Recession - how are we all getting through now with living/crafting? Tips, ideas, suggestions?

[Robbie]

Hi all,

Great to be back on this board, love it here! I wanted start a conversation going here regarding how/what you all are doing specifically in getting through this Recession on the homefront and also with your crafting?

I know for myself it's been really tough. I am facing something now I have never had to before. I am now going into my second year of being unemployed, due to a layoff a year ago. I have spent days, weeks, months looking for office work which is what I do and haven't found anything yet. The longest I have ever been out of work is 3 weeks and now I'm going into the 2nd year of this! I have a college education, 25 yrs of office experience (banking, gov't, military) and a security clearance and still can't get a job, it's crazy!! In between my constant searching, I try to keep myself busy here at home while my son is in school and my husband working (he works a full-time job and 2 part-time jobs through the year) volunteering at my son's high school and crafting/scrapbooking. My funds are extremely tight and I have to watch every penny and that includes money spent on crafting supplies.

I look for $1 deals everywhere! If you are willing to shop around, you can find some really good deals. I will not shop in Michael's or JoAnn's without using a coupon so therefore I purchase the Sunday paper weekly for the crafting coupons as well as grocery ones. Check out the clearance isle in Michaels, some good deals can be found if you are willing to sort through the mess in the section. I recently found some Martha Stewart line of solid and print paper packs that originally are $19 that are now on clearance for $5 (24 sheets). One pack was really a bargain because it was really 2 packs in one, bandana papers pack (24) on one side and other style of prints (another 24) on the other for $5, what a fantastic deal!! I never owned any of her line of paper until now because it was always out of my reach - too expensive. Also, right now, Michaels and JoAnn's both have lots of clearance ribbon for $1 only. Micahels also has a lot of great $1 stamps if you are willing to dig through the bin. I also find deals at Tuesday Morning stores and Big Lots. I recently found adhesives for $1.19 each, six-pack of Alphabet Soup acrylic letter tins in a box for $10, and 4 packs of acrylic sheer frame combos from Making Memories for $2.99 (all 4 together) at Tuesday morning, great deals and have found some nice Heidi Grace embellies at Big Lots for just $1 to $1.50. I also shop the thrift stores periodically for crafting goodies. I once found a bag of paper mace boxes to cover in scrapbook papers for only $1 and also found some album refill pages for a $1 (Hallmark store brand) there.

Also, I just heard that Rachael Ray has a new cookbook coming out on meals to feed a family of four for under $10, gotta get that one! I make a lot of homeade macaroni and cheese and use a lot of ground beef in recipes for cutting costs.

Let us know here what you do in your everyday life and in crafting to get by during these times. Post your comments/ideas/suggestions here. If the response is good, I will post a challenge for all you crafters/scrapbookers on making a project with cost savy materials and we can see what we can do with it.

Happy crafting all!

Robbie

[Kris]

Great post, Robbie! I think a challenge would be lots of fun.
I don't know where you live, but finding jobs around here is really bad right now. You'd have to travel 30-45 miles each way to a bigger town/city, and then you have to take the cost of gas into consideration. I've been tryng to find something off and on, and next month I will know exactly where I stand and if I have to find part-time, fulltime, or maybe just a "help me get through" job. I think age, "who you know," and just plain old dumb luck have a lot to do with it, too. Anyhow, good luck on the search.
As for crafting, there are a lot of "yard sales" going on at crops around here. Our quilt guild has yard sales periodically, too. My goal is to use up all my fabric stash this year, although I have bought fabric for things to make to sell. I bought some of that $1 ribbon at Michael's the other day. And, of course, there's always shopping in your own stash. I come up with all sorts of things that I totally forgot I have!
Food-wise, there's just me, so I don't think about that too much anymore. Like you, mac and cheese was a staple at our house when all six kids were growing up! That's in the day of government cheese, and boy, it was good stuff! We had a lot of potato-corn chowder, too (with broccoli) and the kids still talk about it. When my husband passed away, my friend brought a gallon of it to the house and the kids (the big ones, not the grandkids) were like a bunch of vultures!
Take care and think about that challenge!

[Jeanne Spaulding]

Robbie, I hope that you can find the right job soon. My brother was laid off after 30 plus years! He received a nice severance pay...but can't imagine that will last very long in this day and age of ever rising costs!

Sounds like you are doing what you can for your family...haven't been to a Tuesday Morning store before. They opened one up on the way to church..I need to take a look-see.

I noticed that Joanns, ETC also has a big dollar area...mine has it near the cutting area.

I love the old quote my MIL use to always say...

"Use it up, Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without!"

To be honest..I still buy...BUT I try hard to buy with the coupon or on sale.
My biggest challenge has been to USE my stash! The past several months
I have been using a lot of my stuff for Sunday school projects for my 3rd grade class.
That has helped clean up some of my stuff.

My birthday is next month and besides a few Copic markers I plan to buy,
I am going to try and NOT buy anything else till my birthday!

[melissaa5]

I wish you luck in your hunt for a job. I am grateful every day that my husband is in the military just for the peace of mind that he will still have a job tomorrow.

As mentioned by others, I am trying to use up my stash. Honestly, I have enough scrapbooking product on hand to last me years. I should stop buying everything (except adhesive). I am also obsessed with the $1 items at Michaels and AC Moore. I've also found that hosting crops and asking everyone to bring items to swap or sell at garage sale prices has helped satisfy my need to buy craft supplies.

As a mother to two little boys who eat a TON of food, I've begun making everything (within reason) from scratch. My grandmother would be so proud! Snack items are the most expensive purchase we make that I can duplicate on my own. Tomorrow I'm attempting homemade graham crackers for the first time.

[LA]

I have so much in my stash, I am really forcing myself to use it and not buy the newest/latest/greatest. I am also selling a lot of my duplicate items on Craigslist and eBay. I have even gotten pickier about which shots I print. I used to order 10 prints for a page I knew I'd only use three or four on so I could pick and choose in the moment. Now I plan the page out ahead of time and only order the ones I know I will use.

Good luck in your job hunt! GMAC is coming to Charlotte and hiring a bunch of banking folks, as is the FDIC-are you anywhere near the Queen City?

[Jennifer Grant]

I'm with you LA--I'm making myself use up my stash too--its hard, but it actually make me feel better about it!

[Ashley Housing]

Holy moly!! Is this crazy?? I stumbled upon this from a friend of mine's facebook page. This website shows how this lady uses coupons and gets food and other items for really CHEAP!! I admire her dedication. I don't know if I could EVER be so dedicated. I read the coupon 101 on her site and it's hard just to understand everything. But, I think I might TRY a little coupon clipping and see if I can actually get some good bargains.

Anyone else on here already a coupon clipper? If so, I'd LOVE to hear about it and are any of you as good as this lady???

[Ashley Housing]

Here is an online site for printing out coupons it's called smart source.

[Ashley Housing]

Here's another website for printing out coupons called RedPlum