How much is that?

Yesterday, I talked about my refurbished ( a process with no seeming end) vacation home in Palm Springs. Today I'm talking about clipping coupons. And shedding unnecessary expenses which have been unnecessary for far longer than I like to think.

I recognize the incongruity of it all. 

But the truth is, and this goes for almost everybody working in advertising, as of late there's not much money coming in. 

And a lot more of it going out. 

I'm looking at you Allstate. You guys clip me for every little thing: home insurance, car insurance, sewer line insurance, life insurance, earthquake insurance, life insurance, ad infinitum. 

I even have an umbrella policy and I don't own any umbrellas.

You too Pavilions (insert name of your favorite supermarket here). Every time I step up to the cash register I feel like one of those mob guys handing over a white envelope thick with 20's. Mind you, I eat pretty simply. And eschew the expensive stuff for generic whenever possible. 

Does Kirkland or Signature sell salmon?

And you, AT&T, don't think you're going unscathed. I'm down to 2-3 hours a TV a day. Mostly the news. And mostly to get my daily fix of Trump Schadenfreude. His legal, political and monetary problems have a soothing effect on me and bring down my heart rate from all my excessive exercise.

But that's all about to change. 

Because I recently started streaming (at the Palms Springs residence, which according to Ms. Muse, needs a fancy name.) And now I'm about to cut the AT&T/DirecTV leeches off my back and begin streaming here at home, which doesn't need a fancy name.

Maybe this newfound thriftiness is my Scottish/Jewish heritage coming to the fore. 

Or maybe it's this recurring nightmare that on the day I spend my last twenty dollars, doctors will be selling a vaccine for immortality for $21.