[Win $250 giftcard] Are you cutting your budget?

[Johansen8]

I love the exchange of ides here

[emackn]

Yes, absolutely cutting back. Next to go is directv and netflix ;(

[bobthebunny25]

I'm definitely cutting back on food spending (eating out less, making sure to use all leftovers, opting for canned or frozen rather than fresh).

[Ann]

My husband and I already live pretty simply; there isn't much more we can cut. We don't pay for TV and we keep our electric bills low. We are looking into reducing our propane costs - I think we need to shop around for a better price.

[Shaggydp]

I am cutting back on spending so that I can funnel more of my money into the stock market or realestate for long term investing. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for unattached money.

[INmom]

Since my hubby just got laid off 2 weeks ago, and we're a homeschooling family where I stay home to teach, we're definitely cutting back. We are combining trips as much as possible, eating more beans, pasta, and rice and cutting back on meat, planning on keeping the furnace turned down, and frequenting the second-hand stores much more.

$250 would be great!

[jdp]

Are you cutting back on spending?

If the answer is yes, we would love to know which items you are thinking of cutting. If the answer is no, please keep the gloating to a minimum.

Are there currently things I need that I plan to NOT buy? No.

But I've been working on spending less, buying less for the last 4 years at least. But in those 4 years I've still bought: a car, a refrigerator, a really nice bed, lots of toys for my son, a camera.... I'm buying less crap basically. Happy with what I have or don't have (actually trying to have less and get rid of stuff is an ongoing thing) and judge each purchase by value added vs. is it "normal" or is everyone buying it.

[Loveday]

We're cutting back on everything. At the moment we have no health insurance, and I had to make a trip to the emergency room a month ago. Now I've got a bill for five thousand dollars. So I'm cutting out all unnecessary expenditures in order to pay that off as quickly as possible. But we'd already been cutting back before that--careful grocery store shopping, combining trips to save gas, going to the library instead of the bookstore (I had a real problem with the bookstore for awhile, couldn't get out of there without spending money--so now I stay completely away!), eating out almost never, couponing like mad, all the usual cutbacks so many others are doing. We have one child in college--community college, much less expensive than the local university--and another about to go next year--so we've got all those expenses to contend with as well, especially as second child wants to go to an out of state school(she's working hard on getting scholarships and grants--she knows times are tough). A $250 gift card would be a real help right now.

[Wendelest81]

July hit - the economy continued to get worse and I went into panic mode and cut back to living on 1/3 of my income. I moved to a less expensive rental, maxed out my 401k, and started taking free grad classes through my company, while working full time and volunteering. I am almost out of the last of my vacation debt and now know that I never want to be in that position again. I have learned the wonders of CVSing, couponing and free activities.

Now that I am more secure that I can live on less I have loosened the reins on my budget to include a little mad money everyweek. Panic mode helped get rid of a lot of debt but the constant guilt over a cup of coffee is not fun for me (I know it the eptimy of happiness for those super frugals out there but that is not me). I still need to finish with the debt and bulk up my emergency savings. But, I feel more stable, secure, and organized with a plan on autopilot.

[xangafriends]

Are you cutting back on spending?

Yes, I have had no choice I have to cut back. As a single mom with one source of income to pay for everything I have to make adjustments elsewhere. I am even considering a second job. I mainly cut back on food and entertainment, because I already live a paired down lifestyle. I drive a 12 year old car and don't pay for cable. My only splurge is internet @ $19.99 a month. There is no room for movies or to make a special reciepes were just sticking the the basics.