Just about everywhere you look and read everyone is talking about cutting back and saving money. Starkly contrasting the Conspicuous Consumption trend of the late 1980s and 1990s. Rolex watches, European cars, big houses, clubbing, fine dinning, golfing, game rooms, big television sets, high end stereo systems, clothes and you name it was cool.
And I do admit it was fun. I built a four bedroom, three bathroom house for me to live in by myself. I really wanted an old Victorian home and almost bought one. But you really run into a lot of additional cost with those. Remember the 1980s movie Money Pit? Probably not. I was driving a Jaguar XJ-6 and had a Chevrolet pickup (completely loaded of course). A stainless steel Rolex or two. Played golf at least two times a week. A profitable side business in addition to my regular job. Eighteen business suits in the closet along with twenty five sport coats, sixty dress shirts and pairs of pants. It was fun shopping you know. And you surely did not want to ware the same clothes again within thirty days. At least fifty pairs of shoes.
Not everyone was living like this but a lot were. If you were good at what you done you could make money. If you did not take the bull by the horns and step up you were out. I did my best at my regular suit and tie job. I also had a totally different part time business. Lawn care. Which would make $200 to $300 a week. Since service business was on the rise. If you are well off or unable you wouldn't cut your own grass. I took from the able to pay and charged little to the ones who did not have much. The little old ladies on one street that I ended up with ten jobs more then paid for it self. I would help them with moving and lifting things. But would only have to park and drive to one location. Spend the whole day there. But I did not over charge them or ask any more money to help them with other chores. Plus got a lot of physical activity. It gave me a lot of satisfaction to help the older people. And not over charge them. I worked seven days a week. Certain accounts as businesses did not have a problem with me doing their job on Sundays. One customer even preferred that I do their yard on Saturday evening. That way I could feed their dog and make sure it had water. Also picked up two other jobs on the same street. I would take care of them on Wednesday as the one with the dog wanted his yard mowed twice a week. One of the customers was an older widower who I would mow last. As he would always give me lunch and libation. I also mowed three yards on my own street. Which would be easy too. As I would take care of them when I done my own. My mowing equipment was a 1970 John Deere, two Lawn Boy push mowers one 19" and one 21", a weed eater and various hand tools.
I have to say. I really enjoyed my house. I had the garage built extra wide. That way I did not need an out building to accommodate the lawn and garden equipment. When building the house I insulated and dry walled the garage. Had a telephone, heat and air. Of course I usually left that turned off. A nice work bench courtesy of my father. I had a full bathroom in the basement. Nice landscaping and yard. With a fenced in back yard. Four 4x8 foot raised bed vegetable gardens. Eight different English Hybrid Tea Rose bushes. My neighbors were always welcome to clip some roses if they wanted to make an arrangement. Go to the back yard and get what ever they wanted from the garden. Nice little neighborhood. I also had a creek in the backyard which I lined with stone. So it looked pretty cool. Also checked the erosion. The house did however take a lot of work. Today I do not know how I had the time and energy to do it.
Fast forward to today. Hard work only offsets the lethargy weight the companies have to tolerate. Because we are living in a politically correct society you know. Everyone is either looking for or trying to avoid a law suit. Problem here is the tort laws that we have. I go back to the old elementary school saying we used to have sticks and stone will hurt may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Now everyone is looking for something for nothing. No one wants to do anything and live high on the hog.
At this point in time my rent takes over half of my monthly income. I have a automobile that I guess I do not need or are worthy of. I mostly eat at or provide my meals from home. I do not buy new clothes. I keep utilities to a minimum. My little one bedroom apartment does everything I need. Although is costs more than the house payment was in 1992.
So how much can we cut back as consumers? What and where you cut has to be up to you. A person has to set their priorities for them self. Otherwise you cannot be happy. As most of us cannot have everything in the world. You just can't.
Let's start with housing. A nice place to live is important to me. So being over half of my take home income. I have to cut in over places. My living area is small but all I need. I live with nice views. They really keep up the place and will fix anything when you need it. Nice landscaping and amenities. 24 hour security team. Off the road for a mile, right on the joining of two rivers. Hate to come home from work and find your home broken into. No noisy traffic either. So that is where I step up.
