Are you feeling the economic crunch?

[DBLIII]

Some of these posts are just hard to read. Sad what can happen in life and it seems like there's no way to control it.
So, I thought rather than add my situation, I'd ask my son, Gus (his photo is my avatar), how he's been doing lately. After I patted him on the head, he took a bite of dog food from his bowl, wandered outside and peed on the fencepost, then came back inside, curled up and started snoring. I think he's got a pretty good outlook on life and seems to be doing just fine. I hope I can have his attitude some day.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Good for you Inusuit! Sounds like you are in pretty good shape to ride this all out. Was telling my daughter just the other day that we ought to plant a Victory Garden. Gee I don't think many people in Calif. have their house and land paid off (what land? what is land?)... We do have both of our cars are paid off.

House, land, vehicles all owned outright. No credit cards. Solar panels and wind turbine (most months the electric company owes us money.) Chickens. Large garden with asparagus, strawberries, raspberries plus annuals. A year or more of non-perishable food in storage. Wood heat. Sufficient firearms and ammunition to keep what we have.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

There's currently a petition going around trying to get chickens allowed in our city. We have a growing population of freegans, grow-it-yourselfers, etc. & people are surreptitiously keeping chickens despite the livestock ordinance.
When I first moved to this neighborhood, I remember hearing the faint crow of a rooster some mornings; I thought it was great. Of course, it sounded a block or two away. Maybe it wouldn't have been so charming right outside my window....
Still, I'd very much enjoy fetching a few eggs by stepping out the kitchen door.

 

[Foofoogal]

I used to raise and sell eggs at the local small store. I even raised these.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultry/chickens/araucana/Araucana-Chicken-3.jpg
The eggs were green and supposedly better for cholesterol. I had the Roosters as they were just beautiful.
I charged $2.00 for the white eggs and $3.00 for the green. Extra large on them.
http://www.strombergschickens.com/stock/breeds.php

I also had Dominiques, Rhode Island Reds, even some Silkies for fun and Bantams.

For the record some city folks believe you have to have a Rooster for eggs. Not at all. To have chicks yes. lol

Feed for these chickens have to be factored in and a feed store nearby. Yummy good though.

 

[pdxvintagette]

I've definitely felt it. I've been trying to sell my house, that I can't really afford on my single income, for over a year and just can't move the bloody thing. It is off the market now, and while I plan to put it up FSBO owner soon, my hopes are pretty low. (with one single exception, a contact from a neighbor.)

I sell vintage for a living. Talk about luxury buying. I get many more low-ball offers on things, and far more requests for free shipping. And lots of window shopper questions, too - people who WANT to buy, who obviously used to buy A LOT - but just can't afford it right now. (But it is so hard not to at least look -I know, I get it.) I definitely don't buy vintage for myself right now.

My expenditures on luxury things have been cut back to nothing. I almost never have my nails done, and haven't had my brows waxed in months and months. Yay, tweezing. I don't pay for a gym anymore, or go out for cocktails with friends. And I don't shop at the 'fancy' organic food markets - just the regular ole grocery store. There's other cut backs, but I get embarassed about finding myself in this place financially. But I really, honestly do "get it" when people say they're broke.

I hear the worst is over. Hope it is true! I would love to see myself, my friends and family comfortably employeed/making a decent living, without the stress and strain of late bills, etc.

 

[Tomasso]

I remember hearing the faint crow of a rooster some mornings; I thought it was great. Of course, it sounded a block or two away. Maybe it wouldn't have been so charming right outside my window....

Ever been to Key West?

 

[Lady Day]

Its been a year since Ive had steady work (got laid off) and man, it sucks. I blew threw what little savings I had, moved twice and have yet to get the thousands in security deposits from BOTH places. Land Lords seem to think they can just keep your money here in LA. So I have to sue, but dont have the cash to file, so Im waiting.

Ive cashed out a lot of my IRA, and it sucks living off $1100 a month in unemployment when your rent is nearly 90% of that.

Lets just say Ive sold nearly all I can, buy as little as possible, and never go out anymore.
I sell things online and its a nice way to supplement my lack of income, but even that isnt reliable. Ive applied everywhere for a job, me and 500+ other people, so pickings are beyond slim.

Nothing I can do but wait it out.

LD

 

[tempestbella42]

Its been a year since Ive had steady work (got laid off) and man, it sucks. I blew threw what little savings I had, moved twice and have yet to get the thousands in security deposits from BOTH places. Land Lords seem to think they can just keep your money here in LA. So I have to sue, but dont have the cash to file, so Im waiting.

Ive cashed out a lot of my IRA, and it sucks living off $1100 a month in unemployment when your rent is nearly 90% of that.

Lets just say Ive sold nearly all I can, buy as little as possible, and never go out anymore.
I sell things online and its a nice way to supplement my lack of income, but even that isnt reliable. Ive applied everywhere for a job, me and 500+ other people, so pickings are beyond slim.

Nothing I can do but wait it out.

LD

same situation as im in...It annoys me when most of the jobs ive applied for dont even acknowledge your application, never mind tell you if youve been sucessful!!:eusa_doh:
luckily im in a flat and our social service pays 90% of my rent! i get £350 ($630 aprox) a month...gas and electric is high,then theres water rates....all supsidised but im still lucky to have £50 left for food for the month!
been a culture shock as i always worked and had a couple hundred left a week for myself before.....BUT in myself ive learnt a lot and know a lot more about myself and what i need, how to budget AND what im capable off! ive re discovered my skills i didnt use as id "pay" someone else..
things seem to be taking a turn around so im positive for the future....
One thing for sure....im NEVER gonna take stuff for granted again! xx

 

[Foofoogal]

It is off the market now, and while I plan to put it up FSBO owner soon, my hopes are pretty low. (with one single exception, a contact from a neighbor.)

