We have been a one car family for over 15 years now. We live in Syracuse, New York- not exactly suburbs- but the bus system is not exactly conducive. My car literally died the weekend of my wedding ceremony with hubby--- we've never looked back on getting a second car.
Before children, she had a job that required lots of driving and I didn't. Logically, she would drop me off and pick me up. When the first two kids entered the picture, the daycare stop was added before my drop off in the morning- then she would pick me up in the evening so I could help gather the little ones at daycare.
Once we adopted our third, finances made more sense for her stay at home. Before ending her job, we saved enough to buy a mini van (hard to fit a booster and two baby seats in the back seat of most sedans) with cash on the barrelhead. I began bussing to and from work- my job was downtown and relatively easy to get to. Having the van home for her to have for any school pickups, drop offs, and emergencies only made sense. Any emergency I had could warrant a cab ride if needed.
Unfortunately, the workplace moved- but I was lucky enough to find someone to carpool with.
I was laid off in February and the job searching required frequent interviewing. Hubby and I would plan out the next day's car usage each night- so there would be a clear understanding of who would need the car.
I have had a new job since May- and made it clear to my employer that travel needs planning for me. I needed to travel to Rochester NY for some training for the first few weeks- we borrowed my father in law's car for that, but could have rented just as easily, given the good milage my job pays. I am back to bussing into work- but my transfer in the morning is iffy. I either just make my transfer- or just miss it. Luckily, I can walk the distance to work in about 15 minutes and haven't been late. Afternoons, I must walk the 15 minutes to the main bus center of town. Its a good refresher between work and home for now- but when snow is two feet deep, it will be less enjoyable.
We have not even entertained for one minute the idea of buying a second car for my work. It never makes sense to me to buy a car for ten minutes of driving each way- then sitting it in a parking lot for the 8 hours I work.
You are right, there are many ways we can save money. Still, when the budget is small, or should I say halfed as ours was after I lost my job, saving cannot compensate the lost income. Since I'm home these days, I go online and research freebie sites, and that's how I make up for my income.Check out this offer for $1000. http://www.mediancs.com/rd_p?p=192462&t=9534&a=25081-scash&gift=25081
My father was the original composter, and he never used a compost bin. He would dig a huge hole in the backyard (we had a lower backyard and an upper backyard so the garden area was in the upper backyard) and dump all our kitchen scraps in there, then shovel some dirt over it. I don't ever remember it smelling (although I was just a kid). He lived in that house from 1957 to 2003 and just kept digging holes. The dirt in the upper backyard was pretty incredible.
I am a lazy bachelor. I work all day and I don't like to spend too much of the few hours I have between the end of the work day and bed time cooking when I could be having fun. I own a small 7 cubic foot chest freezer that fits nicely in my apartment, and I only really cook about once a month. I fix several different dishes, portion it out, and freeze it. For the rest of the month after work I just grab something out of the freezer, set in on the counter to thaw a while while I go do something else or until I'm actually hungry, then pop it in the microwave. I've found a lot of side-dishes like rice and pasta freeze pretty well, so you can have a full meal with little effort. This saves a lot of money, because I'm less likely to buy takeout for dinner.
It also saves money because I can buy in bulk when prices are low and store what I don't use. I used to be limited by the small freezer space in my apartment's refrigerator. It also insures that the leftovers that come with cooking for one person don't go to waste. Baked goods also do very well in the freezer. Every time I bought bread I used to lose half the loaf because I didn't eat enough sandwiches during the week. Now I keep it in the freezer, peel off two pieces when I make my lunch each morning, and by the time noon comes around it's as soft and fluffy as you'd like.
Unless you're expecting to be in a disaster area, with long-term power outages, you don't need to take such a precaution. You should be okay if you avoid opening the freezer as much as possible. This isn't as much of an issue with chest freezers as upright freezers, as the cold air doesn't spill out like it does with uprights, so it stays colder longer. Also, if you have any available freezer space, take some empty milk jugs or other containers and fill them with water and freeze them. Not only will this help keep your freezer cold in even of a power failure, it will also save power, as a full freezer runs more efficiently.
