My Rock Bottom Is...

So we have read and watched the news about the global fiscal crisis. We hear about those wall street bankers who have lost their multi-million dollar jobs, and are losing their multi-million dollar homes. It started out so far away and not part of our daily world...

We saw some nationwide shops have liquidation sales and close their doors. Plants and factories are suddenly closing their gates and ceasing operation. Most of us saw the occasional mom and pop store have closing out sales and they also disappeared.

We continued to buy our Starbucks coffee and buy cute sales on sale.

But gradually, or perhaps suddenly, we are hearing of our friends losing jobs, selling cars, moving to smaller flats. We are no longer meeting for dinner three or four times a week, instead perhaps once a week if at all. Somehow, we are all feeling the impact directly - watching our friends and family members change their spending, limit their socializing, and making different choices - like dinner and a movie at home, or a picnic on the beach, and more and more potluck social affairs at friend's houses.

To give you some clear examples, here are a few changes from my Fiscal Crisis list:

I sell old clothes on eBay.
Yes, I really do! I used to give it away to charity, but since my income has been reduced I find that I need to be creative on how to bring back some earnings.

I freeze leftovers.
My mother used to do that, and we never seemed to understand why fresh food was put second to some thawed out lasagna - was it just to save time back then? Perhaps. But now it's to save on cost, to stretch out a meal budget.

I drink tap water.
Yikes! Okay, I must admit, I only do that at home. When I am out in a restaurant, I still have to order my bottled water - but somehow at home, I find it more sensible to drink cold water from the tap and stop buying bottles. Perhaps it's a green environmental benefit too, to stop using
plastic bottles.

I use Skype for almost all calls and SMS.
I used to just use my mobile phone for everything. I found out that I get 4 hours of free calls locally, and yet I pay for every SMS message. Skype offers almost free calling to so many places. It is almost always cheaper for long distance calls and for any SMS as well. You can check the rates even before you dial, so that way you really do know the amount saved. Plus, it keeps a record of every call, so you can keep track of whom you are calling most.

My mother gives me haircuts.
Okay, she does know what she's doing by the way, and how can you pay even $20 at a walk-in salon when someone you know can offer free? It's nothing fancy, but it keeps me neat and trim.

So what have you changed?

See if you can top these changes, and as you can see, I'm not talking about not using the private jet here. I can't say I fall into the poverty class, but I definitely have to make some cost cutting changes and I am sure many of you have even more radical measures to share.