Lean Family Finances Haven’t Cut Cable TV or Cell Phones—Yet

The economy is in a downturn. President-elect Barack Obama recently said that the economy is so bad he is not going to be able to do everything he promised he was going to do as soon as he became president.

So, maybe it is true that there is a silver lining to every cloud. Even well-intentioned big plans tend to come with big price tags.

Unfortunately, one of Obama's better ideas -- tax cuts to businesses and individuals (the folks who are actually paying for the bailouts) -- has apparently been pooh-poohed by some in the Senate. No breaks for us taxpayers -- seems we're needed to stay at the grindstone, churning out those dollars for the Treasury.

Since it's up to us to keep the government coffers full and pay for everyone else's handouts, it may behoove us all to learn the meaning of the word frugality. At our home, we have become most diligent in learning to reduce our spending and put away what pennies we can (hidden in an undivulged location, where no politician can find them).

Learning to live on a leaner budget has been interesting. Facing up to the challenges of what to reduce, what to eliminate, and what to recycle has proven an adventure for the entire family and required innovation and some trial-and-error.

We have learned, for instance, that dryer lint does not work well when recycled into cotton balls. Old socks can be used as dust rags (wash them first, though). We may not need to spend money on horseback riding lessons for the youngest. She'll be able to learn to ride on the mule we'll be purchasing to save money on lawn mowing, fertilizer, and trips to the local grocery store.

Our 14-year-old, who once announced that she did not believe in reheating leftovers, has decided that in this particular instance, her principles can take a back seat to eating. Our other high school student has taught us a new word -- thrifting. He is justifiably proud of himself for going to a Goodwill store. He found some really cool clothes that he purchased for a song. I didn't have the heart to tell him those clothes looked suspiciously like his father's things that I had dropped off there last week.

While it was wonderful to see our college kids home for the holidays, I must admit (with shockingly little guilt) that it gets a bit easier to say goodbye each time they leave. Wonderful boys, both, but they consume amazing amounts of food and energy.

Their computers, phones, iPods, and Xboxes (which apparently don't have "off" switches) suck up electricity at incredible rates. When the two are home, there is no darkness in our house. Every outlet is filled with something charging, little blue, yellow, and red lights merrily blinking away at night in two-part harmony with the spinning electric meter out back.

Although we are working on it, we haven't been able to convince ourselves that we can live without cable or cell phones. How can we just abandon 40 channels of the same news presented by 40 different cookie-cutter blondes, or give up watching old war clips on the Hitler Channel?

Who has the time to make teenagers stop texting and actually teach them how to speak into a landline or memorize a home phone number? Should things get drastic enough, somewhere, somehow, standing together, my husband and I could find the courage to break the news to the kids that these electronic luxuries are not essential to human life.

Newspapers, on the other hand, are absolutely critical to this new lifestyle. Name another product that can be purchased for pennies a day, shared by the entire family, and will increase knowledge, provide entertainment, help find a job if needed -- and then in the ultimate gesture of recycling, be used to clean windows, line birdcages and drawers, or train a puppy.

They say money can't buy happiness. But a global network of scientists conducted a study of world happiness in July 2008. They found that the U.S. ranked 16th worldwide on the happiness meter and noted that across the globe, happiness is on the rise. Researchers say that increase is due to greater economic growth, democratization, and social tolerance.

The study, conducted in the U.S. by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, noted that the U.S. does have room for improvement in several areas, notably universal health coverage and social solidarity. In what was, of course, a completely unbiased report by a completely nonpartisan school, the study suggested that properly designed social programs and policies could help raise U.S. levels of happiness to an even greater level. If that is true, then in four years we should be the happiest place on Earth.

Will Rogers once said to be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for -- an excellent point to remember.

Eventually, despite the meddling of government, the economy shall recover and the stock market will rise again. When that day comes, we plan to dig up our sock full of pennies, kill the fatted mule, and have one heck of a party.

Contact Robin Beres at (804) 649-6305 or .