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Originally Posted by Shelby&Seymour  I know that it is on lots of our minds....... and it is affecting all of us (some more than others). I thought that a thread may help..... we can share how it is affecting us and helpful ideas making things a little bit easier.
Gas prices are really making a dent in our budget..... my husband not driving his full size truck.... instead, he is using our old little truck and getting 2x as much gas mileage.
We also make less trips to town (I make a list, and we "do it all" in one trip).
We have been camping closer to home.
I use every coupon I can get my hands on, and plan our menu according to what is on sale.
I am doing FULL loads of laundry..... it takes as much electricity to run the washer and dryer regardless of how much is in it.
Having a gargage sale!!!...... all that stuff you don't need or use..... plus there are people that may NEED what you have..... and they get it at a garage sale price!
Instead of going 30 miles to the movie theater or out to dinner...... we stay in our little "Po-dunk" town. Not as big a variety...... but I think that the "ghost walk" that they are having this month might be fun! 
........ any suggestions or ideas that you can share would be great!
A big part of the solution is to keep on plugging along.... and being as creative as you can! |
I'm doing all of those things, too. Making a list of things I need to do and only making necessary trips to town. I don't drive to town to walk at a track, I walk around my neighborhood with my dogs. Carrying water to my plants in a watering can (exercise doesn't hurt me at all) rather than using the hose and more water. Being sure I turn out lights I don't need to have on, warming things in the microwave rather than turning on the stove. I don't go out much at night anyway, so that's the same. I only do laundry once a week instead of tossing things in to wash them more often. I'm paying more attention to coupons and what I buy at the grocery store. Buying smaller amounts to be sure I use it all and don't waste any. It's tempting to buy more on sale, but since I live alone, some might get wasted. I'm retired and don't need to be buying clothes or shoes much and I keep busy with my dogs and hobbies. One of my hobbies is making greeting cards, which isn't very expensive. I like to read, which isn't very expensive either since we have a used book store here. I like to work in my yard, which is good exercise and not expensive and my dogs can keep me company. I don't turn the TV on unless I'm going to actually watch it. I'm bad to turn the TV on and then get interested in something else. I watch my thermostat and don't keep the air conditioning or heat on when it isn't needed. Some of those things can get ignored, so I'm just generally paying more attention!