The media and government spin doctors are using phrases like "to avoid a recession" and "could lead to recession", as if we are not yet in a recession and have the power to change our fate. I have seen the graphs that say that unemployment rates have been holding steady over the past year. And that the consumer price index is only 3% higher than it was last year. And yet, my house payment has gone up 20% in the last year despite two federal intrest rate decreases, and the house's value has now depreciated to below what we paid for it. We spend litterally 12% of our income on gasoline for our vehicles, to get us back and forth to work, so we can earn more money, to buy more gas. The only way to describe the cost of food is "out of control."
This is the first time since I was a kid that a failing economy has forced me to change the way I live. We're dipping into our entertainment budget to cover bills. No more dinners out, movies, no more shopping trips. We've taken to riding our bikes everywhere except shopping and work and we're entertaining our kids with trips to the park, basketball, dvds, walking the dog, and other things you do for free. We're turning our lights off and keeping our air-conditioner higher than we'd like. We're using fans. We're even using reyclable shopping bags. Saves a nickel. And we're eating cheap. Lots of waffles, mac n cheese, and hamburger helper. The kids are not taking it well. We used to be able to provide something everyone liked for dinner. Now we tell them "you'll eat what we make or you'll go hungry." I sound like my mother every time those words leave my lips.
We don't pay for things like cable television or a land-line phone. We've got a library full of books, and a great cell phone family plan, and internet, so there's no need for these, and we figure, that saves us hundreds of dollars a month. We initially thought that it would give us hundreds a month to put into savings or entertainment, but not in this economy.
It's not all sour though. We're living far cleaner than we have in the last decade. We're more concerned about the enviornment, so using less energy makes us feel good. We're eating out less, we're even eating the less expensive turkey hamburger, which is better for your heart. I've got to say, I love when being thrifty coincides with making good health and enviornment choices. With all the bike riding we're all getting into shape. And the kids, bored from lack of new toys and movies, are rediscovering old toys, playing outside, and great movies they never liked before. Watching the entire Planet of the Apes collection with them was awesome and they're currently very into Doctor Who.
But I'd like to know -- with the impact this economic turn has had on me personally, in my quiet sheltered small kansas town, how can it not be considered a recession? And how are other people handling it? I couldn't imagine being a single parent right now, or a struggling young lower paid couple. How are they even surviving?
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