There's more to our economic woes in this country than just the very real threat of recession. The cost of food is increasing more rapidly than usual due to "sustainable" ethanol fuel increasing the price of corn, which increases feed costs and it trickles down. Add that to the lack of rain which has hurt crops & milk production plus the increase in fuel and the situation gets bleaker. A gallon of milk here in NH has gone from $2.35 a gallon to $2.89 a gallon in the past two months. $.50 doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up. The cost of fuel goes up constantly, and its impossible not to fill the tank to get to work, at least in our case where public transportation isn't much of an option. Plus with winter coming heating costs will be on the rise. So for those who are already poor, times are getting tougher regardless.
We're working on paying off student loan debt, and aside from that that's the only debt we have. Our cars are paid for (and we will never finance a car again unless necessary), we don't have a mortgage and won't have one. We keep a credit card now for "emergencies" that I put gas on every month and pay off. We avoid using credit unless absolutely necessary. If we want something, we save for it and buy when we have the money, instead of paying interest for instant gratification.
We're working on emergency savings, but our money is pretty much counted for every month in rent & utilities. Whenever we get a balance in the emergency fund, a car needs repaired, something breaks and needs replaced, etc. so it seems we can't get ahead. But that's life I suppose.
There are things I'd like, like a chest freezer, which I could easily put on the credit card. But I'd rather save and buy it outright than put it on credit.
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We're working on paying off student loan debt, and aside from that that's the only debt we have. Our cars are paid for (and we will never finance a car again unless necessary), we don't have a mortgage and won't have one. We keep a credit card now for "emergencies" that I put gas on every month and pay off. We avoid using credit unless absolutely necessary. If we want something, we save for it and buy when we have the money, instead of paying interest for instant gratification.
We're working on emergency savings, but our money is pretty much counted for every month in rent & utilities. Whenever we get a balance in the emergency fund, a car needs repaired, something breaks and needs replaced, etc. so it seems we can't get ahead. But that's life I suppose.
There are things I'd like, like a chest freezer, which I could easily put on the credit card. But I'd rather save and buy it outright than put it on credit.