What are you most likely to give up in response to hyperinflation and recession?

[El Pinko]

Which budget items are you most likely to give up in response to hyperinflation and recession?




(edited to include internet service)

[whosinpower]

1. You might have to give up them all. n/t

[MrCoffee]

2. Happy endings.

[Epiphany4z]

3. I have 5 kids

2 will be away at college this fall...I love them having cell phones it helps keep my high blood pressure down..lol. If things don't let up soon its a big bill 150+ a month...it will have to go.

[elocs]

4. I already live a frugal lifestyle, so I don't need to give up anything. n/t

[Epiphany4z]

5. we gave up all the other stuff

except basic cable and cell phones some time ago.

[izquierdista]

9. Me too

I didn't see that as one of the choices though.

[Eagle_Eye]

6. It seems that a little of all those things are going to get cut back

I don't have a cell phone, and it doesn't look like I will be getting one soon.
Road trips and plane flights are on hold also.
Food is being cut back to beans and macaroni more often than I would like.

And just think, with McCain as president, we can expect 100 more years of this.

[searchingforlight]

7. I am giving up several things.

Dunkin Donuts Coffee
Ordering out lunch
Cutting back on running to the store for "a couple of things".
Trips through the car wash.
Cokes from the machine. (Can bring my own for half the price.)

[tedoll78]

8. A combination thereof.

Coffee not made at home, movie tickets, video games (my criteria for purchase will skyrocket), unnecessary trips around town, DVDs, trips home to New Orleans, etc etc.

I'm already a homebody, and half of my backyard is already covered in veggie crops (okra, corn, lima beans, etc), and I can sneeze from my front door & hit the hospital where I work.. so things are pretty well-situated for now.
So the plan remains: keep on saving to move home some day. The sooner, the better.

[patrice]

10. Already ended a 10 year relationship with my lawn service. Bought an electric mower. nt

[FarCenter]

16. The problem with a lawn service is that they tend to grow the grass

They keep aggravating the situation by using herbicide, pesticide and fertilizer.

My deal with my lawn is -- whatever grows, I cut.

[patrice]

19. I would prefer whatever grows too but I'd rather not cut it. Neighborhood association can

slap a lein on my house to maintain the property.

We built a house in the woods a long time ago, surrounded it with deck and let everything growing there alone. It was Beautiful. I also LOVE the tall grasses in this part of the country and dream of a home amongst them. That will probably happen someday, just not the kind of home I live in now.

:hi:

[roamer65]

11. Businesses will eventually have to give raises corresponding to the inflation rate.

Otherwise their good people will simply leave.

[robinlynne]

20. and go to India?

[beezlebum]

12. mccain won't be president, eagle_eye :-), and as for the OP

road trips, plane trips, organic foods at the market (i will have to find the time and space to grown more of my own), meals at proper restaurants...etc.

i was already trying to give up restaurants (in NOLA, that's a hard thing to do!!), because i feel right guilty when i'm eating such a meal while so many others are starving...doesn't quite jibe with the whole "live/eat simply so other may simply live/eat" mantra i am trying to adopt). the lack of funds is helpful in breaking me of the habit.

there is a marvelous machine i saw on an infomercial last night, and in a drunken stupor, i ordered it. i had myself convinced that at $40, it's going to save me lots. it's a leftover magic meal maker thingy doodle. or a make a meal from crap outta yer pantry thingy doodle.of course, i have already perfected leftover meals (hellllooo- gumbo??), but this will be good for the crap outta my pantry.

edit: pretty much everything else except cell phone, which is required in my field of work, and i'd NEVER get in touch with my mom without it. we are instead opting to get rid of our land line.

and i have been to the movies ONCE in the last 10 years- to see over the hedge with my kids and my mom- it was over a hundred bucks for all of us! glad i gave that one up YEARS ago.

[ananda]

13. What if you have more than one option?

I'm already giving up movies at the theatre
and plane trips.

I switched to the much cheaper pay as you go
cell phone plan.

I still buy clothes, use the three in one TW
plan for phone, internet, and digital cable
service so I don't have to use the super sucky
evil ATT.

I eat at a restaurant occasionally.

I just bought a Civic hybrid and am now trying
to sell my CR-V. That actually cost me money,
but it assuages my guilt over using so much
gasoline a bit.

I also volunteer at the local radical bookstore,
which provides riches for the soul if not the
body.

[FarCenter]

14. Don't have or do most of these things now

The big expenses are stuff like property taxes, auto insurance, health insurance, heating oil, etc.

That's where we need to be cutting back.

[slackmaster]

15. I'd probably quit my job

Then take up something that pays better, and has more reliable work.

[Shoelace]

17. we shop at thrift shops, buy groceries in bulk, and no more long trips

and I love to cook so when I cook, I do enough for about 3 days to save on electricity. We've found great buys at thrift shops - everything from towels, blankets, clothes, shoes, housewares, etc.
Long trips are out as we are aiming for a very low carbon footprint (plus it saves $$).
Restaurants are out and we grow our own salads, other stuff too.
Buying staples in bulk has saved alot of money and fruit/veggie stands, markets save us a bundle too.
Staying home more so we still rent DVDs from Netflix. Puttering around our home has become our new hobby!

[Warpy]

18. Everything except internet

during my recent years of real poverty. My ultra cheap broadband connection (grandfathered introductory rate with Qwest) was my entire entertainment and "traveling" budget. I was blind enough that I couldn't read, so books and magazines were out. TV was network rubbish on rabbit ears and not much of it. My phone is land line, only. I learned to walk to what I could and ride my scooter in 30 degree weather. I did keep my truck on the road for heavy hauling and emergency trips. Home heating was kept in the high 40s so the pipes wouldn't freeze, and my time was spent rolled up in an electric blanket, cheaper than heating this dump.

The other thing notable for its absence was meat. I'd eat a little piece of fish maybe every 3 months. Tofu was once a month--too expensive for every day. It was beans, rice, and root veggies and I learned to like it.

One thing about poverty is that it's deadly boring. While I'm sure the $21/month internet would have gone eventually, I preferred to do without meat and a couple of prescription drugs I wasn't convinced were helping much (they weren't) than do without it and go slowly crackers from boredom.

Poverty is boredom punctuated by a never ending series of unattractive choices to make. My roof came first. Everything else was negotiable.

[SergeyDovlatov]

21. other: US dollars

In case of hyperinflation I will give up US $$$ and trade in Euros or bottle caps made of steel

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. All of the above. It is a pity that the stories of those who lived through the depression are lost.