In the vein of the "downsized" thread...What could you give up?

[Marionnette]

After watching the most recent episode of downsized, I was floored by the mothers reluctance to give up simple things like eating out and starbucks coffee when they are in such bad shape. But it got me to thinking about what I could give up if I was in the same place. And also what would be the last thing on my list to cut.
For instance, we have a cable/internet/phone package. I could probably give up the cable and phone but the internet would be very hard to let go.
We dont go out to eat often but its not unusual for my husband to stop for milk at the seven eleven and call home to see if anyone wants a sandwich or something. We could cut out that practice for sure.
The dogs get premium dog food and treats. I could feed them a cheaper food and cut back on the rawhides.
I buy environmentally friendly cleaning products but if push came to shove I would give them up for cheaper stuff. Not all the cheap alternatives are bad for the environment. I just dont think they clean as well. But I could put more elbow grease into my scrubbing and get similar results.
Two of the kids have iphones. Our monthly cellphone bills is pretty hefty. The kids could choose to pay there own share of the bill or downsize to a more reasonable plan.
Theres alot more where we could cut back if we had to. The area where I couldnt cut is in our health insurance. We already have pretty hefty copays. A specialist is fifty dollars per visit. A recent mri cost us two hundred and fifty dollars out of pocket in the way of a copay. If we were to go with a cheaper plan those copays would be thru the roof!
So, would anyone be willing to share areas where they could cut expenses if forced to?

 

[mommyof2princesses]

I think it would be a little difficult for us since we really don't have many extras in our lives. We do have the cable/phone/internet package. We could cut down to basic cable but we need phone and we do all our banking and all on the internet. I have a net10 phone and that is the only cell phone we have as a family! We eat out about 2-3 times a month so I guess we could cut that out if need be. We do buy many organic and healthy foods. I could cut out organic on some items, but will not go back to junk food although it is half the price! I would rather be healthy and poor than rich and sickly!

Over the years we have already cut back and it is really worth it!

 

[disneyofcourse]

I would give up our premium cable, eating out and Shopping. I would also rent out a bedroom. Just all this would mean an extra $700 + 500 from renting out a room in our area. I have cut back before when I've wanted to save for things and I rented a room in the past to pay for start-up business expenses. For me Its very easy to cut out things and then just go back to them once the things I want or need are done.

I was also in shock at the mothers inability to give up eating out. Fine she wants coffee to make her feel better then just get gas station coffee. But spending $500 + of money she doesn't have to make the kids feel better? Come on... The couple things I did like is that the kids had jobs and paid for clothing, phones etc. And that the family really doesn't have any high end cars or noticeable valuables to sell. They are looking for cheaper rent. Heck if I had that big a family- sorry, but I'm putting them in a smaller square footage home if its legal. I don't care if you have to turn the living room into a place with 3 sets of bunks. Maybe not take them out of the area and let them finish school but still jump on any smaller cheaper homes. $500 saved is $500 that isn't being tried to be come up with a week before rent is due and your children are dumpster diving. Giving up space now is still worth being able to even have a home.

 

[Virgderon]

I've already given up the bigger house- we are renting it to friends in Chicago.

I've also cut our eating out budget and rarely buy clothes unless they are on sale. I use one pair of gym shoes until they are beat, and then buy another pair- on sale!

We have extended cable for sports, but no movie channels. I have to have the Internet for work, so I can't get rid of that. I even got rid of Netflix- I wasn't using it enough to make it worth it.

 

[lindsmom]

We've been thinking abut giving up the landline so that would probably be the first to go. Eating out would be next, but like a PP, that's only 2 - 3 times a month max. We have middle package on tv - no movie channels, but DH watches the sports shows. We could cut back on that, but since we don't go out, don't go to movies etc. it's nice to have some entertainment at home, esp for DD.

I've cut our grocery budget as much as possible - we already eat pasta and chicken too much during the week. It's tough with the kids, because obviously we want them to eat well. DH and I can suffer, but they shouldn't.

It's funny, because on the other thread some people talk about the mom's earrings and why doesn't she sell them. I haven't seen the show, hence I haven't seen the actual earrings in question. But I have a pair of gold "mother and child" earrings that I received for a mother's day gift from DH - it's the only time he has given me jewelry for a gift - and I love them so much it would never occur to me to sell them. I wear them day and night - maybe these earrings the mom in the show has have a similar story.

