I thought it
might be appropriate to discuss cutting back on, of all days, Black
Friday. I’ve never been much of a Black
Friday shopper myself so it has never had a particular hold on me, however if I
were to see a really good price on something I needed I wouldn’t be opposed to
venturing out. Fortunately for me, I am
sitting in a good place in my life. I am
grateful to be able to say I have everything tangible that I need and want
right at the moment. Because of that I
get to enjoy a relaxed, content and peaceful way of life.
Like a lot of
people it hasn’t always been easy to acquire what I’ve needed to get by in
life. There have been plenty of times where
I’ve lost sleep and worried over whether or not I would be able to make ends meet
or even afford groceries. But, by the
grace of God, somehow I’ve always managed.
With slim budgets, some creativity and resourcefulness, and a lot prayer
I have had loads of practice making it through the hard times. Our current recession has me thinking and
re-thinking about many things right now and coming up with ways to cut back and
make it through, yet again. It certainly
isn’t my first rodeo.
My motivation is
to simply protect and keep what I currently have. Many are asking “how far can we cut back?” as
they feel they may be at the end of their financial rope. In my experience we can do far more with far less
than we initially think we can. I’ve
quite often surprised myself.
As I head into
the winter season I’m re-evaluating many things to see how I can make it
through without breaking the bank. I’m
referring to it as “recession busting” because quite frankly I’ve grown a
little sick and tired of it. You’ll
probably be seeing a lot more of my blog posts leaning in this direction as I
march on into 2024. Afterall, I was The Thrifty Mom In Boise and in many,
many ways I still am. Are you sick and
tired of this economic situation too?
Yeah, I thought so.
We went to our mall in Raleigh. It’s very large. Not a large crowd today at 7. My husband needed nice pants. He got 2 pairs. I got 3 large jar candles at Yankee Candle for less than$26. We then went to our local hole in the wall restaurant for breakfast. In years past we had to wait. Not today. I’m wondering if people are feeling the pinch and not spending or did we hit them at the best time?
ReplyDeleteI don't think Black Friday is what it used to be with all the pre-sales and online options. I'm glad you and your hubby had a nice morning together.
DeleteHonestly the rising prices haven’t really had a big impact on us. Sure prices have gone up, but if something rises past a price I’m willing to pay I have simply quit buying that item, or buy it less frequently. I think a lot of the people complaining aren’t willing to do anything about it. They want what they want. They “work hard and deserve it”. I was just having this conversation with my youngest son a couple days ago. He manages a flooring store and his business is still very strong. He says people are still spending money on flooring. They want it so they buy it. Usually they get hit hard by these cycles of inflation, but so far that’s not the case.
ReplyDeleteDiane
You are very fortunate indeed. I agree with the point you make and that goes right along with the rise in consumer debt.
DeleteYou are exactly right about the cc debt. The restaurants here are busy every nite. If money is so tight wouldn’t you think eating out would be the first thing to go? Stores are busy. I was behind a lady at Safeway a few days ago and she was complaining about the cost of thanksgiving dinner, while at the same time buying two bakery pies. One was pumpkin and it was $17, not sure about the type or cost of the other. She just mentioned she couldn’t make pumpkin pie for $17. What? What the heck is she putting in her pumpkin pie lol. Yeah, I suppose thanksgiving would be expensive if you were spending $35 on just the pie lol. Buy whatever the heck you want, but don’t complain about prices when you are making questionable choices lol.
DeleteDiane
I'm pretty sure I can make a chicken pot pie for far less than $27 yet Costco sells a ton of them. I fear these are choices that will come back to haunt many people in the coming years. Pretty sad. :'(
DeleteMy son and dil have me get them those pot pies from Costco. It kills me every time lol. I gave her 2 pillsbury crusts this time along with the pot pie and told her to try making her own next time. She didn’t grow up with much home cooking, but she’s learning. I think my son actually does most the cooking if he’s off work. The difference between them and the lady at Safeway is they never complain about the price of anything-mostly because they don’t know prices lol. They make plenty of money, and spend plenty too! I have given up trying to fix them.
DeleteDiane
You tried so they have the information. It is up to them to make better choices.
DeleteMy dear mother taught me that saying early in my life and I still practice it!!! Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much. :o)
DeleteI too would think groceries/food would be an area people would cut back on but honestly I think people are probably cutting other things first. Many people don't cook, don't know how or don't care to know or just rather go out or get it to go. Back in my parent's/ grandparents' day they pared down the groceries and made food stretch. My grandmother could take a can of salmon and feed 12! She added a lot of eggs and made salmon patties. I guess it was really salmon flavored eggs! Lol No one does that or wants to do that any more. I've even heard that volunteers at food banks will give lessons on cooking because people picking up food don't know what to do with it.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say about a $17 pie is "do you know how many pies I could make for $17!!!??"
~margaret
My grandmother once told me that if company showed up they'd thin the creamed tuna with milk and just make more toast. No one ever left hungry or complained. You did what you needed to do and you shared with others. This year I made two pumpkin pies from scratch for less than $3 and they are delicious! Better and healthier than any store bought pie, I'd say.
DeleteAfter spending more than I had planned on Thanksgiving (in the form of time and effort and $) I think I have decided that a big pot of hamburger soup will do for the next big holiday and I am just going to leave that spiral ham in the freezer for now. Sides are pricey, too, and I do not want to spend Christmas on my feet anyway.
ReplyDeleteTurkey and rice soup for dinner tonight, made with the broth and meat from simmering the Thanksgiving turkey carcass, of course! The soup was delicious and I told my children they will never go hungry once they’ve learned to make a good soup. Enough broth and meat put away in the freezer for a second pot of soup later this winter.
ReplyDelete