Recessionista?

Now that we’re this far into the recession/depression, I’m curious. Are there ways your life has changed that you never could have imagined?

I know, I know. There IS the giving up and/or cutting back precipitously on Starbucks. THAT hurt, huh? I’ve confessed on earlier occasions how often Doug and I frequented that venerable establishment back when stocks were flying high and our future as old folks seemed as if it just might pan out. But now, well. Now things have changed.

One of the first things we did was cut back to once per week in the imbibing department. But you know what? It’s not exactly sacrificial living to only have lattes on Sunday, is it? I mean, sure we’re saving some money, but honestly. We needed to break that habit, and we can see that now.

But Starbucks withdrawal was just the beginning for us. Whether we had to trim our lifestyle and cut back on our monthly expenses or not, it became a game and a challenge that we embraced like we actually had good sense.

Since September, in fact, when the economy really hit the skids and the truth could no longer be hidden behind unopened brokerage statements, we’ve made tons of adjustments to our budget and, for the most part, stuck to our new plan with dedicated resolve. When we really started fine-toothing our line-by-line itemization of expenses, we found a shared veto power we did not know we possessed.

I think a cheaper bundling of cell phone, landline, and Internet was the first project we tackled. We’d already nixed cable, saving us $50 per month, but I am not able to do without a landline. Being completely deaf in one ear, it’s nearly impossible for me to hear on a cell phone and I simply can’t rely on it for adequate communication. We used to each have one, but why? We cut back to one shared cell, with not too many minutes since we truly hardly use it.

We also eliminated one of our two landlines, which we’d gotten because we both work at home and Doug did not want to miss calls. But isn’t that what CallNotes and the cell phone are for? Besides, with only one line, the landline makes a funny sound on our end when someone else is trying to call in, and we can see who it is on Caller ID. We saved maybe $30 per month adjusting this bundle, in addition to the $50 per month for canceling cable.

Then, around the first of the year, I got busy on insurance issues. We raised deductibles on our homeowners policy, knowing it would take a catastrophe at this point for us to make a claim and risk having our rates raised. Why have a $1000 deductible when you have no intention of ever making a small claim? It’s now $2500, a deductible we can self-insure for by having a beefed-up emergency fund. We have two older cars, and neither one carry full coverage anymore since we have the money saved to replace them when our hand is forced. And again, why pay extra for low deductibles when you would never make a small claim?

I’ll tell you what, when all those teen-aged and young adult drivers move out, you can bring your car insurance bill down to almost nothing! (Thank the Lord for small mercies, eh?)

Next up? Life insurance. Being self-employed, we are on our own with all types of insurance. But we realized that Doug’s policies needed to be structured differently. We may need some insurance for quite a few years into the future, especially with the state of our retirement accounts being what they are. In fact, the prospect of retiring completely from work is not on the radar screen right now. But Doug only had one large policy, and believe me, the premium is expensive. We decided to replace it with two smaller policies, staggered so that one will expire five years sooner than the other.

Not only will we pay less for these two policies than the current premium, but we’ll have insurance about five years further out into the future than we have now. AND when the shorter policy’s term runs out, we’ll have that monthly premium amount to add back into the household budget. A win-win!

You will think we are nuts, but I guess we were the Last Two People In America who still had fees associated with our personal and business checking accounts. Ridiculous, I know! With a well-worded plea, Bank of America dropped both the monthly charges. We’ve never used ATM machines, so those fees are a non-issue, and we don’t bounce checks, so no overdraft fees. But we were paying $45 per year for a bank box! Again, dumb on our parts.

In general, we got fed up with Bank of America and the bailouts. We decided to make the switch to a regional bank with excellent ratings and non-participation in government schemes. No fees whatsoever, free bank box, and an annual savings of beaucoup bucks. What the heck took us so long?

Finally, we’re refinancing our house. By using the same mortgage company we’re currently with (and because we have a very favorable loan-to-value ratio) we were able to avoid needing an appraisal and the paperwork has been radically streamlined. We currently have 11 years left on a 15 year mortgage at 5.875%. We opted for a 10-year at 4.625%, with almost no costs rolled into the loan. We don’t owe much money on our house at all, but this move alone will cut a year off the loan and save us more than $25,000 in interest, which I think is going to work out to about $250 per month.

