[Andrea]

In addition to my day job, I take surveys for $$, both online and in person. It isn't time consuming and adds about $300 a year to our income.

Entertainment such as plays, concerts, etc are usually won through sweepstakes I enter. For eating out, we use coupons and almost always get four meals or more out of two. We also go on picnics and long walks in good weather.

We buy the majority of our clothes at thrift stores and obtain items through Craigslist and Freecycle.

I don't think Rene ever buys meats that are not on sale or marked down for quick sale. He also has a fairly good size garden so we have fresh veggies and spices most of the year.

I have three unpaid furlough days now, and we lost some other income, so we adapted by selling a financed car, used savings to pay off a debt, canceled the newspaper, put Netflix on hold, transferred to a less expensive cell phone plan (no land line) and combined the auto and house insurance.

We are truly blessed because there is a bit more than enough and that is a lot in this economy.

Andrea