Thanks for sharing. :*)

2. Good food — It’s not always organic, but most of what I eat I buy as fresh, whole foods. I steer clear of most processed stuf, but now also high-GI carbs like potatoes, rice, and bread.

3. Medical expenses — Right with you with that!

4. My Helio cell phone — I won’t give up having a cell phone and I’d really hate to give up mobile internet.

5. Laptop — I need it for both work and play and I’d hate going back to a desktop.

6. Contacts — Yeah… I’m blind as a bat without lenses and I’m not a big fan of glasses.

7. Education — Well, this works in theory, but then I got my bachelor’s on scholarship and sometimes I wonder if I’d be getting a masters right now if I had more money. Still, I do value education very highly and do see it as a lifelong investment.

8. Music — Whether it’s singing, playing in jazz band, or bellydancing, I like to have something musical that I do outside of the house. That’s how I meet people IRL and my husband has even joined me in chorus this semester.

9. Pretty stuff — Superficial perhaps, but I like to feel good when I look around and in the mirror. Fortunately, I’ve learned that that is more about choosing stuff wisely than spending money. And I don’t mind going without stuff till I find just the right thing.

10. Eco-friendly stuff — I may not always do/buy the greenest thing, but I will spend more to be green. Fortunately, many frugal choices are also green ones (i.e. using homemade cleaning products, repurposing items, buying less, etc.).

11. Last but far from least — This is probably an obvious include, but I wouldn’t give up my hubby, our kitties, friends, family, etc.

Some things I have (or have mostly) given up: using our clothes dryer, using the AC/heat as much as we used to, our gym memberships, separate hair-conditioner/face-wash/body-wash/makeup-remover/makeup-brush-cleaner (I just use my shampoo instead), and department store makeup.

We hardly ever rent or go see movies, we eat out much less, and we’ve almost stopped buying books entirely since we use the library.

I’d still be open to cutting off cable, but my husband isn’t quite as enthusiastic about the idea, lol.