There is an article on Yahoo Finance, 10 Things We Can’t Live Without, that named off the surprising American ”necessities” even in the face of unemployment or just a tough economy in general.  Here’s their list and my take on it:

1.  Portable computers – I understand needing a computer for job applications, but I don’t understand it needing to be portable.  Normally a laptop is the inexpensive choice, but in our case, we have two laptops and a regular comp as well.  If one of the laptops die, it would suck, but if we were fiscally stressed, I’d just use the other computers around the house.

2.  High-speed Internet access – I do actually consider this very important for job hunting.  Also, most of our financial lives are kept up with online as well as my blog.  It would probably be my last bill to cut.

3.  Smart phones – Hubby and I don’t have these.  I just can’t justify the extra monthly expense.  Don’t get me wrong, they’d probably be awesome, but not necessary.

4.  Education – I’d understand finding the money for education to help myself find a job, but I don’t understand continuing paying for your kid’s college classes when you are on the brink of financial disaster.  Isn’t that a perfect time for your kid to rely on scholarships, grants, part-time jobs, and student loans?

5.  Movies – This made me sigh…if we were broke, we wouldn’t be going to the movies.  If I just had to have a movie fix, I might be persuaded to splurge $1.50 at the discount theater down the street…maybe.  If you really have a deep movie addiction, I’d suggest Netflix or Redbox before theaters (we have been happy Netflix members on and off for 6 years).

6.  TV – My husband agrees that keeping cable is pretty important to him since it’s a comparably cheaper form of entertainment.  It would be cut in dire financial circumstances but that’s about it.

7.  Music downloads – Even though I do own an Ipod (thanks Mom), I have yet to pay for a music download.  Mr. BFS burned all my CD’s into my Ipod and I haven’t added anything else except for ebooks from the library.

8.  Pets – Our dogs would be the last thing to go, but they would go if it were a choice between homelessness and pets.  Of course, we have family and friends that we could depend on, so I doubt this could ever be an issue.

9.  Booze – I barely spend $100 a year on alcohol as it is…it would not be a problem to give it up completely.

10.  Coffee – I love the smell but cannot stand the bitter taste.  Mr. BFS can tolerate it, but doesn’t drink it more than once or twice a year.  Coffee is definitely not one of our normal expenses.

Would these 10 things be the last thing on your list of stuff to go?