Posted on 11/09/2009 1:56:12 PM PST by Chickensoup
So, are you doing anything different economically?
Are you cutting back?
Will Christmas and Thanksgiving be any different?
Are you spending, saving, paying down?
Despite a great deal of skill and experience, there are no jobs for those of us 62 years of age or older.
As such....I am cutting back on everything...as to Thanksgiving...I like ham and potatoes (or is that potatos??) with frozen veggies. I'm not big on pumpkin pie.
Christmas...cards only. My kids understand, and I don't much care whether or not anyone else does.
As to debt...I've got my primary residence on the market; and the house I own in another state that I was going to be using as a retirement residence on the market as well.
Once they sell...I'll be renting. I'll also be able to pay off all of my other debt.
So....there it is. How about the rest of you??
I'd rather have something a little thought and care went into making than a store-bought gift anyday!
You might want to reconsider. 401k's are protected in bankruptcy court. Not to mention the penalties and taxes for early withdrawl.
We have lived frugally all of our lives and are now reaping the benefits of our choices. House is paid for, bills almost non existent and we have the skills and experience to maintain the lifestyle we chose.
Are you cutting back?
No need to here. We have gotten by on a small income for a long while. In fact, we have noticed that some prices have started to drop. We get more for our money now and hope the trend continues.
Will Christmas and Thanksgiving be any different?
No, we've always been reasonable about holiday spending. The holidays are always something we look forward to and we never come out of them owing on credit cards.
Are you spending, saving, paying down?
Other than investing in a piece of equipment that allows me to avoid a lease payment and lowers the overall costs, no new spending. Investment in tools and learning necessary skills over time allows us to maintain our vehicles ourselves, grow and preserve food and provide our own utilities.
One thing I'd like to mention is that even though we are pretty much unaffected by the poor economic conditions, we realize that many people are hurting badly. My hope is that others will observe that living a frugal lifestyle is a way to take control of your own life and deny an insatiable government the ability to enslave them.
Smaller Christmas/Hanukkah this year but for different reasons than most: my husband just got a huge, massive promotion, we’re moving and buying a new house in December, so all money will be dumped into a down payment since we’re taking a hit on our current house. I feel guilty - so many I know are losing their jobs, having their hours cut, etc., and here we are doing incredibly well. Sigh.
“I admire your willpower! Teenager would think he was being starved.”
Mine used to, but they seem to get the message now. I told them that dad and I would be able to help them out when they were on their own a lot easier if we cut back now. They’re pretty good kids, though! :-)
I am paying down constantly and hope to be free soon...I have retirement monies, in the high five figures...that I would like to get my hands on to help pay...
3 deer! I hope at least one of them ended up in your freezer. My son works at a junkyard in PA. Business is booming with the C4C cars sent there to be destroyed and local people. They were real busy trying to strip all the good parts off the cars before they had to be smashed by a certain date.
Well, considering that we started paying down debt over 18 months ago (because having a bunch of debt is stupid no matter what the economic conditions are), and that we are almost done with it except for the house, I don’t know if what we’re doing is called shrugging or not. With 4 kids (3 in Catholic school), living on credit and buying stuff we can’t afford has not been a part of our vocabulary for a long time.
We have been socking money away for those 18 months—because don’t you know it, Christmas happens every December, and the animals need vet visits every so often, and the cars (paid for, mind you) need fixing once in a while, and so on and so forth.
So no, our Christmas is not really changing much, even though my husband received no raise this year and we had to put another kid in Catholic school. We’re trying not to participate in this recession as much as humanly possible...because good times or bad, being financially responsible is something that should be done whatever the economic climate.
(My thanks to Dave Ramsey for helping to set us on the right path!)
I do not leave the house...unless it’s for business or supplies...
We have cut way back on purchases, mostly just for food these days. Our mortgage was paid off in December and we paid off most of our other debt. Hubby got pay cut to about 50% so its a little slower getting our last CC paid off. Trying to save and pay down debt. Christmas will probably be smaller gifts or home made. We just enjoy spending time together, its never been about big, expensive gifts.
For close to two years, I've stuck to intentionally keeping myself out of the workforce and living off some savings. I'm spending more time gardening and fishing and watching for sales on food so I've cut my grocery bill roughly in half. Pretty much only eat out on special occasions now too.
I've cut my electricity usage by more than half without any significant change in my lifestyle, primarily through cutting standby power usage and just having TV's, lights, and stereos turned off in the rooms I'm not in.
Eliminated most subscriptions and just reading the content online. Replaced a two and a half pack a day cigarette habit with e-cigs. Replaced a twentyfour pack of pop every three or four days habit with tea or water.
Will Christmas and Thanksgiving be any different?
I don't expect much change from previous years. I figure I'll spend as much as and do as much as other years. I'll be asking for canning supplies as a Christmas gift this year. That will be a new venture for me and a bit more practical than astronomy equipment.
I’m spending money like a drunken sailor. Everything’s on sale.
paying down, cutting back.
Also changed withholding so we get interest on that money and not Obama.
i”m with you!!
Been out of work most of this year. I tend to do mostly barter, trading tutoring work for cash or food or gas. Seems to work well. Keeps everything off the books and out of the government’s eye.
Have expenses down to about 400/month, most of that rent + utilities. I won’t be skimping for Christmas, I’ll be getting my special gal something nice as I do every year, and a few gifts for family.
Sure hope some of these job opportunities fall through for me! I hate looking for work.
Don’t owe anything, no debt, house and car paid off but I am watching spending and saving as much as possible.
I am completely out of the market as of today and am just parking my savings in insured accts and increasing my mattress stash as well (actually safety deposit vault)I don’t trust banks and I don’t trust government either. I put a little chunk of cash away that no one but my kids know about. That chunk will get larger and larger as this administration gets more radical and threatens all private accounts.
The way things are going I think we’ll see the day when all private accounts will be threatened by government confiscation.
You might like our survival thread
I saved all year to have a nice Christmas. At times it was tight but for the first time in many many years I’m not sweating the holidays.
What I want the most though money can’t buy.
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