Frugal Moms

I am going to cover what I have seen.  I will also tell you what I have done to mitigate the effects of the things I have seen that directly influence my family.

1. Gas prices rose above $3 and are just now coming down.  When gas prices soared out of control my husband rode a bicycle to work.  Just recently we purchased a 50 cc scooter, that uses about 6 dollars of $4 a gallon gas a week.  These changes will be semi-permanent.  If we ever have a car, we will use it only for monthly grocery runs, as it will be cheaper than our current route.

2. Stocks declined and so did the retirement fund.  I am in an enviable position according to many.  My inheritance, which was stock based, was cashed in 1998.  My husband’s 401k was cashed in 2006.  If we had waited until 2007, we would have done better, but ah well.  Our neighbors are pulling everything out to pay off their mortgages.  If they had nothing in, most are going into foreclosure.  I guess the idea is, get it out now and do some good while you can.  It’s a good idea.

3. Second hand stores are more expensive.  Oh yes, I am not lying.  What once cost may be a dollar or couldn’t be given for free, is now 100% marked up.  As an example; for the past 4 years the second  hand store sold women’s jeans for 1 dollar.  This was the regular non-sale price.  As of today they sell them for 2 dollars each and have only had 50% off sales occasionally.  Another example; items such as chalk boards, which no one ever wanted before, now have “not for sale” on them…at any price.  (these are used by the institution for operational purposes)  What have I done?  Besides patching more knees and sewing on more buttons, to make clothes last at least a little longer.  I have instituted a new, rather cruel according to the kids, policy.  Brand new prepre-sewn clothes will be purchased only with money that the children earn themselves.  Plus those who can, must contribute, to any second hand purchases, based on their ability to pay.  I am mean, I know.  However, when I was my eldest daughter’s age, I was responsible for buying all of my clothes myself.  In addition, any home made clothes will be made WITH mom, not mom doing it alone.  That policy wasn’t booed at like the other two.  The only exception to these rules are shoes, because shoes are expensive no matter what to a child.  The good news, my children have come up with some rather creative ways to make money and have chosen to buy new clothes on their own over used clothes that have parent subsidies.

4. Food is getting much more expensive.  This hurts a large family like mine.  We buy in bulk, wild collect, garden, and process a lot of our own food.  But it doesn’t seem to pass muster all the time.  That’s when I found our “bare bones” recipes, that can feed my family on basics for quite a while and stretch very far.  They aren’t gourmet, but they are nutritious and 90% are in a crock pot, so they are easy to prepare.

5.  Wall street’s tail spin leading to a credit crisis.  Believe it or not, quite a few student loans were LATE because the banks refused to do them or folded at the last minute.  Also, some municipal employees are sitting on pins and needles wondering if they will get paid.  Not a fun place to be.  As far as the student loans, financial aid has scrambled to find new lenders.  As far as the municipal workers, it’s a wait and see game.  Luckily this doesn’t affect me directly.

6. The credit crisis affects car loans and credit cards.  Again does not affect me, but many of my friends are angry they can’t replace their car.  Now instead of a loan, they are being pushed into leases.  They trade them in like baseball cards anyway, so I don’t see the difference.  However, the credit limits being halted and in some cases lowered is cutting into their carefree attitude.  Some have gotten down right panicky, asking for help on everything.  Others have cut back on every purchase dramatically.   For example; one couple I know had to get a loan from their parents to get a new car and in order to pay for that loan currently fore go having phone, cable, and electricity.  They are adults without children, but it must be hard on them.  In one way I am proud of their determination to pay off the loan early, but in another I wish it didn’t have to be so difficult for them to do.

7. Fake frugality is becoming the “way” to sell stuff.  Oh yes, the marketers have figured out people want to save money.  And in the spirit of the “sacrificing” times they have found a way to make every item a bargain or a money saver.   Look out for tooth paste wringers and “steals” on clothes that are only $299.00.  Look at the bottom line, are you spending less?  Will this purchase pay for itself and then some by over 100%?  If both are yes, it may be more frugal, if one is no…it’s not.

8. Jobs are harder to find.  The unemployment rate rose.  This only counts the people that sign up at the unemployment office looking for work.  This doesn’t count the chronically unemployed, which I would qualify for since I haven’t work for someone else in 2 years.  If you included everyone that was out of work, but wanted a regular 9 to 5 job, the rate would hover around 15%.  Probably more now, since my data is a little old, 7/08.   The effect is that people can’t get back into the job market as easy, and employers are quicker to fire if you screw up.  So income is unstable.  Our has been unstable too in the past, so I always had my self employment and business going.  My husband had the regular job and I had the weird businesses or sidejobs.  When my husband lost his job, my weird side jobs became a larger focus of my life to bring more money in.  That is how we over come instability.  The thing is we were never a two person income, because I never worked extra hard to make a lot of cash when he was working.  I did my side jobs for spending money, like to go to the museum or an event.  That’s it.  Plus, I kept it regular, so I at least had regular customers “just in case”.  Well that was a good idea and now we aren’t like so many of our neighbors.

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