how in the heck are we supposed to live these days

[fullhouse]

Hopefully this will bring bartering back a little. I love trades!

 

[texasreb]

Quote:
Me too!

 

[d.k]

* And, how do you tell an grown kid that his new pool business requires driving some 500 miles a week isn't going to work out with these gas prices!!

 

[DuckLady]

This thread is about how we can help ourselves. Anti Government rants (which is flaming and against the rules)are not going to help each other with ideas about helping ourselves.

Please keep on topic or this thread will be closed.

Thanks!

 

[highmountainchick]

complicated thread

Ranting against the GOV isn't needed but we are all intimately tied to our government by several ways. This thread has offered some wonderful ideas about neighborhood co-ops that should plant seeds in all our heads, great ideas. I have had the great fortune ( thanks to the Lord) to have lived all over the world, in tin huts with dirt floors to cinderblock houses with no privacy and a cold water tap. It is one thing to never have had "fine" things in life then to have them, then have them taken away. We installed a wood burning stove with our stimulus check and turned off our propane supply. Should save us $2000 a year. Thinking about $7/gal gas is pretty scary for our country and it tends to push me into a very negative/panic attitude. But look BYC's, we are Americans and we live in the most incredible country in the world, heck we feed a large portion of the world. I have great faith in our peoples abilities to be ingenious, to reach out and re-teach the mass population how to grow food/gardens, how to conserve - and we all have the right to reach out and touch/call/smack our govenment to help with solar PV funding, gas conservation - ect...

How about a stimulus check towards a Prius purchase? How's that for "out there"

Hang in there BYCer's, you're all made of great stuff!

 

[mom'sfolly]

Many hybrid vehicles come with a federal tax rebate.

I look around my street and I have the only home that does not have a pick-up or SUV in front of it. People have gotten complacent about cheap gas and made purchasing choices based on false assumptions. When someone buys a commuting car that only gets 15 MPG, its very hard for me to be the least bit sympathetic. Here in my 'burbs no one need a truck more than once or twice a year and no one really needs a Hummer or a Suburban. JMHO

More than 10 years ago I had a car that got over 40 MPG. It was small and manual, but I had a 60 mile one way commute. When I moved to Texas, I felt unsafe in the small car because of the large number of SUVs and trucks on the road, so when I needed a new car I got something bigger. But that was a CHOICE, I didn't need something bigger.

 

[chcknrs]

I got the Honda Civic hybrid two years ago. You don't get a rebate, you get a tax credit, and it is only until a certain amount of them are sold. I think the offer is just about over. I also didn't get to use all of the tax credit in the first year. I had to carry over part of it on last year's tax return.

It's a nice car, but only gets about 40 mpg average, even less when DH drives it. And you can buy a cheaper car that gets the same or better mpg, so......

 

[fullhouse]

mom'sfolly :

Many hybrid vehicles come with a federal tax rebate.

I look around my street and I have the only home that does not have a pick-up or SUV in front of it. People have gotten complacent about cheap gas and made purchasing choices based on false assumptions. When someone buys a commuting car that only gets 15 MPG, its very hard for me to be the least bit sympathetic. Here in my 'burbs no one need a truck more than once or twice a year and no one really needs a Hummer or a Suburban. JMHO

More than 10 years ago I had a car that got over 40 MPG. It was small and manual, but I had a 60 mile one way commute. When I moved to Texas, I felt unsafe in the small car because of the large number of SUVs and trucks on the road, so when I needed a new car I got something bigger. But that was a CHOICE, I didn't need something bigger.

I have and really need a Suburban. I haul 5 kids, 3 dogs, and a camper or trailer. Not much else suits the purpose except a full size van, and that gets even worse mileage.​

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
I don't know...it's getting ridiculous! I just heard on the radio this morning that farmers down south are reverting back to using draft mules & horses to plow their fields with. I don't blame them. If I lived closer to town, I'd be riding my horses to work during the summer. LOL

 

[OHChick]

i am lucky enough to have a job where i can work from home most days. i live 38 miles from my office and drive a 9 yr old honda accord, but even with that gas is quite costly. i get about 30mpg unless i don't run the AC at all, and then i get like 32mpg.

my husband got a recent promotion and they couldn't give him a raise so he asked for a company vehicle, so his employer is buying his gas (his office is closer to 45 miles one way), so we really lucked out.

things are out of hand cost wise. the unfortunate part is that we, the consumers end up paying for everyone's rising cost. gas costs more so the post office charges more so we pay more. gas costs more so the truckers pay more, so our groceries cost more.

i don't know the best answer for how to survive. some things we are doing is:

*eliminating unnecessary trips. any returns/bank runs/etc, i save them all up and do them all at one time.

*ordering what i can online. like toiletries (shampoo & the like), a lot of sites will offer free shipping if you spend $50. so i keep an eye out until there's a bargain and then load up on toothpaste, etc.

*trying to wash the laundry in cold water

*feeding the animals scraps that normally would go in the garbage to save on pet food/feed. (only safe things of course, we are bad food wasters.... )

*trying to promote egg & fiber sales using online sites.

i have a degree in economics, so i get why things end up the way they do, but it certainly doesn't make it easier to deal with.

i pray for all of us.