“When Being a Cheapskate Just Isn’t Cheap Enough”
Be bold. Be cheap. RecessionGirl is always trying to reduce cost in her personal life. It’s not always easy, but somebody has to do it. Now, she’s sharing some of her tricks of the trade.
When I decided to go live with RecessionGirl.com, I got a lot of support, which I’m really greatful for and want to give a quick shout-out to the folks who wished me well and a very special thank you and knuckle-knock to Nick & Stacey Phillips who pretty much, to my delight, seized all of the web control, grabbed my domain name and insisted I go live. I’m continuously humbled and impressed by their generosity and sincere well wishing. Smooches to my good friends.
I also had conversations with a few less supportive folks who insisted RecessionGirl was not worth posting. That the idea was too simplistic. Here’s the thing. RecessionGirl wasn’t an idea so much as a real life in motion that already existed. This isn’t a project so much as it is an actual story that continues to be very present tense. It was a natural evolution that culminated from a very long time treading turbulent financial waters. So, for some of the peeps who refrained from creative high-fives, I wanna copy-cat our president-elect Barak Obama and say that, despite our differing views, “I will be your RecessionGirl too.”
Throughout RecessionGirl’s posts, I can foresee that there might be a few jabs at the somewhat bourgeois references since my life takes place in Cobble Hill against a backdrop of one of the highest earning zipcodes in the five boroughs. I’ve already been informed by a few alert aquaintences that anyone truly broke would not eat out, drink out, purchase gifts, consider vacations, research investments, consume organic pomegranate juice or buy coenzyme Q10. Much less occupy a floor of a brownstone apartment off of coveted Smith Street.
In response to this 100% true statement, I’d just like to say that conversations as to what constitutes as broke are not always as clear as they may seem. There are folks living in my hood who are single moms, section 8 recipients, middle income folks including teachers, firefighters, and civil service employees, etc. For some of us, this recession is hitting hard. For others, it’s been a recession for years and will continue to be as a result of fixed incomes in an expensive city.
As a native New Yorker who has had the privilege of working in close proximity to every class of person in this city including heads of state and the homeless, it has been my experience that we all want the same things. Good health and financial security being top of the list. I’ve yet to meet anyone who is actively against the idea of pomegranate juice, exercise or learning of safe ways to make money grow. RecessionGirl.com provides a forum to discuss the most affordable ways to access juice, gyms and banks-without-fees to name a few of the subjects referenced on the site.
If the articles and references lack information that you have, please add to the forum and enrich the site to maximize the benefits for the citizens of The People’s Republic of Brooklyn. As RecessionGirl.com is a one woman show, references are only made to the neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, DUMBO and Red Hook. If demand increases, so will references.
Live in Good Health. Live in Good Wealth.
Kind Regards and Good Wishes,
RecessionGirl