Making the Tough Choices

Saving money any way I can


I got a call tonight from the lawn service I'd used for a couple of years since the developer hadn't bothered to do anything for the lawn except let 5,000 varieties of weeds grow to heights which blocked out the sun. Normally, I'm a low-chemical kind of homeowner, and I had cut back to only three treatments the last few years. Tonight, Greg called me for the third time almost begging me to reconsider renewing my service for the coming summer and fall...
I felt bad telling him that even fewer treatments were not feasible this year: the economy is forcing cutbacks in many areas, and even the few hundred dollars that I spent on my lawn is money I'll need for something else this year. I could hear the pain in his voice because I knew that the economy was killing him as well, and my bailing on him did not help. I would presume I'm not the only customer who's given him the bad news this year. So...lawn service has been sacrificed, but that's not going to be the only thing to go.
In addition, I think I'm going to cease going to the barbershop eight times a year and go back to my twice-yearly "trims". Over the remainder of my life, I could save quite a bit of cash.
I am also going to eliminate EBay from my "favorites" just so I will not be tempted to shop. It will also save me gas, too, because that means no going to the mall, either. Total austerity. Besides, most of what I wear now was in style 15 years ago, and it's still good...though I have no shirts with epaulets, at least.
All of this will require resolve; while I'm not the only one going through this now, there ARE some things I'm not sure I could sacrifice to the economic gods.
In fact, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune recently posted a poll to find out what people were absolutely UNWILLING to sacrifice even in the toughest of times. Of course, that also begged the question as to what one WOULD be willing to sacrifice, and in what order. An interesting question, and my response actually surprised me a bit.
I find that I'm less and less attached to things as I get older. Extra automobiles? take 'em...as long as we have one so my sweetie can get to work so we can still have an income! I can walk to "work" even in bad weather. I take my bike whenever possible. So, transportation: take it, but leave one car and one bike. If Green Bay had a Zip Car franchise, we might not even need a car, but it doesn't...

Clothes? shoes? I have far more than I need now, and I believe that, without a doubt, I could survive with a coat for cold weather, hat and gloves, a raincoat, five Tshirts, a sweater, underwear, socks and two sets of workout gear. Take the rest. It would hurt, of course, to give up my fabulous shoe collection (showing my feminine side), but I could do it if you left running shoes and one pair of black athletic shoes. My Cole-Haan/Nike dress shoes? In a tough economy, I would have nowhere to go that would require dressing up beyond my cleanest Tshirt.

Tech stuff? Wow! that would be hard...I need my cell phone for contacting stuidents, but I could always walk to my office and use the school phone...no texting, though. That would be hard since I doubt college students even talk on the phone anymore. Computer? Again, that would be hard, but I could always scrounge for yesterday's newspaper and sit in offices reading magazines. TV, stereo, iPod? I'd have to keep my largest-capacity iPod: you can take the other two (I know...overkill).

My collection of 250 pulp fiction novels, including Doc Savage, The Shadow, The Spider, The Avenger which I have spent my entire adult life collecting? Take 'em: my kids will just sell them when I die anyway. As long as I have a library card, I'm good to go. I can bike there easily.

So...what would I absolutely NOT give up under any circumstance, even if I were starving?
One bike, one pair of comfy shoes, basic clothing necessities, and my sweetie.
And maybe just ONE haircut a year.