tag each time one of your favorite authors publishes a new book. Opt instead to wait for the paperback or borrow the book from the library.
If you must have books, invest in an electronic reader and download your reading material. It's less expensive and better for the environment.
 | Amazon Price: $0.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $0.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $4.99 |
Clubs and Classes
These include gym memberships, yoga classes, and wine-of-the-month clubs. Any ongoing expense that doesn't include feeding, clothing and sheltering you and your family is an added expense. And no, wine is not considered a food group. If the membership is monthly, quit now. Otherwise, finish out your contract but do not renew it, no matter what incentives the organization offers.
Gift Giving
Gifts are expensive, and if you've found yourself caught in 'live frugal or go broke' bind, chances are your friends have as well. Make a pact with them not to buy gifts for each other for birthdays, holidays and other gift-giving occasions. Instead, agree to get together at someone's house and enjoy snacks and a movie, or a night of board games with an inexpensive bottle of wine. Celebrations are to be kept simple and homey.
The frugal lifestyle needn't be one of depravation. Good food needn't be expensive or gourmet. Good friends should be able to have fun together without spending a lot of money. And you should be able to live a comfortable life without compromising your financial future.
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Hi Donna, thanks for stopping by. We get so used to having such things we don't think of them as extras any more. It's surprising how much 'fluff' we accumulate in our budgets.
Really good tips. Heck, I work on streamlining things like this even when money *isn't* tight! It's important to periodically ask yourself: am I actually USING that magazine subscription / premium movie channel / etc..? We end up buying many, many things that we don't need.
You're right, Simone. A periodic check of your expenses is a good way to keep the budget trim. Thanks for commenting. I appreciate the visit.
Neat hub, Shelly. This should get even more ideas rolling in. There are so many ways people could cut back on expenses. Entertainment, eating out, etc. do not seem to have slowed down for all the whining about economic struggles. It's interesting to think about it all.
Simone is definitely right. My husband and I decided to get rid of our cable a couple years ago. It wasn't that money was too tight to afford it. We just decided that we didn't use it enough to justify the expense. RTalloni is right, too, about spending. Americans broke spending records for Christmas 2011 and Valentine's Day 2012.
Thank you, RTalloni and randomcreative, for your taking the time to comment. I appreciate it. I agree, we spend so much on things like greeting cards, candy boxes and even wrapping paper. It gets so out of control.
You have written a useful Hub, thanks. You should add some more points.
Voted up.
Thanks, jainismus, for stopping by. I may expound on this topic, as frugal living is, I think, a topic worth exploring.
Great tips, thanks! voting it up :-)
Thanks for stopping by, raising humans. I appreciate your vote.
Shelly, these are great tips. I think about those movie channels that barely get watched because we are so busy. I love e-readers, too, and books are so much cheaper that way. We used to belong to a gym, but because life is so busy, we barely got to use it and let it go. Your list makes the reader think about what we really need. A great hub full of great tips! Votes and shares. :-)
Thanks for your comment, sholland10. We do tend to think things like gym memberships and costly movie channels are necessary, until we stop and think about the cost and how much use we actually get out of them.
These are great ideas. Unfortunately I already do a lot of them, so I'm not sure they'll get me added savings (Just cancelled my gym membership last night in fact). Still great ideas for someone newly broke or frugal.
Thanks for stopping by, ElleBee. Yes, I think it we practice some basic frugality in our lives we'd find we're broke less often.
That is a good point! Unfortunately for me, based on my student loans alone, I live fairly frugally and still find myself broke a lot! And while we could argue the frugal person wouldn't have taken out so many loans in the first place, I can't go back in time! So for right now I just try to be careful with teh money I have and prioritize my spending.
Sometimes you have to go into debt. It's how you manage the debt that matters. And sometimes if forces you to look at a more frugal lifestyle.
Shelly, this is food for thought. Good ideas that can work for me.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Patsybell. I'm glad you may find some of these ideas helpful. I'm always reviewing our expenses and thinking, "Do we really need this?" It helps keep the budget in control.
DonnaCosmato Level 7 Commenter 3 months ago
Good tips, Shelly, especially the one on the premium movies. With the advent of services like Redbox or the influx of free movie services on the net, chopping this expense can make a huge difference in one's budget. Voted up!