I guess I'm just an optimist then, and am relatively happy with management and the incentive programs they've put in place for us. I've been at my firm for about 9 years now, which is a life time considering how much job hopping there is in the finance industry.
The past 18 months have been rough, and have diluted incentive programs. But, when the good times return, as I know they will, these incentive programs provide a tremendous amount of loyalty and pay alpha.
We're going to start up a lively chat on Wall Street Regulation & Pay over at FS if you want to participate. "Wall Street Pay Regulation: How To Create A Win Win Situation" The author herself retired by 45, and worked on Wall St. for 15 years out of business school. She'll be answering questions.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
You'll find the ground is fine even longer than 3 mo.
We buy all our beef locally, this way.
Well done with "half a side" - for those who wonder why she said it like that, it's not a "quarter" because she shared cuts from both hind and front ends of the side - a quarter would be either hind or front. We have split a side with my SIL's family and have split a whole between my MIL, SIL and our family -
Our post-butcher price ends up much lower and our beeves have been much larger... but maybe that's a regional thing (or breed thing), don't know where you live. We are in Iowa. I think my last beef purchase was 1.95/lb, including processing. I am sure our cow got SOME antibiotics, but it was in a small, grazed herd of about 30 head.
The other advantage is that the local butcher has no incentive to stretch the ground by adding the fatty bits - we purchased the whole weight. We have ground beef that *almost* doesn't need to be drained.
We bought 1/2 a hog this year, as well. Nice to have all that bacon and hamsteak on hand.
These are the indicators for a recession.
1) 6 month drop in the GNP
2) decrease of real personal income
3) drop in employment rate
4) lower industrial production
5) lower wholesale and retail sales
When these areas improve or at least stabilize, then we're turning around. Until then, we're not.
Things may look like they're getting slightly better, but the fact is the President/Congress has done nothing to help the private sector, so there will continue to be job losses. Unemployment is very high and people are afraid to spend their money. The only sector that is gaining jobs is the government. I think it will continue to get worse until we can hopefully kick a whole lot of people out of Congress next year and replace them with people who will abide by the Constitution.
Yes this question has to be asked on a daily basis, as not only does it motivate yourself, it also will motivate the people around you....so yes i fully agree with this excercise
IMO it is still too early to say that there is much staying power in this current "comeback". There are simply too many negatives still out there that would give me pause. Rising unemployment, the decreased availability of consumer credit, and the rising consumer credit card default rates are all things that would prevent any kind of short term comeback.
Hi Kenyantykoon - Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's absolutely wonderful you love what you do. I don't think the majority of people can say that. "Like" maybe, but not love.
If you don't love you're job, have no debt, own 3 homes free and clear, and have $1.5 million in liquid investments, whatcha waiting for?! :) There has to be SOMETHING other than what you are doing that you've always wanted to do and feel more passionate about.
I was in serious disbelief in June after our 50% rally in the stock market. Now I BELIEVE! The bus I take to work everyday is packed to the brim. Traffic is horrendous. I couldn't get a dinner reservation at the local Prime Rib House until 10pm, when in the past I could call the morning of and get a decent 7pm slot on any day. This was a Sunday!
There's a serious amount job movement in the finance industry still and it's almost October! I firmly believe Spring 2010 is going to be a job opportunity frenzy. Firms overfire in the downturn and then over hire in the upturn. We're in the upturn!
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
@ magnoliasouth: As a matter of fact, I post what we eat on our $80 budget each week on my blog and just put up the latest week here: http://su.pr/1OETbt. There are four eaters in our family (the newborn is still breastfed) but the 2-year-old seems to subsist on nothing but granola bars, cheese sticks and cheerios, and not even much of those. Because my kids are little and my husband is pretty flexible, I'm able to buy pretty much whatever fits my budget.
To those who wanted to know how big the freezer is, it's a huge one but the 1/4 does not fill it up. My husband bought the big one (he says) because it was the only decently priced Energy Star unit at Sears.
And yeah, Guest, I have already begun to appreciate having a nice, new countertop in my basement right next to the laundry area. I used it to sort out clothes for donation just this week and since we don't need to open it very often, that wasn't a problem.
