U.S. economy...a continuous struggle

The economy here in the U.S. has been bad for quite some time. The unemployment rate continues to grow and prices keep going up. Struggles to raise our children increase as we continue to lose jobs and pay high prices.

Some things we have been doing at my house to cut down on our spending are:

We haven't been on a vacation in a year and half. Traveling is just too expensive for a family especially with high gas prices. We still do special things as a family, but more along the lines of a local day trip or just having a picnic and camp out in the back yard…the kids love it and it saves us money.


Instead of toys, games, books, or clothes for gifts (especially at children's Birthday parties which my kids seem to be invited to all the time) we buy or make simpler gifts. I took pictures of my daughter and some of her friends on her school field trip and at her preschool graduation. Putting those pictures on a CD and sharing them with a friend makes a great gift and keepsake. You can even make a slide show on a blank DVD and add special effects and music.

How does your family save? Share your ideas to help others out.

Re: U.S. economy...a continuous struggle

the economy here seems almost blind regarding the worldwide crisis. jobwise all has stayed the same in our family..but i´m sure the full effect of the crisis will be felt pretty soon in our country..
the economic summer of hell is not over yet..
something else is going down right now…it could be connected to the economy ..i don´t know.
people have become a lot more edgy lately…there seems to be a veritable boom in divorces and separations…feels like something might be going down soon on a larger scale and “the rats are leaving the ship”..or the soul feels eager to live out life to it´s fullest before things get nasty. (that´s just a weird thought i had about the things going on….) 
i am fighting right now to keep the family bond upright. divorce is imminent, but that´s hopefully just on paper…in real life though..it might continue or even get better… won´t be trying to save money, if spending it helps save the family bond..there´s not much to save anyway as the cost of living is quite high.
the kid  (6) does not need any more toys…all that is interesting for the kid now, is online games …that´s a very cost efficient hobby…and getting familiar with computers early enough is not such a bad thing…

money is important…but the 3 most important things in life are: faith , hope , love..