We live in a rural area so we plan our trips to town so we can do all the errands we need to do in one trip.
We eat out a lot less.......I shop at our local farmers market late so I can negoiate better prices.....we shop at the 99 cent store for shampoo, deodorant and cleaning products.
I cook most meals from scratch including homemade noodles.
I compost....I trade plants with neighbors.
I use the library instead of buying books and DVD's.
I call my internet provider, telephone provider, cable TV provider and negotiate the best deals. I always ask for a senior discount.

I too am in the rural, and don't go to town until I either 'have' to, or I have about 10 or so errands to run. It is not uncommon for my vehicle to not leave the drive for a week or sometimes 2. I found asking BF to just pick up 2,3,or 4, 'needed' grocery items when he is coming down for a visit, sure helps a lot. (I reimburse him of course, but) I find my grocery spending for the month is a lot less, the fewer trips I make...yet I always have what I need.
I'm thinking/hoping that I might have a month or hopefully more without any heat or AC, b4 things get hot here. I don't mind cooler house temps in the winter, and just dress for it, but being hot, is really uncomfortable to me. I can't sleep either if it is hot.
I'm planning a big veggie garden, and plan to put up a lot of things.

I use my phone a lot...reaching out and touching someone by calling them and letting them know I am thinking of them. I often join friends for coffee, via phone, instead of in person. My long distance is a talk all you want, whenever you want, wherever you want for one flat fee...so I really get a lot of bang for my buck there. Almost everyone I am close to is long distance...thus a bit of a drive too.

I'm thinking about having my satellite TV taken out for the summer...I don't use or enjoy it near as much when I am playing outside often from early AM until dark:30.

Sue

Because I've always been a frugal type I have not been forced to make any really "deep" cuts. By making lists of what I need & want I don't go out, and like Sue, can go days without driving. Don't like going to just one thing, run several errands. And often when I look at the list, I go I don't really need that and skip it - further savings.

I've gotten better with clipping coupons though, for things I might get and then watch for stuff on sale and on the clearance rack. I do not however get caught up in the couponer's disease.

And by knowing prices on things, I can tell when something is a good deal and not just hype. That results in a bigger savings than you realize.

Like cynic, we have always lived frugally... so NO deep cuts are needed for us!

Our simple living is paying off... we are able to continue as usual, even with rising prices.

I walk everywhere I can. Luckily, I have two grocery stores within 2 milkes, one is only 1/4 mile away. The exercise is good for me. Also, I use half as much laundry detergent, dishhwasher powder, etc as recommended on the container. I run my dishwasher only when it's full, and I fill the dispenser only half way and use the "time saver" wash button on the DW. That's dishwasher, not dear wife.

I agree with the Frugalites. No deep cuts here, and I like what western pa luann said about "simple living is paying off...".

When prices at the grocery store started to go up, I didn't raise my $50/week budget (for 2 adults), I just look and choose more carefully to add to the food already in storage. I usually make up menus based on food in storage - shop-at-home so to speak, and rotate those foods. Our meals and snacks are based on the old Basic-4 for the day:

4 servings - breads/cereals/grains
4 servings - fruits/vegetables
2 servings - meat/meat alternative
2 servings - dairy

I generally purchase loss-leaders and sales items, and use some coupons - not many. I'm not the Coupon Queen and don't believe they are the biggest or best way to save on groceries. Most of the things people use coupons for I don't ever buy in the first place....

Setting a cash amount for groceries (and my grocery money is for groceries only) and sticking to that budget amount is THE biggest way to save PERIOD. I can get as much of anything I want or need, as long as it is within my $50/week budget. When the unspent extra accumulates, that's when I make the large purchases (usually a years worth) of grain, agave nectar, and whey-based milk substitute (which I've already purchased for the year before prices went out of sight).

While we enjoy the fruits of the garden and I have little to purchase from the grocery store, I'll purchase grass-fed beef, bison, local free-range chickens and get those in the freezer.

So far this year I've spent $768.69 out of $850 of the grocery budget.

Most people eat WAY too much "crap" and processed foods, not to mention how much food they WASTE! Wasted food is the most expensive food we buy. What a shock they might find REAL, whole foods (in season) are still a pretty good bargain - higher in nutrition, are more filling because they usually contain more natural fiber. Quit paying for the box, bag, can, and the label!!! Quit paying for someone else to prepare your food for you.

