Have You Stopped or Curtailed Discretionary Spending?

[Mike03]

Last month I did something I never thought I would do: Cancelled my Amazon.com account, because I was spending too much money on books. I have not bought a DVD since "Blood Diamond" came out in March or May. No CDs... I'm only spending money on food, medicine (anti-depressants and migraine medication, gotten off the internet) and absolute necessities.

Regardless of what the Federal Reserve or GAO says, it is obvious that inflation is proliferating. Retailers are predicting a very bad holiday season.

I'm just curious: Have you had to make a decision to spend less or severely reduce your lifestyle in order to compensate for inflation or prepare for a deflated dollar in the future--a time when something that costs $100 today may cost $300? Even people who are making a healthy income have to consider the declining buying power of the dollar.

[riverdeep]

1. Yes, absolutely.

My spending decrease is to keep a financial disaster from occurring rather than currently being in one. But, I gotta say, it's quite amazing the things you think you 'need', you really don't. And after a while, you don't miss them. You become acclimated.

[Mike03]

11. Exactly

Things changed a lot when someone close to me became ill, and I just stopped caring about material things altogether, which made it sort of easy to make major lifestyle changes. I do enjoy learning, but thanks to the internet I can do that without spending money on textbooks, etc...

[TomInTib]

2. Nope. But then...

I do not spend money needlessly except on guitars, wine, reefer and women.

And I just can't quit any one of them.

[KG]

3. cut back on discretionary because my basic expenses went up, and my income didn't

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

4. Discretionary spending? What's that? I only run my H2O heater 3 hrs/day.

:rofl:

Yes. I am financially challenged wishing my garden would have produced more but the drought conditions had an affect.

However, even if I hit the lottery tomorrow, I would be a conservationist because it is about damn time we all stop consuming so damn much!!! I haven't always been financially challenged. I was wasteful. I won't go back to that behavior.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Yes,

though I am considering replacing my laptop before I cannot afford to do so

Othwerwise, no minis for us, thinking seriously about going to a movie, and I go down to the swap meet to buy fruits and vegies since it is far cheaper.

[BlackVelvet04]

6. Sure have.

Although today I bought some flowers. I didn't spend but $10 but it was unnecessary. I just needed to nourish my soul a bit.

[snappyturtle]

58. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do! Good for you. Today I was in our big

local grocery store and saw a young employee with an armful of THE MOST gorgeous sunflowers I've ever seen.....I couldn't bring myself to check out the price....but soon I hope to bring some home.

My husband has grown beautiful hybiscus and moon flowers from SEED....I do not have a green thumb...so I'm lucky I get to see flowers everyday.....but I'm still lusting after those sunflowers. Guess we'll have to grow them next year.

Flowers are very good for the soul....and heart....and brain!

edit: oops! to answer the question.....yes we cut back.....could do more but we don't live quite the way we used to live.

[CTyankee]

7. I did this a while back. When I retired (spouse still working) I realized

the shift in what had happened. I no longer had a paycheck that grew each year with the COL. I have investments from my mother's estate and SS, but I felt it was necessary to cut back on expenses, since I could no longer increase income.

I took a long, hard look at my gas consumption. I got a gym closer to my house to save gas on that daily trip to the treadmill! I ate leftovers for lunch instead of eating lunch out, except for some monthly regular lunches keeping in touch with friends. I got energy efficient windows for my 194l house to save on heating and air conditioning bills.

I reduced my monthly mortgage payments by refi-ing my mortgage loan to interest only. We will be selling our house in about 5 years (we can't pay it off soon because we bought it a bit too late for that) so I figure we have a nice equity in it so far, now lets save on the monthly payments.

My cell phone bill is very low, since I don't use it that much. I pay about $17 per month, which is really for emergency situations.

None of this is rocket science. Anybody can do it. It helps to develop a BUDGET! Just do it! It is so liberating, you will be surprised!

