Holy frijoles everything's expensive!
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| Wed, 09-28-2005 - 10:05am |
Boy, oh, boy, do I feel for all the folks who are early in their debt repayment plan. Yikes, everything's expensive! I've had to re-work our budget several times to get everything in line with my actual costs. Gasoline is costing us so much, I've had to increase our monthly gas budget by $80, and that's after I had already increased it by $40 earlier this summer. Groceries have gone up, even at the farmer's market and the salvage store. Thank goodness we have that kind of leeway--it hurts, but it's not devastating.
I can imagine this is making life even more challenging for those who are early in their journey and don't have as much leeway. I really admire the courage and determination it takes to keep pressing on despite all that.
On our end, I'm crossing my fingers for a pay increase for dh next year, just to keep up with inflation (never mind all the promises of increasing compensation based on performance that they never seem to fulfill). In the meantime, we've cut out a lot of the "extras" we had been allowing ourselves.
On the other hand, thanks to a nice check for some web copy I did, we've paid down quite a bit of our debt. It's now less than $15,000 (down from somewhere around $33k at the height of our troubles), including the $5000 we owe to family at zero percent interest and which none of the creditors are willing to accept in repayment (instead, we plan to take one side of the family to the mountains for Christmas one year, and do something equally fun and nice for the other side of the family, so we still consider it debt that has to be paid). Anyway, because of the zero percent offers on credit cards and one debt that's on a low interest card (for the life of the balance), we pay less than $25 a month in interest now. So that side of things looks good, and I suppose if things get too much worse in the economy, we could slow down our repayment to make room in our operating budget. But I don't want to do that!!!!
Anyway, how is everyone coping? I know there have been posts about this, but I'm interested in any strategies anyone's employing to deal with the increases.
In a bit, I'm going to get out the bicycle and bike trailer and take the kids to the library. It's a bit of a trek, and we have to ride along a busy road (I get off in the grass when it gets too bad), but it's better than burning gasoline.
Blessings,
Heather

DS and I walk to the library sometimes, too. It is a pain, but if it saves a few pennies, it is worth it. Those pennies add up so quickly!!!
Jennifer
Well I'd say we are barely keeping our heads above water.... I know i could cut back alot more in the grocery dept. and extra household goods but it is hard and i try but i still always end up with big grocery bills. But looking on the bright side of things, dh's van will be paid off in december, so that is $170 for that we will not have to pay each month, i told him i want to put that amt. into an accout and drive our cars as long as we can and use the car account money to by something outright when we have no choice left, if our cars hold out 3 more years then we could have a nice account. Too bad now that they are both paid off they are both pretty old and sad already. We have lots of small medical bills and a big one we are plugging away on, and some of the small ones are getting paid off, this was a very expensive year for us medically and I hope and pray we have nothing major this year in that dept. We are plugging away at our credit cards, one is 0% and that is slowly getting down and the other needs some work. All in all we are living paycheck to paycheck right now, even though I am trying so hard to do better. I will probably take on a part time job (my old job) on weekends and at night when dh can watch the kids, that will be in nov. and dec. so that might help us get ahead a little.
Shannon
Tell me about it! One of the home builders we were talking with said the prices are once again rising as of October 1st because of building supplies and gas costs. A different company (which we liked better) said they'll rise first of Spring so DH and I are scrambling for more down payment money in order to sign a contract this fall. We are planning to build in the spring as long as the city sewage is in by then. Plus the interest rates are creeping up....... it's so frustrating.....
Nicki
Wow--2.99 a gallon is high, even for around here (NC). We pay around 2.79 a gallon, if I shop around. But right after Katrina it was closer to $3.49, and some stations were out of gas altogether for a few days.
Anyway, for house cleaning, I use about three items: baking soda, dish detergent, and vinegar. Vinegar, diluted, makes a great polishing agent for windows, mirrors, and other shiny surfaces. I use an old Windex pump dispenser, and mix one quarter vinegar with three quarters water. Lasts forever, and works great. Makes the house smell like German cooking! LOL It's also safe for the children to use, and they love to help polish windows and mirrors.
For scrubbing jobs, the best cleaner I've found is a paste of baking soda and dish detergent. It works better than Comet, and it's non-toxic and safe for all surfaces. I use it for tubs and anywhere else that has scum or build-up needing removal. If you have stains to get out of hard surfaces, sprinkle baking soda and lay a damp cloth over the area. After about 15 minutes, come back and scrub the area (you don't have to scrub much). This removes 80% of stains and brightens surfaces.
