Could you go a week without spending ANYTHING??

way to stimulate the economy...you should run for LCIC board

I know that I could, and my wife would also be willing to do so. Two years ago we went through a summer of significantly reduced income, as neither of us had summer teaching gigs and freelance editing and writing was a bit soft for me. We dried clothes on the clothesline, turned off the A/C units, forced ourselves to use up the freezer and pantry food, rode bikes more, and managed to make it through a three-month income squeeze without tapping into our savings.

I think the experience made me even more thrifty in the long run. I currently limit myself to one fast food lunch a week, brown-bagging or opportunistically "scavenging" at events for a free meal the other days (someone is always offering pizza or subs on campus to attract an audience, from the College Republicans to Save the Ottawa River to, I dunno, Free the Starving Darfur Whales). Heck, if the CPUSA offered pizza and wings for lunch, I'd wave the hammer and sickle for free eats any time.

:-}

We also installed a peninsula fireplace this winter, which cut our heating bill about $30 a month. It heats the rooms we use most often, and its close location to the furnace thermostat means our furnace runs a lot less. It mostly runs when we are in bed at night.

I also make it a point to never carry cash or a credit card when I am on trips within a few miles of home. This way I cannot give in to urges for a quick hamburger, a car wash, or any other unnecessary expense.

I do this on an almost regular basis. Being the sole income earner for my family right now has made us cut every possible corner we can. So other than driving back and forth to work or taking the kids to things they need to do, I have no life...LOL! And since I get paid every two weeks, I basically go two weeks without spending a cent because once the money comes in I figure out which bills are top priority, pay those, fill up the cars, buy a few groceries and then it's all gone until I get paid again two weeks later.

It really isn't as difficult as you think it is and you really do learn different ways to spend your time. Library's are a GREAT resource for movies and books, which are free as long as you return them on time! Internet is something that is mandatory because of my "side job", so a home network allows us all to mess around online when we don't have anything else to do!

Oh, while I am in the website-pimping mode, here are two posts with advice on saving money in times of recession. Be sure to read the comments sections, which have some excellent advice from readers:

Financial Advice to the Downwardly Mobile: Getting Ready for the Coming Economic Meltdown

More Advice to the Downwardly Mobile: Recession Preparations

Nope...Can't be done! The moment you flip a light switch, watch your dvd's from the library, light your stove to cook your meal, take a shower, cut your grass, heat your home (or cool it dependent on the season), drive to work or use your phone you are spending at least a penny. So, unless your are living in the wilderness in some cave with a fire pit for heat and cooking, hunting your own food and taking a bath in a stream, I don't think it can be done. Even then you would probably have to buy a hunting license so that penny is spent!

As far as the Peninsula Fireplace goes, I dunno. $4 grand to save $30bucks a month? If I figure 5 heating months per year it'd take like 26 years for that to pay for itself???

Last halloween I went to Spenser's fireplace shop on Alexis, and got a wall mounted ventless gas heater for a couple hundred bucks, and had them install it for another hundred.

Not as pretty as yours is, but it looks ok in our family room. And it keeps us warm and toasty. We also had about a $30 cut in the heating bill. Like many families, we pretty much LIVE in the family room, so the rest of the house can actually be alot cooler if we're in there. We both like to sleep in a cooler bedroom.

After that I got a small electric heater to quickly warm up the bathroom in the mornings, an other than that we're good to go.

the gas heater and little space heater for the bath will have paid for themselves by next christmas...

"Nope...Can't be done! The moment you flip a light switch, watch your dvd's from the library, light your stove to cook your meal, take a shower, cut your grass, heat your home (or cool it dependent on the season), drive to work or use your phone you are spending at least a penny. So, unless your are living in the wilderness in some cave with a fire pit for heat and cooking, hunting your own food and taking a bath in a stream, I don't think it can be done. Even then you would probably have to buy a hunting license so that penny is spent!"

