Budget issues ( concerns cont.)

[SparklingWaves]

Doctors and routine tests---I go for a routine doctor visit and she suggests that I get a mammogram. I am thinking $$$ and she thinks that I might need surgery. I am thinking that is major $$$. I am thinking about not having the darn tests. I can't live in debt from a MRI or a mammogram. Tests aren't a necessity to me anymore. Sadly, it's true.

Bills ----I go to my mailbox today & get my bills and low and behold. I get notice that three bills are going to be permanently increased.

Medications ----I go to the pharmacy and get my meds. $150.00 for one of them. DAMN!

Wind & Hell insurance ---Monday, I just paid for my wind & Hell. I mean wind & hail insurance on my home that went up by 40%. I had to pay 30% upfront with a check immediately. I will have to notify my mortgage company or they will continue to take out this money for the wind and Hell too.

Gas = To fill up my truck use to cost $40. Now, it's getting near $80 to fill it up.

Groceries --- A box of great tasting cereal right under $4.00. I do like cereal, but I am not going to pay an outrageous amount for some flakes.


I have been talking to people and they say they are in big time debt. Those with several children (middle class) are especially voicing their struggle. This is scary. I don't see any end in sight to these constant increases.

Personally, I have to keep my basics and a house over my head. The rest is frivolous.

How is everyone fairing out budget wise? Are you seeing this trend? Are you making any changes? How are you coping?

 

[CantAffordMAC]

I can't speak too much since I don't have any bills and I am living at home. But I can say that i don't know if I will ever be able to move out on my own. I don't make enough money at both of my jobs....the cost to live here in Jersey is pretty ridiculous (I guess it is everywhere). I only make like $800/month (if im lucky). That would be about the cost of an apartment a month (if not more). Then u have to factor in bills, savings, etc......

I just can't afford it. And it sounds bad but if I don't start making more money and if I can't get a better job then I may do a job that I'm not so proud of....because how else am i going to afford to live??

 

[SparklingWaves]

It takes so much to live on these days. I know of people with really great salaries that have taken in another person into their home to help out with bills or people that have returned home. Everyone has to do what they can to survive.

My mother is still working a full time job. She is in her mid 70's! Sign of the times.

 

[CantAffordMAC]

Every single person I know has money troubles too. Every single person...

 

[SparklingWaves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CantAffordMAC I can't speak too much since I don't have any bills and I am living at home. But I can say that i don't know if I will ever be able to move out on my own. I don't make enough money at both of my jobs....the cost to live here in Jersey is pretty ridiculous (I guess it is everywhere). I only make like $800/month (if im lucky). That would be about the cost of an apartment a month (if not more). Then u have to factor in bills, savings, etc...... I just can't afford it. And it sounds bad but if I don't start making more money and if I can't get a better job then I may do a job that I'm not so proud of....because how else am i going to afford to live??

I know what you are talking about. If I didn't have my husband's income, I just don't know how I would make it.

Rent is terribly expensive. Like you said, then, you have to add in all those other bills. I would be on the side walk.

 

[Obreathemykiss]

As I said in the last thread, things are really tough now.

I have just decided that I'm going to make lemonade out of my lemons. Right now, my boyfriend and I are on a strict budget. We were a bit behind on bills, but now that he has a job we are caught up!! Thank God. The thing that sucks is I come from a middle class family...my parents have money, not a ton of it, but they do. I decided I was going to move out, work and go to school full time, and that I could handle maintenence on my land rover...not to mention gas alone on this baby is costing me $70/22 gallons and it only lasts maybe a week. MAYBE.

It is so tough because Albuquerque isn't that big, but it's big enough and that baby is a gas guzzler. I don't have car payments or have to pay for my insurance, but if I did, I would be seriously poor.

I don't want to ask my parents to borrow money or to give me money anymore. It isn't fair to them, and it's time for me to grow up...

So even though it would be nice to have a credit card to cushion me right now, I am not about to put myself in more debt. I have $300 on a credit card that has been lingering there for 8 months or so...not good. This should have been paid off by now.

Besides raiding my mom's fridge and freezer, I clip those coupons, buy as generic as possible, and look out for deals at the grocery store. I do everything I possibly can to save a penny on groceries. You have to eat!!

So then the cable, internet, and credit card bill...

I Don't HAVE to have the cable or the internet, but damn, my life would be really boring without it.

I try not to go out to bars lately as that's a fortune in itself and I can't have that money going to waste like that. So, if I want to drink, Sam's club here I come!!

Ugh, It is so frustrating and stressful. When you are broke, you can't really get too much joy out of life sometimes. It seems like it follows you around and almost eats you alive. I don't think life was meant to be this way. I don't think we were supposed to be swimming in debt and fear of what may come in the future.

