What one item do you refuse to do without in this time of cutting back on everything?

Owning an SUV (i.e. gas).

Internet access.

Marijuana

World of Warcraft.

My cars, I’m keeping both whatever it does, whatever it takes, also I’m commited to my cd & book collection, I’m not going to stop now :s

games games games! i actually bought an xbox recently. it was partly to reward myself for the previous year, which was really tough.

Beer! I will positively, absolutely never compromise on this. Nothing but the best will do! I will always be a PBR drinker!
;)

My NY Times weekly subscription =)

Pedicures. I know a lot of people view them as a treat or a luxury, but I cannot go more than – at a max – 3 to 4 weeks without. May sound crazy, I know.

My computer

My penis

Fancy restaurants. That’s what the credit card is for….it’s dumb but I can’t resist. I love a night out.

Yes, I have a list; can’t stop going out for dinner every so often, refuse to give up my CRV, can’t stop getting my eyebrows waxed or my hair cut, and I refuse to stay home!!

guess I’m not cutting back on anything;}

um… I would say my car, except I can’t sell it or trade it in, so that’s not even a choice. Luckily for me, I’m in a recession-proof industry, so all I have to do if I need money is work on a Friday (my usual day off).

But I guess at this point I’d have to say my Halloween activities. My best friend and I always go to dinner and a really great haunted house thing in NYC every year… this year we’re going to another one in Philly, and I’m also getting a tattoo. So I’d have to say October. LOL

Sprint card and iPhone. Unless they really hurry up on WiMax. It is totally addicting to able to access the net anywhere.

I’m struggling to find an indulgence I now have I couldn’t do without. This is one of those questions you get your friends to help you answer—they would be telling me all the things I use (and obviously take for granted) that I would or would not have trouble giving up. I guess it would be hard for me not to fly and visit my children and grandchild and parents. That would be it.

I bought a new bra and two pairs of socks last week. The guilt, the guilt.

Tone: Interesting tidbit, but the video game industry actually does better when the economy dips. Odd, eh?

Developing film?
Archaic, I know.

Sushi. It just makes me feel better.

Books. I could go to the library, but it’s just not the same.

Today I bought a radiant-heat heater for my big room that will cut down on propane use. Because
I can’t bear the thought of a cold winter.

M•A•C…..can’t leave nordstroms without spending at least $100 at the mac counter.

@cheebdragon – what is mac?

@Bri makeup

Oh. Ok. hehe. I am so out of it.

I went au natural back in the late 80’s

@Bri yes. I see your avatar is au natural

who Hooo

hehehe

JSC:
I’m with ya. It’s not even about having pretty toes- I can do that on my own, and besides, they’re rarely seen in the fall/winter anyway. I see pedicures as a fairly inexpensive way of treating myself nicely and feeling pampered for half an hour every month. I’ll give up massages, shopping, eating out, hair styling at the place I like, going to movies… pedis will remain my little extra thing.

You can pry my pedicures from my cold, dead hands.
Or something.

Cigarettes. Good toilet paper. Maid service, unless times get really rough.

@augustian Maid service? Doesn’t it bug you to have a “stranger” poking around your house? That would drive me crazy

Nope, not at all. It was a little uncomfortable, at first, but trust me…you get used to it! I have fibromyalgia, along with other medical problems, and both my husband and I hate to clean, so we decided that for us, it’s not a luxury, but a necessity. We struggle to pay our bills sometimes, and did cancel it once due to budget constraints. As soon as we could, we got them back!

I cut back pretty heavily when I moved, before the subprime crisis was a serious blip on the radar. So I’m not giving up anything now.

Alcohol. Text messages. Wild Cherry Pepsi.

Chocolate
The New Yorker

I either read the New Yorker at the library or get the used ones from a friend; then I pass them on to my sis and her husband. One issue goes a long way. I was saving money at the market when I stopped buying meat, fish and poultry. Then the price of nuts shot up to equal a filet of beef.

organic produce

records! can’t stop buying them every so often…

Bizarre magazine….I love to get my monthy fill of debauchery delights. Also books and music.

My iPhone(s). I live on that phone and it is more important to me then my computer (because if things got really bad i could use my work computer), more important then cable, cable internet, and the rest of the non essentials.

Ammunition.

I am with @basp I can’t give up my Internet, or my phone and Coke Cola, have to have it.

Air conditioning. I would die without it.

about the only things that is that important to me are books. My book collection and my church donations would be something I have to have. Still important but not crucial is my iPhone and my iPad