Faking the good life just got harder

[sharksfan]

sleeping at night is much easier these days

Statement of truth.

[CountryGirl]

We stopped by the mini mart the other day cause it had been 3 days since my last diet pepsi, my son asked for a gatorade for football practice. I found myself looking at the sale posters in the window and wouldn't ya know, gatorades were 2 for $3. LOL!

Every dollar counts right?

[Cali]

Am I the only person that hasn't gone to the extreme of things after filing?

[epiphany]

Am I the only person that hasn't gone to the extreme of things after filing?

which extreme are you talking about, which end?

If you say the above end, I would definitely say no, you are not.

If you say the below end, I seriously have to ask you why you would even ask that?

Of couse, it is possible that I am misunderstanding your question and it would help if you would clarify what you mean by going to the extreme of things after filing.

Thanks,

ep

[epiphany]

We stopped by the mini mart the other day cause it had been 3 days since my last diet pepsi, my son asked for a gatorade for football practice. I found myself looking at the sale posters in the window and wouldn't ya know, gatorades were 2 for $3. LOL!

Every dollar counts right?

Aw, love a good gatorade story!

ep

[Cali]

Buying generic only, buying sale items only, questioning my every purchase..all that is extreme to me because I've never done that in my whole life. I am not saying it is a bad thing to do, but to me it is something I am not used to. Hope that makes sense, I am running on slow right now..been a very busy day for me.

which extreme are you talking about, which end?

If you say the above end, I would definitely say no, you are not.

If you say the below end, I would seriously have to ask you why you would ask that?

ep

[epiphany]

Buying generic only, buying sale items only, questioning my every purchase..all that is extreme to me because I've never done that in my whole life. I am not saying it is a bad thing to do, but to me it is something I am not used to. Hope that makes sense, I am running on slow right now..been a very busy day for me.

Thank you for clarifying Cali.

Unfortunately, it is necessary for some of us to go to that extreme.

Until I have some kind of available financial cushion built up, I am going to question small purchases.

I'm glad it isn't necessary for you....truly. And I am guessing that you are not the only one but probably in the minority here as far as that goes.

Within a years time, I don't think that it will be necessary for me either. But I think I will still probably do it most of the time. Just to stay cushioned.

ep

[CountryGirl]

Going through this I have come to relize we would spend hundreds of dollars each week on crap, nothing......really, you need a cord and your not sure which so you buy three and use the one you need then the others sit collecting dust. or a quick stop to the mini mart results in $20 on icees, chips, and more crap you don't need. I don't think we have gone to such a horrid extreme, we still get our treats and such but just not EVERYDAY and if we need a cord, or a battery, or whatever we take the time to know exactly what we are looking for as opposed to buying things we know we may not need.

I am certainly not paying with pennies (and thankfully did not get that bad) but I have come to realize the huge amount of money my family wasted on nothing and even when we are out of this hole, we will make an effort to not spend like that anymore. In our case this will easily result in at least a few hundred dollars a month = a 7 day cruise for the whole family......yeah, I'd rather do that than drink an Icee today.

[rfassett]

So I am thinking it is not extreme. I am thinking it has more to do with each person's tolerance level to the sting of the bk. The far and away best answer is to establish a livable budget and stay within it. That budget should be within your means and have a line titled "savings". Monitor every spending as to how that fits into the budget, i.e., "do I have money in that budget item right now to buy that?" If the answer is no, then don't spend the money. In short order, there will be funds available in the savings for emergencies. My son, yesterday as we were walking into a pizza shop for supper and talking about staying within a budget, asked the question, "why does everything have to be about money?" Well, for too long we did not talk about money and look where that got us. He still wants to pretend we can afford the "good life". I am trying to change his thinking to make him understand that he needs to be acting and thinking like the poor college student that he is.

[banca rotta]

I have waited my entire adult life for us to reach this point. Thank goodness someone wrote an article putting it into perspective.

This "disaster" or "popped bubble" will only send Americans back to where we belong and that's spending only what we can afford. When you read other threads posted here such as "the american dream is no more" and our parents and grand parents had it better it's only because they lived within their means. Once we start doing that everything there is will be affordable.

Some think only the wealthy will have a meaningfull existence but that is just not true. We will all buy homes, cars, toys, vacations at affordable prices once the prices reach a point that we can afford.

I do have to say though that there will be a lot of pain before getting back to this point but it will be well worth it.

The stock market will always grow no matter what over a 10 year span. The rate of growth may be much slower because of this.

Thanks for the article.

[Cali]

I know we all ended up here for many reasons, and I wasn't trying to offend anyone with my question/response. If I had to go to the extreme, I would in a heartbeat.

[fltoo]

I think your curt and to the point responses come off as offensive and holier than thou, and sometimes rude to some posters, especially newbies.

Otherwise, I know, as many do, that is just your way of responding, so it doesn't stike me as rude.
I tend to give short to the point answers also.

Don't know if I am making any sense, but....



Regarding the topic....unless something catastropic happened, health, etc., I think BK is always due to living over one's head. Living within one's means, to me, includes having a safety net of money even if you lose your job. If you are lucky enough to have a two income family, living off one salary is a good idea. I know people who have and this economy is not affecting them in the least.

Just my thoughts lately with the big economic mess we are in.

[banca rotta]

This link sums it up nicely too.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ManageDebt/WhatIfWeAllGotMoneySmart.aspx

Another reason I like this way of doing things is I feel the wealth would be distributed more evenly and fairly without resorting to liberal socialism to level the playing field. In other words our present system of debt creates bubbles like the "dot.com" or housing bubble that creates so much wealth for so few people. If everyone saved and invested and didn't lease or borrow so much unsecured debt the economy would grow at a slower rate but it would be constant. At the end of every bubble there are always winners that are super wealthy and to put it politely those that aren't winners that lose everything in a flash almost like a board game only it's real.

All these economists that keep adding fuel to the fire by saying that "we must spend" is all bs! Saving is just as good for the economy as spending as long as you don't keep the money in a cookie jar or in the mattress. The savings and investments we make are a huge contribution. The main reason for the current credit crisis is the financial institutions have no liquidity. How else will they loan money for new homes and small business to become large businesses and create jobs if investors and savers don't loan them the money?

[Cali]

Yes you made sense.

My straight to the point attitude has helped me in the corp world and probably offended a few a long the way. I have never been one to beat around the bush, but I must remember that not everyone is like me on this board. So to all that offended, I didn't mean it as a put down or anything...it's just my nature to be to the point.

I think your curt and to the point responses come off as offensive and holier than thou, and sometimes rude to some posters, especially newbies.

Otherwise, I know, as many do, that is just your way of responding, so it doesn't stike me as rude.
I tend to give short to the point answers also.

Don't know if I am making any sense, but....



Regarding the topic....unless something catastropic happened, health, etc., I think BK is always due to living over one's head. Living within one's means, to me, includes having a safety net of money even if you lose your job. If you are lucky enough to have a two income family, living off one salary is a good idea. I know people who have and this economy is not affecting them in the least.

Just my thoughts lately with the big economic mess we are in.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Cali, you are a sweetie and have aided many of us. I went 'off' on this board one night when I just did not feel well. I should not have been posting at all. I went back and apologized and only speak upwards for people. We are all here because we all needed help at one time. The pay back is to give help to one that needs it. The only price this forum expects. There are few here who have been 'bad actors'. I see none on this thread that have not helped me out. 'Hub