This weekend, my dog ate a little bit of ant poison outside that was in my backyard. I was terrified and crying. I gave her vegetable oil in her food right away and made her puke. I then called animal poison and waited on hold...and hold...on easter. Then finally the lady picks up and starts asking questions and saying I probably shouldn't have given her the oil, but Grants kills ants doesn't have much arsenic. She said it was mixed w/peanut butter and blah blah and that's probably what attracted her. She was saying she should be okay, just watch her for 2 hours....and then tells me there's a $60 fee for the service. This got me thinking...danG! What if my baby wasn't alright and I had to take her to the animal ER. How the hell would I pay for that?!!!


I am tired of living like this. I need at least SOME money in the bank to fall back on just in case. Right now I'm living paycheck to paycheck and I make decent money.

UGH! This morning in my psych class, my instructor told us to look at all of the things we should be happy about...he said with/without money, the happiness factor is about the same. He said to be happy with what we have.

He said look at it this way, at least you are educated, have a home, etc. You're not that guy living in the dumpster outside of the restaurant eating food scraps. And even that guy is happy because his dumpster is bigger than the next guy's dumpster.

I am almost that guy in the dumpster...not quite, but it seems like it.

I guess we should just try to be positive. Karma happens to good people. I really hope things start looking up for you, Sparklingwaves. You're not the only one. Thank you for sharing your issues...and I think you should really look into this mamogram. In the end, YOU are what matters! F the money, you need your health. Just my opinion.

good luck, sweetie.

 

[SparklingWaves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CantAffordMAC Every single person I know has money troubles too. Every single person...

That's what I was thinking, but I don't know for sure. I hear reports that fast food restaurants aren't doing as well. People aren't taking trips to places like Disney World, because of the gas and the expense of those places.

So, I am wondering. How are they making it?

Are they not going to the doctor, not getting meds, tests, etc? You got to cut back somewhere.

 

[SparklingWaves]

I am trying to keep my head above water and not sink. I am trying to pay off credit cards. I would really love to put some money in savings. That would be awesome.

I actually had a credit card company call me to ask me why I wasn't using it. I mean really now. Do they have to ask? Who wants credit card debt? I want to pay off that credit card. That's a goal of mine.

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparklingWaves Doctors and routine tests---I go for a routine doctor visit and she suggests that I get a mammogram. I am thinking $$$ and she thinks that I might need surgery. I am thinking that is major $$$. I am thinking about not having the darn tests. I can't live in debt from a MRI or a mammogram. Tests aren't a necessity to me anymore. Sadly, it's true.

Mammograms are actually vital tests for early detection of breast cancer. If you are in an at risk group or at an at risk age I urge you to consider it seriously before passing on it.

 

[captodometer]

Very interesting thread; anyone with further interest in the topic should Google "affluenza" and go from there. Just some general thoughts:

Money troubles suck, no doubt. Those truly in dire straits have my sympathy. But I think a lot of people confuse "need" with "want" when they start talking about feeling poor. Needs: food, shelter, medical care. Wants: everything else!

I think homeowner's and flood insurance are fair. My home is located in Rochester, NY and the insurance goes up every year at about the rate of inflation. Because the chances of a hurricane, flood, firestorm, tornado, etc destroying my house are just about nonexistent. The worst that could happen is that a winter storm might kill the electricity for a couple of days. So why should I pay as much as someone who lives in Hurricane Alley or the Red River flood plain? (Not really sure where you live, Sparklingwaves, and you should definitely get the mammogram).

And who actually needs a Land Rover? Or a truck, for that matter. Unless you're going on a safari across the Sahara, or some place equally inhospitable you definitely don't need a Land Rover. Trucks belong on farms and construction sites, and to people who routinely need to transport large items. Most of America should be fine with a minivan or car. I drove a Honda Element before I moved to New Zealand: it had AWD and got the same fuel economy as the Subaru Outback wagon that I owned before. Both would be considered family friendly, cargo friendly vehicles. It never cost more than $43 to fill up the Element, even when gas prices reached $3.37 a gallon: usual fill up price was about $32.

We all know that the price of oil/gasoline will continue to increase, and that the supply in the Middle East is unstable. And that the oil supply will eventually run out. Yet suburbia is filled with gigantic gas guzzling SUV's and trucks. I don't have a lot of sympathy for people that complain about the poor fuel economy and the ever-increasing costs to fill it up: the vehicles that most of us drive are mostly a matter of personal preference.
Some of us don't have any choice in the matter, but most of us do

Cable TV and internet service certainly aren't necessary to life. Most families would save $100+ each month by getting rid of both. The world wouldn't end if everyone didn't have 64 channels, most of which are total absolute crap.

