Is anyone else feeling the money pinch?

Does this sound familiar?

My husband and I got our credit card bill the other day, and we both had to look twice at our balance. After that second glance, the conversation devolved into who was more responsible for the out of control spending. We traded the seven detailed pages of the bill back and forth and then started to vehemently endorse our individual spending.

“Well, that $100 was for a gift for my sister’s baby shower. That’s reasonable,” I offered. 

“And, that $80 was for the Red Sox tickets. And that was for the Kids Club rate,” my hubbie countered.

“And, we agreed we could afford to finally get curtains for the living room, so that’s not bad,” I added.

“And we only went out to dinner three times last month for a total of $235. Not bad for a family of four,” he rationalized. 

Then we reviewed the rest of the expenditures. Hair appointment—a must. A big BJs bill for Easter—had to. Mother’s Day flowers for the grandmothers—of course. Bed and Breakfast bill for upcoming wedding—can’t get out of that.

We somehow validated our way through our excessive spending and then stood looking blankly at each other. Then we asked that question that I know you ask in your home, don’t deny it! “How do other people do it?”

We tell ourselves we’re not extravagant. We take one vacation a year, shop at Target, and drive used cars. We make use of coupons, the Entertainment book and the library.

So what gives?

With unemployment at nearly 10 percent and gas prices over $3.80 a gallon, perhaps we could look to that as the cause for our financial folly. I mean over the last nine years, our home has only appreciated by 8 percent maximum.

The economy is in the toilet! But really, it’s just denying the truth of want versus need. With American media telling us that more is more, we need to face it—less is more! But where to cut?

A Google search produced suggestions for financial saving methods we already employ—brown bag lunch, coffee from home, Netflix instead of the movie house. Come one, we buy store brands—what else can you financial gurus ask of us? We feel deprived just doing that! We’re martyrs in the fiscal battle!

If we really look in the mirror and into the past, we have to realize our parents did it better with less. They used hand-me-downs and grew gardens and then canned and froze the fruits of their labor. They travelled by car to visit relatives—a quick flight to Cancun was simply not on the map. If it was good enough for them, why isn’t it good enough for us?

How can we back out of the financial black hole we’ve created and still feel like we’re living the American Dream? I’m not sure I know the answer.

What I do know is that my better half and I have made yet another pact to reduce our spending. Cash only, eat at home, and try to create fun that doesn’t involve money outflow. And, then there is that dreaded word that many Americans (including ourselves) refuse to utter—budget. My neighbor wants a new sofa so she’s painting her table instead of buying a new one. My girlfriend is borrowing a crib from her buddy instead of falling into the trap that she needs a matching nursery set for her soon-to-arrive bundle of joy. Maybe we all could step a little closer and even choose to get up on that bandwagon.

But I still have one question, how do other people do it?

If you have tips or advice to give, PLEASE comment below. I’m sure we could all use it.