Mar 12 2009
I think this crunch time could be a good thing
Like many others, this economy has hit us, too. We don’t live high; drive used cars, shop at thrift stores, keep out thermostats low…and still, its affected us further. We gave up BlockBuster Dvd membership since we already pay for dsl and can watch HULU, and www.surfthechannel.com, along with many other streaming TV sites. We don’t feel the loss of our dvd club. We get car insurance cheaper online through Unitrin, with a discount for not requiring any paperwork. If we need a paper we dl the information and print it up on our end, not on their end. As money grew tighter, we got more creative.
I think many families are going through this and I don’t really see it as all bad. We were gluttons in our expenses; satisfying whims, not wants. I’ve still got things on my want list that I’ve never taken care of since I frittered away so much money on whims. Now, we think about what we buy. Even buying a thermos cup for my husband to carry his coffee in was weighed…a thing we might have just grabbed casually. Making coffee at home and taking it in a thermos was far more economical than buying a single cup out each day. We spent $5.00 to save $30; it just made sense. This thought pattern is affecting all parts of our life. We have been “existing” within our means for a while; now , we are “living”. We aren’t acting like this is a temporary setback anymore; we are adapting.
I could wish lots of things would come from this. People would be less susecptible to commercialism; spend less, conserve more; find its reasonable to step back in time and embrace a quieter way of living again.