 

[mom2val]

This is what we have done to "Downsize" this year due to the economy and Dh's commisions being much lower. Food has always been our biggest budget buster so that is where we focused and saved the most money.

• Cut out eating out- we now get fast food once a month as a treat or we visit a fave local mexican place - we now spend $25 max a month
• DH brown bags leftover for lunch - he used to eat out everyday for lunch
• Completely changed the way we grocery shop- plan meals, make a list, no more last minute runs into the store for a few items
• We switched from WL to POFQ and saved over $600 on our trip next month

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I have an interesting perspective...

After job loss last year...the one thing I did NOT cut right away was my kids dance. They did drop violin, gymnastics was paid for the semester and would not have been continued...

But I couldn't let go of dance. We did our survival budget for 6 months trimming where we could...the dance cost was so insignificant, that long run it didn't matter for them to continue.

He did get reemployed so some of our cuts did not have to take place after all.

But it is easy to judge a family from a distance. Paring down spending during a lifestyle change is a process. It is physical as far as the actual decisions you make, but there is a psychological element that I feel is tough for folks to appreciate.

Even if one were supposedly in those same shoes, they may have a different history to bring them to that point.

Shoot--I got judged for facebooking that I was proud of my kids because they took the initiative and "found" gifts around the home for their cousins. A few people praised it and then my childless sister in law posted that I should keep in mind that other folks could read it. I messages her and I ended up getting ugly. She felt that it was inappropriate for me to post such things and I found her snotty attitude inappropriate to share as My kids would be proud and make it very well known that they did scavenge for gifts. HThe fac that my husband was laid off meant nothing since she was hung up on the "tackiness" of it all.

Interestingly enough---my children have done this before when times were good (with other people) and i felt it best to nurture a generous spirit than shaming them.

Honestly--the fact that she doesn't give up starbucks (yet) and it ticks people off says more about the folks judging than it does her. It isn't easy out there---and I'm sure plenty of her friends are aghast that she is "renting" or can't go shopping at the mall on Saturdays.

We can all learn!

As for me...unless a bill would have to go unpaid...I maintain their activities.
For hubby--Internet/satellite was his thing. Now we have cable as part of our HOA. We can cut it even if we wanted to.

Internet is his means of job search...so cutting that would be out.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I've already had to cut waaay back this year, Dh's hours were cut at work and it really hurt us for awhile. I did not cut cable since we get a huge discount, but if I need to it is next to go, but since we can't go out it's really a big source of entertainment right now. I also didn't cut phone and internet because we don't have cell phones and I use the internet to make and save money.

We don't go out to eat, period. I clean with vinegar and baking soda unless double coupons make it free. I coupon, although not as well as some, but it does save us a considerable amount. I make things last. Like when I run out of trash bags before payday, normally I would have just run out and bought more, but instead I just used plastic shopping bags until I could get more.

I didn't renew any magazine subscriptions, I cut the kids' hair myself, use cheaper toiletries or what I can get free with coupons, ebay and craigslist anything I come across. If we had to we could also go down to one car.

We were living pretty frugally to begin with so there aren't alot of changes there, but every little bit helps.

ETA: After reading other posts I also want to add that we have not cut out the kids' activities, either, they are a priority to us so they would be last to go. We would pare them down to the kids' absolute favorites however and find the least expensive ways to buy their necessary equipment.

 

[mrodgers]

What would I give up? The question should be what could I give up?

I could give up my cell pho..... hmm, don't have one of those.

I could give up my high definiti..... hmm, don't have that.

I could downgrade my intern...... hmm, nope, I'm so slow on the internet that I'm practically dialup.

I know, I'll sell my big scree..... oh, no one wants to buy my 1996 television.

Anyone want to buy my 5 year old computer that barely runs, locks up all the time, and is on it's way to the scrap yard?

I'll sell my cars. Oh, wait, I need my car to get to work and my wife needs hers to get to work and I'd end up paying out more money to sell them and replace them.

I'll quit eating out and force my wife to cook every da..... whoops, already do that also.

I think I am the last person living in the early 1990's with gadgets, technologies and consumerism. I never got caught up in the consumerism of the late 90's through now.

