by Jason Sorrell

Created on: January 24, 2009   Last Updated: March 31, 2009

Sometimes you've gotta take your lumps.

The stumbling economy has had a real impact on my life and family on a day-to-day basis. As a tattoo artist, I am sometimes out of the economic loop; the life of a tattoo artist can be a bit surreal at times. The first place I really noticed the change was at the grocery store. It seemed like one night a half-gallon of milk was around $2.00, and a week later it was $4.00. That really began my taking an interest in what was going on around me in the economy. The next shock, of course, was the price of gasoline. We hit over $4.00 a gallon here in Texas. Not only did this make it more expensive to get back and forth to work, the number of customers walking into the shop for a tattoo was significantly reduced. A guy had to really hustle to get customers.

But, I like to consider myself a "child of adversity". When the pressure hits, I try to get creative. It was time to tighten our belts.

The first, and most obvious place to make a cut, was on gas. I became an avid proponent of our local bus service. I started riding the bus evrywhere, even on days when I didn't have to work. Paying $1.50 to ride as much as I want all day seemed like a better deal than I was getting at the pump, despite the inconvenience of being on the bus-line schedule and dealing with some of the more "unusual" regulars on the bus. It was an insightful experience.

The grocery bill is where I started cutting back next. I couldn't exactly stop buying food, but I could shop smarter. I started planning our meals, including snacks. That cut down the random "impulse" purchase. I also used the internet to gather as many coupons on my regular staples as possible. I packed a lunch instead of going out. This had the side benefit of making our "dinner-date" budget a little more abundant and we started dining at nicer places as a personal reward for brown-bagging it at lunch.

The slow down in business afforded extra time for me to investigate other income streams. Even in a slow economy, a creative person can find a plethora of avenues available to help increase their income. I sell art, so I focused on marketting my already existing on-line shop. I also started taking advantage of other internet resources and writing for pay. The income might only be as little as $20-$25 a month, but when you have a dozen or more different sites all paying you for your services, that little bit from each site really adds up.

I also found myself taking advantage of the local pawn shops.

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