Money related changes

This past weekend there were a couple articles in the local papers in Southern California that caught me by surprise. One said that economists were claiming that they have not seen these kinds of spending shifts since the 70's and another said that marketing gurus were wondering which of these changes would stick. A final article that caught my attention said that groceries in my region of the country had gone up 8.5% quarter over quarter.

So all that being said, I got to thinking.

First off, I am SO grateful that the Lord prompted me to begin shopping with coupons and sales over a year ago. It left me nicely stocked up and better prepared to deal with these increases. We have yet to increase our grocery/household budget, and all the diapers I have bought in anticipation of baby's arrival have fit into that budget (3 jumbo packs of NB, 5 jumbo packs of size 1, and 2 x 192 count boxes of size 1-2, all Pampers, plus wipes). I say this and note that my household goods are well stocked, except for toilet paper which I am watching for a sale on, and that my pantry is relatively well stocked. My freezer needs a bit of help, but I have not been to Costco yet this month for grocery shopping. (And I don't feel the need to do a huge freezer stock up before baby arrives as my MIL will be here to help, and will take over kitchen duties, when she leaves our church will bring meals every second day for two weeks, and then my mom will be here.)

Will I take a small break from CVS and my multiple store shopping for a month or two when baby arrives? Probably, but I am guessing that on most household items I could go well into November without making a purchase at this point, something I have been working hard on. The only exceptions I see are toilet paper, Kleenex, and possibly dishwasher detergent, but they are on my watch list for the rest of July and August.

The changes we have made in the past year and half in our spending habits have included:

• a set grocery budget each month, and stick to it!
  
• getting all our household (except diapers) to fit in there each month in addition to our groceries
  
• rigorously shopping sales and combining coupons (including CVS)
  
• doing without if it is not on sale (within reason, I will still always buy milk!)
• doing without in general on some items that were not as essential as we thought
• making all our own baked goods (except for when we are sick and need a little help, but I still try to have a stash in our freezer)
• not "stretching" when we bought our new home - we bought what we could afford.
• praying more diligently about our finances
• planting a garden of what we use the most and trying to learn about canning (I am hoping to learn how to make pickles this year!)
• being cautious in how we use our water etc, including collection the water that would just go down the sink when waiting for hot water for dishes - I give our fruit trees extra water this way!
  
• really focusing on using what we have rather than needing new or just running out and buying what strikes my fancy because we have the money.
• making better use of our leftovers and focusing on what we are throwing out so that we know where we are being wasteful.
• sharing and borrowing non-consumable goods with my neighbor rather than buying our own.
  

All this said, I don't believe that any of these changes are ones that are going to die. I think all these changes are here to stay because as the Lord makes more room in our budget there are things we want to do with our money - pay off our house (our only debt), save for retirement, save for our children's education, maybe get a second car eventually (yes, we may very well be the only family in Southern California to live with one vehicle). There are better things to do with our money that just frivolously spend it!

However, we did not need experts to tell us to make these changes, we were already making them when all the talking heads started expounding on the changes we should all make!

Unfortunately I see lots of families in our area who do not have any interest in making these kinds of changes. They just make do now trusting that the markets will recover and they will be able to pay of the debt they are racking up now, if their rebate check is already gone.

So do I think that these changes are lasting for us? Definitely!
Do I think that the majority of people will stick to the changes they are making now? Probably not, especially in Southern California.

What big changes have you made in your spending habits? Do you think they will be permanent changes?

Do you think people will stick to these new spending habits overall, or just a few of us?

For great Frugal Friday ideas, head on over to Crystal's!