I got laid off after 8+ years in the mortgage industry...so I am having to cut back due to neccesity. It is amazing the money I just threw away for years. Little things like rag magazines and eating lunch out really add up.

cut back? no, i've been living/spending carefully all my life. now ready to retire at 58, we have a new camry (plan to keep it 10 yrs or so) a few toys, no mortgage, no debts, few worries and a half million net worth (and still building) not wealty, but prepared to be very comfortable. i make my columbian coffee every morning at home for about 12 cents a day.

Why should I go to Starbucks? I can make my own great cup of organic, fair-trade coffee at home in a coffeemaker that uses the technology to make that exact same cup for a large fraction of the price of a cup of their new "Pike Place Roast" and take it with me in a to go cup. I also keep a stash of organic, fair trade tea at my desk for an afternoon cup - just use that same to-go cup and use the hot water dispenser at the office. Again for at about a quarter a cup or so for GOOD tea that tastes great. I go to my local coffee shop for a mocha or lattee for a weekly TREAT - and not as a necessity. I have saved a lot of money and CALORIES from not buying those Frappes or Frappuccinos and still feel indulged by the quality of coffee or tea that I make, rather than by convenience of someone making it for me.

I have given up my satellite TV service, my home phone service and my DSL Internet service for a savings of 75-100 a month. I am also only driving my Jeep when I have large loads of people or groceries etc... I now drive a small truck that gets 25 mpg compared to 16 in the Jeep. I am still finding other ways to save, I don't eat lunch out, and only have dinner out about once a week. I also bought a window air conditioner for my bedroom that is only turned on at night, and leave my home central air set at 77. Must have air in the south, no way to get through a summer with out it. So far it saved me about 15.00 in just two weeks of use. These are just a few things I am doing to try to save some money.

i guess we're fortunate. i was brought up by a family born and bred in "the country", so i learned from a young age how to make do with what you had. grow your own vegetables, grab a fishing pole if you want fish for dinner, grab a hunting rifle if you need meat. i have caught myself cutting back on little things. use household bleach to clean with instead of a variety of cleaners. dry clothes on a clothes line, then fluff out wrinkles in the dryer. take a insulated cup full of cold water to drink instead of buying a 20oz soda. make your own soy candles for light. make your own glycerin soap for everything from bathing to washing dishes and clothes. buy a pre-paid phone and use it only for emergencies instead of signing a cell phone contract. grow your own herbs for seasoning. recycle when you can. buy a chicken to lay your eggs. think back to a time when we had to do without the technology and convience we now enjoy, figure out how we all survived without them, then LIVE like we did without them.

Honestly, I think the media needs to stop reporting stories like these. They are actually hurting the economy. Reading this makes me want to skip my morning trip to Starbucks tomorrow and take my lunch as opposed to getting at the food court at the mall I work at.

Maybe if they put some positive spin on our economic situation and report on things people are spending money on, they would reverse my, and other's, mentality that we shouldn't be spending money and make me want to spend more money (even if we don't have it), thus pumping money into the economy, which may, in turn, stimulate growth.

I'm not an economic analyst by any means, just an eighteen year-old with a part time job about to head off to college, so maybe this is completely out of the realm of reason. All I know is that reading stories such as these make me want to spend less money.

A big thing that works against discretionary income: the whole suburban sprawl model. Many people have too big a house (eating up money on maintenance and utilities), a manicured lawn that also is a drag on resources, and horrible commuting costs in time, stress and money. They also pay the world's worst health care costs by far.

All the "non-discretionary" expenses make Starbucks spending look small.

I dont think that the latte cutback has anything to do with wages, but I'd love to see the data that they're using to corraborate that non-sense. Equally unsupported, I would like to propose that the whole "juice" craze is to blame. If young adult children of baby boomers can still afford to spend $100/bottle of acai or pom juices from Andorra (I swear I am not making this up -- it's practically a meme), then I don't really think the economy can be blamed. I wish they'd do an article about the disappearing middle class though...

I would love to see an article about the disappearing middle class. I think with young adult children of baby boomers spending $100 a bottle for juice that there can't be that big of a crisis with discressionary income, but then again blaming the juice craze is probably as equally statistically unsupported as the economic claim they're making about coffee becoming a less common purchase. Indie is the new cool. As is juice, free-trade, and conflict-free. I'd love to see any statistics or survey actually correlating coffee buying habits with people feeling economic pursestring tightening.

