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STRATEGY #9 TO SURVIVE A DOWN ECONOMY
By Kevin M
In the best of times, borrowing seems to be a sensible way to get the things we want but can’t afford to purchase in full right now, but we’re sure we can tackle later with a predictably increasing income stream.
But when economic fortunes shift into low gear—as they are now—the same debt accumulated during better times can become a heavier burden, even one which is impossible to bear. Other than paying debt down and eventually off completely, there isn’t much we can do about the debt already accumulated. But the Great Recession should be a wake up call to all who might have come to view debt as a traveling companion in life.
In 10 Ways To Survive a Down Economy (published on Christianpf.com June 1) we listed ten strategies to help you deal with the bad economy. Our topic for today, Strategy #9:
”Envision a future without debt, and then pursue it.” Gradually pay down—then pay off—your debt. This includes your mortgage. It should go without saying that lowering your cost of living will be a crucial element in this effort as well. (Are you noticing a pattern?)”
Is that even possible any more?
Continue reading Envision a Future Without Debt →
STRATEGY #8 TO SURVIVE A DOWN ECONOMY
By Kevin M
A robust bank account has traditionally been considered to be a desirable asset to have, even a sign of prosperity. But in the past 20-30 years, with easy credit and almost predictable double digit returns in the stock market, conventional thinking came to view traditional savings as boring and unproductive. Being “fully invested” became the new mantra.
But given the current state of the economy, and of credit in particular, it’s a good bet that many people followed the new directive to their own detriment. Alas, credit lines can be shut down like a faucet, and stocks and mutual funds are really speculative investments and not true savings.
In 10 Ways To Survive a Down Economy (published on Christianpf.com June 1) we listed ten strategies to help you deal with the bad economy. Our topic for today, Strategy #8:
”Accumulate savings. Make it a lifetime activity. This is the best insurance you can have against sudden income disruptions. At the risk of being redundant, you will need to lower your cost of living in order to do this.”
Previous generations viewed savings as a necessary part of survival, almost as important as earning a living itself. But today is a new world, with new rules—or is it?
Continue reading Savings as a Survival Strategy →
STRATEGY #7 TO SURVIVE A DOWN ECONOMY
By Kevin M
In 10 Ways To Survive a Down Economy (published on Christianpf.com June 1) we listed ten strategies to help you deal with the bad economy. Our topic for today, Strategy #7:
Reduce your cost of living. What ever level you’re at, this effort will be crucial in the years ahead, much more so than it’s been in the past. Don’t assume a quick return to the easy money debt of the recent past will once again make thrift unnecessary. That thinking is a huge part of how the economy landed where it is now.
Simply put, it may be time to lower our sights in regard to our standard of living. Does that mean we lower our goals and make a conscious choice to accept a lesser life? Not at all! It would be better to say that it’s time to transfer our aspirations away from acquisition of the things we hope to own, and redirect ourselves toward goals in careers, savings and life in general.
Our lives after all, are what we do, not what we own.
Continue reading Reduce Your Cost of Living and Thrive →
By Kevin M
Back on July 30th, Trent Hamm of The Simple Dollar ran a post John’s “Campground” – Some Thoughts on Investing with Added Personal Value. Rarely in my life have I been so intrigued at the life and philosophy of a person I don’t even know, but John is a virtual revolutionary against the backdrop of the world as we know it in the 21st century. Not a throw back mind you, but a man or ordinary means charting his own course in a world that’s going in the opposite direction.
Trent has many interesting observations about his best friend, all well worth reading on his site, but my take on him veers in a somewhat different direction. What ever anyone’s observations of him, John is a compelling person, and there is much to be learned from his story.
Continue reading Imagine Being Owned By No One… →
Kevin M
Expense Reduction Strategies Forum–We’re taking on this weekly forum as a way of exchanging ideas to help lower the cost of living. This includes expense reduction and elimination, but goes beyond, even to include lifestyle changes that may bring savings on a number of fronts. Ideas on ways to cut personal, household or business expenses are welcome!