Transportation. What kind of car do you like. I have an eight year old economy car. I could however get by with a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette I had at one time. Stick shift with no air or power steering or brakes. But it got me where I was going. Nothing to break either. To some people a nice car or truck is important. Not where they live. That is their choice. I have and can a bicycle to work for years. Putting only about one thousand miles a year on a car that I really need. I am fortunate that I can and have rode a bicycle to work for seven years. And really could get along without a car. But with aging parents I have to have it to get to their house. If it were not for that I surely would not need it. As everything I really need is within bicycle range and the bus line runs right past my apartment complex. In the event I really needed a car I could just rent one. And a motor scooter with a large enough engine to run at highway speeds would do it.
Entertainment. Do you like to go out to clubs, concerts, restaurants, theme parks, golf or anything else like that. People have boats. That is there one big thing for the weekend. They work all week to live for the weekend. That's OK. They like to go out to movies. Out to eat. If you can, why not. If you can't don't worry about it.
Clothing. I am at a point where I do not need to dress up in business attire with a suit and tie. I have taken and donated most all of my dress clothes to the Salvation Army. Just saving one or two if I would ever need one again. With the exception of undergarments I can usually find what I need at Goodwill. Interesting enough I went to the mall the other day. Just to look around. I was in JC Pennys. The place was stacked with clothes. All very nicely arranged. I was almost the only customer in the store. I went there to replace some four year old Reebok tennis shoes. I did not buy them. I decided I just didn't need them. There were two clerks working (well there) in the shoe department. They never once asked me if I needed any help finding anything. Maybe I just looked like a hobo to them. But in twenty minutes they never even helped a nicely dressed old lady. After playing with their cell phones for a while they just started acting busy moving little things around. With a little attention I may have bought what I can there to get. Instead of deciding I did not need them anyway. No wander they are going broke. On the way out I passed a counter were a girl was standing. Playing on a tablet. I said are you busy today. She said always. Again not asking if I needed any help.As I sauntered through the rest of the mall the story was the same. The one exception was Payless shoes. Where they waited on me right away. But they didn't have what I was looking for. And did take the time to call another store to ask if they had it in stock. That was customer service.
Gadgets. Now days you see everyone clutching their phone like a baby with a pacifier. How much electronics do you want or need. I see people making $8 an hour with the latest and greatest phone. I have a ten year old 26 inch television. I works good enough. A ten year old computer. A stereo system pieced together from ebay and yard sale purchases.
Food. Everyone has noticed how high food prices are rising. You don't need a new house, car, clothes or gadget. But you do have to eat. As I work in a grocery store I see the prices rising all the time. Meat, the staples, the luxuries are all rising. People have been cooking at home and going out less. Can you or will you cook at home and pack your lunch for work? I have been trying to move away from meat. I like a rib eye steak as much as anyone. But it just doesn't fit the budget anymore. Even white bread is almost $2 a loaf. Even fast food places are hurting. About once or twice a month I go to a Burger King that is close to work. With a coupon. Hardly anyone is in there. So as America used to be the bread basket of the world. How are the other countries doing it? Most are going back to the old ways and eating food that they can grow close to home. Try to start growing so vegetable and herbs at home. What else do you have to do? I have had some success in growing tomatoes and green peppers in containers. Five gallon buckets. And am going to try to plant potatoes. May or not work. Worth a try.
Energy. This covers a lot of territory. From your use of gasoline to electricity. You can control this to a certain extent. Do you have every light on in the house? What do you have your thermostat set at? Do you use compact fluorescent bulbs? Do you have your appliances set up on stripes that you can shut off when you are not using them? Do you unplug kitchen appliances when you are not using them? All of these moves can cause you to use less electricity. Do you use gas for heat? I had a gas stove, furnace, water heater and fireplace. I found some advantages to gas. If the electricity was off I could still use the stove by lighting it with a match. The fireplace would still provide heat as even being gas the furnace would not work without electricity.
Habits and vices. We all have our little habits and vices. It could be gambling, smoking, drinking or indulging on luxury items we do not really need. So for a lot of folks this makes life worth living. So leave some room for this in your budget.