[sandnsea]

12. hmmm

So what do you do when you've never had a gym, cell phone, or any other similar luxury; don't eat out, or even have leftovers because you have your food budget down to the exact amount you need per dinner. I know you mean well, but your post is pure comedy to over half the country. Sell everything you've got to pay for medical bills, then come back and talk about how 'liberated' you feel.

[CTyankee]

30. Well, everybody deals with the situation they have. I am the first one to admit I am

fortunate to have what I have. But that still doesn't mean that you can't basically look at what you have coming in versus what you spend and that's all budgeting is. The reality of Americans who are bankrupted by medical bills is one of the reasons I am a liberal Democrat who wants to change things in this country. Anybody COULD be in that position; I know I could. That's why I post on DU.

My reference to "liberating" was meant this way: some people, including me for a long time, simply can't bear to look at their income vs. expenses. They are, as I was, afraid of what they'll find. But what I expected and what actually happened surprised me. I found places where I could exercise discretion and did so. If that is a crime, well, then I guess I'm guilty.

I don't excoriate the poor for being poor like Republicans do. The people I have worked with at Literacy Volunteers are almost all poor and they don't speak English. Financial literacy is a major part of our ESOL curriculum. We help new immigrants learn life skills such as opening a bank account, signing a lease, getting the government benefits they are entitled to, avoiding scams, etc. We are enthusiastic partners with an initiative in New Haven with municipal ID cards, enabling people who are in a cash economy (and thus at risk for robbery and/or assault) to have a mechanism most of us take for granted: opening a bank account. I believe such groundbreaking initiatives are enlightened, progressive efforts that will ultimately help the desperately poor who nonetheless work incredibly hard. One group I have worked with are refugees who have escaped some of the most godawful places in the world and I am stunned by the grace that they exhibit under terrible circumstances.

After I am fully recovered from a lengthy illness, I will again resume my work with LV, hopefully helping people with their citizenship test.

This is how I am trying to change things in my own community. And you?

[sandnsea]

37. I used to work with Literacy Volunteers

That is such a great program! I don't recall saying you where a selfish ghoul who never did a thing for their fellow human beings. Besides, you do know Republicans do community service too, don't you?

In any event, there's a difference between budgeting because it's a sensible thing to do, and the cuts of necessity, like choosing saltines over fruit or phone over cable. Those choices aren't "liberating", they're depressing and discouraging.

What do I do? Well for one, I remind people like you what it's like for the rest of us because I'm not sure there's anybody in your personal circle who would do that. Just so you are reminded when you make slightly silly comments about budgeting your luxuries.

[CTyankee]

38. I'm so glad you are watching out for my silliness. Goodness knows, if it weren't for people like

you in the world, taking care of other people's silliness -- instead of, say, devoting a tad more time to Literacy Volunteers or your local soup kitchen (which I also actively support) -- I just don't know how we would survive! You might also want to lecture my husband. He is silly enough to ride the bus every day to and from city hall where he coordinates programs for the homeless in New Haven. He gets very silly when dealing with people who have horrendous drug and alcohol abuse problems, the kind you may (or may not) want to learn more about.

I find it very interesting that the real poor people I have interacted with are VERY interested in financial literacy information and they USE it. Sorry they don't fit your sterotype. Maybe you should come to New Haven and lecture them about what it's like to be REALLY poor and to stop being enthusiastic about help in managing what money they DO have. I'm sure they'd love to hear it!

:rofl:

[JeanGrey]

33. I do not believe that over "half the country" doesn't have

things like cell phones. We have a lot of poor, but not half the country.

[sandnsea]

35. $38,203

That is the eligibility level for reduced school lunch program. That's right about the national average wage, which was $36,952 in 2006. 35-40% of babies are born on Medicaid. There are a lot more low income people in this country than people usually think. Most don't have all those extras. Maybe one of the bunch, but not all. I think most people don't really realize the average financial situation. They're led to believe everybody is doing so well, when the truth is way way way more people qualify for assistance than are worried about the AMT or FICA caps.