I mill my own flour and make all our breads and baked goods for a fraction of the price of commercial baked goods. I use 10 cents worth of wheat to make a loaf of 100% Whole Wheat Bread with freshly-milled flour. We use one loaf per week. I use a large variety of whole grains I keep in storage as food, not just for breads. I make my own bulgar - 10 cents for a pound. I cook the whole grain in my solar oven and dry the cooked grain in the solar oven.

I've always had a small garden and freeze and dehydrate more than enough produce from it to use for many months. We also use FREE rain water we collect in rain barrels (around a 1000-gallon capacity) to water the garden and most of the grass and landscaping. I find and pick free fruit from neglected trees in yards (with the permission of the owners), and dehydrate or freeze it. People are even too lazy to pick fruit from their own trees...

I don't bother with home canning because it's generally not cheaper in the long run than buying commercially canned foods when you figure the price of the produce if you had to purchase it; or pay for city water to water it in your garden; the energy (gas/electricity) it takes to process the food in the canner; the price of the equipment, jars, lids, etc. if you don't already have it, and the additional energy it takes to run the air conditioner to cool off the hot house while canning (and it's almost always a 100F when canning needs to be done). We also choose whole fresh, frozen, or dehydrated food because it is better for us and easy to prepare - Nature's original FAST FOOD.

We've always borrowed books and movies from the library. We subscribe to NO magazines - those are also free for the reading at the library. I do donate to the library for a magazine subscription each year.

We have one cell phone, a pre-paid TracPhone and it's mainly for traveling/emergency use. I recharge the minutes on it once a year for a little more than $100. That's a YEAR, not a month... We've never used all the minutes and they roll-over to the next year. Our basic, no frills, land line has 100 free minutes of long distance. More than enough time to "keep in touch". I find expending huge amounts of time and money chatting on the phone an addiction. Try reading (free from the library) books on being frugal, cooking from scratch, making your own groceries (yes, you can make your own bread, kefir or yogurt, spice mixes, Bisquick substitute, pancake mix...), growing a garden. Yes, insipid cellphone use is one of my pet peeves...

Knowledge is money (see the above statement on reading and educating yourself). I agree completely with cynic. I keep a price book. I can tell you what I've been paying for food and non-food items, and if something is actually a bargain. Don't be misled by the fact that since it appears in the ad that it's a good buy. The big, jumbo size of something isn't necessarily a bargain. You have to check unit price to know for sure.

-Grainlady

My hat is off to all of you, yet it also makes me sad that the salt of the earth people of America are having to scrimp like this when our country wastes so much money on ridiculous things that benefit nobody and seriously harm both humankind and the planet...

Not a 'deep cut' but rather a way to increase income. I stopped work in July 2005 due to medical problems, which have only gotten worse. But May 1 I am start a training class for "displaced housewives", or any women who want to re-join the workforce after a period of unemployment. I admit it's a welfare-type problem, but I've been thinking about working. I kind of miss it. And I've been spending and eating way too much. Wish me luck!

scarlett2001 - How in the world does wasted money affect "salt of the earth people" during hard times??? Do they have some right to money they DON'T earn or to what we DO earn and spend how we see fit? Would you like me to go over your personal budget and see where you can cut YOUR wasteful spending? Don't discount the generous donations people of all economic levels make to churches and institutions that aid the needy, not to mention our taxes which help millions of people?

Lots of the "salt of the earth people" I see waste PLENTY of money - on lottery tickets (I've never purchased one because it's a complete waste of money), booze (I never drink anything stronger than an occasional soda), drugs (I don't use prescription drugs because I try to live and eat right to prevent illness, let alone illegal drugs), smoking (I've never even tried smoking - I realized as a very young child from my parents bad habit that it robbed the rest of the family of necessities and I would never do that to my children), bad financial decisions and credit card debt (our only debt is our home and it's nearly paid for by hard work and being frugal).

The average "poor" family in America has more income and "goodies" than people making average to good wages in Europe, if you check new statistics out by the government. The average "poor" family of four has 1 or more color TVs, cable or satellite, cell-phones, microwave, vehicle/s, are paying on a 3-bedroom 2-bath house, according to those statistics.

We went through the President Carter years - double-digit interest, high unemployment, inflation out the wazoo, food prices went up almost daily. We had very little income during those years - well under the poverty line. Hubby worked 3 and 4 jobs at once and took 23 credit hours in architecture, and I worked 2 jobs and we had one child.

