have your spending habits changed since the bailout? how?
long ago, i read that if not for the holiday season spending, stores would all go belly up. the merchants said that the holidays are what keeps them in business at all.
and, do you remember that our economy practically fell apart when we had been attacked on 911? no one was out spending money, most definitely, not for air travel! this has had far reaching effects on air travel in general. bargains on airfare are long gone.
how has your spending changed since the bailout? do you spend less, or more?
or, what are your plans on buying for the holiday season? will you spend about as much as usual, or will you cut back? why? how will you cut back?
if you own a business, has the interest rate on your short term loans gone up? by how much? how is this affecting the way you spend to run your business? are you laying off members of your labor force? why?
who is now taking money from their money market account and buying commodities like silver and gold? you? why?
or, are you putting more money into savings? in what form (IRA, 401K, etc.), and why?
do you think you will buy a house as the prices drop? how about that car you’ve wanted? can you get the loan you need to buy it? or are you deferring buying it? why?
is it more likely now, after the bailout, that you will be laid off? or have you only heard rumors? are you frightened? what are you doing if you are frightened?
please let me know your age and location. i love elaborate answers! show me the how, when, why, where, and what.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I have been reducing spending for many months now. We didn’t take a real vacation. We only took one and I’m feeling it. I need a vacation, a real one. The one we took was with my stepkids who need attention 24/7. It’s exhausting. They want this and that. I handle the bills and the money. I can’t just tell them to shut up after I’ve had enough. I just continue to do everything I can to save money. I’m clipping coupons, recyling everything that can be recycled, paying off debt as quickly as possible (a lot of the debt was my husband’s), going without as much as possible, etc. I’m frustrated. I work hard. I’m educated. I should have a better life. I do well at work.
I was against the bailout and still am. There were too many unknowns. We never should have gone for deregulation. We seemed to have forgotten why they were in place. Idiots!
We have a house that we will keep. My car has long been paid off. I’m working at paying my husband’s car off. We both work. But my husband has been really irresponsible with his finances. I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But I have student debt now. I’ve been looking for a better paying job but of course have come up short. I’ll keep looking.
I’m in my thirties and live in the northeast. I’m getting increasingly frustrated with working harder and harder but continuing to lose ground. I really need a nice vacation. I’ve earned it. I was working and going to school and volunteering.
edit: My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I said nothing but more savings.
May 26th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
1) Yes, I remember when your economy went belly up. It was the year that Canada found out it no longer completely depended on your market to stay stable.
2) My spending habits haven’t changed. I still buy named brand ketchup, Wiser’s whisky, and the expensive toilet paper. You’re never too poor to buy expensive toilet paper.
3) I’ll continue to spend the same amount on holiday gifts. The people I buy for are people I’m willing to spend money on. People I’d cut back on have already been cut from my life (dead weight anyways)
4) Not applicable
5) I’ve always had a bit of money invested in gold. My money making stocks are gold exploration and potash. Since the market’s free fall, I’ve reinvested money in each. Take advantage of the plummet while you can.
6) My bonds / RRSP will continue to get a portion of my pay cheque. I like money.
7) I already did. Raised ranch style with a 3/4’s acre back yard (water front) for $80,000. Opportunities like that only come around once every 16 years (the end of the second term of a republican president’s run). I already own the car I want. Just got finished dropping a new engine in it.
If I’m laid off, whoop te do. I have 5 skill trades under my belt and there’s too many people out there who knows very little about the trades. On top of that, my investments make me a nice sum of money per week. And let’s not forget about side jobs. People will gladly hand me $500 to $10k in cash if they don’t have to pay taxes on it. Boss gets his, I get the rest (Usually $150.00 to $1500.00 a month, depending on the size of the job).
Where am I? Ontario, Canada. How old? 25. How do I do it? 154 IQ. Why? No one to spend money on except for myself (still saving up to spoil that special someone I’ll find one day). When? All the time. What? Gold exploration, RRSP and Bonds, potash, and HVAC is my trade.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:46 am
I saw this coming 2 years ago due to articles and discussions posted at.
This site is run by the Gold Anti-Trust Association (GATA), and there has been much valuable info on this site .detailing the criminal activities of the Fed and corporate elites.
As a result I bought silver when it was $7.50 an oz. I also put my retirement plans into precious metals stocks and Central Fund, which holds bullion in a vault to back its shares. I did that back in 2001 after the WTC event as I thought the markets would tumble. What has surprised me is the length of time the Powers-That-Be have managed to keep the markets propped up, and the precious metals prices capped.
Note: paper-gold and paper-silver ETF’s they may not have sufficient metal to fully back their paper, so do your research before getting involved with GLD and SLV.
So this bailout came as no real surprise. What I have been doing lately is spending my cash while it still has value. I believe that the purchasing power of all fiat currencies will take a nosedive in the near future, so I am buying non-perishable necessities, tools, seeds, and some items for bartering while I can.
The other thing I am doing since the rise in the price of gasoline is working-from-home more.
It appears that the multinational that I work for did not invest in the mortgage-backed securities or derivatives so they are in a good position and do not expect layoffs - or so they are saying right now - we shall see.
I am in my early 60’s and I live in the country about an hour’s drive outside of Toronto, Canada. So I was planning to retire in a few years anyway - perhaps it will be sooner…