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Chris Kuhn

Editor, skirt! Tampa Bay

I'm an outspoken thirtysomething who has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1992, full of useless facts on just about every facet of pop culture. I'm passionate about vegetarianism without passing judgment. I love to laugh. If we can't talk politics, music, movies, sports, TV or current events, you'...

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Making Cents Out Of Life

Chris, editor for skirt! Tampa Bay

I’ve had money on the mind quite a bit lately. I know I’m not alone. I don’t normally talk about money here because I’m of the opinion that money matters are, well, a bit personal. And I certainly don’t intend to step on the toes of one of our insightful bloggers, Nancy who frequently offers her fresh take on fashion and funds... but I did wonder if others out there are finding themselves forced to be creative in ways they never imagined with their money.

Just this morning I figured out that my June gas bill was nearly $400 – and we have two small automobiles! I knew it had gone up but I never dreamt how much. My budget for gas only a year ago was $180/month. Egads.

I realized the other day that my hubby and I have never fought about money. Strange, I know, but it’s true. We seem to be on the same page when it comes to anything to do with our spending or saving. That’s been a big help. Lately, we’ve been trying to find ways to make the most out of our money and one way we’ve done this is to make the most of what we already have at our fingertips...enjoying the recreation already available to us. We’ve got movies, music, games and books coming out of our ears. So though we’ve been avid moviegoers for years, that’s taken a backseat these days. We’ll just pull a DVD out and watch it or use our on-demand system that already comes with our pay channels. Want something good to read? We’ve been heading to the library or just grabbing a book off the shelf that we purchased years ago but never took the time to read (are we the only fools that do that??? I have a library full of these books!) And we pay an annual fee to live in our community but never use the fitness room or swimming pool. I can promise you that THIS is changing immediately. If I’m paying for it, dammit, I’m using it.

Why do I feel so angry? I think it’s disappointment, in the way our economy is moving. As a couple, we’ve tried to be smart about our use of energy, about the purchases we’ve made to buy fuel-efficient cars, about our menu planning to prevent that daily trip to the grocery store, which really makes those bills add up quickly. But we’ve been spoiled, so used to simply buying what we want or going where we want to, without really thinking about what it costs to get there and its long-term value. Now, I have to think. Think, think, think. Think about everything I do, everything I buy and justify it. Yeah, it’s a bit annoying, but what choice is there?

So I’m looking for ideas and certainly willing to share some in return... one idea I’m toying with currently is to start a book exchange with some friends. Share a list of the authors and/or titles available with a handful of friends and inquire about exchanging books with each other (not permanently but lending, like a library) so we can each benefit by the other’s previous purchases. This could work well with movies, too, hmmm...

Another idea is to start up a coupon exchange. I did this once before, not on a grand scale, but just having each friend indicate 3-5 brands/items for which they’d love coupons – like diapers, a certain shampoo, etc. As long as they’re using something else that I don’t, why shouldn’t I cut them out and help my friends? Now I know that some people feel they are above using coupons, but I’ve never cared for this elitist attitude. What’s wrong with saving money if you’re buying something that you would have purchased anyway?

Are you getting creative and finding new ways to save money or make the most out of what you’ve got, too?