We've never been latte-drinkers; instead I buy organic, fair trade beans and make my own delicious coffee. We gave up bottled water in favor of a filter at the tap. Dropped the gym membership that wasn't being used enough. Always, always turn off lights when leaving a room. I already drive a 4 cyl. manual trans, so I get the best mileage possible. Split meals in restaurants (but still tip for 2), but try to cook more often and pack at least one lunch per week with leftovers. Skip the lottery club at work. Use 1/3 less laundry or dish detergent than recommended. Little things DO add up!

I think the economy is in good shape. It is absolutely true that today some people are no longer splurging. Making your own coffee instead of spending $4.00 for a cup of coffee really is not much of a sacrifice, but pretty much just common sense. In other words, not splurging is the issue here. Americans have had it very very good for a very very long time. A sacrifice would be NO coffee. A sacrifice would be N0 house at all and moving in with the relatives. A sacrifice would be NO new clothing.

Me, cutting back? NOPE!!! I got ready for these high gas prices three years ago when I bought my 2005 Toyota Prius. With my 52+ mpg on regular; I spend less than $50.00 per month for gas. Another bonus is: no auto repairs. The only money that I have spent on maintenance is for oil changes. That has totaled less than $250.00 for three years. So, you see, I have plenty on money to go out and eat at least once a day, every day. Keep feeding your gas hogs (gas hog = any vehicle that gets less than 40 mpg) and let your tummies go hungry. Happy motoring everyone.

I agree with the comment about suburban sprawl. My wife and I recently returned from living 4.5 years in Germany (my work contract expired), and are continually struck by the sprawl here compared to the density of housing in Europe. The U.S. is reliant on cheap energy. People can talk all they want about mass transit, and it is a necessity that has long been ignored here, but mass transit does not work well in such a spread out environment. The pennies that are saved on things like coffee and soda are not impressive in comparison with the overall level of food and energy prices. Technology may eventually reduce the problem, but technology often creates as many problems as it solves. By the way, food prices are lower in Germany - and the food is of higher quality - than here.

What it boils down to is that more of us are examining our capital outlay (spending) on the basis of need vs. want. We've been trained to think that we need what we want. We believe that acquisition and ostentation result in: winning, or, success, or, happiness.
We value our time, so we justify some purchases as efficient.....like swiffers and pre-sliced cracker sized cheddar.

toni-339059,

I was just wondering how DIY glycerin soap compares cost-wise to say, Oil of Olay from Sam's(12 pack for about 10 something,last time I looked).I saw the soapmaking stuff at Hobby Lobby the other day and wondered if it would be cost effective.Does it take long to make?I am always looking for ways to save, but I don't have much extra time,so I have to be able to multi-task or save substantial cash to justify it.

All,

I have been reading about frugal living/sustainability for years, so we are somewhat ahead of the game, but still starting to feel really squeezed as we have horses. Hay has gone up tremendously due to gas , and now we are facing widespread flooding here in the midwest, so prices will be even higher ,if we can even find enough hay for the winter.Even selling one of our three horses to cut expenses is not really an option as the market is down(WAAAY DOWN!) and the horses are quite old.Thank God we have 2 acres in pasture for the summer. Also, our real estate taxes just went up almost $700 (!!!) for this year-is that unbelievable or WHAT?!That is almost 50% more than last year's taxes,and we live in an OLD(115 years old) house, definitely NOT a McMansion.The housing market is declining,so I guess they decided to really stick it to whoever was left.We will protest, but I don't see it changing anything,except our house payment going up.

I found 2 large folding clothes-drying racks at the Goodwill for $20 each, so I've been saving on electricity(which went up dramatically last year).The racks are usually $80 at Target, but would likely be an option for someone where there are restrictions on clotheslines- they can be moved in and out(they have wheels) and fold for storage.It also helps clothes last longer.We also switched to a thermal carafe coffee pot last year to save electricity,and we LOVE it.The coffee stays hot for close to 5 hours,and takes a little over five minutes to brew.We unplug the machine to save on phantom power, and plan to invest in several "smart strip" power strips for our tv/dvd and computer/peripherals.I saw it on Oprah months ago.I have only found them online so far.They cut the phantom power usage to secondary outlets when the "master" outlet item is turned off.Needless to say,we don't go to Starbucks.

We use propane for heating/cooking, and that cost is up 20% also,so I plan to help my husband build a couple of solar heating(not for electricity) panels to mount on two of our south-facing windows for the fall/winter to get auxiliary heat(at least when the sun shines).We will be adding more insulation to our attic, and weatherproofing even more than we did last year.One thing that has helped us is finding and using a "radiant barrier paint additive"(I only found it online) to make an insulating paint.It helps to keep our usage of heating and cooling lower by 3 to 5 degrees yet still maintains the comfort level.We used air conditioning only in August last year, and not yet this year.I strongly recommend it to anyone wanting to reduce heating and cooling expenses,but it doesn't replace adequate insulation.Sherwin Williams also has a thermal paint that it claims reduces these costs by 10-15%, but I haven't used their product.There are also Gila window films to use to retrofit windows that don't have a Low-e(emmissivity) coating.I did these last year to cut heat gain/loss from our non-low-e double-pane windows, and it works great.I think it increases security,too, by preventing the glass from shattering if broken.

