Me? Cut Back? Never.

I love this topic!  It is so timely, first of all.  And, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one cutting back.  This is the only real time of economic uncertainty we've experience as adults, and it's scary.  It is really hard that this is all happening exactly when we are starting our grown-up lives, and thinking about homes and kids and marriages and stuff.  But I think better now that when we are 65.  And in a way, it's a good thing.  I think a lot of our generation were getting used to the prosperity.  It's helpful that reality has set in and now young people will have more of an understanding that they have to save, and be really cautious about how they save.  The fact that many people lost everything in what they thought were very secure accounts not withstanding- I'm trying to be positive here.

Anyway, it's hard for me to cut back at all.  I don't think the things I generally spend money on are too extravagant.  I hardly ever eat out at really nice places, I tend to buy whatever I want at the grocery store, I have a blackberry which I need for work, I don't drive very much these days, I don't buy clothes often, etc.  So the notion of cutting back on these minor expenses kind of ticks me off.  For me, the key to spending less is being a homebody.  I tend to spend when I'm out with my friends or my husband.  Lucky for me, I love being at home.  The biggest change for me in this recession has been that I mentally block myself from leaving (to a social extent) as much as I would normally.

But back to the topic.  As I've posted about before several times, I love my lattes.  It's not the caffeine.  I just love ordering mine, waiting for it, drinking it-- especially with a friend to gossip with.  I've been brainwashed by the big corporations who want me to think exactly like I do-- get that rush of happiness purely because I blew several dollars on a beverage that I will supposedly really like-- whether I actually do or not.  I guess I have cut down on these-- since leaving my house less often=less lattes.  But I wouldn't actively avoid one if given the opportunity.

Something else I could never live without is the internet, high-speed style.  I know some people just log-on at work, or go to cafes when they need to, but I don't think I ever could.  I work from home, so it's been a while since the days when I would be online at work ALL DAY LONG and very often, I never even turned on the computer at home in the tired evenings.  But it's such a go-to for me now I don't think I could give it up.  Though having a Blackberry is also very helpful- so I don't know, maybe I could.  I think the Internet is definitely one of those things that you feel like you can get if more than one person will be using it.  Between my husband and I, it's worth it.  On my own, I'm not so sure.

GirlWednesday alluded to this the other day, but I think an important thing not to cut back on is quality.  It's tempting to get cheaper home goods, clothes, accessories and stuff but the reality is, you will have to spend more money in the long run if you get lower quality stuff.  Sometimes it's tempting and I've definitely been guilty of it myself, but instead of buying cheaper things when I need them, I try to wait and save and get something that will stand the test of time and that I will really love.  

I suppose the key for surviving the recession for me is tricking myself into believing that I'm not really cutting back, when I actually totally am.

Daily Necessities

I have thought about this topic for a while. I suppose there are things that you begin to become dependent upon that you actually don’t realize you are reliant upon until you are forced to think about it! I tried to go through my every-day routine and came up with five things that I basically use every single day. I think it would really ruin/hinder my day if I didn’t have one of these five things!!

MAC Makeup – I realize that this may seem like a frugal thing. Some people might read this and think, “Can’t you just buy a less expensive brand?” And the answer is, yes, I can. However, I am addicted to my MAC makeup. I don’t own any makeup (with the exception of a few lipstick shades) that isn’t MAC! I got hooked on it about five years ago when I was competing in pageants. The makeup worked great for the stage and I learned ways you could tone it down and wear it every-day. It makes such a difference! They eye makeup lasts all day and just overall makes me feel more confident. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wear makeup every single day. In fact, on weekends or days off from work I rarely even wash my hair – not to mention do my makeup. However, when I am in a professional setting I think makeup and jewelry are a must. My last point about MAC – it definitely is more expensive then the Cover Girl stuff at Walmart. BUT, it is not that much more expensive…and it lasts me such a long time! I’m willing to spend a little more when it looks substantially better and will last me longer then the drugstore brand.

