Seriously, is there ever any way to get ahead?

[3goodeggs]

Mahonri,
We have had to put off cleanings and forgo ex-rays because we could not afford them. I have a new dentist now that has to slowly replace the old dentist's fillings. We do not have dental insurance, What used to be affordable became unaffordable when people started getting dental insurance.

The doctors had to increase the cost for everyone in order to get half of what they were getting before the insurance companies told them what they were worth. So now it took almost one weeks income for two fillings that fell out. We have the full cost to bear. I do not know how any one can survive insurance.

The people who pay insurance expecting catastrophe, or the people who have to keep an office up and running with no clients because their patients can't afford dental care, or with insurance companies who hold you over the barrel, the threat of not having insurance has scared us all into the corner.

I wish it would go back to the days when you just paid what you owed when the service was done. How many people more in an office does it take to manage all of the forms and files? It costs everyone in the end.
Our saving were depleted three years ago trying to keep the help paid, then we let them go. Now, the business is gone and we are glad that no one charges for breathing air.

I suppose when we can't borrow anymore to keep the property taxes paid, the government will end up with our entire life's work. and we will go out of this world the way we came in, naked and angry.
..But I will be clutching a chicken!

 

[ChikeeMomma]

We have scaled back over the past couple of years. Last year we paid off my van (a couple of years early) and we did it while making $8000.00 less in income for the year. It makes me a little sick to think about all the money I've wasted when times were better. My hubby is worried about saving for retirement -- anybody else? He had a little money set aside for retirement before he became self employed, but since the economy tanked it has been harder to put away for retirement. We are a long ways off from retiring -- like 35 years. He worries and worries about it. I tell him to be grateful because our bills are paid on time, our family is healthy and happy, and we will get through this.

Last year, especially January - May, was EXTREMELY slow (a little depressing, actually). I am really hoping this year looks up for us. January is usually the slowest month for us and so far 2011 has been better. Through our struggles we have come away with a lot of ways to be more frugal.

Over at www.chickensintheroad.com, Suzanne has some great laundry detergent and homemade cleaner recipes. Deb - I put my egg money away to buy feed. Even if it doesn't completely cover the cost, it does help (I only have chickens, a dog, and a cat). Get new quotes for any insurance that you have -- car, home, health, renters etc. Chances are you can save some money yearly there, too. I grow a garden and can a lot of food. I put away food in the pantry and freezer throughout the better months so that if I had to, I can get away with just buying fresh veggies, fruit, and milk (spending about $20.00 or less) on a weekly basis, if need be.

Good luck to you! I hope you have a prosperous year!

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

Sound like there is a lot of great advice here.....the only problem with using it are a lot of excuses.

My DH and I both work full time...Myself or Mike cook all our meals at home....we both take our lunch to work...mostly leftovers.

We have crappy soil and alkaline water......we still have a garden that produces lots of veggies (raised beds), and I can tons of tomatoes in the fall.

DH has a cell phone for work....the company pays for it.....I do not have one....unlimited local and long distance on the home phone...around $40-60, depending on where you live.

Rent to own....take them back, buy used with cash until you can save for the ones you really like.

Put those Kids to work.......We both went to 4 year colleges and lived on our own while working crappy jobs.....it didn't kill us.

Get rid of some critters.....I am re-homing my chickens because right now they are not cost effective for me....maybe later.

Get rid of the cable, sat, internet...etc....get a deck of card, monopoly or what ever you can do as a family that doesn't cost half your paycheck. No one really needs all these things.


There are numerous other things you can do to reduce your weekly costs, but you have to be willing to do them. No excuses, just action....take control and get every ones arse in gear so you can live without so much worry.

 

[AngieChick]

Cable can get cut - my Dad was also a TV addict but they cut their cable and he has been fine with it. He just reads more, does his Sudoku, puts together puzzles while listening to music. After a short withdrawal time he is really glad that they did it.

Cel phones - would a Trac phone be cheaper? You would need to add up your minutes to check.

Groceries can be a great place to save. Very few things that come in a can are necessary. Soda/beer are both big money sinks and totally unnecessary luxuries. I don't know if you guys drink them, but if you do I would look to cut and start substituting with iced tea. One place you don't want to scrimp on in grocery shopping is fruits and veggies, cut down on meat first. You can make a lot of meals that stretch your meat but rely more heavily on veggies. You may not save money with it but you will feel better and the money will even out.

