Pinching Pennies
The economy is awful right now. It seems wherever we turn prices are going up. Gas prices are at $3.50 here. Food is high, milk is up to $4.00/gallon, bread is $2.50 a loaf, Rice is being rationed in bulk at the warehouse stores. Stamps are going up again next month. Prescriptions are always rising.
No matter what we do, it costs more these days.
Foreclosures are at an all time high. It is getting more and more difficult to pay our mortgage. We are unable to make ends meet no matter how hard we try. How sad is it that I almost wished that our home was one of the ones affected by the tornado that hit south of us. That way insurance would take care of what we can’t afford.
I am starting to understand a little what my grandparents went through in the Great Depression.
How are you coping in these hard financial times?
Filed under: Blog | Tagged: economy, Family, finances, money, recession
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{{{{ hun }}}}
We are living paycheck to paycheck ourselves and I understand almost wishing to have it all swept away.
Be well
be blessed
Mama Kelly
We are coping…we decided to hold off on moving to Albuqerque because of the high cost of rent. We decided to save what we can to put a down payment on a house of our own…It’ll take us a while, but we’ll get there. We are planting our own garden to grow our own veggies and only drive when it is absolutely needed…mostly for work.
Didnt have that much to begin with so its cool.
Hi sky! In Canadian dollars, gas here is 1.27 per litre, so with 3.79 litres to a gallon, gas here is 4.81 per gallon (Canadian funds). In US funds that would still be 4.75 per gallon.
Milk and bread are about the same price.
Though everyone thinks we have free health care, we pay for our prescriptions unless we’re a recipient of government assistance (Welfare) or are elderly, since there are subsidies for them. As a middle age, middle income family though, we pay 100% for ours and were it not for private insurance plans we’re on, we’d be soaked. Our one child’s meds are about $120.00 per month, and because of her health problems she has tons of dental problems as well. We have no gov’t dental coverage either (something people think we have because our “free” health care is very misunderstood) and without our insurance plan, we’d have to come up with thousands of dollars to deal with that too.
Sometimes when we think we’re so different from where you are to where we are, we find out we’re actually more alike than we realize.
I wasn’t going to grow a garden this year because I wanted a break… but I don’t think it’s wise to not plant it so I will. It does help a fair bit. I’m the queen of getting the most into it… I plant way more than people think you can in the space I have. It really helps.
And I just had a talk with the 12 year old about being wasteful. It’s something we’re taking way more seriously. I guess too… the thing will be that we eat more healthy and buy less processed food which is more expensive. That’s not a bad thing.
A breadmaker is a godsend though. I use it for the dough and bake the loaves in the oven because I like how they come out better that way. The machine makes it easy and not time consuming to make your own bread. I put on a loaf while making supper… it takes 90 minutes to work, then it just rises on the stove while I do other things and I pop it in… it bakes and is cooled off in time to go to bed. If you get creative and throw in different spices like garlic, oregano and stuff like that, the kids all it “Subway bread” and they use it for lunches. I buy a 20lb bag of generic brand flour and it’s way cheaper than buying store bread.
That’s one of my best tips for saving money since we go through a lot of bread.
Honestly T I just keep trucking along day to day. What else can any of us really do?
The UK is having a rough time in general. Utility bills sky high, mortgages raised, fuel prices astronomical. We now pay over $10 (equivalent) per gallon for our fuel. We’re all feeling the pinch - we’re in a recession despite the denials by our politicians. It’s grim.
P and I are finding the cost of fuel the worst burden - since we live in a rural coastal town - we have no alternative modes of transport. We have to drive everywhere - and it’s breaking the bank financially.
We are shopping at discount stores like Aldies for the basic food stuff…and big bread stores from places like Wonderbread outlets. I’m lucky that they are close by to both home and work.
It’s goofy, tho, and we’re trying our best. We had something like $200.00 to go for two whole weeks after all the bills were paid. (mostly) By the time today rolled around, we were down to $6.50 in the checking account. We’re managing, but by the skin of our teeth, mostly. I completely understand this. Our entertainment this summer will be anything free and our pool.
I am recycling budget jokes… they throw food at me and I take it home… bruised but edible