Lagging effects of the economic downturn
- Thread starter stosh
- Start date
I made my cats get jobs.
I have cut back a great deal and remain there. I downsized when I changed jobs and have just sort of dug in. I don't deny myself stuff, I am just cheaper.
We travel less. We've also closed all our credit cards, that has been a huge help in the long run.
Until my house sells (been empty 9 months) it sucks. Got a great offer this week, hope for the best.
Good luck with that man! Tough market!
No sh!t. Was built in 2006, sold for $265k. I bought it in April '09 for $176k (bank owned), the current offer (short sale) is $156k. The bank has said they want $165k, but this is the only offer I've gotten over $140k.
If it doesn't sell in another month, the bank can have the f@cker.
But the wife and I have always been pretty conservative with our finances. We've always budgeted on my paycheck alone, so anything she drags down is extra $$. We could have bought a bigger/nicer home and nicer cars but they don't fit in my paycheck so that's the way it is. I know a fair number of people with that are two income households that when one of them has lost work, they are straight fvcked. After our daughter was born my wife didn't go back to work for 18 months, and only then cause she was going stir crazy. Finances were tight but we made it okay. We've actually done pretty well for ourselves with the downturn. Re-fied the house @ 4.3, paying extra towards principal, paid off the subie, no credit card debt, extra going into the 401k, etc.. I guess the only thing that has effected us is we contemplated moving for a while, but between that amazing rate we have and the fact that houses just aren't moving we've decided its best long term to stay, even if I do hate this town. Like JimmyDean, homes around here are going way below even short sale asking prices, and its taking a year to do that. I'm still contemplating investing in some land while the getting is good, but its a little to uncomfortably speculative to me so I just havn't been able to make up my mind.
You do know closing credit cards lowers credit limits and can HURT/Reduce your credit score?
Besides, pay all of your bills through a no-fee rewards card and pay the bill off each month. You can add up points pretty quick this way and you can get cash back once a year, free plane tickets, or other stuff depening on the card you use.
I had paid of all of my credit card debt and my house just prior to the crash. Now I have more money than ever. But while paying everything off, I learned I didn't need a bunch of crap collecting dust. It's nice to have some serious cash sitting in the back account.
We got a house and some loans so for the time being I'm not to worried about it. We're also trying to buy with cash and not credit.
The wife and I have always been do-it-yourself types, particularly with regard to food. We have taken that up another notch: much bigger garden, no buying any baked goods, absolute minimum processed food purchases, no pre-prepared food ever, buying meat in bulk direct from farms, even some bartering (work for wine).
We found that all of these changes saved money and improved our standard of living (or eating as the case may be). Actually, the garden will be a net zero for this year, but should start to go net positive next year.
We found that all of these changes saved money and improved our standard of living (or eating as the case may be). Actually, the garden will be a net zero for this year, but should start to go net positive next year.
Awesome to hear!
Yup, sounds about the same as our family situation. Even been bartering some welding work for the farm up the street in exchange for use of their farm tractor w/ backhoe/loader.Were slowly re-arranging sections of yard to allow for more vegetable beds fruit trees etc. I'm all about the barter, a great way to get things you need with the skills you have, and it builds a nice support network at the same time...
Also, we try to pay for everything with cash. It's amazing how that will reign in control of your budget quickly.
I need to get some fruit trees planted.
I closed out my cards since after my divorce and a long stint in the "I'm gonna cry about it and play with my cock" mood, they were all shot anyhow.
Paid off my truck.
Only buying one bike this year, and that's after having sold two.
Living in a cheaper place. Not going out with expensive ginger headed DD girls.
I opened up a secured card at $2000 the other day. I am going to use that to pay bills and buy food, as that's my food and bill budget, and then I am going to rebuild my credit off of that.
No more wild trips. Not racing unless its local.
Oh yea, and I give handjobs on the corner for rock
Paid off my truck.
Only buying one bike this year, and that's after having sold two.
