It's kind of a financially depressing time...
It seems like the last few days have been filled with nothing but terrible financial and economic news. And honestly, I don't understand all of it. I've read the articles, but I just don't have a real grasp of the details of how this happened and why, and I don't even really think that the enormity of the problem has hit me.
See, I'm really sort of a small-time finances kind of gal...I'm in my groove when I'm figuring out whether a $.55/2 coupon on a item that's on sale 3 for $5 is a better deal than the off brand, but when it comes to larger financial matters, I'm not really all that great.
(fortunately my husband does better with large stuff than with small stuff, so we've managed to not make disastrous large decisions most of the time!).
At any rate, the financial problems in the news the last few days definitely fall into the big-time finances category and not into the small-time category, but I've been thinking about how now is as good a time as ever to focus on the small stuff.
We can't control what's happening in the stock market or housing market, we can't control how banks loan money, and we can't control what the government decides to do about it, but we can do a lot to control things on a smaller scale.
We can...
- use less electricity
- spend less on groceries
- plan menus, so as to avoid eating out
- avoid wasting food
- pack lunches
- reuse stuff instead of buying new stuff
- cook/make food ourselves
- learn to bake
...and a million other things that I haven't gotten to post about yet!
Obviously, these things won't make up for a $10,000 loss in your mutual funds, but since you can't do anything about that, you might as well focus on something that you CAN do.
And if our worst nightmares come true and we end up in another Great Depression, these sorts of skills and habits will be more necessary and beneficial than ever.
Thanks for the encouragement! I was just telling my husband yesterday that we are still one of the lucky ones, in that we've been tightening our belts (pretty much since the day we got married!), and yet we can still find little ways to cut back even more. That gives me a certain amount of practical comfort that keeps me from running around in circles panicking, which is always an option, too. ;0)
I've always lived with my belt tightened. Not from need, but from inbred frugality from ancestors who subsisted on what they could grow from the good earth. Having never lived depending on "plastic" or bank loans...if we want to buy something we save for it...we aren't suffering from this apparent collapse of the economy. If any lesson is to be learned from this, it is to live within one's means.
Oddly enough, even though the economy has gotten worse over the last year or two, we're doing better financially now than we were a few years ago.
AG, I agree with your last sentence...it seems like if companies, banks, and people had all lived within their means, a lot of the current difficulties could have been avoided.
Having an emergency fund and some cash reserves are always good ideas in any economic environment. I like your list and think this economic news is a good opportunity to teach our children about savings. I also think home baking and home meals taste better than fast food any day. It's also easier to eat at home when we have a 4 and 2 year-old. I never enjoy my meal at a restaurant and have to deal with spilled cups and outbursts. Much easier to deal with the kids at home, and it cheap 🙂
LOL @ Scott! I agree...although 4 and 2 are better than a baby. I really hate eating out with, say, a 9-month old! Our youngest is 2.5, and when we ate out on vacation last month, I noticed a significant improvement over the last couple of years.
I just read on my feedreader that you'd be moving blogs, and now I don't see it on the page! Did you delete it, and are you still moving?
Oh oops, obviously I'm not paying attention 🙁 Congrats on the move! It seems like a wise idea, one day I googled you and it was quite hard to find :/
I've been worrying, too, as the depressing financial news grinds on. Really appreciated your thoughtful ideas and positive attitude! Thanks!
Thanks for alllllll of your great ideas! And what a fun read! With the state of the current economy, I, too, am constantly searching for ways to save money so that my family can put some cash aside for a rainy day. The more I research, the more I learn that there are SO many small thing that you can do to increase your savings- even your feminine hygiene choices can go under review when looking at the money you spend every month! As a result, I have actually just switched from tampons to The Diva Cup (www.divacup.com), and couldn't be happier! The monthly expenditure of tampons and panty liners was killing (and annoying) me, I just couldn't do it anymore. And, in addition to using a much, much more environmentally-friendly alternative, I'm saving about $150 a year! So now... this mother AND Mother Earth are happy!
Hi Kerrya! I'm a bit late to this comment party, but I too am very pleased with my Diva Cup. I've also had great luck with reuseable pads - my favorites are the ones from New Moon Pads. They're comfy AND happy!