My ipod – This is something that I wouldn’t really need to give up since it is already paid for, but nonetheless, I am dependent upon this thing! I love having an ipod! I have been a runner my whole life and having music when you are on a 60+ minute run can be the difference between a great day and a miserable day. I love listening to the Rocky soundtrack when I am trying to get motivated to push myself hard, or the new Rihanna cd when I want something upbeat to pick up my pace. I don’t need anything fancy…even just an ipod shuffle will do.

Sugar….anything with Sugar – I know this sounds so lame. But I am a sugar junkie. I hate to admit this but I eat sugar every single day. And trust me, I know how bad this is for me, especially because it is almost all refined sugar. Anything sweet…ice cream, candy sweets, Panera’s cinnamon crunch bagels, extra syrup on my pancakes…I love it all. As I was thinking about things I do each day I realized that it is a rare day that I don’t have some kind of sweet snack. I have a terrible addiction to sugar!! I really, truly wish I could give this one up, but I don’t think I have the willpower.

Classic Black Pumps – I don’t have any strange urges to buy lavish purses or an addiction for the shoes-you-will-only-wear-one-time. However, I always need to have a pair of regular black, pointy-toed pumps in my closet. I wear them almost every day! I am pretty tall…about 5’8” but proportionately to my height my legs are very short. As a result, I end up wearing heels quite often to lengthen the look of my legs. I wear them with my suits to work, with jeans in the evening, and with a black dress for a night out. I don’t even need expensive ones – the last one I got at Marshals for $24.99. BUT, the problem is that I walk really heavy and put a lot of weight on my heels. As a result, my shoes get worn out really quickly on the skinny-heel part. It seems as though I am getting new shoes every 3-4 months or so.

Cup of Morning Joe – Lastly, along with my sugar addiction I also have a caffeine addiction. I used to drink 7-8 cups of coffee a day!! Now that I am pregnant I have cut this down to almost nothing, but I usually will still have a half cup or so in the mornings. I don’t need expensive coffee, Folgers will work fine for me, but I would be a major grump if I had to cut this out of my routine.

I Won't Give You Up Whoopi Cushion, Tina Fey

I'm trying to imagine New York City if the economy got so bad that gossip girls, in their aging Tori Burches, had to camp out in long lines for free government bread and blocks of cheddar; if former Wall Street traders sold found junk, laid out on tattered blankets on the sidewalk; if higher-education families packed up their Brooklyn Heights brownstones into their Subarus, and then lived out of those Subarus on the side of a dusty and neglected Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. I try to imagine the city's flashy bars filled with tattered and down-trodden patrons.  I imagine shanty towns, lining the sparkling skyline, in the shadows of the ghost-inhabited luxury apartment buildings.

In talking with my co-worker/friend about recent subway and bus fare hikes, my co-worker/friend said, 

"The city's going to go insane.  People are going to go insane.  It'll be like that movie, Summer of Sam, where everyone runs loose in the streets and throws garbage cans and stuff." 

I wonder-- how bad would it have to get before I consider giving up something essential that more than likely my grandfather would have deemed a luxury?

I don't want to think about life without cable, without internet in my apartment, without my cell phone, without my gym membership, without my contact lenses, or my hair dryer.  I don't want to think about it because it's all too possible, frankly.  I've weighed these things on my could-I-do-without-it scale as of late.    

If I did without these things I'd be cut off from the world, out of touch, I'd be blind as a bat, chubby, and my hair would be a mess every day.  I can see that alter reality and I can tell you I don't like it one bit.  

But there's something I could never do without- ever.  There's one thing I could never even envision my life, my daily existence, without- and that's laughter.  

I mean, the news is pretty grim.  It's easy to get sucked into the sadness and the worry.  But I refuse to stop laughing.

The other day this jerky producer at my job walked past me in the hallway.  As he breezed by he said, 

"How are you?"  And without pause, pointed at me:  "Don't laugh."

