I have this question: Is the trickle down theory of economics anything like waterboarding?
I was watching various videos by the talking heads on the Internet this morning and it seems that the economic pundits think we have either reached bottom or may actually be on the upswing as it were. This is good news.
But why is it that those that got us into this mess (the banks too big to fail and the investment bankers) will be the first to benefit from this uptick? Don't get me wrong this is probably very good news for me because those that have money (those that did not lose it all) and will now benefit first are my customers as an artist. I will be part of the trickle down theory in action. At least I hope so.
But for the moment I am still in a very difficult financial position. Not as bad as some. I am making my bills if just. But come winter and increased heating costs . . . well, I am looking into low income assistance for that. But last night as I was trying to drop off to sleep and my mind was still running through the 400th permeation of my budget I had to wonder if this was like Chinese water torture. I am one of those formerly middle class that has never learned to work the system. And trying to learn how when sleep deprived is not helping.
I really am looking forward to putting all this behind me and being able to splurge on a t-shirt that says: Been there. Done that.
Let's see: I finally got the budget under control in February. Then, HP tells the husband to take a pay cut. Which was a huge relief because we were expecting lay-offs instead. So, I had to re-work the entire budget...again. Dropped the overpriced vehicle insurance, dropped cable and the DVR, re-worked the payments to the credit card folks, and we just got done re-financing the house to lower payments. Also, we trimmed the food budget by 50 bucks a week. It's become one of the easiest habits to keep up with now, as well as our little victory garden helping out with fresh vegetables. The husband quit smoking last month, so that's a few dollars more. I'm hoping that by June the budget will be resolved again...
ReplyDeleteWe're not as bad as some either, but not near as well-off as I was used to a couple of years ago. I'm just so proud of the habits I acquired from living with my Depression-era grandmother - they were incredibly easy to pick back up!
Yes, my parents were children during the depression but I think their parent's habits rubbed off. Mom always used salt and baking soda to brush teeth and it now has been proven that is healthier.
ReplyDeleteAnd until they lived in a neighborhood the forbid it Mother loved to hang clothes out on the line. Now that I have started doing that to save money and be green I find I really like doing it.
Giving up TV (have to have satellite to get it at all) has been the easiest. Love not being bombarded with commercials.
And when making spaghetti sauce recently I found myself adding a small amount of water to the can o get every last bit of the tomato paste or sauce from the can. Just seemed to come naturally.
Glad your husband was not laid off.
i read in a paper a few days ago that the experts over here in the land of oz think that we also are maybe coming out of the recession (they reckon we just have a few months to go). i am about to sign onto unemployment benefits but that's not exactly new for me.
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