Looking for the positives from the recession

Ok those of you that read my blog are probably beginning to think that bad luck just follows us around. We have had more than our fair share of problems lately. But I know there are alot of people out there who are struggling as much as we are and that there are also alot who are worse off than we are. So I decided to find a few positives out of all the changes that this recession has brought to our lives personally and financially.

The grocery bill has went down... that's a big yahoo! This isn't because we had to cut back on the amount of food we bought, but because now that I am at home, I have the time, to look thru all, of the ads and find the best deals and I am using coupons again. I know it wasn't an excuse before but when times were better financially and our lives were so hectic, I didn't have time to look at coupons or even the weekly grocery ad. when I had a few free minutes I would make a mad dash to the store and just buy what we needed. I didn't have time to go to 2-3 different stores getting the best bargain. I think we all in good times tend to take things a little too much for granted and it was all about speed and convenience before. Also since I'm at home I can actually cook a real meal every day and that saves us alot of money. The quick convenience meals at the store cost so much more than making it yourself. When I used to get home at 6:30/6:45pm at night , it was all about throwing something quick on the table.

Family time.... My youngest daughter will be graduating from High school this year, so its been very nice to be at home with her to spend more time with her before she goes off to college next year, too. Also she plays tennis and i will actually get to go to her home matches this year and actually watch her play!!! With getting home so late from work I always missed, all of my girls tennis matches. My oldest played soccer and her games were more in the evening, so I caught more of her games, but the younger 2 play tennis and their matches start almost immediately, after school and I couldnt ever get there in time. I have alwys felt bad about this, as I know I was missing out on so much and the girls have grown up so fast.

New hairstyle..... Yeah I know thats an off one to think about, but the recession and job loss made all of us cut back, on going, to get our hair done, as often as we used to. I used to go and get a haircut and color every 2 months, now I have had to space it out every 4 months. 4 months is a bit long and by the time I get there it is in desperate need of help. Luckily I wear my hair long so it tends to grow out more gracefully between cuts compared to someone who has a short do, that needs constant shaping, to stay looking good. I also am not afraid to trim my own hair, so that helps alot. I also started using a root touch up product, to stretch out the times between full color jobs. I had been wanting to grow my bangs out for a long time but you know how that goes, they would start to grow out just to that annoying stage and when I was going in to get my hair done, every 8 weeks i would just be frustrated enough with it, that I would just have my bangs trimmed short again. So waiting every 4 months has gained me bangs, that are now down past the end of my nose. Almost to the chin length that I went them to be. So I gained a new hairstyle and saved money as well.

Stay at home mom .... One surprise that came about and I know my better half is still reluctant to admit to it, because its hard for him to visualize that a one household income can run almost as well as a household with 2 incomes. Common sense would say 2 incomes have to be better, but now that I lost my job we are living off of one income and its surprising how much my income really isn't missed. By the time they took all of the taxes out of my check and the health insurance costs, and I paid for the parking garage and all of the extra gas, I was really bringing home next to nothing. Then since I have been off other things have been noticed like the grocery bill going down. I don't have to buy prepackaged convenience foods to take to work anymore or bottled water or juice to take to work. I don't have to invest in the business world attire, shoes , panty hose, etc that was required for work. My car is taking less oil changes since its not driving over a 100 miles a day. Which in turn saves on the wear and tear of the car and the tire replacement. Im not saying some extra income wouldn't hurt, and as you know I'm trying to work towards that goal, but if you really take a hard look at things it can be very surprising how little the second earner is really adding to the bottom line.

Cleaner and more organized home .... My house is always clean but as you know I now have more time to do more in depth cleaning and I have had time to get some much needed items done that I didn't have time for before, Like painting, and cleaning the carpets more often.The flower beds and gardens this summer will also benefit from more TLC this year.

I'm sure I could come up with more things to be positive about that this recession/downturn in our lives has caused but I think thats enough for now.