I'm sorry but it's just not possible.  

Today, another co-worker/friend came to my desk to say, "hi."  He is notoriously funny.  And instead of saying "hi," he announced for the whole newsroom,

"What did I tell you about personal emails at work!?  Stop it!!"  

When everyone looked up, there I was laughing. 

I don't know where the heck any of us would be, mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally-- if we couldn't laugh.  If we couldn't laugh at ourselves and our pitiable situations, as things crumble.  Or as they crash and burn.  

I like to laugh really loud at a good joke- even when I'm down, even when the office is quiet, and maybe we're all quiet and somber with fear of running out of money, with the fear of losing our jobs, thinking about how the company we work for continues to ask for more and more and we're  contemplating how much more we can give and still do our jobs to the standards we once had the time to which to hold ourselves.  I like to laugh loudest then, I think, because it reminds people, it reminds me, that there is a lightness to our beings.  We often forget this when we are so focused on the changes around us. 

As things get worse, I actually find it much easier to make fun of myself.  I am less funny and less humored by others when I'm trying to keep up appearances and I'm busy pretending everything is great.  

Everything does not appear to be great in the world.  It seems the ship is sinking-- quickly at times, slowly at others.  But if there's one thing I'm certain of through all this dark ambiguity, it's that I'm going to go down laughing.

  

Sweating the small stuff

I am a sucker for life’s little luxuries. I’m not a big spender, and, with the exception of impulsive clothing purchases, I like to think I am a reasonable shopper most days. That said, when I tried to come up with just one thing I wouldn’t give up, I had a really, really, really tough time. I must preface the rest of this blog with the admission that I am a pack rat. When my folks moved out of our childhood home, I emptied a grand total of twelve full-sized trashbags out of my bedroom alone, not to mention the boxes of “important” books and papers that I’d made them save in the basement, attic, and/or guest room closet. What I didn’t throw out, I either brought with me to my new apartment’s storage closet, or begged them to keep in their new basement. I just have a really hard time getting rid of much of anything. When I graduated law school, I had a similar gutting of my then one-bedroom apartment to be able to move into my 450 square-foot studio here in the city. And I gutted it again when HT and I moved in together last year.

So I guess my problem is that I feel like I’ve given up a lot of “stuff” lately. I donated three bags of old clothes to good-will; I sent all the decent and trendy clothes to a family friend who would appreciate my hand-me-downs far more than the back corners of my closet; I pitched even more college notebooks; and tossed a wide variety of knick-nacks and decorating items that I once found quaint and now found tacky. I tried as well as I could to purge our really, really discount furniture, despite hanging on to a decent percentage of Ikea furniture. Baby steps, right?

Rather than an impending move, the economy is now knocking at the door, asking me to give up more things, purge further habits. But budgetary downsizing isn’t as easy as packing up highschool notebooks into heavy-duty yard-waste trash bags and throwing them into a dumpster. Economic restraint involves a day-to-day discipline—a willingness to part ways with the little amenities that I, as a member of the entitled generation have had relatively little practice with. That’s why I failed to come up with one single thing that I insisted upon retaining. Instead, I opted for my top five little things that I refuse to give up in their entirety. Call me materialistic, call me selfish, call me what you will—I’m not letting them go.

My hairdryer. I have naturally wavy hair, but insist on wearing it straight. This is impossible without a good hairdryer. I’m not particular, I’d even buy a ten-dollar one if my current one breaks, but I’m keeping it. Mine.

Our plasma TV. This was my one very, very impulsive buy. It was on sale; we got a good deal. And I know how tremendously shallow this sounds, but once you’ve watched the Masters with every single blade of gorgeous green glass visible and shuddering in the wind and bouncing at each ball strike, you won’t go back. I swear.

Pantyhose. Most women would part with these instantly. The bane of the female existence, I don’t particularly care for them either. BUT, I have really sweaty feet. Without panty hose, even in summer, I get terrible blisters on my feet without them. It’s a miniscule expense anyways, but I’m keeping my stock plentiful.

