With this recession going on, and what we me gardening and all, oh, and having a terrible two on our hands, we decided to STOP eating out. We’ve cut eating out down by about 90%. Seriously. I’ve been cooking a lot more, and so has my husband. We’ve been so thrifty! I even lost a decent amount of weight on this new plan.
But it was all pretend.
We were play-acting being thrifty. We were spending less and reallocating money to other sources (like Sun’s college plan). We didn’t NEED to be thrifty. And you know what? It’s kinda fun to pretend to be thrifty.
Then the sluggish economy finally caught up with the businesses of both my husband and me. And we are each tied financially to what “we bring in the door.” And although we aren’t eating Spam yet or cutting cable out of our lives, we are facing thriftiness FOR REAL. We now need to think twice about dropping $5o on a meal. On occasion, we still do it. But it’s rare. And quite the occassion.
And now that I know I need to cut back on spending, I am suddenly on eBay buying crap (mostly nickel and dime stuff for Sun), and buying NOLA books. And CRAVING eating in a restaurant. Of course, I KNOW this is my psyche rebeling against this current financial tightening. But I am losing sleep and finding reasons that I need the crap and cannot possible cook yet again.
*Sigh*
In the end, my career (as are most legal careers) is ebbs and flows. I am an expert at being in a Flow and preparing for an Ebb. There’s always squirreled away something, somehow, to help when that Ebb arrives. And I KNOW we will ride this recession out, adjusting our work lives and personal lives accordingly, and come out whole and in tact.
But there’s no denying I will miss sushi in the interim.
Isn’t it amazing how our minds work? I can identify with you on so much of what you have written. It is just that we have been in this pickle for years now, so I’d say we are experts of the ebb and preparing for the flow. You just have to keep on believing that it’s all good no matter what.
lilalia´s last blog ..Dudeism
I really identified with this too, especially where you said “pretend thriftiness.” I’ve caught myself doing that as well.
I have a bad habit of buying hobby supplies when we are supposed to be watching our outflow. In my mind, I rationalize it with “what if things get even worse, and I have no job, and I need to stay busy?” Weird. I hope things ease up for you soon.
saintseester´s last blog ..On Vaccines
Hehe, this is how we’re so alike! I really consider myself a saver, but sometimes, I find myself just spending, spending, spending. And then the guilt sets in. And then I stop and then return. I just tell myself, “that lottery ticket is coming!”
Jane Moneypenny´s last blog ..Pole Pole
I hear ya. We ditched our cable and just kept internet and we’re getting used to watching everything online instead.
But worst of all, we’re canceling our health insurance. Together, we pay almost $450 a month and we just can’t swing it anymore. It’s not happening.
But they’re telling us they can’t just cancel it, we’ve had to wait until the enrollment period (this month) rolled around. And that even if we cancel it, we’re paying through December.
I don’t remember signing a contract or getting locked into this thing, what gives Aetna?
Sharon´s last blog ..Heading on out
Interesting how cutting down on eating out doesn’t only cinch your wallet but cinches your waist. We just don’t realize the calorie intake at a restaurant.
Jonas Deffes´s last blog ..Simple ways to Minimize Your Swine Flu Risk in New Orleans
Hi, fellow New Orleanian here (well, Slidell actually). Found your blog because of Comic Con, as I’m somewhat a comic book fan myself. Interesting blog, I’ll be back to visit.
John´s last blog ..Joss Stone Coming