[Lyric]

8. No, because we don't *have* any discretionary income

My family is very low-income. We get Food Stamps and Medicaid. Those Food Stamps buy less and less with each passing month. We're supposed to get a bit of an increase in October, but it's not enough to cover the rising prices for food around here. I was shocked to see gallons of milk selling for almost $5 each the other day, and block cheese around $4 for an 8 ounce package of the store brand. Why is the price of dairy going up so dramatically?

I'm pretty scared over it. God(dess) help us this winter when the natural gas bill starts to skyrocket.

:cry:

[prolesunited]

19. A trick I used to do when I still drank milk

was buy a gallon of regular milk and make a gallon of powdered milk, then mix the two together. It ended up tasting like 2 percent, which wasn't so bad. Also, try Velveeta. It works well for flavoring on veggies and other dishes. Can you get to a farmer's market? Stock up now and freeze what you can. We had our own organic garden, which saved a ton since I'm a vegetarian. You can grow quite a bit in some big pots if you don't have a yard.

What we've done is use coupons and scope out sale ads each week to build a small pantry with freezer in our basement. Now, we just shop loss leaders almost exclusively and save tons each week. Things like pop and other staples go in cycles and once you have the patterns down, you can get enough to last you until the next sale. It took almost six months to do without really changing how much we were spending. Now, we are spending even less. I'm also flexible. We see what's on sale and plan what to eat, not make a menu and hope it's on sale.

We keep the heat really low and have a couple of space heaters just to warm the room that we're in.

Things our tough now, but I'm sure they'll get better.

[Lyric]

28. Another thing I've been doing

is to make a lot of our own bread products from scratch, like biscuits, breads, scones, etc. Toss some cinnamon and raisins into a sweet honey dough, and you've got an awesome loaf of raisin bread for making french toast in the mornings (which my little boy loves).

We don't buy pop though, not even "diet" pop. We decided that it was better if our son never got accustomed to having it as more than a rare treat he gets on special occasions. Most of the time we buy the refillable spring water jugs, bottled sugar-free flavored water (like AquaFina's FlavorSplash) and sugar-free kool-aid.

September was a bad month for us because we had some issues with an electrical outlet in the kitchen that caused a short, and damaged the refrigerator. We lost pretty much all of our perishables, but a very generous friend is helping us replace that stuff, thank goodness.

:hi:

[fudge stripe cookays]

43. Good for you.

Stay AWAY from the sugar-free beverages. Period.

I'm convinced that my MS is from that Nutrasweet crap. Even regular Coke is better.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

55. Artificial sweeteners are neurotoxins. Splenda and Equal.

Stevia is OK I believe, it's natural from a plant.

[fudge stripe cookays]

59. Also avoid MSG.

I've recently learned about "excitotoxins", and that's one of the biggies. It's in just about every soup, hidden in the "broth" ingredient.

I read somewhere, some expert has said, "If it's not dangerous, why do they have to hide it in the ingredients?"

I've started REALLY cutting back on crap, and with the exception that I've started having to DO more (no reprehensor up here to help me right now)and get tired more, I really do feel better.

[Le Taz Hot]

47. I make my own bread as well

and you're right, it saves a FORTUNE. I got a little cheap breadmaker for $35.00 on sale a couple of years ago and, because I buy in bulk, can make a loaf of bread for under 25 cents a loaf, or cheaper.

We have GREAT Farmers Markets around here and we also started a small garden this year. I used to freeze a lot of stuff but I started thinking about power outages and I'd hate to lose all that food. So this year, I started canning. I've actually made jams and jellies for years so the transition into food preservation wasn't that far of a leap. Once you've made the initial investment in canning equipment, its a cheap process and it doesn't require continued energy for storing as freezing does. Anyway, I've had a real blast in learning about it. I've even extended beyond canning fruits and veggies to canning marinara sauce, cooked black beans and salsa. I'm realizing that if you can buy it in a can, you can can it yourself MUCH cheaper AND you KNOW what's going into those jars.

