may be a bit personal
CesEve99
member
i just want to see where we stand compared to everyone else.
we've been watching the economic situation, and i have to admit although we want CHANGE so badly, it will def take a while before it gets here. in the meantime, i've seen so many foreclosures, so many job losses, its just a disaster.
as a family, we have been having a hard time since last july (while i was on maternity leave). dh was laid off in july and although he found a job about 3 weeks later we have never been able to get back on our feet. we've been paying bills late left and right...and even our property taxes (to date) have not been paid. it's really been hard and quite the struggle.
i just read an article: https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483645,00.html
and i couldnt believe to the extent that this family took it.
i'm just wondering if we're all on the same boat or what you have been trying to do to reduce costs or make ends meet. (i think this posted some time back, maybe?)
We usually eat breakfast, lunch and dinner from home. I usually buy enough at the grocery to last so we won't be tempted to go out to dinner. No more "want" shopping, everything is on a "as need basis". Movie nights at home versus going to the actual theater. Haven't vacationed since Oct. 2007...planned to go to Disney for Mady's 1st bday but we instead opted for a b-day party and a trip to the seaquarium with her....little things here and there. Oh yea...and for 6 months already dh has had a 2nd job. and although it breaks my heart to see him go to the 2nd job that income is what's keeping up with our financial situation. i can't wait for the day that he says good-bye to that job, as a family, we must just pull through this.
Re: may be a bit personal
We are extremely fortunate that the crappy economy hasn't really affected us very much. DHs job is doing well and he actually just got a small raise. We have been trying to cut back on expenses here and there because you never know, but we have a substantial amount in CDs and savings so we would be ok for a while if DH lost his job. We have been trying to eat at home more often b/c we were very bad about going out all the time or getting take-out.
We're trying to sell our house now becuase we want to take advantage of the lower house prices to get a bigger house. I guess the only bad thing about that is that we are fully expecting to not make money on the sale of our house, or possibly even lose a little, whereas a couple years ago we would have made money on our house.
I really do feel lucky because I know it's very hard for a lot of people out there. i hope things turn around soon.
We are in the same boat as Leanna. We are very fortunate that both DH and I have great jobs. He will be getting a raise shortly and I'm hoping to get one come July when my company reevaluates stuff after they had their lay-offs last July. We have a lot of money in savings and CDs too. I try to buy stuff I know is on sale. I take advantage of buy 1 get 1 free's. If I have a coupon I try to use it only when an item is on sale to get a bigger bang for my buck.
I personally stay away from malls unless I have to go and get a specific item. Keeps me from buying unnecessary stuff. We are stuck in our house for awhile because we bought it at the wrong time. But its ok for now, we'll deal. I really hope the economy turns around soon. It breaks my heart to see so many people losing their jobs. I just feel like its not going to get any better any time soon.
I am on your same boat!
The economy has really hit us badly. DH works in the refinancing business and it has hit him hard.
We are trying to cut back on many of our daily items and buying only the things that we must have. We haven't been shopping in a while just to not get tempted to buy anything.
Hopefully this will get better sooner rather than later.
I hear you...with so many company layoffs, its very scary. MH and I are also fortunate to work for financially stable companies. We are hoping and praying that the pendulum doesn't swing our way. We are however, watching our budget. We don't eat out, we don't go out other than to the park or some random free family event, and even though MH desperately needs a car - he is taking the bus and train to and from work every day. I actually had to return to work early - instead of staying home for the 12 weeks of maternity leave - I retunred after seven. We're just getting by.
We are also very lucky. My husband works for a company that does best in bad economic times so his job security is almost guaranteed. I don't work though which does make things a bit difficult for us, especially with a baby. That said, like everyone else, we could be doing a lot more to reduce costs. Our biggest budget buster is eating out and take out, which we do probably 6 days of the week, sometimes every day. We currently live in an apartment with a TINY and not very functional kitchen and the baby takes up a lot of my time so I hardly cook now. If we could change that...and we are working on it, we could stick to a budget.
We are in the process of buying since I am a veteran and don't have to give a down payment. Once we move, we will definitely need to watch our spendings since the mortgage, home owners insurance and property taxes will come up to more than we pay in rent now.
We are doing what we can. My company is very conservative and is doing a lot so that they can stay in business and save jobs. They are cutting over head, and changed our health plans to a high deductible vs a PPO or HMO so that they can spend that money elsewhere. Puts more pressure on us to keep track of our medical expenses but I have a job - which is a plus.
My husband works for the church, which is in a lot of trouble. They operate mostly on charitable giving and since that is one of the first things to go down once the economy is in trouble - well you get the picture. People are not donating as much so the church is not bringing in as much therefore there is a lot of expected and continued job loss. My husband's role is secure at the moment but he was told to not expect a raise for a long while.
I have had a lot of friends who were laid off. Its tough out there and is not going to get better for a long while - even with that proposed stimulas package because only like 3% is supposed to hit the economy within the next 2 years which is CRAZY consider the amount of money involved but don't get me started on change. ;-) There isn't going to be much of that for a while obviously. We are on our own. Anyone waiting on a hand-out is going to be really disappointed.
I think everyone just needs to watch their spending, be conservative, and just save their pennies. The good thing is that if you are not already in financial trouble then you have time to save for that rainy day that is sure to come. The last thing any of us want is to be caught with our pants down when the writing has been on the wall for so long.
We are like the other ladies. We both have secure jobs (So far, Thank God) and we are trying to save our pennies. My mentality for everything is "you never know". For now we are not going out, buying take out or the movies to save even those bucks. We do take advantage of the Win-Dixie buy one get 1 free in the meat section and we buy generic brand items to save as well.
My husband doesn't have a car- so he takes the bus or a co-worker picks and drops him off at work. (Very thankful). Things are also picking up at work and he is starting to see commission checks again (after 6 months without!)
Also, I've been doing major amounts of overtime at work- arriving around 8am, eating lunch at my desk and leaving work at 6. Which gives me 2 hours of OT everyday, 20 hours bi weekly until it's time for me to deliver the baby. I am also working up until the day I go into labor to save my PTO. I will not be taking the full 12 weeks the law allows you to take for Maternity Leave, I'll be taking 8.
The most important part of all this economy crises is to stick together, support each other and save the pennies. We don't know how long it will take for things to start looking brighter, but we have to find a way to make it.