In conclusion, how much can you cut? Do you need to cut? If everyone made the average wage of $51,000 a year we would not have to cut out much. But we do not.The thing of it is that most people making high incomes are stretched out too. That big house which is now starting to need repair and the $50,000 SUV takes up their budget too. So i guess we all live at the max. A while back it did put on some prospective. I went to the ATM machine. There was a receipt hanging out of it. Someone drew out $800 and had a balance left of about $10,000. Really made me feel like a slug. $800 to blow on the weekend. More then half I bring home every month. But it is what it is. Being a bottom feeder is not that fun if you think too much about it. But you just have to get over it. Because you always see people who are not doing as well as you. The genuinely handicapped. The homeless. The people that have a great deal of personal and family problems. Problems with addictions. So you may not have the best of everything. But you have something.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
How Much Can You Cut?
Just about everywhere you look and read everyone is talking about cutting back and saving money. Starkly contrasting the Conspicuous Consumption trend of the late 1980s and 1990s. Rolex watches, European cars, big houses, clubbing, fine dinning, golfing, game rooms, big television sets, high end stereo systems, clothes and you name it was cool.
And I do admit it was fun. I built a four bedroom, three bathroom house for me to live in by myself. I really wanted an old Victorian home and almost bought one. But you really run into a lot of additional cost with those. Remember the 1980s movie Money Pit? Probably not. I was driving a Jaguar XJ-6 and had a Chevrolet pickup (completely loaded of course). A stainless steel Rolex or two. Played golf at least two times a week. A profitable side business in addition to my regular job. Eighteen business suits in the closet along with twenty five sport coats, sixty dress shirts and pairs of pants. It was fun shopping you know. And you surely did not want to ware the same clothes again within thirty days. At least fifty pairs of shoes.
Not everyone was living like this but a lot were. If you were good at what you done you could make money. If you did not take the bull by the horns and step up you were out. I did my best at my regular suit and tie job. I also had a totally different part time business. Lawn care. Which would make $200 to $300 a week. Since service business was on the rise. If you are well off or unable you wouldn't cut your own grass. I took from the able to pay and charged little to the ones who did not have much. The little old ladies on one street that I ended up with ten jobs more then paid for it self. I would help them with moving and lifting things. But would only have to park and drive to one location. Spend the whole day there. But I did not over charge them or ask any more money to help them with other chores. Plus got a lot of physical activity. It gave me a lot of satisfaction to help the older people. And not over charge them. I worked seven days a week. Certain accounts as businesses did not have a problem with me doing their job on Sundays. One customer even preferred that I do their yard on Saturday evening. That way I could feed their dog and make sure it had water. Also picked up two other jobs on the same street. I would take care of them on Wednesday as the one with the dog wanted his yard mowed twice a week. One of the customers was an older widower who I would mow last. As he would always give me lunch and libation. I also mowed three yards on my own street. Which would be easy too. As I would take care of them when I done my own. My mowing equipment was a 1970 John Deere, two Lawn Boy push mowers one 19" and one 21", a weed eater and various hand tools.
I have to say. I really enjoyed my house. I had the garage built extra wide. That way I did not need an out building to accommodate the lawn and garden equipment. When building the house I insulated and dry walled the garage. Had a telephone, heat and air. Of course I usually left that turned off. A nice work bench courtesy of my father. I had a full bathroom in the basement. Nice landscaping and yard. With a fenced in back yard. Four 4x8 foot raised bed vegetable gardens. Eight different English Hybrid Tea Rose bushes. My neighbors were always welcome to clip some roses if they wanted to make an arrangement. Go to the back yard and get what ever they wanted from the garden. Nice little neighborhood. I also had a creek in the backyard which I lined with stone. So it looked pretty cool. Also checked the erosion. The house did however take a lot of work. Today I do not know how I had the time and energy to do it.
Fast forward to today. Hard work only offsets the lethargy weight the companies have to tolerate. Because we are living in a politically correct society you know. Everyone is either looking for or trying to avoid a law suit. Problem here is the tort laws that we have. I go back to the old elementary school saying we used to have sticks and stone will hurt may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Now everyone is looking for something for nothing. No one wants to do anything and live high on the hog.
At this point in time my rent takes over half of my monthly income. I have a automobile that I guess I do not need or are worthy of. I mostly eat at or provide my meals from home. I do not buy new clothes. I keep utilities to a minimum. My little one bedroom apartment does everything I need. Although is costs more than the house payment was in 1992.