As for groceries, we have about given up soda in favor of iced tea,sugar-free cool-aid, and water.We have always used skim milk, have chickens for eggs(their feed costs are up,too), and a bigger garden than ever before.I plan to order from the Angel Food Ministries for their low cost food items to stock up for the coming months, especially on meat.You can get $60 worth of food for $30, but there is a set monthly menu.If you want to learn more ,go to their website.They are a nationwide program with lots of local chuches participating, and no income restrictions, plus they take food stamps.As for gas, I take the Metrolink train for two-thirds of my commute to work, as my employer pays for it.This saves about $300 a month(that we don't have anymore due to other expenses being up so dramatically).My husband is not as lucky, so he is spending close to $80 or more a week on gas.He is trying to find a job closer to home, but that is easier said than done.It is sad and scary that we are spending almost as much on gas as we do for groceries for five people(three kids, including a teenage son), with no end in sight.I really feel for those less fortunate,because we are working hard to stay the course, and we were solidly middle class.I guess we still are, but it doesn't feel like it much now.We haven't cut our cable/internet yet, but we are looking for a cheaper provider.I really hate to give those up as we don't go to the movies or on vacation EVER, and we do use them for educational purposes(we homeschool), so they will be a last resort.Sorry this was so long, but I hope some of the information will be useful for others.Good luck to all. :)

We started our own garden this year. Brocolli, tomoatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and zuchinni. That will cut down a lot on our grocery costs as these are items we usually buy. Watering it is not a cost issue since we have been pretty wet here these days (luckily) and have not had to water the garden once so far. Produce around here is waaay expensive these days, and I'm glad we have our garden.

Eating out is also a luxury for us now, and we rarely do so. Going to the movies is not an option any longer, and we have also started going to thrift stores and garage sales for clothing. Sometimes we buy retail, but I have found a lot of designer clothing that is still in style for cheaper than the garbage at Walmart/Target at our local thrift store and I always check there first.

Going out for coffee that you can brew at home?????

Wow, I must really be behind the times. I will admit, sometimes nothing is better than a cup of DD's coffee with cream and sugar, but that is a rare treat.

They double cupons at all the major grocers in the Detroit Metro area, so we haved saved a ton with cupons. You have to watch the sales and buy multiple Sunday papers each week which can be time consuming, but man that is our biggest money saver ever.

It's also fun to go to the grocery store with a ton of cupons and see what your savings are at the end, if you've ever done it you know what I mean.

We also have no cell phones. I know in this day and age it seems primitive, but people have survived before without them, and will continue to do so. I refuse to get a cell phone no matter how many people make fun of me. The plus is that it's nice to go out and not be bothered......

Other than what I've mentioned, turning off lights, pre-setting the thermostat and trying to conserve water that's all we're doing for now.

I absolutely refuse to give up our internet/cable/phone connection. That's one thing I won't budge on, but I will find a provider with the lowest rate. So far, Comcast is the cheapest I've found.

I too have started a garden for the first time this year. My husband teases me that so far we've only gotten a couple of very expensive salads. But I am loving it. I am learning a lot. I am losing weight from all the weeding and mulching. I refuse to take the phone outside with me and for the first time in a long time I've been listening to the birds chirp. I now understand what it is that my dogs bark at so much. And I have talked to many neighbors over the fence. I am hopeful that by having a physical investment in the growing process, my teenage vegetable hating son will try some. And I have a new found respect for the farmer!!! I am also usually very tired from gardening so I am sleeping like the dead.

As for groceries, I have teamed up with two of my girlfriends and we go over the store ads once a month. We buy only what's on sale. We also went in on a membership to Sam's and for those items that really are cheaper in bulk we buy it and split it up. We each have five people in our households. Many of them are hungry, growing teens. So far we have averaged around $100-125 a week per household. That includes all cleaners and detergents. I have never had more food in the house and I have no excuse to eat out! It does take a whole day to do the shopping but it's only once a month. I have only to go back for eggs and milk.

My husband is actually carpooling to work several days a week. I never thought I'd see the day! The added bonus has been that he is actually coming home at a decent time. He has always been an overachiever and worked long hours. It has been great having him home more. We are enjoying lots of summer evenings on our back porch.