Recession Obsession

Do you think we are in recession?

I don't really know but since it's the current buzz word, I'm taking it seriously and adjusting my priorities, just in case. :)

I'm not sure if I'm a high-maintenance kind of girl. I like to think I'm not. C would probably say I am.

But I've always been a trouper and I can scale down when needed. A few weeks ago I even told C we can start a vegetable garden and eat our harvest! Haha. Okay... that's a bit too far out, I should say.

So anyway... early this year (and especially when I quit my part-time job), I decided to cut down on some of my spending:

1. Clothes -- When I was still working for this retail store, I couldn't resist the urge to buy the stuff we made. A friend even commented that we were like drug pushers buying our own drugs. Haha. Now if I want to update my wardrobe, I buy fabric and ask my sewer to make something for me. Not only do I save, I also get to test designs on myself and figure out if something is worth selling or not.

I have a closet (technically two closets as some of my clothes are in C's closet and others still are in another closet in the spare room) bursting with clothes, some of which I've had for years. I have two Rhett Eala pieces that are at least 10 years old! These are the stuff that have survived countless garage sales. They are my treasure pieces.

To update the pieces, I'd sometimes add little things like buttons or ribbons. Take this tank top that's enjoying its second summer with me.


It's kinda scooped too low and I used to fold and pin the shoulders straps so that it doesn't reveal too much cleavage. That got kinda boring so I decided to add thin, red grosgrain ribbons that serve to shorten the straps and also add a pop of color.

2. Grooming -- I believe in pedicures. Manicures, I don't need. They are a waste of money on me as a few minutes after leaving the salon, the polish on my fingers get chipped from too much fidgeting. But pedicures are a must, especially in summer when it's not only pretty to bare one's tootsies but also more comfortable!!

I used to have my pedicures done by just one girl whose name is Girlie (insert smile here). I would follow her to whichever salon she'd move to because most of the other pedicuristas I've tried were very sloppy or worse, did the pedicures oh so painfully. But those pedicures with Girlie would cost around P350. Add the P100 tip, that's almost P1,000 a month if I do it twice a month (the minimum).

Fortunately I found a small salon in one of the villages near Ultra that does decent and pain-free pedicures for only P100! And P50 tips are very much de rigueur. Whew!

3. Fitness -- I must say that running is one of the cheapest sports I've ever tried. One just needs to invest in a good pair of running shoes, a good sports bra for girls and running shorts. I choose to wear the free race singlets I've collected from races I've joined. I actually prefer them to dri-fit shirts.

What else have I cut down on? Hmmm... The fact that I'm finding it hard to continue the list means I'm either low maintenance or that I haven't really been cutting down! Hahaha!

5. Races -- I've been joining races with C since November last year and it came to a point where we'd be joining a race every Sunday. This year we decided to choose our races and limit them to only two per month. Not only do we save on race fees and the breakfast splurge post-race, we also get to do other stuff on Sundays, like sleep in!

6. Movies -- Like choosing races, we've also become choosy with the movies we watch on the big screen. If we don't think a particular film will really impact our lives, we won't watch it at all or maybe just wait till it comes out on DVD.

Six items! I think that's not a bad number. :) Six things I've learned to live without or have scaled down on. Six minor changes that will hopefully make us a bit more recession-resilient. :)

What do YOU cut down on?

an interesting follow-up post would be what don't i want to cut down on.... hahaha!