So how much can we cut back as consumers? What and where you cut has to be up to you. A person has to set their priorities for them self. Otherwise you cannot be happy. As most of us cannot have everything in the world. You just can't.
Let's start with housing. A nice place to live is important to me. So being over half of my take home income. I have to cut in over places. My living area is small but all I need. I live with nice views. They really keep up the place and will fix anything when you need it. Nice landscaping and amenities. 24 hour security team. Off the road for a mile, right on the joining of two rivers. Hate to come home from work and find your home broken into. No noisy traffic either. So that is where I step up.
Transportation. What kind of car do you like. I have an eight year old economy car. I could however get by with a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette I had at one time. Stick shift with no air or power steering or brakes. But it got me where I was going. Nothing to break either. To some people a nice car or truck is important. Not where they live. That is their choice. I have and can a bicycle to work for years. Putting only about one thousand miles a year on a car that I really need. I am fortunate that I can and have rode a bicycle to work for seven years. And really could get along without a car. But with aging parents I have to have it to get to their house. If it were not for that I surely would not need it. As everything I really need is within bicycle range and the bus line runs right past my apartment complex. In the event I really needed a car I could just rent one. And a motor scooter with a large enough engine to run at highway speeds would do it.
Entertainment. Do you like to go out to clubs, concerts, restaurants, theme parks, golf or anything else like that. People have boats. That is there one big thing for the weekend. They work all week to live for the weekend. That's OK. They like to go out to movies. Out to eat. If you can, why not. If you can't don't worry about it.
Clothing. I am at a point where I do not need to dress up in business attire with a suit and tie. I have taken and donated most all of my dress clothes to the Salvation Army. Just saving one or two if I would ever need one again. With the exception of undergarments I can usually find what I need at Goodwill. Interesting enough I went to the mall the other day. Just to look around. I was in JC Pennys. The place was stacked with clothes. All very nicely arranged. I was almost the only customer in the store. I went there to replace some four year old Reebok tennis shoes. I did not buy them. I decided I just didn't need them. There were two clerks working (well there) in the shoe department. They never once asked me if I needed any help finding anything. Maybe I just looked like a hobo to them. But in twenty minutes they never even helped a nicely dressed old lady. After playing with their cell phones for a while they just started acting busy moving little things around. With a little attention I may have bought what I can there to get. Instead of deciding I did not need them anyway. No wander they are going broke. On the way out I passed a counter were a girl was standing. Playing on a tablet. I said are you busy today. She said always. Again not asking if I needed any help.As I sauntered through the rest of the mall the story was the same. The one exception was Payless shoes. Where they waited on me right away. But they didn't have what I was looking for. And did take the time to call another store to ask if they had it in stock. That was customer service.
Gadgets. Now days you see everyone clutching their phone like a baby with a pacifier. How much electronics do you want or need. I see people making $8 an hour with the latest and greatest phone. I have a ten year old 26 inch television. I works good enough. A ten year old computer. A stereo system pieced together from ebay and yard sale purchases.
Food. Everyone has noticed how high food prices are rising. You don't need a new house, car, clothes or gadget. But you do have to eat. As I work in a grocery store I see the prices rising all the time. Meat, the staples, the luxuries are all rising. People have been cooking at home and going out less. Can you or will you cook at home and pack your lunch for work? I have been trying to move away from meat. I like a rib eye steak as much as anyone. But it just doesn't fit the budget anymore. Even white bread is almost $2 a loaf. Even fast food places are hurting. About once or twice a month I go to a Burger King that is close to work. With a coupon. Hardly anyone is in there. So as America used to be the bread basket of the world. How are the other countries doing it? Most are going back to the old ways and eating food that they can grow close to home. Try to start growing so vegetable and herbs at home. What else do you have to do? I have had some success in growing tomatoes and green peppers in containers. Five gallon buckets. And am going to try to plant potatoes. May or not work. Worth a try.
Energy. This covers a lot of territory. From your use of gasoline to electricity. You can control this to a certain extent. Do you have every light on in the house? What do you have your thermostat set at? Do you use compact fluorescent bulbs? Do you have your appliances set up on stripes that you can shut off when you are not using them? Do you unplug kitchen appliances when you are not using them? All of these moves can cause you to use less electricity. Do you use gas for heat? I had a gas stove, furnace, water heater and fireplace. I found some advantages to gas. If the electricity was off I could still use the stove by lighting it with a match. The fireplace would still provide heat as even being gas the furnace would not work without electricity.