We made it because we lived within our means back then, just like we do now. We owned our dinky little mobile home and our car. We NEVER got food stamps or any other kind of aid, and considered those kinds of things for "poor" people. We paid our bills on time, our doctors and hospital bills with cash from our savings - we didn't have insurance. What we couldn't afford was a phone, air conditioner, microwave, credit card debt, and eating out.

We had the public library and a small black and white TV my husband bought mowing laws as a teen for entertainment, and we got one station on rabbit ears. We thought we had it all! We also never intended to live below the poverty line like that the rest of our lives, and never have since those college days. No one owed us ANYTHING because times were tough back then.

-Grainlady

Sorry no deep cuts here, I do admit to thinking over any major purchase just a bit longer than I would have before - but all purchases are cash only. We have always lived below our income and now when people say they are in a "crunch" situation I wonder if it is because they lived the high life before and now must adjust to one large pizza vice the two. (A sad example but one which I've actally been told!)

We don't *have* to make deep cut right now, but I'm looking to make them anyway because I have no idea what the future is. All of the economic forecasts I've seen are scary even for people who have been frugal and have used their money wisely. A lot of changes we've made are not necessarily made because of money savings, but because they they provide a better health advantage, a better standard of living, or it's a way to teach my kids.

We're growing more fruits and veggies this summer, but that would be happening anyway because my kids are getting older and I want to teach them skills like planting, growing, preserving, and cooking. We don't have much space in our yard for a garden so we'll be using the flower beds instead. We'll also be visiting local farms for fresh produce.

I've been looking around at where we can cut costs. One area is food. The simple truth is that we waste too much. If the freezer door doesn't get closed properly, the expensive long-term food gets wasted. If we have too much fresh stuff on hand, there is another source of waste. Right now, I'm working on eating what we have in stock and seeing what I can do to minimize the waste.

I'm also stocking up on canned goods from the store because I see them continuing to go up in price. Canned goods can last for years. I've heard that some store locally are rationing rice because of shortages and wheat is rapidly increasing in price. I'm buying shelf stable foods like rice and flour because I want some on hand in case we have an emergency situation or a job layoff.

We are also trying new things. I bought some herbs to grow a couple of weeks ago so we can experiment with new recipes. Eating at home is usually healthier and cheaper than eating out. My kids love being able to say that they helped to cook something.

Haven't made any "deep cuts" but have definately reconsidered a lot of little expenditures. DH and I have spent the past year really reigning things in and paying off bills. All we have is the house payment and one car payment, of which we are tripling the car payment every month and adding some extra to the house payment also.

We eat out once or twice a week. I know there's plenty of room to save $ here, but it's our one vice (no drinking, smoking, partying, etc.) and we greatly enjoy it. I have however started to be more selective in my choices when we eat out. What would give me leftovers, and how can I use them for another meal? is a question I ask myself. I have leftover steak (from anniversary dinner) and leftover chicken - we're having fajitas for dinner at home tonight with it.

I drink a lot of water, but I admit am a bit fussy about it - hate the taste of city water, so I would buy a case of bottled water (35 bottles) at Costco. That would be my work supply for a week. I have a Brita pitcher at home. Last weekend, I found a Brita pitcher at a yard sale for $6 (with three unused filters). I've brought that to work and just fill it all day. The thing paid for itself in the first week. AND - *bonus* - I'm doing a good thing for the environment!

I've always grown a garden larger than we can use and given quite a bit of it away to friends. This year, I've expanded the types of things I'm growing, as well as the quantities, so I can can/freeze them. And still give some away to my friends.

I am real disappointed and surprised. I just knew that some of you penny pinching frugal minded savers would be determined not to give your money away right now. Not because you "have" to make deep cuts, but because you are so stubborn that you want to find creative ways to hold onto your money instead of giving it to the oil companies. Adellabedella you hit the nail on the head.
Thanks again, Lexi

No matter how sensible and careful we are with our spending and lifestyle, the handwriting is on the wall for the American middle class. Just take medical insurance for example, more and more people are not covered, by no fault of their own. I had two months between going from my old job to a new one, so I let my medical insurance drop. I was very healthy all my life, so I thought, "Hey, what can happen in two months?" Well, breast cancer can happen, that's what. I not only was not able to go to the new job, but I had no medical insurance. Being a person who always honors my debts, I paid it all off, but it took years and years and we finally had to sacrifice the house. (The good news is I survived it.) The stats on Americans with no medical insurance are very scary. No matter how much you practice frugality, you will be no match for a serious illness or accident and if it happens to your child, its even worse. Or you could lose your job to outsourcing and have to take one with a far lower paycheck.

