Things my family no longer does since this recession began in 2008 and continues to this day:
No longer dine out;
No longer have cable/satellite TV;
No longer purchase a new car every 6-7 years; (Wife's vechile is a 2007, mine's a 2003)
I no longer "go out for lunch" while working, I brown-bag it;
No longer call a repairman when something breaks; (I've learned to fix alot myself)
No longer replace something that's broken unless it's absolutely needed;
No longer take vacations;
Not that I'm complaining because I make a decent living and if I really wanted to I could afford the above. We've decided however that it's more important to save and prepare for the worst than to enjoy life now or put our burdens on someone else (welfare, food stamps, etc..)
I damn' sure do make sure my kids are clothed and fed without relying on taxpayers to perform what every parents core responsibilities are towards their children! I wish people like the above would stop mooching off of me and the rest of the taxpayers, sucked it up and took care of their own damn kids.
One thing people can also do is to tap into the magic that is the church and garage sale.
They can find any and everything they need there for next to nothing. Clothes, appliances, shoes, tools and more.
$20.00 can nab you a whole wardrobe for the year!
Shouldn't they have moved to the cheaper place about month 2 or 3 of no employment?
That way, the kids would have been enrolled in a school for the whole year, or they could have home schooled and moved.
I guess because I have moved many times during my adult life, I am less fearful of starting over elsewhere than some others.There are two of them. One couldn't have moved for a job elsewhere first?
I wonder who they voted for....
Anyway, there are plenty of jobs out there for those who are losing their unemployment benefits. Hopefully they will go back to work. Unemployment benefits should never be longer than a few weeks. When it was 99 week, most people were miraculously finding work in the 98th week! Funny how that works out.
A good barometer of the economy is the average wait time for a table at a casual restaurant chain on a Friday or Saturday night. Such as Applebees, Olive Garden or Outback. In my neck of the woods, it is still a solid hour to get a table at those times. Even on Thursday nights, it can be up to a half hour wait.
I had to cut back on my dining out but that was only because I need to cut back on my waistline. It was a bit of a shock to realize we were dining out an average of 4-5 nights a week. It does kind of sneak up on you, especially when you are surrounded by endless chains of restaurants like I am. I remember when I was growing up, dining out was a very rare treat and even then, it was usually some clam shack or pizza house.
I’m working and trying to pay down debt; I’ve done many of the things you mention, and like the fact that an unintended consequence is how much of my earnings no longer trickle down to Obama voters in fast-food places, work cafeteria, and such.