Habits and vices. We all have our little habits and vices. It could be gambling, smoking, drinking or indulging on luxury items we do not really need. So for a lot of folks this makes life worth living. So leave some room for this in your budget.
In conclusion, how much can you cut? Do you need to cut? If everyone made the average wage of $51,000 a year we would not have to cut out much. But we do not.The thing of it is that most people making high incomes are stretched out too. That big house which is now starting to need repair and the $50,000 SUV takes up their budget too. So i guess we all live at the max. A while back it did put on some prospective. I went to the ATM machine. There was a receipt hanging out of it. Someone drew out $800 and had a balance left of about $10,000. Really made me feel like a slug. $800 to blow on the weekend. More then half I bring home every month. But it is what it is. Being a bottom feeder is not that fun if you think too much about it. But you just have to get over it. Because you always see people who are not doing as well as you. The genuinely handicapped. The homeless. The people that have a great deal of personal and family problems. Problems with addictions. So you may not have the best of everything. But you have something.
And I do admit it was fun. I built a four bedroom, three bathroom house for me to live in by myself. I really wanted an old Victorian home and almost bought one. But you really run into a lot of additional cost with those. Remember the 1980s movie Money Pit? Probably not. I was driving a Jaguar XJ-6 and had a Chevrolet pickup (completely loaded of course). A stainless steel Rolex or two. Played golf at least two times a week. A profitable side business in addition to my regular job. Eighteen business suits in the closet along with twenty five sport coats, sixty dress shirts and pairs of pants. It was fun shopping you know. And you surely did not want to ware the same clothes again within thirty days. At least fifty pairs of shoes.
Not everyone was living like this but a lot were. If you were good at what you done you could make money. If you did not take the bull by the horns and step up you were out. I did my best at my regular suit and tie job. I also had a totally different part time business. Lawn care. Which would make $200 to $300 a week. Since service business was on the rise. If you are well off or unable you wouldn't cut your own grass. I took from the able to pay and charged little to the ones who did not have much. The little old ladies on one street that I ended up with ten jobs more then paid for it self. I would help them with moving and lifting things. But would only have to park and drive to one location. Spend the whole day there. But I did not over charge them or ask any more money to help them with other chores. Plus got a lot of physical activity. It gave me a lot of satisfaction to help the older people. And not over charge them. I worked seven days a week. Certain accounts as businesses did not have a problem with me doing their job on Sundays. One customer even preferred that I do their yard on Saturday evening. That way I could feed their dog and make sure it had water. Also picked up two other jobs on the same street. I would take care of them on Wednesday as the one with the dog wanted his yard mowed twice a week. One of the customers was an older widower who I would mow last. As he would always give me lunch and libation. I also mowed three yards on my own street. Which would be easy too. As I would take care of them when I done my own. My mowing equipment was a 1970 John Deere, two Lawn Boy push mowers one 19" and one 21", a weed eater and various hand tools.
I have to say. I really enjoyed my house. I had the garage built extra wide. That way I did not need an out building to accommodate the lawn and garden equipment. When building the house I insulated and dry walled the garage. Had a telephone, heat and air. Of course I usually left that turned off. A nice work bench courtesy of my father. I had a full bathroom in the basement. Nice landscaping and yard. With a fenced in back yard. Four 4x8 foot raised bed vegetable gardens. Eight different English Hybrid Tea Rose bushes. My neighbors were always welcome to clip some roses if they wanted to make an arrangement. Go to the back yard and get what ever they wanted from the garden. Nice little neighborhood. I also had a creek in the backyard which I lined with stone. So it looked pretty cool. Also checked the erosion. The house did however take a lot of work. Today I do not know how I had the time and energy to do it.
Fast forward to today. Hard work only offsets the lethargy weight the companies have to tolerate. Because we are living in a politically correct society you know. Everyone is either looking for or trying to avoid a law suit. Problem here is the tort laws that we have. I go back to the old elementary school saying we used to have sticks and stone will hurt may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Now everyone is looking for something for nothing. No one wants to do anything and live high on the hog.
