<p>“havent we had enough of threads where everyone tries to one up each other how frugal and non materialistic they are”
Hey…stretching my dollars (or whats left of them) is one of the few competitive sports left to me! I take solace in reading that I’m not the only one in this situation and have gleaned some real insight reading about other CC economic situations and strategies. If you still have money rolling in -----ENJOY!</p>
<p>As with many prior posters it’s been a “mixed bag” with our family. Our retirement accounts are down, but we don’t need those for 10+ years. Our income is down due to employer’s financial difficulties … salary cut (temporary?), and no increase this year. No fun at work obviously, which has caused unneeded stress. We did refi the house at the very bottom (just dumb luck). But our assets are mostly illiquid at this point … property we can’t sell, equity positions locked in for several more years, etc. We’ll survive, but only because we had low debt levels heading into the recession. We’re looking at loans for the next car and D#2’s final year in college.</p>
<p>Evidence of the recession is hard to avoid … foreclosures, closed businesses, state budget deficits, less traffic on the roads, stories on TV, newspapers, the Web, etc. But the most telling view is provided by family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances … all of which has a ready supply of examples. It’s not the end of the world for sure, but nearly everyone has been affected in some significant way.</p>
<p>It’s difficult when you think of what career advice you’d give a HS senior/college student. There are all kinds of kids from the college class of '09 who majored in the former “hot areas” - e.g engineering, finance - who can’t get jobs. It’s not just the art history or sociology majors. Maybe “follow your passions” isn’t bad advice.</p>
<p>A couple of months ago I ran across the resume of a female construction manager looking for work. A few years ago we’d have thought a female construction manager was golden, because they’re so rare…but when there’s no construction…</p>
<p>We have been very fortunate. H’s job looks secure and I actually got my job last October (I have always been one of those people who sort of has the opposite timing from everyone else). We have had losses (on paper) in our 401K’s , but they are starting to go up again. House is 11 years old, so it’s still worth more than we paid.</p>
<p>I am most aware of the economy via the media, some reports from a few friends losing jobs and seeing stores and other businesses go under. Also, the school system where we live is having to make some deep cuts. </p>
<p>The upside for me is that I feel very thankful and fortunate. I was never one to envy others and now I truly appreciate what I have.</p>
<p>Also, I think the reason a lot of people are pointing out that they have always been frugal is just that they are trying to show that if you were basically not a spendthrift, you do not have to make as many adjustments now. We have always been pretty much savers rather than spenders, but like most we do have our certain things we spend more on.</p>
<p>While watching overall expenditure and spending more in cash rather than on credit cards, I find myself tipping more – at restaurants, in tip jars, city cab drivers etc. I’ve become pretty aware that with everyone cutting back expenditure, the economy worsens down the line. Not that one person can do much, but I figure if service people earn a few extra dollars, they are likely to spend that money on something they need, rather than saving it since it won’t be that large of a sum to put into savings; with enough people doing this, hopefully it stirs the local economy a bit.</p>