I got mine for only $150 Frigidaire at a furniture-appliance warehouse sale. Ave costs $150-$300. If you are single or even a family tons of meat and other items can fit and it takes up less kitchen or basement space and can be used for a tabletop as you should be in/out more than once a day-week to transfer things to your regular freezer-frig.
Nice to see someone else doing that. Got my 5.5 cu.ft deep freezer yr and a half ago. Friend keeps me supplied with her family's too much deer meat but I also stock up on local meat producer's stuff by getting bulk. This food buying style is getting to be the norm in Iowa where I live. Buy direct bulk meat from producers to cut out the Swift/Tyson humongous meat processors and grocery store middlemen.
Per pound cost for using a local meat locker processor using decent wage workers is comparable to normal grocery meats and like the article, you are directly supporting a family farm, small town business and if you want organic and free range, fairly humane treated food then it's perfect.
It may sound weird to say but I honestly don't care if the recession is over or not. When the economy first started to tank I watched the news and read everything I could about it, but at this point I've just stopped watching the news (can't stay away from the paper).
I was starting to live a "frugal" lifestyle before the recession hit and I will continue after. I don't plan to change any of my spending habits whether or not we return to "normal".
I hope this is a wake up call to many Americans - lets not fall back into the old overspent lifestyle once we think the clouds have lifted. .
I think we are in for a long rough go before we recover. We didn't build the excess in the market overnight and we won't wash it out overnight or even over the last year. We may not get as bad as the Great Depression but we will have something to talk to our grandkids about. I wrote two blog posts on it over the last 6 weeks. I think both are still relevant.
We have been a one car family for over 15 years now. We live in Syracuse, New York- not exactly suburbs- but the bus system is not exactly conducive. My car literally died the weekend of my wedding ceremony with hubby--- we've never looked back on getting a second car.
Before children, she had a job that required lots of driving and I didn't. Logically, she would drop me off and pick me up. When the first two kids entered the picture, the daycare stop was added before my drop off in the morning- then she would pick me up in the evening so I could help gather the little ones at daycare.
Once we adopted our third, finances made more sense for her stay at home. Before ending her job, we saved enough to buy a mini van (hard to fit a booster and two baby seats in the back seat of most sedans) with cash on the barrelhead. I began bussing to and from work- my job was downtown and relatively easy to get to. Having the van home for her to have for any school pickups, drop offs, and emergencies only made sense. Any emergency I had could warrant a cab ride if needed.
Unfortunately, the workplace moved- but I was lucky enough to find someone to carpool with.
I was laid off in February and the job searching required frequent interviewing. Hubby and I would plan out the next day's car usage each night- so there would be a clear understanding of who would need the car.
I have had a new job since May- and made it clear to my employer that travel needs planning for me. I needed to travel to Rochester NY for some training for the first few weeks- we borrowed my father in law's car for that, but could have rented just as easily, given the good milage my job pays. I am back to bussing into work- but my transfer in the morning is iffy. I either just make my transfer- or just miss it. Luckily, I can walk the distance to work in about 15 minutes and haven't been late. Afternoons, I must walk the 15 minutes to the main bus center of town. Its a good refresher between work and home for now- but when snow is two feet deep, it will be less enjoyable.
We have not even entertained for one minute the idea of buying a second car for my work. It never makes sense to me to buy a car for ten minutes of driving each way- then sitting it in a parking lot for the 8 hours I work.
You are right, there are many ways we can save money. Still, when the budget is small, or should I say halfed as ours was after I lost my job, saving cannot compensate the lost income. Since I'm home these days, I go online and research freebie sites, and that's how I make up for my income.Check out this offer for $1000. http://www.mediancs.com/rd_p?p=192462&t=9534&a=25081-scash&gift=25081
My father was the original composter, and he never used a compost bin. He would dig a huge hole in the backyard (we had a lower backyard and an upper backyard so the garden area was in the upper backyard) and dump all our kitchen scraps in there, then shovel some dirt over it. I don't ever remember it smelling (although I was just a kid). He lived in that house from 1957 to 2003 and just kept digging holes. The dirt in the upper backyard was pretty incredible.
