Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Drastic Times Call for Drastic Measures
| By Lynn Forgy It seems like the news, the radio, television, as well as the newspaper all bear the same grim story regarding this country's financial situation. I have not been laid off (yet), thank God, but I have not been immune to the effects of our economy nor has some of my family. My money doesn't stretch as far as it used to (I remember 10 years ago when we moved to Georgia and I was amazed that the price of gas was only $.88 per gallon!). Tightening my financial belt was something I was doing to decrease my debt as quickly as possible. Now I feel like I need to do it more for the fact that I have no idea if I'll have a job next week, or tomorrow. This has been on my mind a lot lately, of course. I realize, though, that it is a perfect example of how God may be using the economy and my fear of what could be coming to make me rely more on Him. When I was a child, I was the only one in the family that had money in the piggy bank - I was known by adult and child alike as a saver. Now when my family talks about it me, the words used are frugal, cheap, or thrifty. I have come to the point that I am preparing myself to do something I don't really want to do, but I feel it is necessary - cut the cable! I know, I probably should have done it long ago. If I had, perhaps my fear would be considerably less. My "Drastic Measures" Action Plan (what I plan on doing to cut my expenses to only the absolute necessities) include: 1) Disconnect the cable 2) Reduce the internet speed (I need some form of communication with the outside world - so I'll reduce the speed to the lowest but draw the line at dial-up, at least for now) 3) Health insurance - I shopped around and got a new policy this month that will save me $32 per month 4) No shopping - This hasn't been a problem for me since I quit going to the thrift stores, never visit the mall, and only buy things when I'm mystery shopping (where my purchase is usually fully reimbursed) 5) Groceries - I have $100 budgeted for this category, but sometimes have gone over. I plan on watching more closely the sale items at my local grocery stores and planning menus around those items. I may also go back to the 2 times per month grocery shopping, versus the 1 time per week that I go now - I seem to spend more money when I go weekly. 6) Sell household items - I have gone through the house several times and gathered things up to sell online. I belong to a Yahoo group that is sort of like an online yard sale which is in my area. I have had more luck selling items on this list than I have on craigslist. My action plan is to continue to go through the house, weekly, and select items that are not "necessary" and attempt to sell them. I know these may not sound like epiphanies - but the cable one in particular is huge for me. I like to be able to watch the television if I want to. About a year ago, I reduced the cable package we had to the very basic where we only get about 20 channels. So truthfully I probably won't even miss it. After all, I can get my fill of bad news any time I want on the internet. Labels: cable, grocery costs, insurance, internet, shopping. |
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Poverty
| By W. Haynes For several years, there has been a deep-seated longing in me to do something about the invisible or unseen members of our society. At least that's how I see them - those living in poverty or very close to it. I want to visit these people, see their homes, understand their lives and what it's like for them on a day to day basis. I've been told, however, that this curiosity on my part may in fact offend these people that I am so interested in. That surprised me - I don't think I would be offended if someone was truly interested in seeing how I lived, appreciated how hard it was at times to pay the bills, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. I am by no means wealthy, but I am not destitute or even what the government considers low income. I just want to do something, to bring attention to people that are often ignored or forgotten. It seems to me that for some people it's too painful to recognize them as fellow human beings, or maybe it reminds us of where we could find ourselves or where we came from. I came across a website that I found interesting, and perhaps you might as well. Better Budgeting.com Other sites of interest: The Poverty Site - Of particular interest to me was the daily spending calculator (I put in my totals and found, to my surprise, that I spend a great deal more than $2 per day. Labels: Poverty |
