I gave my regular light bulbs to the Salvation Army.

I think the economic indicators look grim and we are nowhere near the bottom. We are still a long way from comparisons with the Great Depression. Maybe there is hope.

Remember the fable of the ant and the grasshopper? There are too many grasshoppers today. The ants have already started preparing for dark days, whether or not they arrive. Life will be much easier for your blog readers who are already adjusting their lifestyles and getting out of debt. Even if the recession ended tomorrow, they will be in a better position to live an easier life for the rest of their lives. Which of you faithful readers would go out and blow your emergency funds if that were the case? I’m willing to bet that you have already established a better lifestyle on less and would not give up your financial independence or peace of mind.

While what you see depends on where you sit, some people are sitting in better positions than others.

More on Schiff:
http://www.erictyson.com/articles/20090213

Jim

But then again much of life is.

YOU are better off!

You probably have two running vehicles and a decent house. Well feed children and never go without.

I live pretty much the same way and agree with you with almost everything you write. I read your blog religiously. I was already applying the same principles and you give me a boost of self esteem that lets me know I am on the right path.

And catch this. I make middle income wages, own a house for the past two and a half years now, my husband attends full time college and does not work, I have a two year old son, and I am pretty well off. Oh did I mention that I am only 24?

I find people in their 30’s and 40’s trying to “give me advice” all the time. On how to “build credit” save money and invest in “gold”???!!!????

What!

Do you think I bought a house at 22 listening to the general, poor, in debt, public give me advice! Obviously I know what I am doing.

The secret? I live frugal. I own a good 1992 Nissan Pathfinder pristine condition, no payments. A 2004 Dodge Dakota again paid off! A two story 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home, in which I got a great deal and built the second room and bathroom, and a guest house.

I did that by eating leftovers once or twice a week, freezing my own Waffles, and popping my popcorn on the stove! Yeah, I do take the time reuse old containers, and shop at secondhand stores. So what! If you didn’t know that I shopped there by me telling you, you would simply never know. I NEVER pay full price for anything.

They (those people trying to give me advice) are waiting for their gold investments to make them wonderfully rich so they can get out from their 400 dollar a month upside down car payments and maybe save enough to buy a house. Until then they enjoy their two bedroom apartments driving the latest model vehicles with no savings to speak of. They might retire at 60 or so but most likely not, because the false hope of social security will fail them.

When I pay off my house in 10 years, I will have no bills aside from utilities. Then who will be laughing!

By the way, At the rate I am going recession and all, I should still be okay and comfortable to retire at 45 right after paying for my child’s college education in full without a single loan. (unless he decides to be a 6 year med student, he might half to fuss out the last two years on his own but that is beside the point)

So the recession might suck for the corporate sponges who will make a half million a day instead of a million. OH MY!
But for me, I love this recession. For those of you who want to buy stocks, get a four wheeler or a new Computer this is the time. Prices will not be this low again or a while.

It like hitting the reset button on the economy. Those who are my age will finally get their chance to step in and buy houses, (which is badly needed) afford groceries, and live independently.

So for all those people who slam you, for being frugal, cheep, whatever!

Throw this in their face!

When I retire at 45 and drive away in my shiny new 2040 Toyota that I paid cash for, I will be doing it knowing full well that they are not. I’ll hop on a plane first class to Finland to enjoy the mountains without going into debt.

They will be in their 20 year old cars that they spent 10 years paying off while they are still working 9-5 jobs So they can save for the next 10 years and buy a house at 65. They most likely will never retire or pay off their house in their lifetimes, unless they plan on working until they are 95 years old to pay off their 30 year home loan.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. — Albert Einstein

Feel free to repost this.

Ever since the election I have stopped watching the news. It is mostly doom and gloom and it’s too depressing to watch. They just want to put fear into people’s minds to get ratings. There are some great things that are happening and people are getting creative about their situations, creating new business and trying new ideas. But you don’t hear any of that on the news. They just keep talking about how bad things are. The current situation is not even close to how bad things were during the Great Depression of 1929. My 90 year old Grandmother has told me the stories of what life was like back then. We are much better off today than folks were back in 1929.

You have to make the best out of your situation. You also need to be pro-active and change your situation before it gets changed for you. There were so many people who were living well beyond their means and now their situations are bad. These folks were not responsible and now they are paying for the consequences of their actions. There are those of us who lived below their means and this recession isn’t really affecting us too much. Except for the fact that our Government is out of control, prediciting the worst and passing these ridicilous bailout bills.

The bottom line is life is about survival of the fittest. Those who are pro-active, smart, responsible, sacrifice and work hard will survive. You have to take responsibility for your life and situation and not count on the government and others to bail you out.