One thing I find humorish in threads such as this that are all over just about every off-topic forum out there is how people state they need their cell phone or internet for work. If you need your cell phone or internet for work, why is work not paying for it?

We don't go out to eat. We don't go traveling places (took our first vacation this past summer after 13 years of marriage and 10 years of parenthood so that we didn't go insane.) We don't have big giant screen TV's. We don't have cell phones (how on earth do we survive is beyond me!) We don't have fancy expensive cars. Our only wind down evening entertainment is to chill with the TV or internet for a little bit. We already are a family of readers and read a lot. TV and internet is the only thing we have that we could cut out.

 

[Marionnette]

What would I give up? The question should be what could I give up?

I could give up my cell pho..... hmm, don't have one of those.

I could give up my high definiti..... hmm, don't have that.

I could downgrade my intern...... hmm, nope, I'm so slow on the internet that I'm practically dialup.

I know, I'll sell my big scree..... oh, no one wants to buy my 1996 television.

Anyone want to buy my 5 year old computer that barely runs, locks up all the time, and is on it's way to the scrap yard?

I'll sell my cars. Oh, wait, I need my car to get to work and my wife needs hers to get to work and I'd end up paying out more money to sell them and replace them.

I'll quit eating out and force my wife to cook every da..... whoops, already do that also.

I think I am the last person living in the early 1990's with gadgets, technologies and consumerism. I never got caught up in the consumerism of the late 90's through now.

One thing I find humorish in threads such as this that are all over just about every off-topic forum out there is how people state they need their cell phone or internet for work. If you need your cell phone or internet for work, why is work not paying for it?

We don't go out to eat. We don't go traveling places (took our first vacation this past summer after 13 years of marriage and 10 years of parenthood so that we didn't go insane.) We don't have big giant screen TV's. We don't have cell phones (how on earth do we survive is beyond me!) We don't have fancy expensive cars. Our only wind down evening entertainment is to chill with the TV or internet for a little bit. We already are a family of readers and read a lot. TV and internet is the only thing we have that we could cut out.

Didnt ask what would you give up. Title expressly uses the word could.
Some people need there cellphones and internet for work. Work doesnt pay for them b/c said people are self employed or running an internet business of there own. Hence they ARE the company paying the bills.
I guess after watching that show it got me to thinking of what I would do in a similar situation. Unlike you, we have many gizmos and gadgets. Im an admitted technology junkie and would rather have a new piece of technology than a pair of jimmy choos or a prada bag. Even though the shoes and bag retain there value much better than a flat screen led tv.
I find it interesting to see where people place there priorities. And I appreciate the logic that goes into those decisions. I also wondered whether anyone had a disaster plan in place in the event of loss of income. I think its admirable that you already live frugally by choice. Just wondered how people would handle it if they HAD to live frugally because of circumstances.

 

[lyncecelia]

What would I give up? The question should be what could I give up?

I could give up my cell pho..... hmm, don't have one of those.

I could give up my high definiti..... hmm, don't have that.

I could downgrade my intern...... hmm, nope, I'm so slow on the internet that I'm practically dialup.

I know, I'll sell my big scree..... oh, no one wants to buy my 1996 television.

Anyone want to buy my 5 year old computer that barely runs, locks up all the time, and is on it's way to the scrap yard?

I'll sell my cars. Oh, wait, I need my car to get to work and my wife needs hers to get to work and I'd end up paying out more money to sell them and replace them.

I'll quit eating out and force my wife to cook every da..... whoops, already do that also.

I think I am the last person living in the early 1990's with gadgets, technologies and consumerism. I never got caught up in the consumerism of the late 90's through now.

One thing I find humorish in threads such as this that are all over just about every off-topic forum out there is how people state they need their cell phone or internet for work. If you need your cell phone or internet for work, why is work not paying for it?

We don't go out to eat. We don't go traveling places (took our first vacation this past summer after 13 years of marriage and 10 years of parenthood so that we didn't go insane.) We don't have big giant screen TV's. We don't have cell phones (how on earth do we survive is beyond me!) We don't have fancy expensive cars. Our only wind down evening entertainment is to chill with the TV or internet for a little bit. We already are a family of readers and read a lot. TV and internet is the only thing we have that we could cut out.