At this point in time my rent takes over half of my monthly income. I have a automobile that I guess I do not need or are worthy of. I mostly eat at or provide my meals from home. I do not buy new clothes. I keep utilities to a minimum. My little one bedroom apartment does everything I need. Although is costs more than the house payment was in 1992.
So how much can we cut back as consumers? What and where you cut has to be up to you. A person has to set their priorities for them self. Otherwise you cannot be happy. As most of us cannot have everything in the world. You just can't.
Let's start with housing. A nice place to live is important to me. So being over half of my take home income. I have to cut in over places. My living area is small but all I need. I live with nice views. They really keep up the place and will fix anything when you need it. Nice landscaping and amenities. 24 hour security team. Off the road for a mile, right on the joining of two rivers. Hate to come home from work and find your home broken into. No noisy traffic either. So that is where I step up.
Transportation. What kind of car do you like. I have an eight year old economy car. I could however get by with a 1981 Chevrolet Chevette I had at one time. Stick shift with no air or power steering or brakes. But it got me where I was going. Nothing to break either. To some people a nice car or truck is important. Not where they live. That is their choice. I have and can a bicycle to work for years. Putting only about one thousand miles a year on a car that I really need. I am fortunate that I can and have rode a bicycle to work for seven years. And really could get along without a car. But with aging parents I have to have it to get to their house. If it were not for that I surely would not need it. As everything I really need is within bicycle range and the bus line runs right past my apartment complex. In the event I really needed a car I could just rent one. And a motor scooter with a large enough engine to run at highway speeds would do it.
Entertainment. Do you like to go out to clubs, concerts, restaurants, theme parks, golf or anything else like that. People have boats. That is there one big thing for the weekend. They work all week to live for the weekend. That's OK. They like to go out to movies. Out to eat. If you can, why not. If you can't don't worry about it.
Clothing. I am at a point where I do not need to dress up in business attire with a suit and tie. I have taken and donated most all of my dress clothes to the Salvation Army. Just saving one or two if I would ever need one again. With the exception of undergarments I can usually find what I need at Goodwill. Interesting enough I went to the mall the other day. Just to look around. I was in JC Pennys. The place was stacked with clothes. All very nicely arranged. I was almost the only customer in the store. I went there to replace some four year old Reebok tennis shoes. I did not buy them. I decided I just didn't need them. There were two clerks working (well there) in the shoe department. They never once asked me if I needed any help finding anything. Maybe I just looked like a hobo to them. But in twenty minutes they never even helped a nicely dressed old lady. After playing with their cell phones for a while they just started acting busy moving little things around. With a little attention I may have bought what I can there to get. Instead of deciding I did not need them anyway. No wander they are going broke. On the way out I passed a counter were a girl was standing. Playing on a tablet. I said are you busy today. She said always. Again not asking if I needed any help.As I sauntered through the rest of the mall the story was the same. The one exception was Payless shoes. Where they waited on me right away. But they didn't have what I was looking for. And did take the time to call another store to ask if they had it in stock. That was customer service.
Gadgets. Now days you see everyone clutching their phone like a baby with a pacifier. How much electronics do you want or need. I see people making $8 an hour with the latest and greatest phone. I have a ten year old 26 inch television. I works good enough. A ten year old computer. A stereo system pieced together from ebay and yard sale purchases.
Food. Everyone has noticed how high food prices are rising. You don't need a new house, car, clothes or gadget. But you do have to eat. As I work in a grocery store I see the prices rising all the time. Meat, the staples, the luxuries are all rising. People have been cooking at home and going out less. Can you or will you cook at home and pack your lunch for work? I have been trying to move away from meat. I like a rib eye steak as much as anyone. But it just doesn't fit the budget anymore. Even white bread is almost $2 a loaf. Even fast food places are hurting. About once or twice a month I go to a Burger King that is close to work. With a coupon. Hardly anyone is in there. So as America used to be the bread basket of the world. How are the other countries doing it? Most are going back to the old ways and eating food that they can grow close to home. Try to start growing so vegetable and herbs at home. What else do you have to do? I have had some success in growing tomatoes and green peppers in containers. Five gallon buckets. And am going to try to plant potatoes. May or not work. Worth a try.