Another thing that happens quite a lot, and is a really bad situation for older workers and single women is that the company finds that we have been a loyal employee for 20 years and have gotten raises to a nice salary. BUT the company can hire a new grad for about half the pay and get the same work done, So being a business, their eye is on the bottom line. This happened to my husband. He was just turning 59, had been with the company 25 years, excellent employment record, and they replaced him with a 26 year old. Try finding a job with any kind of liveable pay when you are almost 60! Too young to retire, too old to compete in the job market. This is happening all over America and it is just not right! The poor have social welfare programs, the wealthy and the big oil companies have their tax breaks, the middle class has to take up the slack more and more.

Some friends were complaining about having to make deep cuts...

One had so many 'services' tacked on to her landline phone that she was paying ~$150 per month... and had to drop them.
Now she pays the same ~$22 that I have been paying all along.

Another friend was paying over $200 for cable every month and recently went down to basic service. Funny thing was, she was never home to watch all those premium channels anyway!

Yet another was 'amazed' and bragged about how she cut gasoline costs by 'only' shopping four days a week instead of every day.
Just think how much she could save if she shopped only for what she NEEDS ONE DAY a week.....

Some people are just starting to 'get it'... I hope simple living catches on!

Lexi, I guess that many of us frugal minded people have been adept at not giving our money away for a while now. I have actually increased my grocery spending as I have been trying to restock my pantry for an approximately 6 month supply of nonperishables. My only real cuts have come in the ways of not going for a 30 minute drive after dropping a little one off at preschool. Dh did not take the bus to work this month but will be again next month. I don't even know if that is a real cut because he is actually better rested when taking the bus.

Scarlett, I work in medical transcription and there is a definite concern about offshoring the work. But, it has not been happening overnight. My eyes are wide open to the possibilities and thus my family is working on being prepared for it once it comes.

Dh works for our state even though he could make more money in the private sector. The job is very, very secure and the retirement benefits and health insurance are very important reasons for staying. They have a hard time filling positions because people do not want to work for less pay. We have been fortunate because one of our children has been diagnosed with autism and the insurance thus far has been very accommodating.

Last night on the NBC news they said that Shell Oil made a profit of over 9 BILLION bucks in the first 3 months of this year, followed by Exxon Mobil and Chevron in close second and third place. And these oil companies are getting huge tax breaks, as well. Almost as fast as the words were out of the newscaster's mouth, they immediately switched to Britney Spears' latest escapade. Do you notice how we seem to be getting more and more "soft" news? Lots of celebrity "news" all the time on most of the channels?What's with that? A distraction so we don't focus on the cost at the pumps and the grocery checkout?

Meanwhile gas here went up 4 cents a gallon since last week,(that's Arco) and a cucumber costs a dollar,in season or out.

I got laid off 14 months ago, and have transitioned (happily) to freelance work at about 25% of my previous income level.

To survive and continue to pay our mortgage, we've made the following deep cuts...

COMPLETELY STOPPED spending money on:
-Eating out
-Soda
-Prepared foods at grocery store
-Non-profit memberships/donations
-New clothes (except one outfit for interviews)
-Car washes
-Annual vet checks for the barn cats (do it every two years now)
-Annual medical check ups for the humans
-Garden plants
-New shoes
-Home furnishings (no more trips to Target)
-Eyeglasses

:) I've been broke my whole bloody life, and when DH and I got together, we budgetted for the house based on what I was making at the time, rather than our combined income.

so of course our company sold our building out from under us, and for the second time in my life, I found myself unemployed for more than three weeks (the last time was during Reagan's second term)...actually, it'll be a year since I worked 4 40 hour weeks in a row at the end of this month.

cuts? I'm buying carrots in their natural state again, instead of the 'baby cut' and am paying more attention to what the local farm market has to offer - eggplant, bok choy, hard squashes instead of grains as side dishes, catfish instead of Sea Bass.

I've cut back on the number of national acts I see, and am opting for local acts in smaller venues - $14 to see Fat City Reprise at the TLA, instead of $70 to see George Clinton at the Borgata...my 'splurge' is lawn seats to see Jethro Tull ;)

it was a lucky break that our best friends moved 4 hours closer, since we were making that run about once a month EACH and it really would eat in to our budget at this point.

