Gettin' By

This economy is affecting everyone.  Just how are people going to 'get by'?   What can be done to make the money go further.   I have a few suggestions and some of them I am doing myself.

1. E-mail Christmas Greetings instead of mailing them.
2. Cash in all of the change you have laying around the house.
3. Sell your broken gold earrings and other gold jewelry that you no longer wear or is broken.
4. Eat at home more.  Brown bag  your lunch.
5. Make family gatherings potluck to spread out the expense.
6. Rent movies instead of going to theatres.
7. Color your own hair instead of going to the beauty shop.
8. Turn your thermostat down in the house.
9. Plan trips to town for when you have several things to do.
10. Pay cash for everything so....no credit card surprises.

My mother always enjoyed  "gettin' by" and accepted it as a personal challenge to stretch the dollar and feed the family at the same time.  The time of instant gratification may be over for some of us and the time for self-discipline is here and now.  Accept the challenge and you will 'get by'.