Ashburn Family Reacts to Economic Downturn

The Coughlin family lives in the tidy Ashburn community of Broadlands. Stacey, 32, a bubbly, athletic-looking woman who is director of business development at a construction company, is a self-described shopaholic who likes Juicy Couture. Michael, 34, an easygoing guy who paints cars for Ted Britt Ford, has a taste for barbecue and the latest electronic gadgets. With a combined salary in the mid-$100,000s, they didn't worry much about saving for the future. But over the past four months, the economic downturn has hit them unexpectedly and they are confronting an ongoing series of choices. Recently they sat down together and reassessed their spending. What can they live without? What can be trimmed? How will they do it without traumatizing Hannah, 8, and Jackson, 3. They sat in their kitchen on a drizzly evening and talked about how it feels to suddenly be frugal.

The first hit came at New Year's.

Stacey: In late December we had just redecorated the entire front of our house, and the day after we finished, Michael got a pay cut. A 10 percent cut.

Michael: I've never gotten a pay cut before; I've never been fired. I was shocked . . .

Stacey: He took it hard.

Michael: . . . because I was supposed to get a raise, but ended up taking a pay cut instead.

Stacey: It took Michael's pay cut for us to go, 'Okay, this is scary -- when will it end?' We figured we have enough savings to support ourselves for three months, but no longer. We make a good living and we spend just about all of it.

The twice-a-month maid service was the first thing to go. The couple also consolidated their credit cards into one monthly bill.

Stacey: I put the rest of the cards upstairs and just vowed not to use any of them ever again. All of a sudden there's a lot of guilt associated with spending.

Instead of buying whatever she wants, Stacey now asks herself if she really needs the item; often, the answer is no. Eating out has become a rarity. Stacey and Michael have started clipping coupons and household shopping now involves multiple stores to take advantage of bargains.

Stacey: We know now to buy dish detergent at Target because it's cheaper than the grocery store. We never thought about these things before.

Michael: We don't buy as much snacks for the kids. We buy more fruit.