Right! Not as long as the furnaces kick on. And they frown on hunting and farming in my neighborhood.
But, I can eliminate buying possessions.

way to stimulate the economy...you should run for LCIC board

What? I thought people were suppose to try and save during depressed times. Or at all times for that matter. Am I suppose to go out and buy something more on credit to stimulate an economy which got into bad shape for that very behaivor?

I'd assumed he was kidding... :)

Not kidding...how does hoarding money create economy?

I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. If you are having problems making ends meet, you suggest getting out there and spending to stimulate the economy?

Seriously. I work with both kinds of people, all of us are feeling the pinch, some are brown bagging it, riding together, getting together at each others homes over the weekends rather than going out, and others are living the same as before, but instead of paying for things, theyre putting them on credit cards.

Im in the former group, and Im guessing you're in the latter.

Good luck to you in that, but I choose to be frugal in tight times. If you want to try to convince me to do otherwise, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Admittedly the reason behind buying and installing the peninsula fireplace had nothing to do with saving money, but we were pleasantly surprised that our utility bills went down.

And - I ought to add - it was the fact that my wife and I saved our dough and worked extra part-time jobs that we could afford this luxury. We have been largely debt-free (sans mortgage and a few student loans) for a couple of years now. Those of you who still carry credit cards: cut them up! You will never miss them once you pay them off, and the money you save in interest will go right to your savings account.

Cut mine up the very day I retired!

I cut mine up after they were maxed out, and quit paying on them. That way I get my fair share of the money going to the banking industry, the Wall Street thieves, the sub prime loan fiasco, etc.

As soon as the weather gets a little warmer you may want to try a little Dumpster Diving. I hear there's quite a variety out there. If you live too far out of town and many places may not be within walking distance and you might have to do some driving. So I suppose you'd still be spending a little on fuel if you expect to get really well balanced meals. Another option would be panhandling.

That is really difficult to do. I've tried it and there is always something that pops up that requires I go to the store. The trick is just getting that item and leaving. The only time I've gone one week without spending is when I was in bed with the flu.

I started working from home permanently today, so I'm gonna save a ton o bucks over the next 3 years until I retire, but the fast food places around UTMC are gonna take a hit. No more driving everyday so more expensive panic repairs on my 7 year old car, no more money in the envelope for someone else's big event, no more hub taking me out for dinner coz his retired ass didn't cook, and no more stopping by the Walmart for cat food and ending up with all this other crap I could have done without. I need to figure up just how much going to the office everyday cost me and put that much in my piggy bank. Vacation fund! ;p

oh, yah, and to answer the question, yah, we could go a week without spending anything outside the house, and we have, but justa's right, it doesn't help anyone but us. There has a be a little bit for the other guy or none of us will have jobs soon. Whoever doesn't believe that money makes the world go round is just not paying attention. So save a little and spend a little and get the train back on the track so we can all go for a ride! :D

I would say no, I probably couldn't go a week wihtout spending anything....but then I don't HAVE to right now...I'm lucky to have a job still. If I didn't have my job, then I would have to do it. It's not something I'd really like to experience.

It would be easy to go a week without spending anything. (If you define spending as in forking over payment for products/goods/services on that same day.) I only go to the grocery store and fill up once a week anyhow.

But, as KraZyKat pointed out, you're still "spending" by consuming any electricity, heat, water, etc.

Its the total consumption that counts...not what day you happen to pay for it.

So, I guess a better question would be whether or not any of us could go without consuming anything that had to be paid for (now or later)? ;)

Since we're retired, sure, it'd be easy to not go anywhere or spend anything for a week , but it would sure as hell be BORING, so I can't see doing it. I still get stuff from Flea-Bay and other places on the net, plus enjoy flea markets and such. Sometimes just like going to somewhere like K-Mart or Home Depot just to look around. REALLY have cabin fever this year due to the relentless Winter from Hell.