Paying Bills

[EverSoDull]

Good Lord!

I am making the same income as last year but it is not going far enough. Last year I had enough money left over after paying bills and buying food and such that I even bought cool stuff like things to fish with. I took a Jan. trip to Hatteras.

This year I don't have enough left after paying bills to even to buy enough food to feed my family. WTF is going on, gas is down but eggs, milk and meat is way up.

We have cut both our oil and electric use by 25-50% but that has not helped.... Not even a little bit.... I am even rolling my own smokes.... and drinking the cheapest beer I can find... Yuck!

Is this someone’s master plan coming to fruition or just my dumb luck?

Good Luck
:fishing:

[racewire20]

Hold tight, Obama is gonna take care of it!!

[AtlantaKing]

To call this someone's master plan, especially the .gov's master plan is a bit far fetched (and giving the .gov way too much credit for the brains necessary ;):rolleyes:). It's a bit of bad luck on your part and the fallout of several factors (overinflated housing prices, highly speculated gas prices, property taxes, etc.)

The food/groceries/beer/whatever was most likely grown, processed and transported with last summer's gas, which was at a crazy high. This effect impacts a lot of things, and until the wave is ridden out, it'll remain high. Luckily, with gas prices and associated expenses falling, things will float back down.

One way to progress further on your savings plan is to make an itemized list of your expenses by month and analyze it. Take a look at the things that are costing you the most and see if you can cut back on those. Obviously, you can't cut back on car payments or a mortgage, but things like excess cell phones, "combo" cable packages, Netflix and the like are expensive and can be cut back. Cutting a $100/month cable bill by 50% and watching 100 channels instead of 200 is certainly better than cutting your electric bill in half and only having the lights on from 7pm-9pm.

Good luck to you and hope 2009 will turn out better. :)

[eric]

lol your gonna need to thank the clown obama and out new govt. very very soon..
im pretty sure this new 700 gazilliontrillon $ stimulus is reallllllly gonna help us.
ya, its gonna definitely help us. right, right, :in a very obvious sarcastic voice:

your gonna need to switch to coal to actually save money soon.
****, if i had time. id change the furnace and the water heater to coal..
install a windmill, and solar panels outside.
i also recommend growing the veggies, and putting up a chicken house outside.

[jhmorgan]

Iv heard the same thing from a lot of people. Its also the same reason that many many many people are getting second jobs (either after work or weekends). Even a low paying second job, say $7-10 per hour for about 20-25 hours a week, can really help in times like these. I know its not the best option, but Id rather have that extra $140-250 extra a week, rather than sit at home during those hours becuase I cant afford to do anything fun anyways. Good luck to ya, theres always light at the end of the tunnel.

[basstardo]

One way to progress further on your savings plan is to make an itemized list of your expenses by month and analyze it. Take a look at the things that are costing you the most and see if you can cut back on those. Obviously, you can't cut back on car payments or a mortgage, but things like excess cell phones, "combo" cable packages, Netflix and the like are expensive and can be cut back. Cutting a $100/month cable bill by 50% and watching 100 channels instead of 200 is certainly better than cutting your electric bill in half and only having the lights on from 7pm-9pm.

That's some very sound advice right there. I've been keeping records for two years now in spreadsheets for monthly bills, expenses, savings, etc. We've trimmed a TON of fat from our budget and it's really paid off. Start keeping receipts and you'd be surprised where some of your money is going.

[emanuel]

Probably going to jinx myself but I'm doing better in the last few months than I have in years.

[RuddeDogg]

Made close to 60K last year and withh Boss Dogg being down and out it's been really tough. A whole lot different then when our parents were amkin the bacon.

[dood]

your gonna need to switch to coal to actually save money soon.
****, if i had time. id change the furnace and the water heater to coal..
install a windmill, and solar panels outside.


sounds pretty cool. how do i change my water heater to coal?

[EverSoDull]

That is a great avatar Emanuel, I have been trying to change mine to Dr. Horrible for several weeks but it just won't take.

Just for the record I dropped my cell phone in Oct. 08 and I cut my Satellite TV bill in Jan.... I don't even have long distance calls allowed on my home phone anymore....

I'm trying... The world just ain't working with me....

PS Emanuel… The Pan Handle is not a cheep place to visit so I’ll look forward to fishing with you in the future but this year is out of the question. I do so hope to hear about all I have missed by not being there….Catch them and tell us about it..... Just to inspire me and such;-)

Good Luck
:fishing:

Probably going to jinx myself but I'm doing better in the last few months than I have in years.

[lil red jeep]

lol your gonna need to thank the clown obama and out new govt. very very soon..
im pretty sure this new 700 gazilliontrillon $ stimulus is reallllllly gonna help us.
ya, its gonna definitely help us. right, right, :in a very obvious sarcastic voice:

your gonna need to switch to coal to actually save money soon.
****, if i had time. id change the furnace and the water heater to coal..
install a windmill, and solar panels outside.
i also recommend growing the veggies, and putting up a chicken house outside.

I think everyone, certainly my family, are feeling the pinch right now. Two employees of local government, and both in jobs unlikely to see layoffs, the money just doesn't go as far as it once did.