Living in a cheaper place. Not going out with expensive ginger headed DD girls.
I opened up a secured card at $2000 the other day. I am going to use that to pay bills and buy food, as that's my food and bill budget, and then I am going to rebuild my credit off of that.
No more wild trips. Not racing unless its local.
Oh yea, and I give handjobs on the corner for rock
Nice work.....living in the burbs we have no garden just some "Keeping up w/ the Jones" landscaping but we support the local farmer's market as much as possible though it's limited, nothing like the kick ass one they have in Madison, WI.
I wouldn't say we spend less but are more selective on where the dollars go and pay in cash if the retailer is a small business.
J
Well, our finances got got whupped by that volcanic cloud.
We rent bikes out on Tenerife & there were 8 cancellations in a single week.
Nobody came & so €800 just disappeared into thin air. :-(
We rent bikes out on Tenerife & there were 8 cancellations in a single week.
Nobody came & so €800 just disappeared into thin air. :-(
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We actually live in town and it was a BIG discussion about whether or not to move some garden space to the front yard. In the end we decided on moving our herb garden to the front in a discrete corner and still maintain "keeping up with/ Joneses" acceptable landscaping. We have a tiny plot (less than .25 acres), so we have to use every bit we can.
For big stuff that we dont have the room for like Potatoes, Corn, Onions we can get locally very cheap. Gotta love farm country in OR.
Nope. Business as usual in our castle. But that's 'cause we've always been cheap fvckers and recessions don't usually phase cheap fvckers.
Nope. Business as usual in our castle. But that's 'cause we've always been cheap fvckers and recessions don't usually phase cheap fvckers.
Not the way I'd have put it, but yeah, pretty much this around our home as well
I've posted this before...you may have missed it. These folks set the bar for suburban gardening.
http://urbanhomestead.org/
We have no debt, no credit cards, I garden, scrounge, let it mellow/pee in the compost, reuse, use the least amount of shampoo/deoderant/toothpaste I can and remain socially acceptable( a little does go a long way!), I fix things rather than buy new and when I do buy something I buy the best I can afford, not the most affordable..these thing's tend to be more repairable (?) in the long run. We utilize every bit of food that comes in the house, buy from goodwill, save/squish our aluminum cans to sell as scrap. The list can go on and on..
I started beating the wife and kids...
Actually, the wife and I have made out pretty well on this whole deal. As I watched the market descend in '08 I kept thinking I should get in....low and behold, I started buying stocks in Nov '08 and have continued to purchase since. Both my stocks and 401k have done very well. To boot, I've been promoted 3 times since then. The wife and I have always been thrifty, so not much of a change in spending.
Actually, the wife and I have made out pretty well on this whole deal. As I watched the market descend in '08 I kept thinking I should get in....low and behold, I started buying stocks in Nov '08 and have continued to purchase since. Both my stocks and 401k have done very well. To boot, I've been promoted 3 times since then. The wife and I have always been thrifty, so not much of a change in spending.
No. I have not seen that before. Very cool.
At least there's always a market for pussy.
Well considering I was laid off last night. I think the lingering effects of the down turn are about to start. Sucked to no warning 8 years working there too. At least I bought a new bike and paid it off. Looks like lots of riding this summer
Ouch, that sucks man.
Make the best of it, get out and ride.
I plan to spend a bunch of time hitting the trails and enjoying my free time for a bit. It doesn't feel real right now but come monday it will.
Unemployment comes highly recommended by me.
Things were pretty tight for me before it got bad. I had some medical bills that just drained me. Right when I thought I had things organized, I was cut down to 32 hours a week at work. Things are extremely tight now, no trips last year and most likely no trips this year, trying to not drive.
Got lucky, some friends hooked me up with a new cassette and chain on my bike yesterday, otherwise I wouldn't be riding for a bit. Yep, that tight...
Got lucky, some friends hooked me up with a new cassette and chain on my bike yesterday, otherwise I wouldn't be riding for a bit. Yep, that tight...