Have You Cut Non Essentials Out of Your Budget Due to Inflation/High Gas Prices (insurance, percentage)

[Woody01]

No not cutting anything, just living life as usual. This is just an aberration.....

And no we're not wealthy....but life is way too short.......

[twinkletwinkle22]

Gas price doesn't affect us much. Just hit 36,000 miles on 10 year old car and it's our only car.
We recently decided to eat out at least once a week after Covid kept us from doing so for so long, support business and enjoy life.

I like to cook and even though food bill has gone up quite a bit it is part hobby and part cost of living so it's OK.
I like to cut the grass but we moved to hilly lot and not worth physical therapy cost for my 60something body, selling the mower this month so get some cash back from that.

Compared to other retired people we don't travel much at all, that saves a lotta money lol. Did a lot of US travel years earlier, great fun but now more fun close to home. Take long walks at local nature refuge, it's free and close by.

3 years ago we moved and bought a less expensive house which costs less to maintain. Can't beat luck for saving money.

[mojo101]

trading down from cod and red snapper to tilapia and monk fish!
I found out I can broil the tilapia fish in my oven by just spraying it with olive oil

[ddeemo]

Originally Posted by prospectheightsresident

Speaking only of Oahu, if you're going there, there is a lot that you can do without a car. Happy to provide suggestions if you'd like

Moving on, I haven't cut back on much at all. We have a very nice combined household income and already live well within our means. But I do keep note of what is increasing around here.

Thanks but we were looking at Maui - I have been to Oahu about 40 times for work. We have beaches near home so just going to beach is not going to hold much interest for us.

[Lincolnian]

I put off a kitchen reno (not urgent) primarily due to insane contractor quotes which excluded materials. With the labor shortage, some bids are triple what they were two years ago for the labor component. I will wait until things slow down a bit so that I can get the products I want and get the job done at a reasonable cost.

[roodd279]

Is this for real?



If so - I would say that whatever (if anything) you've cancelled is directly related to the amount you drive in a year. Some folks drive less...so this change in gas has made zero difference in their lives. HOWEVER - if you're referring to the overall higher prices of just about everything because of rising oil prices - then you might be on to something. Gas is just another symptom.


Let's say I drive 15K miles per year, in a car that gets 30MPG - that's 500 gallons a year. Last year, I paid about 1500 for that 500 gallons. This year, it's closer to 2000.


So - spread out over a year - I'm losing $500 - or about $10 a week. One less Big Mac per week oughtta cover this. I'm not at "major budget restrictions" yet.


BUT -


If you drive 100K miles a year - this is a different discussion. If you're driving an F350, it's also a different discussion.



And


If you drive 5K a year - then it's a non discussion.

[Hemlock140]

Since getting a nice raise retroactive to 11/1/2021 I am actually still ahead financially, so not only not cutting back, but buying things that we want, not need that we had put off. I also have commute costs again going back to the office 3 days a week, but even that's not a big enough expense to use up the raise despite the gas prices. This weekend we drove 56 miles for a nice lunch to try a new restaurant.

[509]

Having gone through several bad recessions, particularly during the decade long Carter recession that went on for a decade this is the game plan.

Buying MORE stuff NOW, that will go up significantly with Biden's inflation.

Cutting back on "fixing" things. Once the Biden recession hits there will be plenty of contractors willing to do work for lower prices. Making a list of the stuff we will do at that point.

We have pretty low consumptive lifestyle, so really not much to cut back on anyway, except for the business expenses.

BTW....our business is "prosperity" dependent. It has dropped significantly since the first of the year. Not sure if this is just a temporary thing due to uncertainty or a leading indicator of the recession.

[BeerGeek40]

Originally Posted by CCS414

So far due to inflation and gas prices we've cut:
1. Hulu
2. Landscaping (I gotta get out there and mow/edge myself now).
3. Dinner Out/Date nights every third week instead of every other week.
4. Canceled my 3 day vacation to the SoCal beaches (gas prices in CA).
5. Changed the oil myself on both cars yesterday. We use full synthetic so the money saved was quite a lot as compared to having the techs at Walmart change it.

So what, if anything is on your list?

No changes yet, with the exception of, we are beginning to have a lot more food in stock than previously.
At best, food prices will be up a lot moving forward. At worst, shortages are on the way.

[BostonMike7]

The spike in high gas prices coincidentally happened right around the time i began my diet. Looks like the $$ i typically spend on fancy IPA's went to the difference in gas prices.


But seriously. I've made no adjustments.