how has the recent economy impacted you?

H2O boy

H2O boy

New Member
a spin off of another thread, but i started thinking about it and thought maybe we could maybe share some survival tips

how has the economy impacted you and your household? are you delaying purchases? are you having to make tough choices like maybe choosing between your medications and the grocery bill? are you out of work, laid off, let go, or hours reduced? are you working two or more jobs to make ends meet, or maybe doing it to maintain a lifestyle you used to be able to do without the extra job? are you up front and honest with your children if they ask for non-essentials that you really cant afford right now? will you take a vacation this year?

so far we have been relatively fortunate. my job and my wifes job are both fairly stable, mine more than hers, if one of us were to be faced with a layoff it would be her before me. we are both lucky to have jobs in fields that are always in demand though and we both have signifigant time in on our jobs, so were both prety secure. we have cut back on some things like dining out and entertaining and impule purchases. we have room left in our budget to trim more if times get tougher without loosing anything vital, like we could reduce the cable bill or eliminate it if needed. we do talk with our children and are as honest as we think they can interpret about finances. our developmentally disabled child has less grasp of things as might be imagined, but the others are actually handling the cutbacks well and seem to take some pride in us talking to them openly about what we can and cannot do. we try to give at least one of them something special each month, maybe a new outfit or having friends stay over and ordering pizza or something like that.

we have decided to not take a vacation trip this year, partly to save money and partly to hedge our bets if things get worse. we usually take a weeklong trip somewhere but this year it will be a weekend away if anything. and we have decided to delay a couple of purchases we planned to make at least for awhile. all in all things could be a lot worse, and are for a lot of people. we consider ourselves lucky for that. we are not quite on the macaroni and cheese diet but there have been a few more frozen pizza nights lately than we are used to
 
The economy up here isn't quite as bad, but it's not likely to stay that way for long. Like it or not, we're in bed with you economically.

My wife's job is far more stable than mine. Marketing related jobs like mine are generally more tenuous in bad times. Marketing in general is considered an expense without a direct way of measuring how it adds to a company's sales. As such, I'm prepping my CV and keeping my ears open...just in case. Salaries at my company are frozen and they cancelled the Xmas party.

Personally, we're fine. The house and van are paid off, and we're getting rid of the bills as quickly as possible. The more we get rid of now, the easier breathing becomes. We're not big on entertaining, or going out. We don't have cable to cut or other high-prices tastes to trim. We should be able to ride out whatever comes out way should one of us lose our jobs...and I'm not above manual labour or working the grill if things get tight.

Altogether..life shouldn't change much with the stupid economy.
 
I just moved a couple of months ago into the trailer, which reduced my housing expenses. Also, to get into the trailer, I sold my stocks for the down payment, and as it turns out, less than a week later the bottom fell out of the market. I feel pretty lucky about my timing in retrospect. My commute is now about 20 miles longer, but gas prices being half of what they were in September has helped me quite a bit in that regard.
 
Things aren't that bad for me here. Personally, my bills are few and low. Besides the wage freeze at work, our part time guy was let go, and my friend who I work with, had his hours cut to part time. I might lose a few hours here and there, but I have enough money to hang on.
 
I'm always looking to cut corners.

recycle if you have any junk.
or prepare...copper is down ATM but IMO will go back to 3/lb

ebay old jewely, or books on amazon...sell sell sell, anything you don't need.

We've cut water usage even because of drought, but cut the showers, and hand
washings short, and use cold water as much as possible.

Make sure unused power adapters are unplug, and look for all ways to cut power usage.

Buy bulk staple stuff like 50lb bag of sugar, 25 of flour.
with savings from other things, you can afford to cook better. (especially in the winter, where it can help keep the regular heat-pump from running.
 
here's one I'm trying out....
air fresheners go pretty quick, so I'm trying incense sticks in my bathroom
I can get 4 for a dollar here, and they last more than a month.

The ones I get are about 3/8 dia, and 18in long.
I snuff um out with a .45 shell
 
here's another one...
it cost more initially, but saves lots in the long run to buy the big packs of batteries...AA and AAA.
Look for devices using these standards. (if you can afford/decide to buy something)
 
We're thinking of selling the dog for some quick cash, or leasing out the children as day-laborers in Mexico.
 
my hours got cut at work last week... they're taking turns cutting all our hours. this week, someone else's hours are cut. i mean, i'm just happy i have a job, i'd rather have my hours cut than get laid off! but it just kind of sucks, because less money, and all.
i'm going to be looking for a new job very soon, i'm not making enough money. i've personally found that retail is pretty easy to find work in, because the turnover's pretty high.
i'm really glad the gas prices are down. omg yes.
 
Camelyn said:
We're thinking of selling the dog for some quick cash, or leasing out the children as day-laborers in Mexico.
Click to expand...

When I was a kid and my dad needed something done, he used to say, "What do you think I had kids for?" If we didn't do a job to his satisfaction he'd threaten to sell us and hire "good workers" with the money. I was always pretty sure he was joking. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top