Knowing I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I can't help but wonder what it is about Obama's stimulus package that is so bad. Compared to previous bailout packages that went unregulated to the financial and insurance companies, I think these proposals are at least an attempt to put the money back into the economy and not into huge bonuses to those who drove companies into the dirt. I agree that the whole idea of instantly switching to coal and solar and wind power is pie in the sky, but if jobs are created in those industries to make those viable alternatives, isn't that a step in the right direction?

[lil red jeep]

That is a great avatar Emanuel

I didn't see that one in the theater, but bought the dvd for Christmas, and my wife won't watch it. Thinks Slater is just too creepy to watch. If he doesn't get best supporting actor, he will be robbed! Awesome character.

[OBX_Nomad]

We're only six weeks into the new year and you claim it's already worse than last year? That makes absolutely so sense. AND we're only a month into Obama's first term and it's already his fault. Be real folks.

[Talapia]

Good Lord!

I am making the same income as last year but it is not going far enough. Last year I had enough money left over after paying bills and buying food and such that I even bought cool stuff like things to fish with. I took a Jan. trip to Hatteras.

This year I don't have enough left after paying bills to even to buy enough food to feed my family. WTF is going on, gas is down but eggs, milk and meat is way up.

We have cut both our oil and electric use by 25-50% but that has not helped.... Not even a little bit.... I am even rolling my own smokes.... and drinking the cheapest beer I can find... Yuck!

Is this someone’s master plan coming to fruition or just my dumb luck?

Good Luck
:fishing:

No offense but you say that you don't have enough to feed your family
and you are still buying beer and tobacco products????

[OBX_Nomad]

No offense but you say that you don't have enough to feed your family
and you are still buying beer and tobacco products????


Important things first!

[dirtyhandslopez]

The good thing about always not having much money to play with is thats things don't seem much different now;):)

[redneckranger]

money whats that?

[BubbaHoTep]

Hey ESD, we are feeling pinched right now, too. We've had a cold winter, plus our electric costs (AEP) have SKYROCKETED with that rate increase. One of the reasons we bought this house is because it was framed with 2X6's and is very well-insulated. Our electric bills in winter had been very reasonable up until this year, but the last two months have gone out the roof! Our homeowners insurance saw about a 15 percent increase when it came due in November, too - statewide across-the-board. My wife and I are covered on the medical plan at my work, and I've already been told that our premium will go up about $100/month come summer.

I sure hope things turn around for the better, because I also try to put away a little bit to indulge myself with some fishing gear or some computer stuff from time to time.

[Mark55]

my daughter fell the other night. it required a trip to the ER. in the past my insurance had a $50 copay for the ER. that was what i expected to pay. well a lady walks in after having got my insurance info and states that my insurance now has a $150 ER copay and a $275 deductible. I had to pay $425 to walk out. This after the company i work for required employees with spouses who worked and had access to insurance to get their employers insurance not matter what the cost. that took nearly $150 a month from our income. oh. not to mention, that earlier in the day of the day my daughter went to the ER i looked at my account and said to myself that i had some extra money so i ordered a new OM rod from Greg's Bait Shack. Later that day I was sitting in the ER writing a $425 check! i hate it but at least my daughter is doing better. the company i work for is also closing down an additional 15 days between now and the end of june. of course these aren't paid either. is it ever gonna get any better?

[shaggy]

We're only six weeks into the new year and you claim it's already worse than last year? That makes absolutely so sense. AND we're only a month into Obama's first term and it's already his fault. Be real folks.

Dang and Irrational exuberence became Bush's fault. Oh, and the terrorist attack, that was his too.

Get real

Yeah sounds like more of the same, less of CHANGE

Dang from what I hear from bamma. it be sucking to be a white dude

[lil red jeep]

Dang and Irrational exuberence became Bush's fault. Oh, and the terrorist attack, that was his too.

Get real

Yeah sounds like more of the same, less of CHANGE

Dang from what I hear from bamma. it be sucking to be a white dude

Did it take you long to develope into the genius you are? You are really something. I'm not allowed to tell you here what I think you are, but you are something.:rolleyes::popcorn:

[OBX_Nomad]

LRJ, a friend used to say that it's better to be thought of as an idiot than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

Have you ever heard that Shaggy?

[BubbaHoTep]

LRJ, a friend used to say that it's better to be thought of as an idiot than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

Have you ever heard that Shaggy?

Wow, you are/were friends with Mark Twain? How old ARE you, Nomad???? :D:D:D

Or are you caught in that time-space thing like the folks on Lost? :D Speaking of Lost, there's another new episode tonight!

[OBX_Nomad]

Old enough to know better, too young to resist.


Okay, off to watch LOST.

[RuddeDogg]

We're only six weeks into the new year and you claim it's already worse than last year? That makes absolutely so sense. AND we're only a month into Obama's first term and it's already his fault. Be real folks.

Let's not forget that EVERY president before our current President has INHERITED the problems good and bad from the one before him. I didn't vote for him. But there is no way you can put the BLAME on just one President. THAT...dosen't make sense.

[lil red jeep]

Let's not forget that EVERY president before our current President has INHERITED the problems good and bad from the one before him. I didn't vote for him. But there is no way you can put the BLAME on just one President. THAT...dosen't make sense.

I think you are exactly right, and if Shaggy inherited his problems that is one messed up family tree!:--|

[RuddeDogg]

I voutch for Brother shaggy. He's good people.