The occasional dinner out. Okay. Maybe more than occasional even. I love eating out. That’s part of the pleasure of living in a big city—lots of ethnic food options for take out, and lots of fine dining for the times when you really want to treat yourself. I’ll gladly forgo the caviar and escargot, but when I don’t feel like cooking or when HT and I are in need of a date-night, we’re going out. Economy be damned.

Starbucks on those really, really sleepy mornings. I wasn’t a coffee drinker before this year anyways, so I don’t have the addiction that requires me to hit up Starbucks each and every day. But there are definitely days on which I barely make it out of bed, or just generally can’t stomach the idea of spending the entire day in the office. Those are the days that I find myself standing in line at the Starbucks in the lobby of my office building. Those are the days when the weaker stuff they brew upstairs in the hospitality kitchen just doesn’t cut it. And throw in a chocolate old fashioned donut for good measure.

If You Can Get It From My Kung Fu Grip, Then You Can Have It. Okay? Otherwise, Step Off……

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the last 18 months, here’s some news: the economy’s in the crapper. It’s been getting worse every day since some time in 2007, although there is some optimism surrounding a potential upswing. I am definitely one of the many Americans who have cut back on things. Things I needed to cut back on anyway. I’m not super spendy, but the economic situation has been a mini wake-up-call. I’m eating out less, buying off brands at the grocery store, cutting coupons (I saved $19 in one trip to the store! Go me!), avoiding getting my hair cut as often as I used to (so every three years instead of every two….), and so on and so forth.

But when it comes down to it, no matter how bad it gets…..(and I mean bad, they can cut my hours at work, cut my pay, cut my job and leave me waiting tables somewhere) there are some things I will NEVER give up. I can’t do it. We all have our indulgences (for MommaMonday it’s getting her hair colored every 6 weeks, shhhhh, don’t tell her I told you), but for me it’s much more random than that. I can give up, very easily, most things that others would consider essentials. I’ve already given up a lot of my car by taking the bus to work every day (and not easy to do when you’re in a sprawling Southern city). I’d give up my cell phone if I had to. I’d certainly give up dining out completely. And mani/pedis, coffee at the Bucks, and expensive clothes and make-up were never my indulgences anyway. So I guess I’m lucky in that department. The one thing I wouldn’t give up, no matter what, is my contacts. Silly as it might sound, they’re my one indulgence.

I’ve worn contacts since I was in 9th grade. I think I probably counted down the days until my first pair starting sometime in the 7th grade. I can remember sitting on my hands the first night trying not to rub at my itchy eyes because I’d already rubbed the contacts out once. I had a pair of the old soft contacts that you had to take out every night, rub with cleaning solution, let them sit, then come back and put them in saline overnight. It was such a chore but much, much better than glasses. There’s nothing worse than being a soccer player in glasses. Besides having the tendency to break countless pairs of glasses, I hated playing in them in the rain – I almost felt like they needed little mini windshield wipers. I could never see out of them. And they fogged up anytime I got something out of the oven. Needless to say, I was thrilled with my first pair of contacts. But being a child of divorce, I was always forgetting my cleaning solution at the other parent’s house, or running out, or tearing a lens. So over the years, the contacts turned out to be just as much pain and frustration as the glasses. Although very painful at the time, an eye infection in 2000 turned out to give me just the relief I need. My eye doctor forced me to switch over to the daily disposables and I haven’t gone back since. They’re extravagantly expensive (you put in a fresh pair every day and throw them out each night), but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I tear one, FLING off it goes into the trash. I lose one crying in the movie theatre, no worries, I just snag an extra from my purse and pop it in. No cleaning each night, no worries about tearing one (and the extra) while I’m in Europe, or Antarctica. Anyway, enough about the eyeballs, I can just say no matter the cost (and the cost, whew, is freakishly high), I would never, ever, ever trade them in for the old contacts or glasses again.