I think the biggest changes are that I'm taking my beadwork out to more shows, instead of just dancing around the parking lot before hand (hey, if I make $30 in an evening, it's paid for my gas there and back...)

and there is actual, deliberate food growing in the garden now - salad greens in the pots that had petunias last year, a wider selection of herbs, and some hard squash for later in the season.

We have always been "frugal" but high energy costs and large medical bills are hitting us. Our propane bill is going up $80 a month -- we will pay 5x more than we did 9 years ago.

So instead of making more cuts -- I'm doing more to make money. I'm trying to spin more yarn to sell, we are planting 75 tomatoes so I have plenty to can and extras to sell. I've planted more herbs and we picked up a weekly paper route. This way -- our savings won't suffer and maybe we can get some of the extra expenses out of the way.

You can spend less ...... or make more money. There are two ways of looking at it.

Cathy

Actually, since I wasn't a big spender before, I haven't found many ways to cut back, as that would be rather difficult.

Since I didn't feel the need to smoke (other than for about 6 mos. when I was about 16) or drink ... or chase women (which can be a rather expensive pastime), I've been able to do some saving and investing, over the years.

Also, since I'm not a heavy spender, I spend less than my pensions, so have been able to do some more saving and investing.

Some friends say that's crazy ... piling up a pile of dough (in fact, making my own dough, then a loaf, in a bread machine, saves quite a bit of extra dough) when you're near 80 ... of what use is that?

We used to kid old uncle who in his mid 80s, with no kids (through two marriages), had cattle in the barn despite major pain in back, hip and leg, saying that we thought that he was trying to find a way to take it with him.

I contribute to local and international medical, social, educational and religious charities. Plus expect to leave some for them at the end of life.

And want to leave some for my kids, for I figure that, even though they're in their 40s (which I find hard to believe) and I have no grandkids, there'll be some tough years ahead for my offspring before they cash in their chips.

I heard on the radio this morning that they figure that for 1/10th - 1/5th of the total world military budgets, we could provide decent water and the means to help everyone in the world develop a reasonable lifestyle.

Seems to me that God must look at us, shake his/her head ...

... and cry.

Wondering whether s/he was in his/her right mind when s/he arranged for us to come into existence??

ole joyful

I used to work for the federal government, had a lot of public contact, and one of my job duties was to help families set up a budget for their household income. the first step was to list their normal monthly expenses, rent or mortgage, utilities,food, auto expenses,loans, insurance, credit cards,education, even entertainment. two of the biggest wasteful expenses were for cell phones and cable TV. I saw huge credit card bills for families with little or no monthly income. I was shocked at what people get themselves int,. and when I suggested they scale back, my goodness, nobody wanted to hear that. Or I'd suggest they taske in boarders or get part-time jobs or do babysitting to earn extra cash, that was unpopular,too.

All the frugality in the world doesn't help much when we can no longer afford food and some gas to get to work. I'm just very, very concerned at what I see every day at the supermarket and the gas pump and all I see on the news is what the celebrities did/said today. I get the feeling that nobody is at the wheel here... The American middle class is taking it in the noogies. (And it took me so long to get into the middle class, too!)

Well, my newest frugality is shopping at the Mexican supermarket. We have them here is S. CA. Produce is way less expensive, maybe has a few dings but so what. No fancy stuff, meat counter has things I never saw before, no diet or low cal things, but overall a far lower bill.

Yes the oil companies make a profit. It comes down to about 8%...my sister works for Shell. Most on the money goes back out the door for exploration and research. I wonder if we should explore anymore since the idiots in Congress continue to allow us to be held hostage to the environmental terrorists who refuse to let us use our own resources. I think all the CEOs and officers who get all the huge bonuses do need to turn around and refuse them. But that's not gonna happen.

We need to let Congress know that we are tired of being taken advantage of. They work for US and they need to know how we feel.

There are so many things that we can do. We can go back into the wells that are capped and, using new technology, get the rest of the oil out of there. When Katrina came through, over 1000 wells were wrecked and destroyed. Our technology is so good that there was not a drop of oil spilled. Not one. All the screaming and crying by the enviros came to naught....again.

Some of the most stringent environmental countries in the EU have either been drilling off their shores for decades OR been leasing drilling rights. There have been no leaks or spills and the drills themselves and the areas around them are thriving ecosystems. The Alaska pipeline. Same groups whined and complained about that one and again, a thriving ecosystem. The EU gets a most of their energy from nuclear. Have for decades. Last incident there was was at Chernobyl...and that was due to poor construction, worse training and blatant and criminal disregard on the part of the Russians.
Continue working on alternative fuels, but for God's sake, use what we have access to. There is just too much available for us to use. There is much technology, smarts and just plan inventiveness in this nation to let our own resources be kept in the ground. There is not reason for us to go to OPEC asking them to pump more oil when we won't bother to loosen the reigns on our own.

