Elizabeth writes that she has changed her consumption habits as a result of rising food and energy costs. She’s not alone.

Gas prices have come into the calculations about what we’re going to do for vacation this year. This summer, we have to go to my in-laws shore house in North Carolina. We decided to drive down, rather than fly. We were also thinking about driving all the way to the mountains for half the week, but the time crunch and the gas tank crunch might nix those plans.

The trusty, old 1981 Toyota Corolla with the rusted out fenders died a few months ago. RIP old red car. We kept it around for weekends when we sometimes needed two cars. But after Jimmy the Mechanic hauled it away to the dump, we chose not to replace it. Why buy another hunk of metal that doesn’t get a whole lot of use, except for that rare time when both boys have baseball games at the same time?

I would like to be cutting back more than we are. But things keep coming up. The boys needed new bathing suits. All of my jeans exploded at the knees at the same time. I have to buy birthday gifts and wine for parties. Money is hemorrhaging around here, and it’s bugging me.