MANILA, Philippines — Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz to international navigation is hugging headlines everywhere, as well it should; more than 15 million barrels of oil (roughly 49% of all seaborne traded oil) pass through Hormuz daily. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the bulk of the oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz travels to Asia, the United States and Western Europe.

About three-quarters of Japan's oil imports and about 50 percent of China's pass through this strait. Iran’s threat also affects merchant ships carrying grain, iron ore, sugar, perishables and containers full of finished goods also pass through the strategic sea corridor.

The result is felt by all Filipino families. Everybody’s budget is in disarray because of the jump in prices of gasoline and other petroleum products, which economists and political analysts warn is just the start of an oil crisis that could be worse than the worldwide shortage in the 1970s.

That was when Arab member-nations of the OPEC quadrupled the price of oil (from $3 to $12 per barrel) and declared an embargo on the United States and its perceived allies as retaliation for supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The price of oil sky-rocketed, transport became more expensive for human travel as well as for delivery of all commodities.

Our lifestyles changed as the automotive industry switched from producing eight-cylinder gas guzzlers to practical four-cylinder compacts. Scientists accelerated research and development for more efficient lighting systems, home designs and renewable power supplies. The oil crisis even drew a new geopolitical map as alliances were broken, redefined or renewed.

The Philippines, then home for the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet and the largest US Air Force Base outside the United States, sent First Lady Imelda Marcos to befriend the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya. Her charm apparently worked; they excluded the Philippines from the embargo and assured uninterrupted supply of oil at “friendly” prices. Would that the 2012 oil crisis could be as easily solved.

Today the world faces not just economic chaos but the looming threat of war. Iran’s navy chief Habibollah Sayyari told the press that "closing the Strait of Hormuz will be easier than drinking a glass of water."  At the Pentagon, Press Secretary George Little responded that Iranian interference with passage of vessels through the strategic waterway "will not be tolerated."

For Filipino consumers, surviving the current crisis calls for a re-evaluation of lifestyles and priorities. We will need to trim everything but the basics and learn to live with less, a prospect that the affluent dread.

Rather than be depressed by enforced frugality, majority of Filipinos have been known to blossom with new ideas and creative approaches.

To save on gas and toll fees, friends who live in the same (or adjoining) subdivisions coordinate trips to the city or anywhere outside their exclusive villages. They even inform each other of supermarket outings. In their case, they split the cost of gas and toll fees.  Makes a lot of sense, especially if 3, 4, or 5 join the trip. Think van and imagine the savings!

Cooking double the amount of food saves fuel, time and money. Serve half for a meal, freeze or refrigerate the rest for serving days later. Prepare basic meals that can be transformed to several different dishes. Examples are beef or pork pot roast, roast or steamed chicken, steamed fish, stir-fried mixed vegetables. Slice and pack in individual servings, add your choice of gravy or seasonings and heat or microwave.  Pair with boiled noodles or pasta for a complete meal. Great for packed lunches, too.

A group of call center workers coordinate the contents of their packed meals from home so that all the items complement each other. In effect, they have a menu of dishes which they assign to each member of the group. This scheme saves them a lot of money and provides healthy meals for all. The friendship and bonding also creates a good working atmosphere, which their bosses have noted.

Moving to a smaller home closer to the city is one family’s solution to the rising cost of transportation. As a commuter, the husband used to spend R130 daily to get to work and return home. The announcement of pending public transport fare hikes prompted their transfer. As a result, the husband now spends less time on the road and more hours to bond with wife and kids.

A friend crafted dozens of kitchen towels, oven mitts, dish rags and pillow cases from old frayed towels and bed sheets.  She’s now in the middle of putting together a “Little House on the Prairie” patchwork quilt that’s good enough to be considered heirloom-quality, using squares of scrap from old dresses and gowns. Patterns and ideas for similar projects can be found in old American housekeeping-type magazines, the kind sold dirt cheap in used books stores.

Journalists are a frugal lot; we hate throwing away planners, which we get tons of during the Christmas season. At press conferences, it is not unusual to find reporters jotting down notes on hotel diaries and planners instead of store-bought notebooks. I still have to use up all of my 2009 planner sets.

This period of frugality calls for practical gifts, such as basic food items. It will not be insulting, for example, to accept ropes of braided garlic and onions, jars of home-sauteed bagoong, atchara and jams or sweetened fruits. They’re definitely more useful and welcome than China-made bric-a-brac that would only gather dust and occupy precious space on the shelf.