Is anyone else out there scared about the economy?

[cheese_diva]

Just a thought for those who's home value has dropped (I'm guessing everyone that owns), we wrote a letter to our tax assessor to have our home value adjusted to a lower amount in turn lowering our tax rate for the year. May seem silly to do but the house will be reassessed when we sell and as much as I'd like to stay in denial about how much it's gone down in value, it helps to save a few hundred a year on the taxes we owe.

 

In fact, yesterday in the mail I received an offer from a company that would do the same thing I did for free, but they were charging $95 for the service.

 

We were planning on moving this year or next but instead have chosen to buckle down and stay 5 more years until things sort themselves out. We have an interest only loan that resets next year but thank goodness we bought a house (tiny) that we could afford and didn't listen to them when they tried to lend us $150,000 more than we asked for. We're going to try to refinance in the next few months pending on rates.

[Jessica]

I try not to let it bother me.

 

Although I'm always sort of stresed financially just because Brian is soooo not good with money. We had a nice emergency fund in our joint savings and he managed to plow through it all in a month (it was about $10,000) and needless to say that caused a MAJOR fight with us. I've tried to take over the financial aspect of the household, but it's hard because it does all go ino the joint account (although we also both have our own seperate accounts) so Brian can easily transfer funds to his account. I like to have my own safety net with my own account, but since not working (but still having to pay credit card bills) that net is pretty close to nothing.

 

So that definitely stresses me out although it has less to do with the economy and more to do with Brian's loose spending habits.

 

However because of his spending habits (he tends to blow money on crap we totally don't need) things like rising gas and food prices, etc are becoming more of an issue. He has good job security but you never know. I always like to have a backup and that's sort of been hard to do when you have a spouse who's totally irresponsible with money. And yes I've tried to put him on a budget!

[Nrvsbride]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian I try not to let it bother me. Although I'm always sort of stresed financially just because Brian is soooo not good with money. We had a nice emergency fund in our joint savings and he managed to plow through it all in a month (it was about $10,000) and needless to say that cased a MAJOR fight with us. I've tried to ake over the financial aspect of the household, but it's hard because it does all go ino the joint account (although we also both have our own seperate accounts) so Brian can easily transfer funds to his account. I like to have my own safety net with my own account, but since not working (but still having to pay credit card bills) that net is pretty close to nothing. So that definitely stresses me out although it has less to do with the economy and more to do with Brian's loose spending habits. However because of his spending habits (he tends to blow money on crap we totally don't need) things like rising gas and food prices, etc are becoming more of an issue. He has good job security but you never know. I always like to have a backup and that's sort of been hard to do when you have a spouse who's totally irresponsible with money. And yes I've tried to put him on a budget!

Welcome to my world! I swear James buys a DVD every other day. If he buys one more DVD I am going to cut his hands off. Hamurabi's code is going to come back into full effect in my house. LOL.

[trance_angelx0x]

So I'm not the only one with this problem LOL. I need a bedroom just for the DVDs he owns!

[JennyK]

It's not necessarily scaring me but it's pissing me off! I see it as a bubble.. eventually it'll burst and everything will go back to normal.. although I still think it's gonna be worse than it is now.

[1elephant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nrvsbride Welcome to my world! I swear James buys a DVD every other day. If he buys one more DVD I am going to cut his hands off. Hamurabi's code is going to come back into full effect in my house. LOL.

lol, in that respect, i'm lucky that we have seperate accounts. when business went sour for dh a few months ago, the first thing he stopped buying were dvds ... now he just d/ls them and watches on his iphone....

as far as the economy, my job as a teacher is secure, but you guys know what i went thru a few weeks ago when dh started his new position...his old position basically became null as the economy went sour...

those of you saying it should get better next year, why do you say so soon? i only ask b/c there are so many conflicting reports and am curious as to why you feel the way you do...

[Kat81]

OK girls... here is a little hillbilly info that might explain the cost of flour, wheat etc,

They are trying to make fuel out of ethanol, which I am sure you know. In doing so they have to produce tons and tons of corn. To produce the corn like they need to, they need a lot of fertilizer. The fertilizer nationwide is being shipped to the midwest for the corn. In turn it makes the fertilizer hard to get. So, the farmers that were use to paying 125 a ton for fertilizer are now having to pay 500 a ton for it. A lot of farmers CAN'T do that. So, they are either getting out of the farming business or paying it and increasing their prices to cover the cost of it. So, after we factor in the increase in the farmers expense and the increase in fuel to get the produce where it needs to go, that explains the super high prices. If you notice meat is also going up. The same principles apply. The farmer needs fertilzer for hay, it's so high they either have to pay it or supplement with feed. Well, feed is made with wheat and corn and soy beans. All of which have skyrocketed.

I understand the reason for making ethanol, but really it is what started this whole mess.

[Kathie]

Cheese Diva - you should come out to the east coast, you can still get gas at a bargain price of $3.99!

 

Seriously, it is very scary.

[Jessica]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nrvsbride Welcome to my world! I swear James buys a DVD every other day. If he buys one more DVD I am going to cut his hands off. Hamurabi's code is going to come back into full effect in my house. LOL.

LOL. As I was writing that I thought... I know Glenda can relate!

[Kathie]

My FI and I have tried to change our spending habits, especially trying to save for a wedding. I now take the T into work instead of the commuter rail and it saves me $90 a month. We stopped going out to eat a couple times a week too. I was shocked at how much money we spend at restaurants/bars a month.

 

Let's all hope this goes away soon, maybe when we get a new Pres.