<p>How about taxes? Higher percentage on higher amounts. My property taxes as SO much more than my parents’. Higher income taxes with a lower income threshold. These aren’t optional.</p>
<p>My in laws sneak napkins & sweet & low packs, cut the napkins in half, etc, must be a generational thing.</p>
<p>If you get the Comcast triple play for $100 a month, at the end of your special rate time tell them you are going to switch unless they find a way to match the price again- they will usually do that.</p>
<p>Lunitari- we checked into a refi and it would take a couple of years with the same payments but more going to principle before we paid of the $4000 in fees!</p>
<p>On the blood plasma sales, I have done it (in the early 1980s) :eek: and going out is not so bad, when they put the portion they don’t keep back into your vein, that’s not fun!!</p>
<p>Others have mentioned insurance. I’d add in retirement. Our parents (both me and the spouse) receive defined-benefit pensions. We only have defined-contribution plans, and we won’t be receiving the same level of insurance benefits when we retire. if ever. Netflix, cell phone, and internet are chump change in comparison. </p>
<p>But this is all distracting from the main point of the article, that if we just cut down on these “new” expenses, we could once again have families living on a single blue collar income. I simply don’t buy that (no pun intended). Most of those factory jobs have been shipped overseas, and those that are left don’t pay for that same 1950’s era standard of living, even without cell phones and cable tv.</p>
<p>Re: blood and plasma. I once tried the platelet thing for a local teenager and it didn’t work. You have to have two good arms and one of my ‘connections’ wasn’t workable. They halted the thing after digging around in my arm to correct the connection (slight exaggeration), and then, even with one good connection, couldn’t take the pint of whole blood I offered since I was already hooked up. It’s not allowed. Once they have to stop, that’s it. </p>
<p>I’m a regular whole blood donor and do it because I’ve got good blood to give, but depending on where your blood services are located, they might be offering small gifts or a point system that you can then turn back to the blood services or cash in. I can’t imagine it being lucrative, it’s more in the line of cutting free napkins in half.</p>
<p>Look to your local library for bargains beyond books and DVDs. I’ve taken writing, computer, cooking, yoga and craft classes for minimal supply costs, and ours offers a defensive driving course that cuts the cost of collision insurance (I imagine that varies by state) and free movies and live concerts. </p>
<p>I imagine a family could live on a single blue collar income, but the locale (other side of the planet) would be so far from friends and family that most wouldn’t go for it.</p>
<p>Take advantage of your employer’s Flexible Spending Account, if offered. This is pre-tax money you can set aside with paycheck deductions for medical or childcare. I take advantage of teh medical FSA which now covers over-the-counter drugs and supplies (even things like pre-wrap!). Not only is it tax-free money, if you can defer expenses (like eyeglasses) until January, you can get reimbursed from FSA before you’ve paid in - like a free loan. I don’t remember this applying to FSA child care reimbursments, though.</p>