How is your life different this spring, as opposed to last spring (before the crash)?
Clarification: Has your salary decreased, have you changed careers, has your bank closed? I'm looking for external stimuli, not how you have modified your lifestyle.
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M$3 Answers
Our credit union is just fine--actually looking for people to lend to. We're about to sell two of our cars, buy a used one--our money will go much further than it would have last summer--and fix the newest one.
I guess you could say my husband losing his job was the biggest impact, but he wanted out of there. And now he's developing his skills further. We don't live in a housing bubble area and honestly were astounded several years ago at the insanity of other areas. Our home hasn't lost value and our mortgage interest rate has dropped. I just noticed today that prices in groceries are dropping. Thanks to those things and the price of gas going down, our monthly budget looks about like it did when he still had a job! And obviously he needs to get another job, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
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M$
Salary has not decreased. Have not changed careers. Bank is still doing fine. Did lose about $4000 in retirement stocks, but waiting for that to come back. Very grateful that I decided to keep my money in passbook account instead of buying into a mutual fund.
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M$The rise in gas prices last spring/summer changed by driving habits so that I usually fill the car once a week, instead of twice.
We cut back on the satellite subscription, shaving $15 off per month.
I don't use a monthly RT pass anymore, as buying tickets is half the cost. Validating the ticket before boarding is not a big problem.
We trade food with one another - eggs for coffee beans, for instance. We re-started preserving our food last year, and are expanding the practice this year. The garden is a big deal, both in entertainment and pride of production.
Instead of travelling, we're spending any extra money by improving infrastructure. The chickens need a new coop, for instance, and I'd like to get a more solid barbeque to replace the shaky old gas grill we have.
In general, we're more fiscally conservative, but looking out for our friends and family more.
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M$
Thanks...okay, with the clarification. Yes, my salary has decreased. I work part-time as an analyst for the State, so the furlough affects me. My husband is a contractor, so income has been pretty lean for him, too. We're both licensed brokers, so (as our neighbors laughed last month) we're just "rollin' in the dough!"
And regulators are looking closely at the bank in which we have our business accounts. They have until May 21 to improve their balance sheet. If they don't, my guess they'll be part of an upcoming "Bank Failure Friday."
I understand CalPers - my retirement fund - took a pretty good hit behind their real estate investment portfolio, but it seems to be survivable.
And, as I stated above, our friends have all been hit hard, an external stimulus that changes our lifestyle.
I didn't word my question very well. Take a look at the clarification I added to the question.