[AdHocSolver]

26. The price of dairy is going up because the oil companies are converting corn into ethanol.

Corn is used to feed cows. The oil companies have lots of money to spend on corn to convert into ethanol to burn up in cars. So they drive the price of corn up. Agribusiness sees that they can make more money growing corn for ethanol, so they are converting their farms from growing wheat, or oats, or alfalfa to growing corn.

This means reduced grains for people food and animal feed. So the dairy farmer pays more for cattle feed and the price of dairy products goes up the quickest. The price of cereals, bread, cake, candy, soda, and meat will be rising, also. To lower costs, some pet food manufacturers were buying lower-priced grain from China which, unfortunately, was tainted with melamine, a toxic compound which poisoned some people's pets.

The truly sad part about all this is that putting ethanol in gasoline does NOT save oil. Gas mileage with ethanol drops significantly. I had proof of this when I went on a trip recently during which I compared MPG with gas containing ethanol to gasoline not containing ethanol. Gas mileage dropped about 10 per cent when 10 percent ethanol was added. No advantage with ethanol. However, oil companies and agribusiness make increased profit with it so don't expect relief any time soon.

I empathize with everyone here. I am providing this information on the basis that people really want to know how and why we are all being royally screwed. If any similar questions being posed here are for rhetorical purposes only (that is, you really don't want to know), please indicate this and I will not respond.

P.S. A suggestion. We switched to skim milk, which is less costly (at least, in our area). It takes a little getting used to, but we are fine with it now, and it costs less.

[Lyric]

29. There's a brand of skim milk here that I like

that has a thickener added to it, so it has the same consistency as regular milk. It's really very good. My seven-year-old can't tell the difference at all.

[Blue_Tires]

63. +1

[renie408]

9. Honey, I have curtailed discretionary EATING.

I am spending as much time online as possible, since that is going to be the next thing to go.

[Mike03]

10. In a sense I have too

I went vegan, not for financial reasons but health and ethics, so I am mostly eating raw vegetables and Grape Nuts. No more meat, dairy. That helps a bit.

[pitohui]

13. what's this thing you call discretionary spending? you interest me strangely EOM

m

[kineneb]

17. yeah, what is this "discretionary spending" thingy?

We live on a fixed income.

[Mike03]

62. Discretionary just means

that if you have an allottment of money that you can choose to use any way you want, how do you use it?

It's one gauge of how the economy is doing--whether or not Americans have discretionary funds, and if they do have them, what do they do with them?

My realization this past summer is that I personally can't view myself as having any discretionary money, because the future is so uncertain, and my expenses for necessary things are growing. So I'm trying to adjust to having as little as possible, and spending as little as possible.

[fed-up]

14. I am borrowing each month as I can't rent out my empty room-my prop is meth contaminated...

house is okay, but yard is not and as soon as I mention to a potential room-mate that there may be meth contamination in the yard, they say, thanks, but no thanks

can't work due to herniated, degenerating discs and chronic pain

right now life more than sucks

but am hoping that things will look up next week after I meet with another lawyer...

[prolesunited]

20. How did you get meth contamination in the yard?

Will the health department or environmental department help as that crap will just migrate outward?

[SoCalDem]

15. we did that years ago.. we buy only what we really need and

I only grocery shop about one a month..or when my husband bugs me about being out of stuff..

We bought a car this year (paid cash) and did some car repairs on our older ones, but other than that, we bought next to nothing..

I'd rather have the cash & not need it, than the other way around..

[sendero]

16. Yes..

... back in 2002 :)

[lectrobyte]

18. Yes. Less trips to restaurants, library instead of the bookstore, you name it.

[prolesunited]

22. Eating out

is packing a picnic. :-)

And our trips we're all camping within a three to four-hour drive. Truth be told, I rather enjoyed it.