I am a lazy bachelor. I work all day and I don't like to spend too much of the few hours I have between the end of the work day and bed time cooking when I could be having fun. I own a small 7 cubic foot chest freezer that fits nicely in my apartment, and I only really cook about once a month. I fix several different dishes, portion it out, and freeze it. For the rest of the month after work I just grab something out of the freezer, set in on the counter to thaw a while while I go do something else or until I'm actually hungry, then pop it in the microwave. I've found a lot of side-dishes like rice and pasta freeze pretty well, so you can have a full meal with little effort. This saves a lot of money, because I'm less likely to buy takeout for dinner.
It also saves money because I can buy in bulk when prices are low and store what I don't use. I used to be limited by the small freezer space in my apartment's refrigerator. It also insures that the leftovers that come with cooking for one person don't go to waste. Baked goods also do very well in the freezer. Every time I bought bread I used to lose half the loaf because I didn't eat enough sandwiches during the week. Now I keep it in the freezer, peel off two pieces when I make my lunch each morning, and by the time noon comes around it's as soft and fluffy as you'd like.
Unless you're expecting to be in a disaster area, with long-term power outages, you don't need to take such a precaution. You should be okay if you avoid opening the freezer as much as possible. This isn't as much of an issue with chest freezers as upright freezers, as the cold air doesn't spill out like it does with uprights, so it stays colder longer. Also, if you have any available freezer space, take some empty milk jugs or other containers and fill them with water and freeze them. Not only will this help keep your freezer cold in even of a power failure, it will also save power, as a full freezer runs more efficiently.
More than 2 pounds of beef a week?!?! Unless you've got a huge family, you're eating A LOT of red meat.
Aside from the health issues with eating that much beef, you would save more by eating more grains, vegetables and pastas.
Cut your beef consumption in half and you'd save money, not need to buy and operate the freezer and probably be healthier.
Hi O,
I guess I'm just an optimist then, and am relatively happy with management and the incentive programs they've put in place for us. I've been at my firm for about 9 years now, which is a life time considering how much job hopping there is in the finance industry.
The past 18 months have been rough, and have diluted incentive programs. But, when the good times return, as I know they will, these incentive programs provide a tremendous amount of loyalty and pay alpha.
We're going to start up a lively chat on Wall Street Regulation & Pay over at FS if you want to participate. "Wall Street Pay Regulation: How To Create A Win Win Situation" The author herself retired by 45, and worked on Wall St. for 15 years out of business school. She'll be answering questions.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
You'll find the ground is fine even longer than 3 mo.
We buy all our beef locally, this way.
Well done with "half a side" - for those who wonder why she said it like that, it's not a "quarter" because she shared cuts from both hind and front ends of the side - a quarter would be either hind or front. We have split a side with my SIL's family and have split a whole between my MIL, SIL and our family -
Our post-butcher price ends up much lower and our beeves have been much larger... but maybe that's a regional thing (or breed thing), don't know where you live. We are in Iowa. I think my last beef purchase was 1.95/lb, including processing. I am sure our cow got SOME antibiotics, but it was in a small, grazed herd of about 30 head.
The other advantage is that the local butcher has no incentive to stretch the ground by adding the fatty bits - we purchased the whole weight. We have ground beef that *almost* doesn't need to be drained.
We bought 1/2 a hog this year, as well. Nice to have all that bacon and hamsteak on hand.
These are the indicators for a recession.
1) 6 month drop in the GNP
2) decrease of real personal income
3) drop in employment rate
4) lower industrial production
5) lower wholesale and retail sales
When these areas improve or at least stabilize, then we're turning around. Until then, we're not.
Things may look like they're getting slightly better, but the fact is the President/Congress has done nothing to help the private sector, so there will continue to be job losses. Unemployment is very high and people are afraid to spend their money. The only sector that is gaining jobs is the government. I think it will continue to get worse until we can hopefully kick a whole lot of people out of Congress next year and replace them with people who will abide by the Constitution.
Yes this question has to be asked on a daily basis, as not only does it motivate yourself, it also will motivate the people around you....so yes i fully agree with this excercise
mind blowing stuff
Great post, I agree that incentives programs work but not possible in every company.
IMO it is still too early to say that there is much staying power in this current "comeback". There are simply too many negatives still out there that would give me pause. Rising unemployment, the decreased availability of consumer credit, and the rising consumer credit card default rates are all things that would prevent any kind of short term comeback.
