Re-Tooling

My brother Dave, in his 6 year quest for a seat, no a place, in the Boston Marathon, had two plans: Plan A and Plan B. Plan A was to get faster, Plan B was to get older. Plan B is the one that brought him his place. Similarly, when facing recession (which is a natural consequence that hopefully can be made into a good course correction) we can make more money, or spend less money. Right now I’m working on Plan B. Happily, 30 years of self-employment makes one increasingly adaptable. So here are a few ideas:
Get out the board games
Grow vegetables and fruits
Have friends over for dinner
Frequent Thrift Shops
Use walking as a work-out
Remember trading goods and services?
Live with roommates.
Dig out the sewing machine
Live with room mates
Give yourself a weekly allowance in a cash envelope…when it’s gone, be creative
Offer a sliding scale for your services
Buy with cash
Make gifts by hand
Increase your small income streams
When I look at this list, I actually think there are parts that I will really LIKE, such as growing vegetables and playing board games and paying with cash.