We were supposed to go to this fancy-schmanzy dinner with some more well-off friends and the last one turned into a fiasco when it came to pay the bill and we refused to put in for the drinks and appetizers we didn't have cause we were watching our spending. Anyway, we decided to go camping instead. I treated us to a nice bottle of port and some good chocolates. We sat under the stars and talking by the campfire and really had the best time.

We were working on voluntary simplicity anyway before it became more of a necessity and I can't say I've missed a whole lot. We're sticking to it when the job situation improves and just getting our house paid off so we can explore the world. Who needs an SUV and a McMansion?

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. Years ago.

[Fresh_Start]

23. I curtailed after Bush was reelected

I was going to save my money and help sink the economy so that he would be a failure on all fronts.

[upi402]

24. Yep, cut way back a good while ago

Great question. I hope libs are prepared!
I know some Repubs that think all is dandy and are sinking deep into debt. It's like they defy the coming crash/downturn.

[Tian Zhuangzhuang]

25. Yes quite a bit (canceled netflix ect)

[fortyfeetunder]

27. For the most part, yes.

If I don't need it I won't buy it...but then I was always like that.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

31. If You Believe The Value Of The Dollar Is Declining

If you believe the value of the dollar is precipitously declining doesn't it make sense to buy as much non-perishable stuff as soon as possible and horde it?

[Mike03]

61. Excellent Question

As a matter of fact, my parents taught me, when I was in college, that if I found something cheap and quality, to buy two and put one away for the future. That is really what I did, in terms of clothes (in particular), so I have boxes and boxes of shirts from the late 80s and 90s that cost half as much as they would cost today. Most of them have never been opened or unwrapped.

That was also my rationale for stocking up on canned foods in case of some domestic emergency.

But I have had to curtail my spending on things that I "like" but don't "need". I'm working hard on just being content, and being able to sit still with restlessness, and not constantly be trying to escape from being with myself--that is really what motivated me to always have to have some new book or something to study or distract myself from being still and content.

[JeanGrey]

32. Well, I just received a check for $3,000 from my dead Uncle's

estate, and I used it to pay off my car that I owed $2400.00 on. It WAS SO HARD. I spent two days fantasizing about cruises and trips to Italy. I've been very ill this year and I'm on a reprieve right now and it was hard to do the right thing. But, I'm totally out of debt now, my house and car is paid for. My husband and I since we retired for health reasons decided we couldn't afford debt anymore, and we are really trying to cut down on stuff we really don't need. Magazines was the first to go since we have the 'net. Also we eat out way too much which isn't good for our bodies or our pocketbooks, and I stopped my blockbuster account when I realized to make it financially viable I'd have to watch a new movie everday and I couldn't take the pressure.

[sarcasmo]

42. Welcome to D/U and a smart move to pay off the car.

FYI, most good magazine articles you can find on the Internet.

[JeanGrey]

45. Thank you! Yes I know it was the right thing to do. And we've

always "done the right thing" our entire married lives, with bills always coming first and what was best for the kids always coming first. This was hard though, we're getting older and the kids are grown. Just ONCE I wanted a fling. (sigh) Just once I wanted to go somewhere and do something without asking first "do I really need this? Can I really afford it? can I get it cheaper elsewhere?" LOL

[sarcasmo]

48. It is hard to do the right thing when a windfall comes your way.

Glad you did and I am sure it's nice not to worry about the note.

[knitter4democracy]

57. I'm sorry about the health problems.

:( They suck, don't they? I'm only now coming out of my problems and slowly (too damn slowly) getting better. It's really hard.

[JeanGrey]

60. Yes, major problems really suck. I'm getting better,

and I hope you are too!

[JitterbugPerfume]

34. I recycle reuse and reduce

about as much as I possibly can

I bought a burn barrel for things I can't RR&R , but then I live in an area where I can do that . I canned and froze as much produce as I could this year , and I plan to wear a sweater instead of turning the furnace up this winter.

fixed income sux

[Totally Committed]

36. Yes.

I live on a fixed income, so it's sort of necessary at this point.