On July 20th in this space we talked about using a diet as a way to save some money (Is Now A Good Time To Go On A Diet?). As most of us understand, typical diet plans are expensive, requiring membership in the diet program, the purchase of healthier but more expensive foods, or even the purchase of food and meals directly from the diet sponsor. But our plan actually saved money and was infinitely more basic: diet by eating less food!
In this week’s edition of the Expense Reduction Strategies Forum, I’d like to take the health/expense reduction connection to the next level. We can save money and improve health by eating less, but even greater payoffs, both financial and in the quality of our lives, can be had by going even farther, by realizing a reduction in living expenses by taking better care of our overall health.
Continue reading Save Money By Taking Better Care of Yourself →
By Kevin M
We’re taking on this weekly forum as a way of exchanging ideas to help lower the cost of living. This includes expense reduction and elimination, but goes beyond, even to include lifestyle changes that may bring savings on a number of fronts. Ideas on ways to cut personal, household or business expenses are welcome!
Hopefully, at this point, we’ve all learned that memberships and subscriptions mostly benefit the merchant by keeping us on board as loyal customers, whether or not we actually use what it is we’ve paid for.
If you’re a heavy user of a certain service, a subscription or membership can prove to be a real cost advantage. But never assume you’re saving money just because you’re in the plan. More significantly, if you have several subscriptions and memberships, it’s highly unlikely that you’re getting much benefit from all or even most of them.
Continue reading Eliminate Little Used Subscriptions and Memberships →
By Kevin M
We’re taking on this weekly forum as a way of exchanging ideas to help lower the cost of living. This includes expense reduction and elimination, but goes beyond, even to include lifestyle changes that may bring savings on a number of fronts. Ideas on ways to cut personal, household or business expenses are welcome!
This weeks suggestions:
Is it time to go on a diet? It’s unfortunate that most diet plans require that we buy food that’s actually more expensive than the kind we eat when we’re not dieting. On some plans, where you have to purchase prepared foods directly from the plan sponsor, it can be dramatically higher. At a minimum, most diets require that you change your food consumption to include more lean meats, fish, fresh produce and other food types that may be good for the waistline, but a disaster for the household budget.
Continue reading Is Now A Good Time To Go On A Diet? →
By Kevin M
The cost of living has been rising relentlessly for decades, and while we tend to notice it less during the good times, it all hits home hard in times like these. Forget the official numbers that deny the existence of inflation, if you’re middle class, working class, a struggling business owner, and especially if you’re retired, you know the real story from the trenches on the front lines.
Sure food costs have been bouncing up and down in a range, and gas prices are about 40% lower than they were a year ago at this time, but what about everything else? What about property taxes, utilities, health insurance and all things education related? What about movie tickets, theme parks, medical co-pays and car repairs? Our auto insurance just increased by more than 20% because of state mandated add-ons to cover uninsured motorists. 20%–in 2009—how’s that for timing?
Continue reading What Are We Doing to Lower Our Cost of Living? →
By Kevin M
If you’re serious about reining in your household expenses, shopping in thrift stores is an option that needs to be investigated. Thrift stores offer an opportunity to buy clothing for pennies on the dollar compared with the cost of retail. Shirts $2, pants $4, typical! If you work in a business where mode of dress is a major issue, or you have a family who seem to burn through clothes with each turn of the seasons, saving money on clothing could be a major boost for your budget, and thrift stores are the perfect place to do it.
The Basic Setup
If you’re new to thrift stores and accustomed to the shopping experience provided by mall stores and prime retailers, they can be a bit of shock. Usually they’re set in shopping centers that are best described as less than prime, and the stores tend to have something of a bare bones look. This is of course as it needs to be; in order to offer the lowest prices, thrift stores cannot operate in triple A space. But if you can get past the store’s appearance there are true bargains to be had.
Continue reading A Thriftier Way to Dress →
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General: Any information in regard to money, credit, personal finance, or in regard to any other monetary topic, provided or shared on OutOfYourRut.com is presented for information and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. It is intended to provide general information only and does not constitute personal financial advice in regard to your specific circumstances...MORE-->
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