Jezebel: budgets

Let Them Eat Cheap!

Sadie — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:20:00 EST

When it comes to today's "challenge" in the New York Times' "Dining" Section - Great Meals for Two, Under $100 (It’s Possible) - most of us could probably have given restaurant critic Frank Bruni a pointer or two. Bruni describes his task as finding "a dinner for two that was at least three courses in a restaurant structured that way — and a similar amount of food in a restaurant that wasn’t — would be $99 or less, including tax and a tip of 20 percent on the total of the check before tax." (Wine, obviously, is out of the question on this pauper's budget.) Amazingly, he manages it! We say: no one wants to deny these writers the fun of slumming it, but "experiments" like this are an insult to those of us for whom the budget he describes is a challenge of quite a different kind. Emputhee: ur duin it rong. [New York Times]

Recessionistas

Sadie — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:20:00 EDT

In lean times, women cut back more than men. According to a new survey, ladies "were more likely to cut back on spending from everything from doctor visits to vacations to holiday gifts." Of course, women are more likely to engage in retail therapy in the first place - and often handle household expenses. In addition, we're apparently more creative when it comes to cost-cutting. Says one finance writer, “Women live seven years longer than men. We earn less –79 cents on the dollar. We move in and out of the workforce. Women are more likely to be worried because we realize that we’re the ones holding the bag at the end of the day.” [WSJ]

Fashion Before Food

Maria — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:20:00 EDT

Hey look, it's a new buzzword to describe women: fashiorexia! A recent study by My Celebrity Fashion (very scientific) found that 32% of women in the UK would "rather starve" and be able to afford nice clothes than eating well and going without new clothes and are thus dubbed "fashiorexias." Of those polled, 28% of the women, mostly 18-25, said that this "diet" kept their weight in check. So basically women are starving themselves to fit into clothes that they not only cannot realistically afford, but also cannot realistically fit into. Sounds healthy! But it isn't just young women who fall prey to overspending on clothes: 56% of women between the ages of 31-40 admitted to spending more on fashion than food. [Daily Mail]