I switched jobs about 6 months ago. I saw that things were slowing down at my company (and industry) and layoffs were coming soon. I was lucky enough to find a better paying job in another industry (health care). It took me a year of looking before I found my current job. I was proactive and changed my situation before I let someone else change it for me.

Anne

I think the person who criticised you (and all those others) are nitwits. Learning to use one’s mind and creativity to grow is awesome and lots of fun. Anytime I find a clever way to do more with less I “win”. Beating the marketing system that seeks to manipulate money from me for things I really do not want or need is another win for me.

I choose to be a responsible consumer and I think that says more good about me than if I had boatloads of money to throw around carelessly like so many celebrities touted by the same media.

Living this way also leaves me able to see beyond mjust myself and help others too. Someone asked about what we are supposed to do with all the “old” style lightbulbs. It’s pretty simple, donate them to folks who are in so much need they do not have any lightbulbs!

Keep going, I love what you are doing with your blog. You are one the right track.

As far as my opinion of the topic, I’m inclined to believe this is a sharp lesson with a bit of sting. Like most painful lessons, it is survivable by those who gain from the lesson and recognize it for what it is. For those who feel only the “sharp” and run off to the corner to cry,…well, they’re not going to get much more out of life, are they?

As stated, my opinion.

Keep on writing, buddy!

I’ve been noticing a lot of outright hostility and rudeness in many blog comments sections lately. And I wonder if people are just losing their inhibitions or forgetting that there are feelings involved. I wish it wasn’t so. Just because one if offered the chance to comment doesn’t mean that one has the right to simply blast away regardless of the effect it may have on others.

As for people calling you a kill-joy, I think it just stems from differences in personality. It must be hard for others to understand the simple satisfaction that comes with not wasting. That is what I would call it. I am getting increasingly frugal with age and I get a bizarre satisfaction out of it. It’s not just about not spending, penny-pinching and being a tightwad, it’s about being organised and efficient. And I do know that others do not experience any sort of satisfaction in this. I don’t hold it against them either. People are just different.

http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2008/08frusg.pdf

http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08446cg.pdf

We have lived frugally for years, not like you have, but within our means. We spent Jan & Feb camped in the desert in a small, but paid for, RV–living off solar panels and weekly sewer dumps& refilling the water–for $20 a week. Weather was great and neighbors were fun. Life was good–because we didn’t watch TV nor pay $1 for a newspaper(that was 50 cents two years ago). No TV nor newpaper equalled a stress-free enviroment. Back in the big city with TV now–and lots of stress about “Isn’t it awful?”

We find fun and enjoyment in living as inexpensively as possible–because we know our retirement income will be that–and it is more fun to prepare ahead than have to play catch-up later.

Your column gives us lots of new hints and tips, and we thank you for playing with us! It is nice to have like-minded friends!

I started reading your blog in October and the first thing I did was make a budget and start trimming costs and watching our spending. I bought YNAB because it lets me sleep at night and we’ve been living on our pensions and Social Security for several months now. I now have a decent emergency fund and it’s growing. I make my own laundry detergent (powdered, not liquid) and am thinking about a garden.

There was a time when I thought it was impossible to live on our pensions and Social Security but with less wasteful spending it’s pretty easy and my husband is able to golf three days a week and we can still take a couple of trips a year.

We have dinner parties with a nice circle of friends, have lots of fun and laugh a lot. Sure we’re all a bit worried but there’s no point in dwelling on it.

If I hadn’t read your blog I might not have gotten on a budget when I did…..! Thank you for writing…..keep it up!

Thanks for this. Yes, there are layoffs–a LOT of them. But I see this as is a correction for unsustainable growth. For years, this country has grown at a tremendous rate and now that it has slowed all you hear is doom and gloom. I’ve been saying for years that it wasn’t possible to maintain the level of growth that we have become accustomed to, the economy just doesn’t work like that and it is unrealistic for us to expect it to.

As for positive economic news, I think if folks are looking for anything besides doom and gloom, they need to turn off their televisions and look around them. What I see is that yes, things have contracted, but many seem to be taking it to heart and doing good things with it. Like starting vegetable gardens and buying livestock for fresh eggs, etc. They are not only saving money, they are eating food that is less processed and more nutritious thus losing weight and potentially ending an epidemic of obesity that is expensive to the taxpayers.

I also see our money is worth more. Have you noticed exchange rates lately? Our money is worth more overseas than it has been in years which means that everyone else is investing in us. But I wager that you couldn’t find a single news outlet that is reporting this. They are too busy selling news with sensationalism.