If you were to hit serious financial hard times

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GeorgiaXplant

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
what would you give up? Would it be cable/satellite TV? Starbucks? A weekly or monthly lunch or dinner out with friends? Movies? A hobby that you enjoy? Vacations? Toys such as electronics, collector cars?
 

If it was just me I probably wouldn't have cable, possibly not even a TV. I suppose I could go with natural nails but the acrylics are a perfect ten and it makes me happy. Could go with way less food...but books, gotta have my reading material, that's not a luxury that is a need.
 
I understand books. Could no more go without books than without air. I'd probably be more active on the free-for-Kindle sites, though.

If you already have a TV, there's always the possibility of using a digital antenna that you only pay for once and brings in nearby stations and public TV. If you're in the right location, they can also pick up some cable channels.
 

I'd give up whatever I had to, except my doggie. Fortunately, I don't have any big bills, and I cut the cable a couple years ago (way too expensive and there wasn't anything much on there I wanted to watch anyway) and now have Netflix and Acorn TV.
 
i have never ever hit serious financial hard times since age 25 and to have a problem now I would have to no longer have a pension, Social Security and all my investment accounts wiped out.
 
We're lucky here to have a large rotating used book section in the library. There's any number of us who bring in twenty and take home ten, bring in more and take home more. Great way to get your book fix for free.
 
What would I have to do without should I run short of cash? Give up good coffee, ice cream and butter tarts.
 
I probably have enough books to read the rest of my life (I still buy more though) and I have a lot of tubes of paint stored up. I think I've subconsciously done this because I was very poor when I was young. Using a safety pin to attach your underpant's material to their waist band kind of poor, buying big bags of old bread and pastry from the bakery for $1 for chicken feed and eating it ourselves kind of poor, so it's something I can never forget. So for me the TV would be the first to go as I seldom watch it anyway. I would hate to let the internet go but I could do it if I had to. For me, it's almost a necessity as it's how I usually socialize. Eating out and movies could go, I could keep my rock garden as how much do rocks cost? :), I could give up vacations and Starbucks, I don't spend much on cloths so that wouldn't be much of a problem. I also have bins on extra tops and pants stored in my shed and in my house I have about 50 pairs of underpants and 15 or 20 bras and then many stored in the shed. Lots of shoes and cloths stored that wouldn't even fit me but I like to save them in case anyone else needs them. Yeah, its kind of sick maybe but I don't think I'm hurting anyone. Besides 5 bookcases in my house I have many boxes and bins of books in my shed. In my own defense, I will say, I have yard sales twice a year and sometimes I put things out to sell, so I'm not really a hoarder.
 
I have always been one for having a plan for anything that may come up in my life, instead of waiting for the bomb to drop. By luck only, I inherited old family money from two generations back. I had a great paying job and money was never an issue. The answer to this question is that I really don't know. This is one of those things that I never gave any thought to. Maybe cut back on everything and downsize our housing. Cutting back and downsizing would be the only option, but we do what we have to do to survive. I am sure that robbing and pillaging would be out of the question. But, as some say, never say never.
 
LOL, Oldman. Robbing and pillaging out of the question, but what about plundering and looting?

For me there wouldn't be a whole lot to give up. I rarely eat out, don't do mani/pedi, drive a 12-year-old Subaru, don't do Starbucks at Starbucks.

So I guess I could sell the Ru if I had to and give the up the bottled Starbucks that I buy when they're on sale. I only get my hair cut every eight weeks or so but could go back to cutting it myself.

Then there's the flower garden. One of the reasons I've been trying to put in more perennials each year is so that I won't have to buy bedding plants. Guess it wouldn't kill me to forego bedding plants and start annuals from seed.

Like Butterfly with her dog, I'd never give up Tucker, The Perfectly Good Cat. Never.
 
I did last year when my house and car burned up. 14 different people offered for me to live in their homes. I was so touched by it I cried and cried. I'm a very fortunate person to have great friends and family that have proven time and again they are there for me. I'm a rich woman.
 
This is hard to answer as I live quite simply already. I would give up cable tv before the internet as I use it for so many things. I guess I'd have to tighten the budget all over.

Bulk cooking is also good for the budget. No wasted ingredients and it saves power. I enjoy wine with dinner so I guess that would have to go. Gee I hope it doesn't happen.
 
Cable would go, no meals out..it just takes common sense to get by...hard times means paying for food, shelter first. If you are totally without funds...time to look for programs you might qualify for...and in CA there are plenty. Each situation is so different..but you need a real plan and the ability to set priorities to survive.
 
I feed my pups the cheap stuff, cats too. I mean if you feel good doing the premium brands then fine. But there were people coming in the pet store I worked for. Maybe for food and grooming twice a month around 200 bucks each visit. For one dog...yeah I find that a little nuts.
 
The first thing to go would be the TV set. I know how to prepare good cheap meals so I would do more of that. No dining out at all. I also wouldn't mind turning the heat way down. A person can always layer clothing to keep warm. Luckily we have electric heat so I would close off rooms we don't use that often.Try to food shop once a month instead of weekly. We have a wonderful library here, I wouldn't even have to buy my books. Also groups I could join through the library,although I'm not one to do that. What I would have a hard time giving up would be my air conditioning. I feel the heat terribly. If I absolutely had to give that up,we could probably spend more time in our finished basement where it usually is cooler. Before we added air conditioning we did just that. Air conditioning is an expensive item.
 
I was downsized at age 59 during a recession, we spent money only for food and gas, so that I could go job hunting. It really sucked.
 
BlunderWoman said:
I did last year when my house and car burned up. 14 different people offered for me to live in their homes. I was so touched by it I cried and cried. I'm a very fortunate person to have great friends and family that have proven time and again they are there for me. I'm a rich woman.
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BlunderWoman, that's truly a tragedy.

I'm still young enough to work so when and if things would get bad financially, I could always work more or tutor as I have a college education. I can save money on clothes and jewelry and books by buying from yard sales and estate sales. I can save on food because I'm a good cook and can make wonderful meals out of next to nothing. (I learned this from my grandmothers who raised families during the depression but always fed them well). I can take care of myself healthwise so that's a huge savings.

I gotta have Starbucks though. For business as well as personal reasons. :eek:
 
I don't think Lon deserves the criticism for being truthful, only for missing the point of the OP thread.
I hope I never find myself in a dire financial position, but if I did, holidays and travel would have to go. There's no cable TV here, I don't have satellite TV and I wouldn't do without the internet, even if the service is lousy. Living in a rural location, we've adopted a semi self-sufficient lifestyle and I suppose we'd have to do a bit more for ourselves.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
Wut wo! If it happened to you but not to me, that would mean I'd have to go on my virtue vacations alone! Nooooooooo!
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Don't worry. It isn't going to happen. All of our pensions are secure. Our travels will only stop when we are too feeble and sick to go on them.
 

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