Have your say: How do we cut spending NZ$1.5 bln a month?

I reckon we are about to be forced to live within our means by the gathering storm of debt de-leveraging that will wash onto our shores in the next few weeks, forcing our banks to tighten lending sharply. My guesstimate is that over the next couple of years we will have to cut about NZ$1.5 billion a month in spending to stop our debt to GDP ratio rising any further and possibly driving it lower. Anything less puts us in danger of an unsustainable and dangerously indebted position that will eventually force our creditors to act in the form of a credit rating downgrade and a currency collapse. This may happen anyway. Whatever the speed of the de-leveraging, we need to stop spending so much. Here's a few ideas on how to do that (some not so serious, others deadly serious):  

• Don't buy any property that hasn't already been marked down by at least 30% from its late 2007 peak
• Don't spend money on non-essential items, which means,
• Less spending on holidays, restaurants, entertainment, consumer electronics, and spas,
• Buy only second hand cars with cash
• Don't buy a dairy farm until the price has fallen at least 50%,
• Cut up your credit cards and pay off the debt,
• Never take out a personal loan,
• Never use your home equity like an ATM ever again,
• Run your small business on a cash up front basis
• Never buy espresso coffee again....instant will do