I use a vinegar solution for mopping, as well. About once every six months or so, I use a weak bleach solution on the floors--this is one of my ecological vices, and I'm not proud of it, but sometimes I just really want sparkling white floors. But the vinegar solution works just fine and the floors look fine with just that. For bright counters, a good scrub with baking soda gets them as white as bleach does--it would work for floors too, but you do have to scrub, and it's a bit more work than I'm usually up for.
Baking soda also makes a great addition to laundry wash cycles. Then if you dry in the sun you'll remove any remaining stains pretty well.
These are all very inexpensive solutions, and a bonus is that they are environmentally friendly, you don't have to worry about your kids or pets getting into the products, and they are healthier for you as well.
For carpets, I haven't found a good solution. I know that baking soda, rubbed with a damp cloth into the area and then dried and then vacuumed (and then scrubbed and then vacuumed, if the soda is clinging to the threads) does a pretty good job on some things. Other things come up pretty well with just a damp rag if gotten to immediately. Beyond that, we kind of just live with ugly carpets. I'm searching for a better solution, so I'd love if someone here has a great answer to this one.
As for vehicles, you should have your dh look into a diesel. The VW Jetta (which comes in a wagon) diesel (called the TDI) boasts 40+ mpg. And diesel is cheaper than gasoline, generally. They are hard to find used, and start at about $20k for new. But I've seen them used for around $15k. If you don't mind an older car, the old Mercedes 300D series gets 30+ mpg and runs forever. Depending on age, condition, and miles, these start around $1000 (though I don't recommend them in that price range) and run upwards. You can get a really nice early 1990's Mercedes sedan in great condition for less than $10k. For a bit more but still less than a new VW, you can get a mid- to late-1990s Mercedes sedan in diesel, and they are a beautiful sight--sunroofs, and leather, lots of luxury features, and gorgeous to boot.
Diesel bonus: if you feel like it and have time and money to invest, you could learn to make biodiesel and run it on that for less than $1.50 a gallon.
Anyway, thanks for the response. Hope something in here is helpful. :)
Blessings,
Heather
I completely agree with you regarding the prices!
lvhunnie2005
This may sound crazy, but it really does work. I learnt this one in Mexico. For window cleaning use newspaper. Scrunch the newspaper into a ball, and quickly dunk part of it in a bucket of water, so it's damp but not soaking. Wipe windows as usual. One piece of newspaper will clean a lot of windows, as you can keep dunking it. So you can buy one newspaper in the week and it will last a long time. Cheaper than windex and paper towels.
Beach
Hi there,
nope, this is not crazy, but simply *the* way to clean windows if you don't have a leather towel - and how I learned to do it from my great-gradmother who never had money but a very inventive mind *grins*
I usually clean windows with water and soap, and the wipe of any staining or leftover dirt with a newspaper.
And I really love the ideas on cleaning supplements from Heather!
What looks terrifying to me right now is not gas prizes - we have cut down on driving the car, and rather take the bike, but from next week on I will not have a valid public transport ticket anymore. I am no student anymore, and it comes with the whole package when you enroll. And I really got used to taking the sub way or bus just about anywhere. Now the cold season is appraoching fast, and I have to take the bike :-(
Both of us have not had any raise in payment in the last two and a half years, and even that last raise was below inflation, so we now matter of fact make less money in terms of buying power than three years ago. Right now we seem just to hang in - and we are not anymore at the very beginning of our journey out of debt. It is the little things which keep me from despair: Comparing bank statements withh those from a year ago, e.g., and see how much has changed, and knowing that it all was worth it. But the next expenses are already forming on the horizon: Our car will need a repair we cannot do ourselves, both of us need new shoes for winter, both of us need to see the dentist - that's even more expensive than a car repair... :-(
When it comes to saving during my grocery trips: I switched to buying only seasonal products to dodge the worst of gas price related increases. And stuff from local producers. I guess I'll be glad when pumpkin season is over LOL
I miss having a garden to grow vergetables myelf, that would be my favorite way of getting away from under the damocles sword of everything being tied into gas prices.
Greetings, Jordis
ivy_jordis
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