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Where have YOU Been cutting budget items?

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Education & Training with HD Realty BK662006

Today I read a post by April Hayden-Munson about how her household has cut back on some budget items in the current times.  She had some bad results when she cut down on her asthma medications, but the lesson she brought up was an important one... realizing how "the other half" lives every day.

Tim & I have also cut back on some things.  Since I'm in Real Estate and he's in Mortgages, we've gotten slapped with the double whammy this year.  But in our cutbacks, we found some extra bonuses:

  • Cut back to basic cable... found out that most of the shows we like are streaming on the internet anyways! Savings: about $50 (I actually upgraded our internet to a faster speed so I could work faster and watch shows. we plug the laptop into our big screen tv and watch it on the bigscreen)
  • Bonus: we're watching less TV and getting more done and making more MONEY!
  • Eating out less...not only saving money, but I've lost about 10 pounds! Super Bonus!
  • Planning my errands better and combining trips...not only saves money, but I'm saving a bunch of TIME
  • Moved into a smaller office space... it was a pain to get moved, but we also got rid of a TON of stuff that we were storing that we really didn't need...some we sold on Craigslist, some we gave to people that really needed it.

It's funny, but some people I talk to that are "leaning" up their lives a little bit are really feeling REFRESHED.  What I mean is they're getting rid of alot of clutter and distractions in their lives and they feel a lot more freedom when they're not trying to keep up with the Joneses any more.

 

I think when it comes right down to it, we've had a shake-out in the mortgage and real estate industry that has been needed for quite a while... now that that has happened, those of us that are left are starting to see our business pick up and the future is definately starting to look a whole lot brighter!

Show All Comments
Noreen Fennell
Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty - Tuxedo, NY
Professional Service, Serious Results

Andy:

I also read April's post about cutting back expenses to compensate for reduction in revenues.  April certainly made us realize even the best idea can be taken too far--and cutting back on necessary medications just wont "cut" it.  However, call me crazy, but I think that the current state of the market had made many of us carefully analyze our spending and make some budget cuts is a good thing--and will continue to serve us well when the market starts to rev up (and I am confident it will).  I think we tend to accept a lot of things when times are good, and we get bogged down with stuff--both literally and mentally--that is not truly important to our lives or effectively making our living.  I think that focusing on what is truly important will benefit us and help us understand what really makes our lives and our businesses flourish, and help getting back to basics will allow us to focus on the things that really make the difference, professionally and personally.

Best,

Noreen

Dec 05, 2008 10:19 AM
Rebecca Anne Cole
PNC Mortgage - Timonium, MD

Thanks for sharing your post.  I have cut back at the grocery store by watching sales and clipping coupons.  Last week I saved over $120.00 with tripled coupons and sale items.

Dec 05, 2008 10:48 AM
Eric Bouler
Gardner Realtors, Licensed in La. - New Orleans, LA
Listening to your Needs

I show less so I drive less. I play more tennis and work out more. I do no print ads so I cannot cut there. May drop a website I do not spend time on.

Dec 05, 2008 11:29 AM
Tim and Pam Cash
Crye-Leike (Sango) - Clarksville, TN
Real Estate Professionals - Clarksville TN

Andy, we have made some cutbacks, with more planned for the new year.  I think that it is inevitable for any middle income American.  We have been spoiled for sometime, but remembering when we were children, even with cutbacks, we still have it much better than we once did.

Dec 05, 2008 12:09 PM
Todd Clark - Retired
eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR
Principle Broker Oregon

We have turned off the top 150 on our dish, cut back on going out and are driving the fuel efficient car more often. Actually isn't that bad, but it is taking some getting used to. But spending the time with family playing games instead of watching TV. (22-4)

Dec 05, 2008 02:01 PM
Rob Arnold
Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. - Altamonte Springs, FL
Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F

I dropped the home phone line and went totally cellular.  Also we stopped eating out 3 times a week and now go only once. 

Cutting back in the business has been harder.  I already run a pretty tight ship.  I did start using plastic For Sale signs ($12 vs $30 each) in addition to metal ones.  My big shift in the business was to move away from serving mostly investors and re-focusing on short sales, REOs, and buyers.  This has actually made business pick up quite a bit to the point where I need to hire more staff.

Dec 06, 2008 12:28 AM
Wendy Rulnick
Rulnick Realty, Inc. - Destin, FL
"It's Wendy... It's Sold!"

Andy, Being frugal - a lesson learned now that can and should apply to normal times, too.  Didn't Benjamin Franklin say "A penny saved is a penny earned"?

Dec 18, 2008 10:26 AM
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