This currently sounds like us....

We have NO cable whatsoever. We do DVDs, VHS, and Netflix. Internet is an app on our phones (DBF does need it for work since he does do side jobs, but we only paid $10 for each app, no monthly cost for it).

When Tim's kids are over our activities consist of going to the park, going to 7-11 for a Slurpee, and a RedBox DVD....that's it. They have fun with it. I recently found a bunch of my old board games so we might do that as well.

Our furniture is currently our bedroom set which is rent-to-own (we were sleeping on an air mattress for 3 months...) a hand-me-down kitchen table w/ 2 chairs, and air mattresses/cot mattress for the kids....not even a sofa...

We eat out occasionally, but not often. Last time we did was because my parents gave us each $10 GC for TGI Fridays for our birthdays.

This is all because everything hit us at once....when I moved up and Tim moved out of his furnished apartment he THEN got a paycut....I just this past week was able to get a job, and Tim just got a new one with a good pay raise so we can afford Christmas for the kids and then after pay some bills and (hopefully) get a sofa bed so the kids don't need to sleep on a deflating air mattress.....

But you know what? I'm the happiest I've ever been. I have a family that loves me and supports me, I have a home (which, after being a gypsy for months, is REALLY amazing), and I have hopes for the future. We might not have tons of material items, but we are doing great with having each other.

Life could be a lot worse. We have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on the table. My parents helped us out a lot recently (which included sending tons of my stuff up along with a Christmas Tree and ornaments ).

But I do have something like the mom's earrings. I have my locket that my parents gave me when I was young....it has their pictures in it, and I would never sell it for the world. It is priceless to me...

 

[crisi]

If I had to - everything but heat (and I can keep that at 64 and dress warm), groceries, electricity, taxes, insurance, water, phone and the cheapest car (and gas and maintenance on that). I've lived poor before. It isn't bad. I certainly enjoy, but don't NEED, vacations, dining out, new clothes, jewelry, expensive coffee.

 

[sissy_ib]

I used to work at a jewelry store so I had a lot of stuff I bought when I worked there. I sold almost all of it last year, mainly because I never wore it, but also to help fund a Disney trip.

I stopped shopping so much so I could save for other things, like vacations. My DF and I are military and stationed apart, so visiting each other and going on vacations are important to us. And of course if we had to we would cut out vacation spending.

I could definitely cut down how much I eat out and stop wasting food. One of my biggest problems is I live alone and have a hard time figuring out what to cook for one. But I could do it.

I have some things I could sell on eBay. I just need to get around to it.

No cable. No land line, and a cheep cell phone. But I could probably fine a cheaper plan. Internet could go if it had to. But internet and netflix would be the last to go. I have the cheapest netflix plan, just under $10 a month

I have a good, reliable car that will be paid off in less than a year. I could cut down an how much I drive it tho, a lot of back and forth.

The one thing I know I could have cut down on is my electric bill. I ran the A/C way to much over the summer. If push can to shove, I would have to suffer.

And my beloved pedicures. Those would be the first to go.

 

[C.Ann]

What would I give up? The question should be what could I give up?

You sound like me...LOL

I could give up my cell pho..... hmm, don't have one of those.

Same here..

I could give up my high definiti..... hmm, don't have that.

Same here..

I could downgrade my intern......

This I would have to keep - since I live quite far from my banks 8 months out of the year and there are no local branches up here, so banking is done online.. Sigh..

I know, I'll sell my big scree..... oh, no one wants to buy my 1996 television.

Same here - but I think my 13" is probably even older than that - LOL..


I'll sell my cars.

I'm still waffling back and forth on that.. I'm alone (widow), one car, and kicking around the idea..


I'll quit eating out

"Maybe" once a year - and that's only because someone drags me along with them.. LOL..

I think I am the last person living in the early 1990's with gadgets, technologies and consumerism. I never got caught up in the consumerism of the late 90's through now.

Second to last..

One thing I find humorish in threads such as this that are all over just about every off-topic forum out there is how people state they need their cell phone or internet for work. If you need your cell phone or internet for work, why is work not paying for it?

