Free-cation: House-Swap Getaway

Is there anything that gets struck from a tightening budget faster than superfluous hotel trips? I’ve got two words for you: house swap.

Track down another couple and do the old swaparoo. They spend a weekend at your house and you stay Friday night through Sunday afternoon at their place. It’s a lot better than some boring, old staycation. But there are a few ground rules that have to be established.

First: the campground rule is in effect (AKA leave things better than you found them).

Second: no snooping. No matter how well things are hidden, busybodies can…

At the End of Your Robe: Get Thrifty With It

When the going gets tough, the tough go thrifting. Growing up in the Midwest, I wanted a designer look but couldn’t afford the designer prices. So I did the next best thing—found one-of-a-kind items at thrift stores and pieced together my looks with little more than the change in my pocket. Times are tough again for many of us and getting more for your money is the new cool way to shop. Thrift store shopping takes a little more time and a lot more digging,but you can find classic, high-quality pieces as well as more outré ones. Armed with this strategy guide—a thifter’s dozen of tips—I guarantee you can score a new spring wardrobe for the price of last year’s little black dress.

1. Choose wisely
Try to avoid thrift stores in neighborhoods filled with college kids and hipsters—they will most likely be picked over, and the quality of the inventory may not be the best. Wealthy communities with older residents usually have the top shops and stores…

Recession Dispatch from…a New Yorker in Santa Monica

As a New Yorker, whenever I travel to California, I’m ever hopeful that I will adopt the effortless, easy happiness of the sunny residents. On my last visit two weeks ago, I wondered if the recession had made its mark the same way it has sent a dark hazy cloud over Manhattan. I stayed with friends, a talented singer-songwriting couple who live in the cozy, creative bungalow community of Santa Monica. They had just landed a very promising project, and living in their hotbed of musical activity, recessionary Manhattan felt far away.

The raw food restaurant next door to the yoga studio I frequented was doing brisk business. From my observation, the Santa Monica crowd thinks nothing of paying $8 for a smoothie or $22 for a yoga class…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Coming Home Again

On Tuesday, my husband found out that his freelance work with the firm that picked him up three days after the Layoff is now drying up. Yesterday was his first day “back” at home.

“So, does this make you, like, laid off times two?” I asked in a lame appeal to mask my panic with humor.

“Nah, it’s much better,” he said. I asked him to explain.

Turns out, there are Layoffs and there are layoffs. Technically, of course, this latest downsizing of my beloved doesn’t count as a layoff at all, since Marco hadn’t been on staff at that firm. When his supervisor told him there was no more work for him right now, there was no sense of betrayal, no dark questioning (why me? why not him or her?), nothing personal. Other freelancers had been slowly disappearing. He knew things had been winding down.

Downturn Deals: Price Cuts on Haircuts

Clothes go on sale, cars go on sale, even food goes on sale. But when was the last time your hairstylist offered you a discount?

Well, maybe now. As a way to serve their communities (and, of course, bring in business) salons around the country are offering recession specials. In Los Angeles, some are offering donation-only services, or complimentary bang trims for current customers. In New York, a few deals are specifically targeted at people who have lost their jobs. Here are a few high-end spots trimming prices:

When I Had No Cash, I Bartered

For the past several years I’ve been an outsider, at least in the traditional job market. I traded my secure career in journalism (the idea of job security in journalism now seems quaint) for a less structured life on a tropical island. Though I continued to write freelance articles, made jewelry, and taught yoga, the uncertainty of collecting income from these sources inspired me to explore nontraditional forms of currency. When I still had a steady income, not to mention savings, I used cash for the basics – rent, food, and car repairs. While living in Puerto Rico, participating in an intentional community – a raw food retreat center that felt like a commune — I began engaging in barter…

At the End of Your Robe: Shoes on a Shoestring

The last time we looked, a new pair of Manolos cost about $650 and Tod’s loafers ran at least $400. Maybe last year we could afford to splurge on the newest and nicest, but for many of us, this season the shoe budget is now the rent payment. So how to make do with the shoes you have or at least find new styles that won’t put you in the red? Check out these seven ways to get the most out of your kicks this spring—without getting kicked out of your apartment.

Do-it-Yourself Water Garden

My kindergarten teacher had a favorite slogan: Every day is do-it-yourself day. To make your own beautiful backyard water garden, all you need is a little elbow grease and Miss Pierce’s can-do spirit. It’s not necessary to call in the pros: You can save money and turn your outdoor space into a peaceful refuge with just a few simple steps.

Location, location, location:
You’ll need a level spot that’s not too shady or too sunny. Aquatic plants have different light needs, but most seem to like at least five hours of sunlight per day. Too much sun may cause algae problems…

When You Can’t Afford to Break Up

My older sister Catherine warned me.

She had picked me up from the airport a week before Christmas in 2006. As the dusk gave way to dark and the Texas horizon rolled out before us, we rode in silence—until I confessed. I had come dangerously close to cheating on Nathan (some names have been changed), my boyfriend of four years, with a friend of mine. Everything was confusing save for one devastating confirmation: I wanted to break up with Nathan…

Recession Concessions: Keeping My Coffee

Laura Yona, 36
Glen Rock, N.J.

Keeping: Starbucks ($5 per cup)
I used to commute into NYC before I got laid off from my management position at Tutor.com. The one real just-for-me splurge that I’ve kept since being laid off is Starbucks in the morning. I have cut back to 3-4 times a week instead of every day, but it’s still $15-20 a week on coffee. For me, though, a lot of it is about actually going to my local Starbucks. The people there know me and are super nice to me and chat with me about what I’m reading. They are really the only people I get to talk to these days that I’m not related to or talking to about my kids. I always walk out of there with a smile on my face—totally worth the $5 or so I’ve paid for the coffee. (I also justify a little because I get four shots, so I’m really paying $5 for four coffees…they’re just all served in the same cup, right?)

Ditching: Salads, manicures, sitters, yarn and more
After being informed that my position was one of 13 being eliminated at the end of October, the second phone call I made was to cancel my cleaning service (the first was to my husband)…

What are you keeping and giving up in the recession? Email us, or discuss it in the comments section.