We are a family of 4, are renters, and have no outstanding debt of any kind; be it student loans, auto loans, credit cards, or otherwise…and we are making a concerted effort to tighten our belts.

We recently had our anniversary dinner last Saturday evening at a restaurant near Horton Plaza. Parking was a cinch and there were more than enough tables both inside and out in which to seat us. We gave the waitress a 25% tip – she was very nice.

I saw a lot of people milling around, but I recall seeing very few shopping bags filled with products. I do recall VERY crappy roads, honking horns, and LOTS of homeless people, though.