Hi Kenyantykoon - Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's absolutely wonderful you love what you do. I don't think the majority of people can say that. "Like" maybe, but not love.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
Follow Me on Twitter @FinancialSamurai
If you don't love you're job, have no debt, own 3 homes free and clear, and have $1.5 million in liquid investments, whatcha waiting for?! :) There has to be SOMETHING other than what you are doing that you've always wanted to do and feel more passionate about.
Go for it!
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
Follow Me on Twitter @FinancialSamurai
I was in serious disbelief in June after our 50% rally in the stock market. Now I BELIEVE! The bus I take to work everyday is packed to the brim. Traffic is horrendous. I couldn't get a dinner reservation at the local Prime Rib House until 10pm, when in the past I could call the morning of and get a decent 7pm slot on any day. This was a Sunday!
There's a serious amount job movement in the finance industry still and it's almost October! I firmly believe Spring 2010 is going to be a job opportunity frenzy. Firms overfire in the downturn and then over hire in the upturn. We're in the upturn!
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
Thanks for all the support!
@ magnoliasouth: As a matter of fact, I post what we eat on our $80 budget each week on my blog and just put up the latest week here: http://su.pr/1OETbt. There are four eaters in our family (the newborn is still breastfed) but the 2-year-old seems to subsist on nothing but granola bars, cheese sticks and cheerios, and not even much of those. Because my kids are little and my husband is pretty flexible, I'm able to buy pretty much whatever fits my budget.
To those who wanted to know how big the freezer is, it's a huge one but the 1/4 does not fill it up. My husband bought the big one (he says) because it was the only decently priced Energy Star unit at Sears.
And yeah, Guest, I have already begun to appreciate having a nice, new countertop in my basement right next to the laundry area. I used it to sort out clothes for donation just this week and since we don't need to open it very often, that wasn't a problem.
"..can be used for a tabletop as you should be in/out more than once a day-week to transfer things to your regular freezer-frig."
as you SHOULD NOT be in-out of your freezer more than one a day or week.
I got mine for only $150 Frigidaire at a furniture-appliance warehouse sale. Ave costs $150-$300. If you are single or even a family tons of meat and other items can fit and it takes up less kitchen or basement space and can be used for a tabletop as you should be in/out more than once a day-week to transfer things to your regular freezer-frig.
Nice to see someone else doing that. Got my 5.5 cu.ft deep freezer yr and a half ago. Friend keeps me supplied with her family's too much deer meat but I also stock up on local meat producer's stuff by getting bulk. This food buying style is getting to be the norm in Iowa where I live. Buy direct bulk meat from producers to cut out the Swift/Tyson humongous meat processors and grocery store middlemen.
Per pound cost for using a local meat locker processor using decent wage workers is comparable to normal grocery meats and like the article, you are directly supporting a family farm, small town business and if you want organic and free range, fairly humane treated food then it's perfect.
I hope we're finally recovering! My guess was 2010, but now works, too....
It may sound weird to say but I honestly don't care if the recession is over or not. When the economy first started to tank I watched the news and read everything I could about it, but at this point I've just stopped watching the news (can't stay away from the paper).
I was starting to live a "frugal" lifestyle before the recession hit and I will continue after. I don't plan to change any of my spending habits whether or not we return to "normal".
I hope this is a wake up call to many Americans - lets not fall back into the old overspent lifestyle once we think the clouds have lifted. .
~ Meg
My uncle still raises cattle. He normally sells them but this year my dad and him split one for meat.
The meat is excellent. I am not sure how large the freezer is but it is one we have had for a long time.
It is excellent way to reduce cost and improve your overall quality of meat. I would suggest everyone look into it.
Just be prepared for the variety of meat you can get. It won't all be steaks :)
I think we are in for a long rough go before we recover. We didn't build the excess in the market overnight and we won't wash it out overnight or even over the last year. We may not get as bad as the Great Depression but we will have something to talk to our grandkids about. I wrote two blog posts on it over the last 6 weeks. I think both are still relevant.
Stock Market Prediction 2009
Updated Stock Market Prediction
While the stock market doesn't always reflect the economy, the factors I use surely do.