We don't go out to eat. We don't go traveling places (took our first vacation this past summer after 13 years of marriage and 10 years of parenthood so that we didn't go insane.) We don't have big giant screen TV's. We don't have cell phones (how on earth do we survive is beyond me!) We don't have fancy expensive cars. Our only wind down evening entertainment is to chill with the TV or internet for a little bit. We already are a family of readers and read a lot. TV and internet is the only thing we have that we could cut out.

I don't travel anymore - for a few years I was going to Florida to visit my sister and brother - took a few trips to WDW since 2006.. Just not interested now - and won't fly with the new pat down random selections even if I "wanted" to go..

There is only one option for tv up here - cable.. I "could" (and likely will) drop down from the Standard Service to the Basic Service next spring.. My internet is through the cable company..

Can't get rid of my land line because this is a "dead zone" for cell phones and I don't have one anyhow.. I've never had the need for one..

I could give up buying used books (although it would kill me); I could give up the few craft supplies I treat myself to now and then; I could give up my Folgers coffee (that I make at home) if no one has a problem with a maniac running around on the loose (LOL); and probably everything else that I haven't mentioned - except:

Heat
A/C (for health reasons)
Electric (which runs both of the above)
Homeowners taxes
Homeowners insurance
Land line (must have for emergencies - just the basic plan)
Car insurance (if I keep the car)
Health insurance
Medications
Food
Water
ETA: Forgot clothing!!! (Old as it is - LOL..)
-------------------

I think that's about it.. I've lived with less than I have now - and I have no doubt that I could do it again if necessary..

But - I do understand that my priorities are not necessarily the same as others.. Just answering the question..

 

[VAfamily1998]

Some of my children go to private school, and some public, just depending on their individual desires/needs. I guess if we really needed to downsize we could send them all to public and pull the youngest out of preschool. That would save us a lot.

I could drink tea in the morning instead of coffee...not only is tea cheaper, but I like to add 1/2 and 1/2 to my coffee, but drink my tea plain, so I'd save money by not buying 1/2 and 1/2...

We have cut cable before...at the time it was more of a "my kids are watching too much tv and I want them to play outside/read/etc" issue than a financial one---but the money savings was definitely a bonus! So we could do that again, but I would absolutely keep internet. Internet would be REALLY REALLY difficult to give up.

Other than that, I can't think of too much...
I go to Starbucks/similar coffee places maybe twice year?
We rarely eat out/do take out...
I haven't had a mani/pedi in about 8 years...
I do my own hair color, and get a trim maybe twice per year...

We have the very cheapest cell phone plan our company offers, and just regular cell phones, not iphones or blackberrys. We rarely text or do other things on our phones that cost extra. We already cut our home phone, so we really can't cut our cell phones.

 

[Planogirl]

I could give up satellite I guess... I would try to keep internet though. Job hunting is hard without it and the service at the library is pretty pathetic. I would also switch to a lower cost phone plan. You need a phone when job hunting too.

We rarely go out and Starbucks is a rare treat. We have two cars but really need three so we can't sell one of them. There is no public transportation here unfortunately.

I won't give up AC! It gets too hot here and we already keep it as warm as we can stand.

I'm interested to see what others come up with.

 

[DMRick]

If I had no money and had to give up stuff, I could give up everything except our home (and even then, I could downsize and move into an apartment),the utilities (including phone), and one of our cars, since bus service is not good in this city. I don't 'need' most of what I have, but since right now I can afford it, I can't see not having it.

I do have a small home business that I used the internet for, but if that wasn't covering the costs and then some, it could go too.

I'm thankful that we haven't lost jobs, or had a catastrophic illness that used up our savings, so we haven't had to downsize anything, or do without extra comforts that we enjoy.

 

[momof1princess]

let's see, we could give up:

-directv, or downgrade to a smaller package
-drop unlimited texting from cell phones (need the phones, as DH works far away and we drive older cars)
-no more morning stops at BK for breakfast for DH
-drop DD's ballet lessons (she'll have to quit next year anyway b/c of band)
-drop ADT monitoring
-cancel newspaper and just buy on sunday for coupons & wednesday for sales
-try to negotiate cheaper price for internet (gotta keep DSL, as i use it to work)
-downgrade netflix
-sell off unused fitness equipment and old computers for parts

i'm sure there are more, but i can't think of them right now.