Spending and Saving

Mad Libs for Saving Money

Our friends at Wisebread, the funnest frugal living site we know, posted this little contest earlier this week to find out what kinds of spending trade-offs the recession had inspired. (On Recessionwire, we call these dilemmas “Recession Concessions.”)

Wisebread asked readers to fill in the blanks: “I used to _____, but now I ____ to save money.” A handful of the 144 responses are below. Read them all here.

“I used to leave my electronics running on power supply, now I charge them in the office and run them on batteries to save money.”

“I used to spend money on gas getting to and from work. But now that my company has gone belly up and I’m unemployed, I’m staying at home and saving all that gas money!”

“I used to have no idea where my money went every month but now I write down *every* expense.”

“I used to not have a Molly Fun category, but now I do, and I stay in my budget, and I enjoy it a lot (the planning and the spending).”

“I used to go out to the bar, but now I hang out at friends houses and save hundreds of dollars every month.”

“I used to live in the Chicago area but I moved to SW Missouri to save money.”

“I used to buy fresh raspberries all the time, but now I planted a raspberry bush to save money. We’re expecting our first crop this spring!”

“I used to call up the babysitter whenever I felt like having a night out with my husband or friends. Now I’ve gotten together with a group of friends and we’ve started a ‘Kidswap.’”

“I used to go shopping out of boredom but now I organize and clean up my apartment. It’s free and I realize how much crap I already have and I don’t need anything else!”

“I used to smoke, now I run to save money.”

Tags: budgets, saving money