As for the tax credits, as far as I am concerned, with the tax breaks given with OUR money, that makes us stockholders. We need to do what we can to make Congress and the House listen. I made sure that they heard from me.

I put $15 in my little car yesterday and not quite a half tank in it. Fortunately, I don't have to drive long distances, and when it hits $3.75 - I have to figure out a bus schedule...it will add an hour per day to my trip to work. But a bus pass is cheaper than gas. Our food and energy expenses have gone up over 1/3 since January. Yes, I'm angry. My salary has not gone up by 1/3. My husband is a custom cabinetmaker...and there is no way that he can increase his prices a third and keep a business going.

2 thoughts was the 26 year old a moron? i see a lot of that, they don't hire 26 yo smart kids ...do they?

Second was you hubby a 59 year old "old fogey"? Does he have an ipod? Is he up to date with his reading and ideas?

Does he look like he is 59? Or do people say, i cant believe you are 59 i thought you were like maybe 40 at the oldest?

maybe it wasn't his actual age but the perception he is old, still listening to the "oldies" station

================================
He was just turning 59, had been with the company 25 years, excellent employment record, and they replaced him with a 26 year old. Try finding a job with any kind of liveable pay when you are almost 60! Too young to retire, too old to compete in the job market. This is happening all over America and it is just not right!

Susan, I think the whole world should go totally Solar and let the oil people drown in their oil. All they have ever done is use people us and get rich while others suffer.

"All they have ever done is use people us and get rich while others suffer."

No one can take advantage of you without your permission!
WE got ourselves into this mess.

And don't think that America would not do the same if we had the chance.

Supply and demand...

(No one can take advantage of you without your permission!)
ROF LMAO What turnip truck did you fall off of? Greedy people have been taking advantage of others without their permission forever. GHEES!

Whatever...
no need to get nasty just because you disagree!

You both have good points, though. If hybrid cars are way expensive and we need gas and cars and busses to get to work, we are at the mercy of greedy people. But then if we don't speak up, drive more fuel efficient vehicles and just demand that our leaders do something, we are kind of going along in our own exploitation. It's really easy to email your senator/congress person and let them know how you feel. But in the everyday hustle of all the stuff we have to do, we just let it go. I sort of feel like something BIG is out there sneaking up on us.

susancnw...
Don't believe the Hannity/Combs tripe about 'needing to exploit our own resources'. Our only hope is to wean ourselves from petroleum use as much as possible (nukes, electric everything). As long as we are dependent on oil, the mideast will call the shots. Whatever oil we can suck out of the ground pales in comparison to the resources they draw from. Think for a minute...we already deliver a fair amount from the Alaska oil fields. Do you see it being offered to us at a reduced rate? Hell no, the oil companies sell it to us at the going world rate that is set by whoever has their hand on the manipulation tap. There are no 'environmental terrorists', only people who want to preserve what we have left, whether it's wildlife or oil that may be REALLY needed later when the rest of the world's supply is tapped out and our (hopefully by then) electric machines need a little bit of oil for lubrication rather than wasting it by burning the stuff. See http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2934033020080429 for some info on why even McCain doesn't want to drill the ANWR.

My fiance drives a moped to and from work every day. He gets 100 miles per tank and that's a gallon tank. With gas at about $3.85 - $3.97/gal in our area, it's a great money saver. His Ford van now costs $100 to fill up. It's not really a "deep cut" since riding his moped is more for fun than anything.

Also, our friend rents a room in our house and he pays for our cable and internet on top of rent.

Hubby and I don't have a lot of cuts to make. We decided to start riding our bikes to work as much as possible. He rides 12 miles ea way and I ride 5 ea way. It keeps us healthy and it is amazing what you can see going by at a slower pace.
I did start scrutinizing our grocery bill and working to keep it down.
Would personally LOVE to ditch the satellite tv and the cell phones!!!!!!!

Pretty soon there will be no "middle class." There will be the very rich and the very poor. People need to learn to live within their means. Some of the young people don't realize just how bad things can get. They don't know about the great depression and don't even know what a recession is. They just keep charging everything and ignoring that one day they'll have to pay it back or for some, have no intention of paying it back.