Just wanted to let you know that one time in the early 1990s we had our home for sale for 3 years with 2 different agencies.
I finally decided to try myself. I put an ad in the paper and prayed hard.
Within 2 days a guy ( I was in Texas) came from Washington (state) and bought it on the spot.
You just never know. My best to you on your sale.

http://www.homesbyowner.com/oregon/
http://www.oodle.com/

 

[get_atomized]

I was watching the news yesterday and they said "the recession is over" (as they have been for the past little while). Gosh that is good news, sounds like if they came around here they would have gotten a different story. I am surrounded by poverty, but it has always been this way, it has nothing to do with the temporary state of the economy. Welfare, food banks, busking, begging, those are generally the way the people around me subsist. Things haven't changed since everything started getting worse for everyone else, and they certainly won't improve when "things go back to normal" and folks are doing better again. Usually that's when they get worse for us. Believe me, we are living as low a standard of living as can be managed. It's hard for me not to get POLITICAL about this in a discussion about the economy! I am very politically active here in Toronto about addressing my complaints against the capitalist system.

 

[Paisley]

Many of the things people say they've cut back on are things I've always gotten along without. I've never had my nails done, never been on skis, never had a gym membership, never bought a brand new car, never had cable or a dish, don't often eat out, don't buy organic food, don't shop recreationally, I stay with friends or relatives on the rare vacation, and haven't moved in 13 years. I don't consider myself deprived; that's pretty much how I how I've always lived.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

Wow Paisley, you live in Colorado and have never skied? Amazing!

 

[Paisley]

All my life. It's too cold, too far, too expensive, and I don't want a broken leg. For the time and expense of shooshing down a slope a few times, I can do a heckuva lot of dancing.

 

[Foofoogal]

I don't want a broken leg.

:eusa_clap lol

 

[Helysoune]

I don't believe for a second that the recession is over. I'm quite serious when I say I just saw on the news yesterday about a gent living in a tent city in (I think) Rhode Island. Talk about flabbergasting! I still don't know what to say about it, other than "Wow.". Things are bad now, yes, but they're going to get a lot worse before they begin to get better. I truly don't think it's unreasonable to think that we'll see 20% unemployment in this country (if we truthfully haven't already), even if they fudge the numbers to make it look nicer than that. I very firmly believe that things are heading toward getting extremely ugly within the next few months. People are upset and angry now, speaking out, protesting and marching about the way things are - what will it escalate to if conditions continue to deteriorate?

 

[Lauren]

Things really aren't that different for me, but I know it's cause I'm married now and we're sharing the bills. If I was single right now I'd be worried. I've been unemployed since May, and I haven't seen much in the way of jobs either. I've been selling things online and it's actually starting to pick up, especially in comparison to when the media hype was at its highest.
We really haven't felt the crush so bad. I was on unemployment but getting quite a bit less than the ladies here, and it just stopped so we're basically living on one income, plus what I can sell online. It's not so bad- we don't really live in such a way that we have lots of expenses and for our age we have litte debt between us. We did find a few ways to pinch more pennies, though- we cancelled our cable and got netflix instead. We don't eat out as much as we did. I try to stay home as much as I can to save on gas and combine outings if possible. I try not to buy things unless I can use them for future reference or selling, but in between the other things I find I can get something here or there. We're both pack rats, so even if we have to sell off some of the stash to get or do something we want it's really not that big of a deal. We both are thankful for what we have, and we don't need possessions to make us happy, so it's really not much of a sacrifice.
I've been shopping in thrift stores and estate sales for years, so I certainly am fine with continuing to do so, but I have noticed more "regular" people coming in there. Not that long ago it was just old folks, people that were hard up, Indie rockers, and me... now I see a lot more people in there than before. Seems the shops are doing pretty well, too- two goodwills by us have nice clean new facilities.

 

[get_atomized]

People are upset and angry now, speaking out, protesting and marching about the way things are - what will it escalate to if conditions continue to deteriorate?

Revolution, if I had my way! ...I really have to stop reading this thread, it's getting me all riled up for a political discussion I'll have to go have somewhere else!

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

Aldi finally came to town (my mom was always going on about shopping there when she'd visit the homestead in PA). Though I can't get all my groceries there, I do stop by every couple of weeks to stock up on some staples.
Today:
bag of fresh spinach
bag of red onions
two packs of sliced cheese
one block of cheese
two bags of shredded cheese
grinder jar of mixed dried herbs
two boxes of fancy crackers
dozen eggs
large bottle of hazelnut creamer
all for $21.82 (including that pesky sales tax we have to pay on food)

 

[Paisley]

On Happiness and Borrowing

"I’ve seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage – leverage being borrowed money....I’ve never borrowed a significant amount of money in my life. Never. Never will. I’ve got no interest in it...I never thought I would be way happier when I had 2X instead of X." -Warren Buffett

 

[Emer]

Odd as this sounds, by going towards a vintage household, we ended up putting the brakes on some of our spending. I grew up watching shows like "I Love Lucy," and I always loved how Ricky would have to go over her household accounts, only to find that she was short. One day we decided that my spending was getting out of hand and decided that I should get a monthly allowance as well. As soon as we did--our savings account almost doubled in size per month! I had no idea how much I was spending on things! Since then, my husband has also gone on the allowance system and it's helped us tremedously!