What small thing have you had to cut back because of the cost of living?
I've had to stop buying tofu, it's too expensive. I also used to buy myself a cake from the local fancy bakery once or twice a month but had to jib that
A bit unrelated but anyway:
I could technically afford some of those but I chose to remove all my subscriptions to get a better life for my wife who can't work. No more fitness apps, music streaming, movie streaming, computer clouds, big projects that have no reason to be there, or stuff where I depend on random companies.
It requires some adaptation but it works fine and I'm now in control which is better: replaced my old Mac (expensive but dying) with a mini-PC with Linux that cost me 150 Euros, replaced my dying iPhone with a cheap Android and a custom ROM, found free courses on YouTube instead of expensive subscriptions, and secured all my files to a few hard drives that I manually backup regularly.
Those subscriptions are small convenient things but it can cost a lot every month. I now have a good routine that's only 10 minutes of checking some tasks every day, but I gained money thanks to that. And I'm in control of my own destiny which is good.
Last but not least, I'm playing the guitar again and reading books again (yeah, free activities), instead of wasting my time on stupid stuff.
I used to be able to afford a simple apartment in an inner suburb. Now I cannot and I'm living in the outer suburbs which is soul destroying. Driving anywhere sucks. There's no where decent to take a walk. Crime seems to be way up. If I was more settled with a family then maybe I'd have something to focus on, but it's up 1.5 hours to my old BJJ gym if traffic is shit, fuel costs a fortune now, cycling around here is suicidal, most of the food is shithouse due to lack of competition. The people I meet on dog walks seem to be specialists at rorting the welfare system - eg, one guy is on a pension for drug abuse and still abusing drugs, there's a bunch of government houses in the area that they've given to miscreants who trash the property they're given and invite a bunch of shifty criminal friends to hang out at who proceed to commit more crime in the area.
Anything made in the USA (though that is not primarily because of cost of living, only partially). I used to stop off at various street food vendors for a snack on the way home every second day or so, but now I maybe do that once a month. And that is cost of living related entirely.
This is a good point, a lot of the small items people are cutting down on are from small businesses. They must really be suffering
Yeah, small businesses were already suffering at the hands of big box stores, stagnant wages, and online purchasing.
And now there's a downturn.
Oh there are a lot of small things I had to give up because of rising costs of living. TBHany have been a positive change.
The whole situation has made me more intentional with my money, and I like that.
Giving up meat is a massive change! How have you found it? I've been veggie for ten years, mainly because of health, environment and cos I like animals.
I have always liked to eat fish more than meat.
After emigrating to Germany I have noticed that meat is really expensive here. Still I bought a piece of meat.
Once I bit into it I was so disgusted by the taste that in that moment I decided not to eat meat anymore.
For me personally it was a great change, amd I'm really loving the lifestyle. I have lost weight and I feel better.
I'm also aware that it might not feel the same for everyone given that I wasn't much of a meat fan from the start.
Not really any lifestyle changes. Bills have gone up and rent but just means I save a bit less. I don’t eat out or drink at bars anyway, prefer being boring on my own.
Boring is definitely subjective. I was just telling my husband last night as we were watching a live stream from some bar in Florida, and there was a bachelorette party in the crowd, how imagining myself in that group, I'm already bored just 5 minutes in. Would much rather be home with my own comforts and entertainment.
I live in the worst apartment so I don't have to cut back on anything. I save $500/mo living across from a halfway house which is enough to have wine and fancy cheese whenever the mood takes me
I live in a halfway house. Rent is cheap. My roommates are mostly decent. It's not ideal but good for right now.
Especially because I literally couldn't afford a place on my own.
Good luck and good vibes to you ❤️ Hope your roommates continue to be decent
I fucking love fancy cheese I literally love it
You and me both ❤️
I don't buy any videogames new anymore, and pretty much never buy any unless it's on a very good sale. I've got a big enough backlog anyways I guess. I used to go out to some cheaper dine in restaurants but that had to be cut.
Bread. I started making my own and it's way better and cheaper than the cheapest stuff from the store. And it's easier to make than I expected.
Laundry. It costs $6 Canadian (maybe more now) per load, so I do it by hand in a plastic bin in the bathtub and dry it on a rack with a fan for now, since it's winter. It works surprisingly well.
Eating out. My grocery budget is small but I make it work. It's easy to spend a week's worth of the budget on one meal at a restaurant, so I just don't.
Going out in general, to things like movies and concerts. Not just the cost of entry, but also the wear and tear on my car and potential repair costs, and price of gas, make it not worth it. I have enough fun enjoying my hobbies at home anyway.
I used to be a big marvel action figure collector but I've been massively cutting back especially with the tariffs.
Work parking is 3 mins walk for $10 per day. Some parts of residential is 10 mins walk but free. Now I leave about 15 min early to park free and walk to work.
There's a lot of things I don't buy because they're too expensive but its never been about not being able to afford it - it simply just isn't worth that to me so I refuse to buy it.
I'm like that, I'm careful with money so I only buy what I have to and what's worth it to me.
I keep trying to cut back on eating out but I work so much and when I'm home I fall asleep without meaning to. I don't understand how working people manage to cook for themselves consistently. I just keep buying gas station food and putting off laundry for another week.
I can relate. I try to cook, but I'm usually already so exhausted that I just get some trash food instead. I tell myself that I'll cook for sure tomorrow, but the cycle repeats. Sometimes I forget to eat entirely, and I have sleep for dinner.
I batch cook and freeze it it's the only way I can keep on top of it. I just can't cook every day, it's too much.
I try to cook in batches on my day off, but I never make as much as I need. Given up on freezing because no matter how many how-to guides I read, everything has fuzz on it the next day. :(
Dining out. Takeout.
My house.
Bit of an odd one but barely nothing because; I barely bought things.
Had studies, no job and the money from internship were saved up to either help parents, medical stuff, pets or “just in case”.
Currently working and most money is also being saved up. Gave myself a budget to spent each month (which is quite a lot) but I barely spent anything, most I’d spent is €50. I can do this because still living with parents and they allow it (encourage it). So I can save up for an apartment.
Only big spending this month will be for a new monitor.
Bread. I miss fresh bread.
I can't have good bread in the house cos I'd eat the whole thing
Chocolate. Too expensive, or tastes like Styrofoam
Have to wait until it's on special then stock up :)