Feeling the "downturn" - Page 5

[freespirited]

Dh's company was bought out by another and many of the benefits were going to cease, so he quit and figured he'd do his own thing. That was a mistake. His own business hasn't taken off and now jobs are even farther and fewer between unless you are willing to work for peanuts and no bennies. We are selling our house and moving out of the U.S. I am not entirely happy about it but is seems where we are going, if we were to end up homeless for whatever reason, we would survive, i.e. warm weather year-round, wild food growing everywhere, lots of family...sad that we have to think that way! My biggest fear is that this is only the tip of the iceberg. I keep hearing about a the greatest transfer of wealth occuring/about to occur from the wealthy countries (U.S., U.K, etc) to the emerging economies (who else but China?). It makes sense and it is downright scary.

[holidaymama]

Amen to the mama that said to live like you did when you were poor college kids! That's what we do...granted we are only out of school by a year, but now we have an income of almost 90K and get by on A LOT less because we live like we did when we were using student loans and part time work to get by.

I feel stable for our jobs as we are teachers in Texas...Dallas area...and there are people moving here everyday.

We carry heavy school debt, but in relation to what we make vs. what we would make without a degree, it is completely worth it. Our only other debt is our new house. Our new SMALL house...did everyone hear me say small It's funny how people think you should be buying a huge house when you have 2 kids...please! Our mortgage including taxes and insurance is less than what our apartment rent was.

Gas is a different story...I feel a little out of control with that. We drive 30 miles a day for work. Luckily, we can carpool, however, our monthly gas bill is still almost 400/month. We are lucky in a sense though because we drive older paid off vehicles and plan on driving them to the end...which is close for hubbies When we do get a new car, we will be paying with cash and we are looking at the cars that get 35-40 mpg like corollas or civics...it won't be brand new, but something else we drive till it dies!

As far as groceries, yes everything has gone up, but I am trying to get our bill down by cooking from scratch. I love the OAMC or freezer cooking. That has been very helpful for our food budget. I would like to have a small garden this summer...probably in pots.

Eventually, once the housing market goes back up...well hopefully someday it will we hope to sell our house for a decent profit. It was originally built and sold for 140K and we bought it for 100K. Then we will hopefully buy a small acreage and have more of a homesteading existence.

The anal, neurotic side of me causes me to be VERY anxious about the economy...it's something I can't have control over and that is VERY scary to me...however, we are just trying to get by on as little as possible and save for the future. Good luck other mamas and for those of you who have or have hubbies that have lost jobs...there are lots of teaching jobs down here in Texas

[jeca]

where do you buy silver from?

[henhao]

Originally Posted by jennlyn

I stocked up on items I felt would be increasing in price shortly

I did this the other day when I saw good prices on lentils and brown rice. Trying to find food for less than a dollar a pound is not easy.

Our organic yogurt has not gone up $3.39 per 32 oz container. Bulk oatmeal is 99 cents per lb and that's become a breakfast staple. Egg prices kill me. The other day, I found lentils, split peas and rice for less than a dollar a lb so i stocked up.

Whenever DH asks if I want him to go by the store lately, I say no. I'm trying to eat up what we've got, buy cheaper foods, and get our grocery bill down by $100.

Originally Posted by jennlyn

Also, I was buying some garden seeds and a lady approached me to ask a gardening question. She mentioned that as food costs are going up, she is planting more in her garden to supplement her diet. If you have room for a small garden, go for it. Even growing some veggies in containers would be helpful in cutting down on your grocery bill. A website I like is www.sharonastyk.com It is very thought provoking.

We're starting a garden this year. I'm so excited. We're not at a point we *need* a garden to live, yet I want the skills (and food!) just in case.

[crazyeight]

i told dh he should get a scooter...it gets up to 96 mpg i said...he gave me a look like i had a 3rd eye. i know its not cool or fun or even very nice to drive in the heat but heck getting 4x as much gas mileage as his car is a HUGE savings! and i am sure a scooter wouldn't be very much to insure. i wish i could get a small 5 seater scooter...i would drive it!

[Mamatolea]

I would drive a scooter if I could get a carseat on it! LOL

DH has been thinking about getting a KLR motorcycle, they get great mileage too and he only works less than 5 miles from home, so it would be ok for him.

I wish my minivan got better mileage...or that I wasn't 7 months preggo to be able to walk to more places!