Who likes Oreos? Me!
Who likes HBO? Me!

But, if I had to choose?  Yeah, I’d go for the food.  Oddly enough, more and more people are choosing the opposite route and plunging their money into cable boxes rather than their grocery budget.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, in this time of deep financial distress, people are cutting back on food purchases in order to hold onto their cable TV subscriptions.  In fact, grocery bills are being cut faster than even cell phone services!  Is there something wrong with this picture?

I guess I get it. If you don’t have a job or money to hit the town, what else is there to do besides watch TV? You aren’t going to sit in the dark staring at the wall…. but cutting back on food – most likely the nutritious kind – just so you can catch a little MTV? Well, it all just seems so backwards.

To each their own, I guess. I mean, people probably think I’m crazy for refusing to go store-brand on my Oreos (sorry, but they do NOT taste the same) or giving up my Starbucks addiction, but those are things I just can’t live without.  Who am I to judge?

What about you? What do you refuse to give up when faced with a budget crunch?

I’ve simply never been the best with saving money. While I do always pay my bills on time and never go hungry, I am still fundamentally pretty hedonistic and tend to ‘blow’ any extra money I’ve got on anything shiny, fun, or alcoholic.

Nonetheless, I’ve learned to actually save money in recent years. I’ve learned that there are things I do WANT (that cater to my hedonism) that require saved money. So, I’ve cut back on some things that used to completely drain my wallet and saved more than you can imagine. Here are 5 tips if you’d like to do the same:

REPLACE YOUR ENERGY DRINKS WITH COFFEE. FROM HOME.

I have a serious caffeine addiction. It’s not cute; it’s tormenting. The worst part is that I truly do prefer a sugar free Red Bull to a cup of coffee. But I’ve learned to cut back. At $2-$3 a can, my energy drinks can be shelved for the most *crucial* of days…which is not, contrary to my previous beliefs, every single day of the week. Now I brew my own iced coffee every morning and use a box of splenda to get over my sugar fears. It absolutely does the trick and I’ve saved at least $45 a month doing this. Read More »