TC

[BlooInBloo]

39. Not really. But I don't really need to, except perhaps to save up for a car I've been wanting.

[shadowknows69]

40. What's spending?

[sarcasmo]

41. Haven't bought anything other than food or fuel since March.

[Danger Mouse]

44. I'm on a pretty tight budget these days...

car payments + lousy paying job :grr:

[seabeyond]

46. i started once bush was getting into iraq and seeing the incompetence

over a couple years of his governing. hence i have saved over 50k.... lol and really gotta thank bush in making me so fuckin conservative for fear of a bottom dropping. has become so part of nature for me. now, i havent invested any in the market cause i am just sure at anytime it is going to all collapse so in part he has also lost me money

[lonestarnot]

49. Yes!

[yasmina27]

50. I don't have a choice

since I had back surgery a week ago. I'm not allowed to drive, thus.......no spending. But I hear what you're saying and plan to definitely knock off the extra spending.

[Deja Q]

51. To an extent, but

the less people spend means the beginning of a cycle that WILL end in depression or worse.

I'm working on numerous projects/services and am hoping to get them out by year's end, if not January.

Besides, we've heard the usual "Holiday season will be bad this year" for 3 or 4 years now.

It may not be as good as the last couple years, but I don't think it's going to be disaster just yet. 2008 may be a different story, but I'm not terribly worried about 2007.

And if the dollar totally deflates... what matter will it be anyway? To anyone?

Right now it's utter guesswork and stranger shit has been flung. There is no point to worrying, one way or the other.

[Butterflies]

52. Yes, but with kids you can't skimp on B-days and X-mas

I would be doing pretty well with cutting down except for the fact that there are several big holidays coming for my family in the next few months.

[BushOut06]

53. We are on the brink of a depression - you bet your ass I am

No more movies, going out to eat, music CD's, video games, or other recreational purchases. We are on the brink of a serious depression - not merely a recession. The time is coming soon when quite a few of us will find ourselves out of work, with virtually no prospects of finding new employment. You can already see factories around the country shutting down. Construction around the nation is grinding down to a halt - even here in Florida, where such a thing would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

[Mike03]

54. Oh the irony

Just to update this thread, I thought I was going to have a spectacular couple of months in terms of barebones spending, but over the weekend I received:

1. Property Tax Bill
2. Auto Insurance
3. Home Insurance

So, guess not. Oh, and my migraines are returning, so that means $250 for 9 Imitrex tablets.

[Tsiyu]

56. I am trying to transition from "working for the man"

to working for myself. This involves being a jackie of all trades and the cash flow is minimal at this stage.

But I have no cellphone, only Kuntry Kabel (ABC, CBS and NBC) provided by a long stretch of electric fencewire. my total utility bill has been around $100 a month this summer. No mortgage, no car payment. Some debts on hold...the only thing i have to spend for is me food and animal food.

The grain and hay will be an issue this winter. i feel like i won the lottery as my hay farmers put up 24 round bales for me in their barn for the coming cold months. They refuse to go up on price but i am paying them more per bale anyway whether they like it or not. The farmer says "it's not your fault we had a bad year." i say to the farmer "it's not your fault either." We go back and forth...I will win, but that is a big hay bill to cover.

I can barter, too. Today I went to a local restaurant to help teach the pastry chef some dessert tricks and I will perhaps trade that for a meal for two. I do a weekly singing gig at a coffeeshop in exchange for a small bit of cash and all the quiche (egg pie) and lattes and cookies I can stuff in my face while i'm there.

Discretionary spending is buying new guitar strings or splurging on fast food. Every other bit is going in some critter's belly here.

if i ever get to the point of being able to save anything (I keep asking the animals to stop eating for a day or two but they just play dumb about this) i would be saving to have a new well dug. In other words, if i did have extra $$ it would not go toward clothes or makeup or DVDs but toward something I need.

Dispatch from the hills, anyhoo....