That said, I would not stave myself for clothes. We don’t eat “healthy” like most of you, because I’m a full time college student and part time singing teacher and don’t have time to cook often, and my husband works full time. Because of my acid reflux, we eat our big meal in the morning. This varies from mac and cheese to hot pockets, to freezer meals, to things I’ve actually cooked on the rare days that I had time the day before. Most things I cook last us several meals, but when they are gone we are pack to pre-prepared freezer food. For lunch we usually have a sandwich, chips, carrot sticks, and some sort of fruit, and we have cereal for dinner.

Eating out is the only “luxury” we typically have in our budget. Tickets for shows/concerts only happen rarely. The last show I went to was Les Mis, and we won free tickets for that in a drawing at work. We don’t do any sort of regular vacations, I’ve never been to the spa, and I do my working out at home and not at a gym. Going to movies and buying DVDs and CDs are non-existent on our current budget. Wow, that was a big long post, but it helped me figure out that my husband and I need to talk seriously about redistributing the budget so that we spend less overall but don’t leave any category totally empty. There has to be balance for all of us to be healthy and happy.

And, our entertainment expense – going out to theater and arts events in and around our city – is helping me build a broad network of social connections that may help me land a job. If you have a job at the moment, now is the time not only to be upgrading wardrobe, investing in personal computer, but ALSO to be re-connecting and nurturing all your connections. You just never know when you may need help from friend, family, ex-coworker, passing acquaintance…. even virtual people you have never met who live in far-flung places!

(Lesson learned from my last layoff!)

1) If you don’t feed your body adequately and healthfully, then you won’t look good in any clothes. So this is priority number 1. However, you can eat well on a limited budget – you don’t need to shop at organic foods places. If you are laid off, well, then you have time to clip coupons and cook from scratch and even grow a garden, etc. Eating well is more of a matter of your time than your $. (Been there, done that, own the apron).

2) As for the economy, I am personally following a strategy to upgrade my wardrobe now, while I have a steady paycheck, so that if I *do* get laid off, I have a good wardrobe that will help me land another job or consulting work. With each item I have purchased, I’m deliberately striving for a certain image befitting a hip, with-it, experienced 40-something marketing consultant.

This is who I want to become… if not tomorrow (out of necessity because I get laid off), then down the road (once kids are through college). Luckily, I’m in pretty good shape, having done most of the wardrobe upgrading already. If I got laid off tomorrow, I could be satisified not adding anything new for a long while.

I can’t say that about my last layoff, which was a few days before 9/11. (I am counting my blessings that we have now reached layoff levels from that same time, and I am NOT laid off – woo hoo!!). Prior to that layoff, I was stress-eating for months and gained 25 lbs. After the layoff, I had time to exercise and eat a lot better, and I shed the weight rapidly. Leaving me with NO CLOTHES that fit. Including no appropriate interview attire. I had no choice but to go out and put interview-suitable clothing AND a laptop (so I could consult) on my credit card.

3) With that said, and having been through numerous layoffs in the past (it’s par for the course in my field), I have learned that even the most stringent budget needs room for a little luxury and pleasure. This can be eating out or shopping or whatever floats your boat, and makes life worth living. Yes, friends are free… but that’s not what I’m talking about!

4) It’s just that you have to scale back that % of your budget accordingly – but it shouldn’t be eradicated completely. This is a lesson my father has taught me, and which was also reinforced by a financial planner I worked with a few years back.

It’s about living well – no matter what your income. I’m not suggesting anyone goes into debt, mind you! I’m just saying that it is a healthy strategy to arrange your finances in such a way, should you get laid off or go on disability income, you still have a certain % of slush in your budget to splurge on whatever makes you happy every now and then. If you don’t, you will become more and more miserable. And miserable people don’t get hired.

If I got laid off, we’d still have room for the occasional fashion splurge and meal out in a restaurant. Such indulgences would be less frequent, but they wouldn’t go away completely.