We’ve made other adjustments, too, some big and some small. Everything from stringing a clothesline and using it, to planting a veggie garden and some fruit trees. It remains to be seen whether these changes save us money or cost us big-time! But I know for a fact that with the simple measures outlined above, we’ve cut expenses by well over $1000 per month since September. And these are sustainable cuts, ones that have not caused us pain or anguish—-only a bit of time (and sometimes frustration) to put them in place.

OK, to be completely honest about the pain, I guess the Starbucks thing still smarts a little. But I’m a big girl. I have a feeling I’ll live through it!

How about you? Care to share your experiences as you strive to thrive during this recession? Even though our income hasn’t been affected at all, I am thrilled with the incremental changes we’ve made to reign in our lifestyle. Enough, it’s been said, is as good as a feast.

Posted by Katy on 05/14/09 at 08:36 PM

Fallible Comments...

We canceled our cable, fired Bank of America to get free checking elsewhere, got our apt. mgr to lower our rent $50 a month upon renewal, limited eating out - and when we do, we share a dinner, no more impulse buying at Whole Foods, and no more cute little dogs for my dog. (She has way too many now!) I color my own hair now. However I will not give up my Intelligentsia Organic Black Cat Espresso and my 70% dark chocolate unless it is TEOTWAWKI for sure.
Posted by Suzan on 05/14/09 at 11:09 PM
I meant to say "toys" for my dog, sorry! LOL
Posted by Suzan on 05/14/09 at 11:12 PM
Katy! This is an article. You should query and submit it. Great stuff!
Posted by Mary DeMuth on 05/15/09 at 12:28 PM
Wow. That's great work, Katy. It's amazing how much change you can make in your life. You did great!!
Posted by Sandi Thompson on 05/15/09 at 11:44 PM
thank you man
Posted by said elmasry on 07/13/09 at 09:45 PM
$25,000 is a huge amount. It's a good thing you chose to lessen the years. You absolutely made the right decision.
Posted by Gary on 07/29/09 at 04:33 PM
We are all affected by recession. However, this global problem can help us to become wiser in making our decisions. Most especially when it's about money matters.
Posted by Raphael on 09/12/09 at 08:32 AM

Page 1 of 1 pages

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Next entry: Who Knew That When You Plant Seeds, Stuff Grows?

Previous entry: Because I'm So Fallible, You Might Win A Free Book!

<< Back to main


		more fallible attitude »

Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Recessionista? Now that we’re this far into the recession/depression, I’m curious. Are there ways your life has changed that you never could have imagined? I know, I know. There IS the giving up and/or cutting back precipitously on Starbucks. THAT hurt, huh? I’ve confessed on earlier occasions how often Doug and I frequented that venerable establishment back when stocks were flying high and our future as old folks seemed as if it just might pan out. But now, well. Now things have changed. One of the first things we did was cut back to once per week in the imbibing department. But you know what? It’s not exactly sacrificial living to only have lattes on Sunday, is it? I mean, sure we’re saving some money, but honestly. We needed to break that habit, and we can see that now. But Starbucks withdrawal was just the beginning for us. Whether we had to trim our lifestyle and cut back on our monthly expenses or not, it became a game and a challenge that we embraced like we actually had good sense. Since September, in fact, when the economy really hit the skids and the truth could no longer be hidden behind unopened brokerage statements, we’ve made tons of adjustments to our budget and, for the most part, stuck to our new plan with dedicated resolve. When we really started fine-toothing our line-by-line itemization of expenses, we found a shared veto power we did not know we possessed. I think a cheaper bundling of cell phone, landline, and Internet was the first project we tackled. We’d already nixed cable, saving us $50 per month, but I am not able to do without a landline. Being completely deaf in one ear, it’s nearly impossible for me to hear on a cell phone and I simply can’t rely on it for adequate communication. We used to each have one, but why? We cut back to one shared cell, with not too many minutes since we truly hardly use it. We also eliminated one of our two landlines, which we’d gotten because we both work at home and Doug did not want to miss calls. But isn’t that what CallNotes and the cell phone are for? Besides, with only one line, the landline makes a funny sound on our end when someone else is trying to call in, and we can see who it is on Caller ID. We saved maybe $30 per month adjusting this bundle, in addition to the $50 per month for canceling cable. Then, around the first of the year, I got busy on insurance issues. We raised deductibles on our homeowners policy, knowing it would take a catastrophe at this point for us to make a claim and risk having our rates raised. Why have a $1000 deductible when you have no intention of ever making a small claim? It’s now $2500, a deductible we can self-insure for by having a beefed-up emergency fund. We have two older cars, and neither one carry full coverage anymore since we have the money saved to replace them when our hand is forced. And again, why pay extra for low deductibles when you would never make a small claim? I’ll tell you what, when all those teen-aged and young adult drivers move out, you can bring your car insurance bill down to almost nothing! (Thank the Lord for small mercies, eh?) Next up? Life insurance. Being self-employed, we are on our own with all types of insurance. But we realized that Doug’s policies needed to be structured differently. We may need some insurance for quite a few years into the future, especially with the state of our retirement accounts being what they are. In fact, the prospect of retiring completely from work is not on the radar screen right now. But Doug only had one large policy, and believe me, the premium is expensive. We decided to replace it with two smaller policies, staggered so that one will expire five years sooner than the other. Not only will we pay less for these two policies than the current premium, but we’ll have insurance about five years further out into the future than we have now. AND when the shorter policy’s term runs out, we’ll have that monthly premium amount to add back into the household budget. A win-win! You will think we are nuts, but I guess we were the Last Two People In America who still had fees associated with our personal and business checking accounts. Ridiculous, I know! With a well-worded plea, Bank of America dropped both the monthly charges. We’ve never used ATM machines, so those fees are a non-issue, and we don’t bounce checks, so no overdraft fees. But we were paying $45 per year for a bank box! Again, dumb on our parts. In general, we got fed up with Bank of America and the bailouts. We decided to make the switch to a regional bank with excellent ratings and non-participation in government schemes. No fees whatsoever, free bank box, and an annual savings of beaucoup bucks. What the heck took us so long? Finally, we’re refinancing our house. By using the same mortgage company we’re currently with (and because we have a very favorable loan-to-value ratio) we were able to avoid needing an appraisal and the paperwork has been radically streamlined. We currently have 11 years left on a 15 year mortgage at 5.875%. We opted for a 10-year at 4.625%, with almost no costs rolled into the loan. We don’t owe much money on our house at all, but this move alone will cut a year off the loan and save us more than $25,000 in interest, which I think is going to work out to about $250 per month. We’ve made other adjustments, too, some big and some small. Everything from stringing a clothesline and using it, to planting a veggie garden and some fruit trees. It remains to be seen whether these changes save us money or cost us big-time! But I know for a fact that with the simple measures outlined above, we’ve cut expenses by well over $1000 per month since September. And these are sustainable cuts, ones that have not caused us pain or anguish—-only a bit of time (and sometimes frustration) to put them in place. OK, to be completely honest about the pain, I guess the Starbucks thing still smarts a little. But I’m a big girl. I have a feeling I’ll live through it! How about you? Care to share your experiences as you strive to thrive during this recession? Even though our income hasn’t been affected at all, I am thrilled with the incremental changes we’ve made to reign in our lifestyle. Enough, it’s been said, is as good as a feast. Posted by Katy on 05/14/09 at 08:36 PM Fallible Comments... We canceled our cable, fired Bank of America to get free checking elsewhere, got our apt. mgr to lower our rent $50 a month upon renewal, limited eating out - and when we do, we share a dinner, no more impulse buying at Whole Foods, and no more cute little dogs for my dog. (She has way too many now!) I color my own hair now. However I will not give up my Intelligentsia Organic Black Cat Espresso and my 70% dark chocolate unless it is TEOTWAWKI for sure. Posted by Suzan on 05/14/09 at 11:09 PM I meant to say "toys" for my dog, sorry! LOL Posted by Suzan on 05/14/09 at 11:12 PM Katy! This is an article. You should query and submit it. Great stuff! Posted by Mary DeMuth on 05/15/09 at 12:28 PM Wow. That's great work, Katy. It's amazing how much change you can make in your life. You did great!! Posted by Sandi Thompson on 05/15/09 at 11:44 PM thank you man Posted by said elmasry on 07/13/09 at 09:45 PM $25,000 is a huge amount. It's a good thing you chose to lessen the years. You absolutely made the right decision. Posted by Gary on 07/29/09 at 04:33 PM We are all affected by recession. However, this global problem can help us to become wiser in making our decisions. Most especially when it's about money matters. Posted by Raphael on 09/12/09 at 08:32 AM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: Who Knew That When You Plant Seeds, Stuff Grows? Previous entry: Because I'm So Fallible, You Might Win A Free Book! << Back to main


copyright 2011, ngenius media inc.

Personal blog of christianwriter & fallible momKaty McKenna Raymondin Kansas City, Missouri

Recent Posts

Search

Syndicate

Recessionista?

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri