Country Folks Can Survive
Some of country’s top stars know from experience how to save a dollar during tough times . . . and they’ve got some tips that’ll help you do it, too.
It doesn’t matter whose hand is on the pump—yours or a celebrity’s—when gas goes into a tank at close to $5 a gallon, it’s gonna hurt. So we’ve asked a few of our country music buddies to tell us—and you—what they’ve done to stretch their dollars or make more money. Here are some of the excellent tips they’ve provided.
Janie Fricke
I think I am being more frugal in many ways—makes me realize how wasteful I have been and how careful we should be, in many ways, to preserve and save, not only in spending but using water, lights, AC, etc.—not a bad lesson to learn!
Clay Walker
At home, Clay says, “We don’t use water excessively. I am a believer in saving water. When I know we’re going to get rain out here (Houston), I’ll turn my sprinkler system off entirely. I’ve lost some plants because of it,” he adds with a laugh, “but it’s OK.” Clay also says that the family tries to recycle as much as possible. “And it’s crossed my mind to get a hybrid car or truck.”
Marcel
I’m nine miles out of town. So I make a list of everything and get all the errands done at the same time. Only going in once is a big help.
James Otto
Me and my buddy used to share a ride to work every day. We didn’t work too far from each other. We’d both do the ride share thing and save some gas. We’d save a lot of money, and when we were doing it, gas wasn’t nearly as expensive as it is now. That’s one of those things that’ll kill you, so I’d suggest . . . take a ride with a friend.
Sunny Sweeney
You can’t minimize the impact, but you can laugh hysterically at all the signs with prices on them. There’s one by my place in Nashville that says, “Unleaded=An Arm . . . Super-Unleaded=A Leg . . . Diesel=First Born!
Phil Stacey
One of the things we’ve done, we have an SUV and we have a smaller car. We’ve driven the car more than the SUV when we’ve gone out as a family. And we’ve tried to cut down on our travel.
Justin Moore
My wife and I actually moved into town. We lived South of town, and loved it where we were. Gas was definitely one of the factors in us moving . . . since we both work here in Nashville.
Eric Church
If oil prices get any higher, I am buying 10 horses and my band and I are gonna travel to town the same way the cowboys used to.
Brian Prout of Diamon Rio
Simple answer—follow [Author, broadcaster, financial guru] Dave Ramsey’s advice. I've been doing it for years.
The Roys
One of the things we’ve done is to adapt to keeping the thermostat set higher than normal [in the summer.] We’ve started eating out more and grilling more at home. The fuel cost of going out to eat really adds up, just like the food cost does.
Jason Meadows
My big truck is in the driveway and I am driving a little Geo Tracker
that I bought for my boy. It get’s about 35 miles to the gallon, so that’ll be my primary mode of transportation ‘till these prices come down.
I think the wisest thing that I was told was to always live beneath your means. If you do that, you'll always have a little left over and when things go up in price, it won't hurt as bad.
Jack Ingram
With gas prices soaring I get the kids out behind the bus and they push us to the shows! It helps to save touring expenses and the kids love it!
We save on grocery bills by growing happy meals in our garden! We have a hard time growing the toys but the kids don't seem to mind. They just love being self sufficient.
For vacation I’m letting the kids and my wife roadie for me on the Martina McBride tour! They are having a great vacation! It saves on the touring budget and I spray the kids with a hose and they think they’re at the water park!
To stretch the dollar, in general, I bought a bunch of silly putty. If you stretch it out over the dollar the image of the money will appear on the silly putty. I then stretch that even further out. I got enough to cover a lot of cash! We can hardly use all of it!!!!
For more on stretching your dollars, check out the Aug. 11 issue of Country Weekly.
- July 28, 2008
- story by David Scarlett
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Tim McGraw: From the Heart
Mark Wills: Making a New Mark
Diamond Rio: Wild Blue Yonder
Lee Ann Womack: Crazy Like a Fox
Grace and Gratitude
In The Hurricane
Roy’s Other Pretty Woman
