So... Push comes to shove, and you have to give sacrifice "something" in order to survive.

What do you give up first?

1. Cable/Satellite
2. Cell phone
3. Going out to eat
4. Internet access
5. Movies/shows/concerts
no hedging

Movies, concerts, etc. (which mostly means not buying DVDs)
Eating out
Cable
Land line
Internet

This is kinda easy for me since there are already websites where you can stream TV shows and even movies. So the list is:

1) landline - don't have one anyway
2) movies/shows/concerts
3) cable/satelite
4) going out to eat
5) I don't hedge but I do gamble so I'll throw that in here
6) and lastly the internet... I don't think I'd ever give that up

staying in is the new going out!

Booze is 50% cheaper (at least) from the off licence.

Booxe sales in pubs has been declining rapidly in Ireland this year.

howeover guinness sales, as they always do, are rising during recession.

Ive already given up my second yearly trip to austria for environmental reasons. only go in summer now.

ordering food in has also gone out the door.

im not actually feeling the pinch, my job is secure and I got promoted this year (as did Mrs Schlack) so am in a reasonably good position. Still, trying to build up some just in case money, which hopefully will turn into "screw you money"!

1. Cable / satellite
2. Movies
3. My second land line. (I've always had two: One for mom and dad and bro and my best friend and the other line for everyone else: Businesses, acquaintances, - which is rarely plugged in - all "they" get is an endless ring - no answering device - I do "occasionally" answer that line and when the person annoys me - that line gets unplugged again for a while...)

Everything else - can't do...

What do you give up first?

1. Cable/Satellite>>> never had it
2. Cell phone>>> from work and willing to live without it
3. Going out to eat>>> minimal, and could live with out it
4. Internet access>>> that would be tough to give up
5. Movies/shows/concerts>>> already given up in favor of netflix
no hedging

1. Cable/Satellite - don't have it.
2. Landline - cutting it off in January.
3. Movies/shows/concerts - We go to the movies maybe once, twice a year. It would be hard to give up stage plays, it's a way of supporting artists in our community.
4. Going out to eat - I'd b easy with it, but my Beloved will cling to our Friday night out until the bitter end.
5. Cell phone - essential to my business.
6. Internet access - essential to my businss.







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Wow. I dumped my land line in favor of cell a long time ago, and I don't have any kind of tv/video service either (except Netflix). I've already eliminated long-distance travel (missed Halloween with Olyve, drat it) and I'm buying fewer tickets to performances during the arts season - pretty much limiting myself to next spring's operas.

I'm eating out less - that could be cut out completely but it's not necessary (yet).

Another major, but optional expense area - I'm trying to stay out of bookstores. Not altogether successfully - but trying.

As with Schlack, I'm in a fairly secure industry; I'll only be in trouble if/when prices start to climb - I'm cutting back in preparation for that.

For me, I think the un-dumpables are cell, internet, and netflix. That gives me a "hook" into all my people, the arts, music, and armchair travel, and all together < $100/mo. There's a library down the road -- and I'm set.

If things got really ugly the best cost savings I could make would be moving to a cheaper apartment, but that's a pretty intense change and I hope to avoid it.

Wow. Nice thread; made me think about my priorities, which I don't do often enough.

Going out to eat
Landline
Movies
Vacation trips...we've been big on travel the last five years.

I can watch DVD's or download movies off the internet.
My wife and I are both good cooks.
I can live without satellite TV..I'd miss it but I could live without it.

I don't think I can give up internet access or my cell.
Both are essential to my business.

1. Movies/shows/concerts (that's what our satellite dish is for)
2. Going out to eat -- hardly do that anyway

Everything else we have to keep -- Internet to stay in touch with my son in Mexico, cell phone in case the car breaks down on the long road home, gotta keep the land line because the cell doesn't work out here.

I know! My husband could give up smoking!