View Full Version : Surviving the economy...
Miss America
May 19th, 2009, 1:54 pm
Some years ago my husband and I went through a very tough financial time, our income decreased by 80% for over a year...during that time we learned some valuable lessons, about living well with a lot less income, here are a few, please share yours.
1) Understand the difference between "needs" and "wants"..sounds simple..but..not so much for a lot of people.
2) Don't waste..again sounds like you shouldn't even have to say it..but, look around you, do you have food that is thrown out, some product packaging that could be used for other purposes instead of going to the trash, do you automatically replace things that might actually be pretty easy to repair?
3) Shop smart..particularly on food..this is a huge expense for most people and also an easy area to cut expenses...
Here's a start, please offer your ideas then perhaps we can get into more detail on how to cut expenses without cutting your quality of life.
chip
May 19th, 2009, 3:19 pm
1) Understand the difference between "needs" and "wants"..
Most people wouldnt be in the position they are in currently if they could have learned this early on.
ArmyMAJretired
May 19th, 2009, 3:27 pm
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University 13 session course should be Mandatory in Middle School, High School and College!
They teach sex ed but not money ed! :wall:
Spend less than you earn. Save for a rainy day.
It's not rocket science!
Miss America
May 19th, 2009, 7:20 pm
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University 13 session course should be Mandatory in Middle School, High School and College!
They teach sex ed but not money ed! :wall:
Spend less than you earn. Save for a rainy day.
It's not rocket science!
That's a great point about the unfortunate priorities of our education system, isn't it?...They'll teach our kids to put a condom on a cucumber..but not how to provide for themselves or even to balance a checking account.
sircharliebrown
May 20th, 2009, 1:34 am
3) Shop smart..particularly on food..this is a huge expense for most people and also an easy area to cut expenses...
(snip)
This is SO true. This is one area that we do really well with. For us, it's almost like a weekly challenge for us - trying to save as much as we can on food, finding the best deals we can.
We get the Sunday paper every week just for the coupons. We say, "You can't afford NOT to get the Sunday paper". We generally save anywhere from 10-20% off our grocery bill every week just from coupons and it only takes me a couple minutes of my time to go through them.
We also watch for sales on meat (and other things) and when we find them we stock up big time. I have a freezer full of meat right now. At one point we had 15 pounds of ground beef because they were having a fantastic sale on it.
Last Christmas my parents gave us a Foodsaver. This thing is wonderful and I think an great investment for anyone. When we buy meat in bulk, we run it through the Foodsaver so it lasts a long time in the freezer.
Grocery spending is definitely something where you can find savings and not sacrifice good food. Our food budget is really thrifty and we eat really, really well!
ImNewHere
May 20th, 2009, 1:36 am
Buy gold/silver, ammo and non-perishable food.
Mark my words. If you don't you'll wish you did. Most of America has no idea what we're in for.
sircharliebrown
May 20th, 2009, 1:48 am
Buy gold/silver, ammo and non-perishable food.
Mark my words. If you don't you'll wish you did. Most of America has no idea what we're in for.
Already got that covered. We have it stored in our Y2K bunker.
ImNewHere
May 20th, 2009, 2:09 am
Already got that covered. We have it stored in our Y2K bunker.
Outstanding! You'll get some use of that thing! Your vision, years before it was necessary, will protect you and your family. Congratulations!
ArmyMAJretired
May 20th, 2009, 9:50 am
Already got that covered. We have it stored in our Y2K bunker.
Does that double as your Zombie plan bunker as well?