It would be really difficult to live in America without a credit card, but it's the way that they are used that gets a lot of people in trouble. Carrying a balance is financial death. Paying 20% interest in 2008 on the Mexican dinner that you ate in 2005 is crazy, but people do it all the time. I never use mine to buy anything that I couldn't have paid cash for in the first place: they are nice to have as an emergency source of cash/credit. And by emergency, I mean something like massive medical bills or airfare home for a death in the family. New shoes/makeup/clothes whatever just ain't happening unless I have the cash on hand to entirely payoff the purchase at the end of the month.

The American minimum wage is a bad joke. The American health care system isn't much better. Medical bills are one of the number causes of bankruptcy; the people who end up in financial trouble this way have my deepest sympathies, as do the people who work hard and can't afford the basics. But the basics don't include a 2000+ square foot house in the burbs, with 2 cars, a closet full of clothes, vacations to foreign countries, etc.

It just seems that a lot of budget concerns get brought about by trying to live the lifestyle that one has become accustomed/aspires to living, not necessarily the lifestyle that ensures ones continued existence on the planet. A large percentage of the world lives on less than $2 a day; they don't even have indoor plumbing, much less a lot of the other things that many of us would feel lost without. So yeah, things could definitely get worse for most of us.

I don't really know anyone who is feeling the financial squeeze, myself included. I'm only quasi-employed, and a full time grad student. I just reached the conclusion that I can't live the same life that I did when I was working full time, and adjusted my lifestyle accordingly. The class differences in New Zealand aren't as wide as they are in America: everybody here earns roughly the same amount of money. There's not a lot of the megarich and super poor, like in the US.

 

[FantaZ]

I can totally identify with you. Living in Hawaii is outrageous. Rent for a studio starts at $1200 per month. Right now, I'm trying to budget myself so I can put a nice down payment on a house. In doing so, I need to separate my wants and needs so I don't go over my budget. This may sound ridiculous but I'm trying to spent $200 a month. (12 months x 200=$2400 on misc). I may or may not achieve it but it helps me from impulsive shopping. I need to write down each expenditure so I know where my money is going.

I strongly advise you to take a mammogram. Like they say, a stitch in time saves nine. Imagine how much it's going to be if something was caught later. Take care!

 

[redambition]

captodometer: very well said.

i have to second the small car thing. the SUV/truck trend is picking up over, and people are screaming about the cost of petrol going up and up. I own a small car, and while filling up is getting a bit more expensive, it's still around $50... nowhere near the $80-90 these people are paying per tank.

 

[boudoirblonde]

Completely agree on the small car thing!

And with entertainment, I think one should choose, internet OR cable. not BOTH! (if your feeling the squeeze that is)

Cut down on mobile phone usage, use public transport more, avoid taxis, try to save at least 10% of your income if you can and save it for a rainy day (i.e medical expenses, funerals, getting laid off)

This is all the things I would be doing if I was in the US. But luckily Im in Australia, and things are still going pretty well for us, amid interest rate rises and increased petrol prices

 

[SparklingWaves]

Well, as far as the vehicles go, my truck stays parked till the weekend. Thankfully, it's not my sole vehicle. My husband & I are sharing my 10 year old compact car during the week. We do a lot of stuff to our house on our own and it saves us money to use our own truck. We don't want to hire people or have to rent a trunk.

Cable is just about a must. You can't get a decent picture on the tv having cable. I think it's a scam around here. Seriously, there is so much interference. I have basic. No frills. My husband likes to watch his sports and that's his deal. We have the all on one package deal and not a separate plan.

I don't own a cell phone.

Eating out is rare. Going to a movie is more rare. We haven't taken a trip in four years.

I am glad to hear from people outside of the U.S. I am glad to hear you are fairing well.

I have actually entertained the thought of leaving the States. Not just because of this, because I would like to experience other places too. Always felt stuck here.

 

[Shimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captodometer Very interesting thread; anyone with further interest in the topic should Google "affluenza" and go from there. Just some general thoughts: Money troubles suck, no doubt. Those truly in dire straits have my sympathy. But I think a lot of people confuse "need" with "want" when they start talking about feeling poor. Needs: food, shelter, medical care. Wants: everything else!

I agree with this.
Quote:

I think homeowner's and flood insurance are fair. My home is located in Rochester, NY and the insurance goes up every year at about the rate of inflation. Because the chances of a hurricane, flood, firestorm, tornado, etc destroying my house are just about nonexistent. The worst that could happen is that a winter storm might kill the electricity for a couple of days. So why should I pay as much as someone who lives in Hurricane Alley or the Red River flood plain? (Not really sure where you live, Sparklingwaves, and you should definitely get the mammogram).

