Simple, you just need to prioritize your expenditures. A little financial discipline and patience goes a long way in today's economy.

For instance this past spring I was thinking that I really need to re-insulate the attic. Instead of compulsively running right out to getting quotes, I calmed down and thought about it for a while. "Lets see, there is insulation there right now... its just not doing as good as job as I would like, but its not like they aren't making heat anymore and I can always just run the furnace more." So is this a need or a want? I'm thinking that its more of a want.

After thinking about this carefully for several seconds the obvious choice was a Twilight Zone. I mean 3k for insulation, like how many years is that going to take to pay off? And they arent making TZ's anymore.