If this is a long term financial issue, you will want to look at someone in the household looking for part time employment or rehoming some animals. I know that both of these things are hard, but I can tell you from experience that even 5-10 hours a week at a part time job can make a huge difference to your bottom line.

If you are getting a tax return, look at buying some used appliances and returning the rent to own ones. You can pick up some good deals.

to the poster worried that car payments are a better deal than buying a used car and paying for repairs: that math rarely works out. I have two older cars. I carefully researched each one before buying them, they are each worth under $2000. In a bad year I might have to pay $1000 total to the repair shop. But that's in a bad year, most years I have paid nothing (knock on wood). If you can go 3 months without a $300 car payment, you will have $900 to set aside for potential repairs. Yes, there are lemons out there, but if you do your research you can do really really well picking up a solid cheap used car. I LOVE not having a car payment, it's well worth putting up with those little "quirks" that always appear in old vehicles.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We sold our cloths dryer a couple years ago, we never used it anyway and replaced it with a 2nd freezer. Put a timer on the hot water heater (it's on only about 5 hours a day now), programable thermostat on the heat/ac. Use the fireplace every night this time of year. Have a big garden and can/freeze every bit we can. Get a couple deer every year. Not counting our labor the poultry break even and the culls keep the freezer full. I can't even tell you the last time we bought meat in the store, don't buy veggies, keep the garden going year round. We do buy fruit when we can't grow it in the winter

. Eating out is rare, we both take our lunches to work. The price of lunch meat kept going up and up so we quit buying it. Chicken, egg, turkey salad is just as good. leftover sandwiches are fine with me and no doubt better for us. Every little bit helps and adds up.

Steve

 

[farmerlor]

I concur on disconnecting the internet. We live in the middle of nowhere so when we disconnected internet we ceased to have any TV at all and no one has even missed it! We replaced a 70 or 80 dollar satellite bill with a netflix subscription for 19 bucks. The kids can watch some movies on the computer and we get family movies in the mail to watch together.
My eight year old daughter is what we used to call a "brittle" diabetic so I HAVE to have a cell phone on me if I leave the house. The girl has seizures if her numbers get wonky so the school has to be able to reach me so we gave up our landline and now have only the cellphone. Can't say we're saving much money there since if we didn't have to have the cell the landline would still have been cheaper but before we had both phones and now it's just the one so some savings I guess. Next up I want to ditch the dryer and hang my clothes (or teach the kids to hang clothes

). School lunches were a huge expense this year as the prices have nearly doubled since we moved here 7 years ago so now the kids take their lunches. Greg takes his lunches when he can remember to actually put them in his car and I purposely make more than I need for a meal so I can eat leftovers for my lunches. And of course I can all year round so we have soups, sauces, meats and of course vegetables all sitting on the shelf waiting to be gobbled up by hungry kids.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I was reading through here because that was my first thought. One big advantage of owning an older car is the insurance. I haven't paid collision insurance in years, have only the minimum insurance that is required by law. Decent used cars that you paid cash for are far cheaper in the long run, at least have been for us, and we've done it both ways quite a few times. Helps that my son can do repairs himself that don't require special equipment, but really, even if you don[t know which end of a screwdriver is the business end, you come out ahead.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

My hubby does almost all our vehicle repairs. It saves big $$ and we aren't taking it back to the shop because it was done incorrectly. And, no, he didn't start out being a mechanic. He's become one, though, over the past few years of working on his truck. I am very thankful for him!!

 

[Carols Clucks]

Quote:
I use those CFL bulbs. The ones that cost too much but last 10 years.

Check at your local Home Depot, they were clearing out some of those cfl's for .27 each. (they were left over from a promotion)

Or if you know some one with a Costco card, they sell boxes of 10? for about $3

 

[debilorrah]

The rent to own stuff stays - I am not willing to live out of an ice chest and lug multiple loads of laundry to the laundromat that will wind up costing more than the machine. It was the only choice we had. When you have a child in the house, being without a fridge is not an option.

I love Mahonri's idea about the bags of soil to plant in. Our dirt here is the same as his and I gave my brother back his jack hammer, so no digging for me!!!!!

I believe I mentioned that our unemployment rate here is the worst in the state, and our state is just about the worst in the nation. Even crappy jobs are hard to come by. They DO look. The one kid that doesn't lie with us just found a job - it took him 2 years.

I have wanted a garden for a while and this is the month to get started, so I guess I am going to Lowe's this weekend for a few bags of soil and some stakes and ..... what can I use to keep the dogs outta the beds?