[Momma_bear]

My husband has not seen any downturn in his business. We have a very reasonable mortgage (compared with our income). Our only debts are our car loans and our mortgage. We live frugally for our income level (we have a high income) so we really have not been affected that much by this downturn.

We have found that having a high income does not protect people from downturns such as this one. We know plenty of folks with high incomes that are struggling because they have a huge amount of debt compared with their income.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by hdzup3

i saw a clip on the news of this women who started buying store brands instead of name brands at the groccerie store. she is saving alot. whoo hoo for her i said to my husband, what about all of us that have been doing that right along, where do we go for the savings?

Store brands? Horrors!

Actually, I do like most of the Publix brand stuff. The cereal is pretty good.

[Keeper]

I buy a box of food from a food network to stretch my $$. Share of FL has many distribution sites SHARE Florida Food Network and you get good quality food for about 1/2 of the price you would pay in stores. It is non-profit and anyone can buy from them.

[Tungsten_Udder]

We're not doing anything very different than we ever did. Our income hasn't been negatively affected by anything--it's pretty much kept up with price increases in things like food, and our major upcoming expense--real estate--is far cheaper than it had been. The only thing we experience that has had a disproportionate increase is the price of gas, but it's not that bad yet, and I suspect that when it gets that bad, there will be some major changes in the types of fuel systems easy to use and/or in public transportation--it's not as if people are not going to have to go anywhere just because gasoline is expensive. Besides, they've been telling us for over 30 years that there was going to be no more gasoline, period--the original predictions, in the 1970s (or maybe late 1960s, but I was more aware of this in the 1970s), had it that there would be no more gas long before now.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by floridasandy

credit cards are good if you pay them off every month

That's what we always did. Gives you excellent credit ratings but doesn't cost you any more.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Just curious, by the way--have most folks around here had their incomes cut? Or have you not received a raise in 15 years or so? Are there a lot of retired (in the "don't work/generate additional income at all any longer" sense) folks here living on fixed incomes? Or is it more that news stories about economic issues have people worried?

[Big House]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

I live debt free, within my means, so I haven't really had to degrade my lifestyle at all. I did start taking some college classes however, because you have to have something stable to stand on in turbulent times. Most posters here would probably be surprised to hear how young I am. I'm trying to drift further and further away from my job and more towards a college education, since I believe now is the time and I did build myself a comfortable situation. That's why I figure that if I can do well enough here to live a decent, even fairly luxurious lifestyle, why can't someone else with a higher education and more life/work experience do the same?

So, instead of trying to stretch my dollars, I'm trying to build a foundation to grow my dollars.

It is definitely a good idea to live within your means, and be in a position if you have any debt to be able to pay it off immediately if necessary. This economy is in rough shape for everyone, and is bound to get worse. Playing it safe is always a smart move, as is broadening your foundation as you are doing. When you least expect it, is when you will be glad you've taken the steps you have.

[121804]

If you've been living a reasonable lifestyle for some time & staying within your own personal budget means, you should be just fine.

If you are on large retirement income, it has probably seen a sizable hit.

If you've been living outside your means & living off of credit, well, probably the best thing to happen is what is happening.

We have too much in this society. A country of extreme excess.

While it is not pleasant to watch 401ks dwindle...again, greed from companies. 401ks are much cheaper for a company than a pension plan & yet much more volatile for the employee.

Only so many homes can be built; so many Starbucks on every street corner at $5 for a drink; only so many pairs of shoes a person can reasonably wear.

FL's financial crisis may be a little more interesting to watch due to its huge reliance on Disney World & other tourist spots. I remember the last time we were at DW we heard more foreign languages than English b/c the dollar is so in the toilet that Europeans can finally afford to visit the country.

I think what is happening is a great lesson for this society. We are feeling the pinch just as much as the next guy but we aren't crying in our cereal over it. It is what it is. We are batting down the hatches & just being smart. Then again, we've never lived THAT recklessy (we've made stupid financial decisions here & there) & bought a home we could afford.

Good luck to everyone. This is going to happen again be it now or 50 yrs from now. You learn from it.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by 121804

If you've been living a reasonable lifestyle for some time & staying within your own personal budget means, you should be just fine.

If you are on large retirement income, it has probably seen a sizable hit.

If you've been living outside your means & living off of credit, well, probably the best thing to happen is what is happening.

We have too much in this society. A country of extreme excess.

While it is not pleasant to watch 401ks dwindle...again, greed from companies. 401ks are much cheaper for a company than a pension plan & yet much more volatile for the employee.

Only so many homes can be built; so many Starbucks on every street corner at $5 for a drink; only so many pairs of shoes a person can reasonably wear.

FL's financial crisis may be a little more interesting to watch due to its huge reliance on Disney World & other tourist spots. I remember the last time we were at DW we heard more foreign languages than English b/c the dollar is so in the toilet that Europeans can finally afford to visit the country.

I think what is happening is a great lesson for this society. We are feeling the pinch just as much as the next guy but we aren't crying in our cereal over it. It is what it is. We are batting down the hatches & just being smart. Then again, we've never lived THAT recklessy (we've made stupid financial decisions here & there) & bought a home we could afford.

Good luck to everyone. This is going to happen again be it now or 50 yrs from now. You learn from it.

Thank goodness that I decided I'm too young to retire. I have a lot more I want to do. Everyone's savings is taking a hit! And it is going to continue. I feel sorry for those people that just the past year or two have said, I've reached my goal and now I'm going to retire. They have to get back on the treadmill again, and that has to be really tough emotionally to deal with. From where we are now; it is going to continue to get more and more difficult for some time to come.

[Fnix]

Build a wooden fort in the woods and live in it eating nothing but fish you catch. How is that for saving money tips?