You know, stuff is expensive when you're broke. The rise in gas prices especially has me not wanting to leave the house. To make matters worse, my gas mileage has gone downhill since I got some new tires just over a year ago. The tires were fairly cheap, and they drive pretty well on wet roads, but the gas mileage just isn't as great as when I had the Goodyear Assurance tires that originally came with the car. I guess you get what you pay for. I've been reading about how families are cutting down on stuff, mostly staying in for food and entertainment instead of going out. I guess that's fine and dandy if you've got a family or a significant other, but if you're single (strike one), and love the city but live in B.F.E. (strike two) with your parents (STRIKE THREE!), going out is a necessity. But still, I'm afraid I'll have to cut back on some things.
I already decided about a year ago that I was going to cut down on the music collecting. Price is one factor, but there's also the fact that I don't get to listen to music all that much, and have loads of music that needs listening to. The only thing that sucks about this is that physical product isn't as mass produced as it used to be, so if you find something you want, you better get it. This includes shopping for used CDs.
Since I've already cut down on music, movies are currently my most expensive habit. Like music, I'm not buying many DVDs or Blu-Rays these days, so I'm merely referring to the theater experience here. Going to matinees are expensive enough, and I rarely ever go to full price evening showings. Most of the theaters I go to currently charge $6.75 for a matinee. Besides new movies, I also like to go see older movies at my favorite theater's midnight series. Most theaters don't charge much when they show older movies, but my favorite theater charges student pricing ($7.50) for the midnight series. That's the General Manager of the theater's idea. It had been full price, but my assistant manager friend who actually books the movies convinced him to lower the price. I'm sure if it was up to my friend, the price would be even lower. But anyway, movies are really one of the only things that gets me out of the house these days, I can't see myself totally avoiding the theaters. I guess if I really have to, I can just go to the midnight movies. There are actually all kinds of old movies that I'd watch that are available for streaming from Netflix, plus I record lots of movies from the HD movie channels on Dish Network. Dish Network is one of the few perks of living with my parents.
Coffee is my second most expensive habit after movies. Coffee gives me a reason to hang around town a couple of hours longer than I would if I were just going to see a movie or go music shopping. At $4-5, blended frozen coffee gives me the most bang for my buck. (I rarely ever drink hot coffee btw.) I could get through a large hot chocolate entirely too easily, blended frozen coffee drinks (and some reading material) can last me one to three hours.
When I'm out in Louisville and it's been a few hours since I've eaten, eating while I'm out is generally a good idea. I can forget going to restaurants though, I might as well just go to a gas station and buy a sandwich.
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