Cost cutting...

I've begun to minimize costs and downsize certain hobbies. First to go is the fish tank; a 180g saltwater reef, which was inhabited by 19 fish and tons of coral varieties. The behemoth of a tank isn't yet sold, but most of the fish and rock in the tank are. I'll be moving to a mere 29g tank with only 5 fish. This will greatly decrease the spending on this hobby, considering the money that goes into the electric bill, fish food, salt, water, etc.

Next, I'll likely have to scale back the kung fu classes. This is rather upsetting because I had taken a hiatus for financial reasons already (last year's gas prices, and lack of dependable child support payments from the ex, ran my savings out). I just started going back, and after one week of practice, I got laid off. This hobby is the one that I really want to try and salvage, so I'll likely figure out a way to continue... but for now, I'll only be going to one class per week instead of the two classes I had planned.

Another cost cutting idea was to sell or refinance my Jeep (or at least talk the bank into letting me defer a payment or two, which they typically allow), but I apparently owe way more than it's worth, so selling it is off the table. The bank has something called a "hardship refinancing" option, which I was just turned down for. I've also been told that to defer a payment, I'd need to have a job. I'm not sure how this all makes sense to the average person, consdering that being laid off because of the rough economy sure seems like a hardship to me. Go figure.

The last thing on the list so far is the house. It's going to go on the market in the next couple weeks after I've touched the place up a bit (and hopefully gotten the fish tank out of the living room). I'm not really attached to the house so much, considering we've only been here a couple years, but I have a feeling I won't get what I want for it. I don't care about getting back any money I've spent, I just want to break even on my mortgage and cover Realtor fees, but that even seems far-fetched with the way things are going.

I'm guessing things will pretty much change completely, not only because of my change in careers and home, but a change in lifestyle overall. Times are tough, and the career change will also mean less money. As long as I don't have to sell the motorcycle, everything will be ok...