Energy. This covers a lot of territory. From your use of gasoline to electricity. You can control this to a certain extent. Do you have every light on in the house? What do you have your thermostat set at? Do you use compact fluorescent bulbs? Do you have your appliances set up on stripes that you can shut off when you are not using them? Do you unplug kitchen appliances when you are not using them? All of these moves can cause you to use less electricity. Do you use gas for heat? I had a gas stove, furnace, water heater and fireplace. I found some advantages to gas. If the electricity was off I could still use the stove by lighting it with a match. The fireplace would still provide heat as even being gas the furnace would not work without electricity.
Habits and vices. We all have our little habits and vices. It could be gambling, smoking, drinking or indulging on luxury items we do not really need. So for a lot of folks this makes life worth living. So leave some room for this in your budget.
In conclusion, how much can you cut? Do you need to cut? If everyone made the average wage of $51,000 a year we would not have to cut out much. But we do not.The thing of it is that most people making high incomes are stretched out too. That big house which is now starting to need repair and the $50,000 SUV takes up their budget too. So i guess we all live at the max. A while back it did put on some prospective. I went to the ATM machine. There was a receipt hanging out of it. Someone drew out $800 and had a balance left of about $10,000. Really made me feel like a slug. $800 to blow on the weekend. More then half I bring home every month. But it is what it is. Being a bottom feeder is not that fun if you think too much about it. But you just have to get over it. Because you always see people who are not doing as well as you. The genuinely handicapped. The homeless. The people that have a great deal of personal and family problems. Problems with addictions. So you may not have the best of everything. But you have something.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Follow Up On The Work Shoe Experiment
It has been about sixty days now since I posted about a new work shoe experiment. to refresh you I I two of the three least expensive slip resistant shoes for work. My initial post called Work Shoes is one of the most read. I guess that so many people are employed in service or food service where slip resistant shoes are required.
So after about two months both shoes look terrible. But my shoes look that way after about a day. So that is not the issue. I get these shoes very wet every day I wear them. I get breading and chicken goop on them. They take a beating.
Let's start with the test subjects. I was looking for something that you can buy for between $20 and $30. I have tried the Wal Mart versions. Without much luck. Failing within about two weeks. So the experimental shoes were from Payless and the very bottom line Shoes For Crews. The Payless shoes have been more of a go to shoe for me. Mostly because I have never used them before. So they have gotten about 70% of the business. The toe on the right shoe is starting to loosen up. After a lot of beating. It is just a matter of time when I will be flapping with a loose soul. But I hope to have a couple of more weeks out of them. They do not have arch support. But that is not an issue with me. So at $20 and not shipping fee, just getting them off the shelf they are a good deal. If you do not work in a situation that as is hard on shoes as my job they should last at least a year. Or more. So I will rate them as a good value. So I would buy them again. As they are cheap and available.
The Shoes For Crews which have seen the least use are still holding up. Although at the toe the plastic is starting to crack. They have a thicker soul and more support. So if you need arch support they would be better. And again if you do not get them wet all the time they will hold up fine. Most of the customers are not looking at your shoes anyway. I would only buy these shoes if I got a big discount. But that doesn't off set the shipping.
So if style and special fit needs are not so important. The Payless shoes may be the best deal.Today I stopped by both of the Payless stores in town. Both were out of the $20 at half price shoes. I did order them online. Buy one pair for $20 and the second pair for$10. Plus $5.95 shipping and tax. Under $40 for two pairs of work shoes ain't bad.
So after about two months both shoes look terrible. But my shoes look that way after about a day. So that is not the issue. I get these shoes very wet every day I wear them. I get breading and chicken goop on them. They take a beating.
Let's start with the test subjects. I was looking for something that you can buy for between $20 and $30. I have tried the Wal Mart versions. Without much luck. Failing within about two weeks. So the experimental shoes were from Payless and the very bottom line Shoes For Crews. The Payless shoes have been more of a go to shoe for me. Mostly because I have never used them before. So they have gotten about 70% of the business. The toe on the right shoe is starting to loosen up. After a lot of beating. It is just a matter of time when I will be flapping with a loose soul. But I hope to have a couple of more weeks out of them. They do not have arch support. But that is not an issue with me. So at $20 and not shipping fee, just getting them off the shelf they are a good deal. If you do not work in a situation that as is hard on shoes as my job they should last at least a year. Or more. So I will rate them as a good value. So I would buy them again. As they are cheap and available.