Homeowner's insurance is a joke, and it's a subject that just aggravates me to pieces.
Re: mammograms...who has the money to do that, really? I certainly don't...and I'm in one of those at risk groups.
Quote:

And who actually needs a Land Rover? Or a truck, for that matter. Unless you're going on a safari across the Sahara, or some place equally inhospitable you definitely don't need a Land Rover. Trucks belong on farms and construction sites, and to people who routinely need to transport large items. Most of America should be fine with a minivan or car. I drove a Honda Element before I moved to New Zealand: it had AWD and got the same fuel economy as the Subaru Outback wagon that I owned before. Both would be considered family friendly, cargo friendly vehicles. It never cost more than $43 to fill up the Element, even when gas prices reached $3.37 a gallon: usual fill up price was about $32. We all know that the price of oil/gasoline will continue to increase, and that the supply in the Middle East is unstable. And that the oil supply will eventually run out. Yet suburbia is filled with gigantic gas guzzling SUV's and trucks. I don't have a lot of sympathy for people that complain about the poor fuel economy and the ever-increasing costs to fill it up: the vehicles that most of us drive are mostly a matter of personal preference. Some of us don't have any choice in the matter, but most of us do

Thing is most of those cars were purchased on loans, and the person paying the loan is usually upside down on it. To try to get rid of the vehicle would mean that they would either a) be upside down on the vehicle they traded in for trying to get out from under the first one, or b) sold the vehicle for a loss and continued paying a loan on a vehicle they no longer own or drive.
Quote:

Cable TV and internet service certainly aren't necessary to life. Most families would save $100+ each month by getting rid of both. The world wouldn't end if everyone didn't have 64 channels, most of which are total absolute crap. It would be really difficult to live in America without a credit card, but it's the way that they are used that gets a lot of people in trouble. Carrying a balance is financial death. Paying 20% interest in 2008 on the Mexican dinner that you ate in 2005 is crazy, but people do it all the time. I never use mine to buy anything that I couldn't have paid cash for in the first place: they are nice to have as an emergency source of cash/credit. And by emergency, I mean something like massive medical bills or airfare home for a death in the family. New shoes/makeup/clothes whatever just ain't happening unless I have the cash on hand to entirely payoff the purchase at the end of the month.

Credit card debt is going to be the back breaker for this country, IMO.

 

[*Stargazer*]

I know I bring this up over and over again, but if you need help with your money management or tips on getting out of debt, please visit Creditboards. I joined there several years ago to get help with getting an erroneous collection of my credit report and have stuck around long after my credit was repaired. You will not find better advice anywhere!


As I said in the other thread, we're relatively lucky to be insulated from the trouble since we get military benefits. I'm looking for a job myself since we've decided to send my middle daughter to private school for the next two years and I don't want to have to cut back on anything else to do it. If I can't find a job, we'll have to cut some luxuries, so we'll see.

 

[SparklingWaves]

My credit card debt is from emergencies - car breaking down, a/c unit going out, needing to replace damages from a leak in the house... It's like I didn't have the cash right there and I was forced to use it.

What happens is my other bills are going up now and something else pops up out of no where to be charged again.

I don't even carry my credit cards with me.

All my decisions with the credit cards are made with the husband. We make decisions together about major purchases.

 

[boudoirblonde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparklingWaves My credit card debt is from emergencies - car breaking down, a/c unit going out, needing to replace damages from a leak in the house... It's like I didn't have the cash right there and I was forced to use it. What happens is my other bills are going up now and something else pops up out of no where to be charged again. I don't even carry my credit cards with me. All my decisions with the credit cards are made with the husband. We make decisions together about major purchases.

Whilst I dont think you're rushing out and maxing out your CCs on MAC, and it is easy to pass the blame, I think if you start to actually take a bit more responsibility for the debt/hard times your currently in (whether by stupid decisions or unlucky circumstances) it will be a lot easier to turn things around.

I honestly don't mean to be harsh, or sound harsh in anyway, but I think (and I do this myself ALL the time) when people get into problems or troubles, it is so easy to pass the blame, so we do, and we avoid having to take responsibility, so we just curse and curse instead of putting all that energy into turning the situation around

 

[lilifee]

HI,
it's not only in the usa that u feel the enormous rise of coast on bathing things.
I own a small car now but it still takes 9 litres, so the cost for litre of petrol here is about € 1,40 - in need my car for working so i can not leave it standing in front of the house.
But its not only that the gas prices for heating ind the electricity coasts are increasing steadily.
So by the and of the day u have a huge bill to pay - which doesnt include any food yet.
Going shopping for groceries u have everytime less in you bag for you money.

I do look more and more for what i spend my money and if it is really necessary to buy me this or that. - My MAC spending was also cut down drastically its about € 17,50 for a lipstick here what i find abit to much by now.
Going out for dinners is seldom now, cause what is spend in 1 evening last you longer by staying at home inviting some friends.
Also have to feed 2 doggies ( one is quite old and needs reg. medication) so thats were the money goes

 

[Hilly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparklingWaves My mother is still working a full time job. She is in her mid 70's! Sign of the times.

It always breaks my heart to see older people past the retired age still working.