The Shoes For Crews which have seen the least use are still holding up. Although at the toe the plastic is starting to crack. They have a thicker soul and more support. So if you need arch support they would be better. And again if you do not get them wet all the time they will hold up fine. Most of the customers are not looking at your shoes anyway. I would only buy these shoes if I got a big discount. But that doesn't off set the shipping.
So if style and special fit needs are not so important. The Payless shoes may be the best deal.Today I stopped by both of the Payless stores in town. Both were out of the $20 at half price shoes. I did order them online. Buy one pair for $20 and the second pair for$10. Plus $5.95 shipping and tax. Under $40 for two pairs of work shoes ain't bad.
Follow Up On The Work Shoe Experiment
It has been about sixty days now since I posted about a new work shoe experiment. to refresh you I I two of the three least expensive slip resistant shoes for work. My initial post called Work Shoes is one of the most read. I guess that so many people are employed in service or food service where slip resistant shoes are required.
So after about two months both shoes look terrible. But my shoes look that way after about a day. So that is not the issue. I get these shoes very wet every day I wear them. I get breading and chicken goop on them. They take a beating.
Let's start with the test subjects. I was looking for something that you can buy for between $20 and $30. I have tried the Wal Mart versions. Without much luck. Failing within about two weeks. So the experimental shoes were from Payless and the very bottom line Shoes For Crews. The Payless shoes have been more of a go to shoe for me. Mostly because I have never used them before. So they have gotten about 70% of the business. The toe on the right shoe is starting to loosen up. After a lot of beating. It is just a matter of time when I will be flapping with a loose soul. But I hope to have a couple of more weeks out of them. They do not have arch support. But that is not an issue with me. So at $20 and not shipping fee, just getting them off the shelf they are a good deal. If you do not work in a situation that as is hard on shoes as my job they should last at least a year. Or more. So I will rate them as a good value. So I would buy them again. As they are cheap and available.
The Shoes For Crews which have seen the least use are still holding up. Although at the toe the plastic is starting to crack. They have a thicker soul and more support. So if you need arch support they would be better. And again if you do not get them wet all the time they will hold up fine. Most of the customers are not looking at your shoes anyway. I would only buy these shoes if I got a big discount. But that doesn't off set the shipping.
So if style and special fit needs are not so important. The Payless shoes may be the best deal.Today I stopped by both of the Payless stores in town. Both were out of the $20 at half price shoes. I did order them online. Buy one pair for $20 and the second pair for$10. Plus $5.95 shipping and tax. Under $40 for two pairs of work shoes ain't bad.
So after about two months both shoes look terrible. But my shoes look that way after about a day. So that is not the issue. I get these shoes very wet every day I wear them. I get breading and chicken goop on them. They take a beating.
Let's start with the test subjects. I was looking for something that you can buy for between $20 and $30. I have tried the Wal Mart versions. Without much luck. Failing within about two weeks. So the experimental shoes were from Payless and the very bottom line Shoes For Crews. The Payless shoes have been more of a go to shoe for me. Mostly because I have never used them before. So they have gotten about 70% of the business. The toe on the right shoe is starting to loosen up. After a lot of beating. It is just a matter of time when I will be flapping with a loose soul. But I hope to have a couple of more weeks out of them. They do not have arch support. But that is not an issue with me. So at $20 and not shipping fee, just getting them off the shelf they are a good deal. If you do not work in a situation that as is hard on shoes as my job they should last at least a year. Or more. So I will rate them as a good value. So I would buy them again. As they are cheap and available.
The Shoes For Crews which have seen the least use are still holding up. Although at the toe the plastic is starting to crack. They have a thicker soul and more support. So if you need arch support they would be better. And again if you do not get them wet all the time they will hold up fine. Most of the customers are not looking at your shoes anyway. I would only buy these shoes if I got a big discount. But that doesn't off set the shipping.
So if style and special fit needs are not so important. The Payless shoes may be the best deal.Today I stopped by both of the Payless stores in town. Both were out of the $20 at half price shoes. I did order them online. Buy one pair for $20 and the second pair for$10. Plus $5.95 shipping and tax. Under $40 for two pairs of work shoes ain't bad.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Don't Forget About Pasta
When thinking of coming up with a dinner. Do not forget about pasta. Any pasta is great served up right at the time of cooking. The great thing about pasta is that it makes a great leftover. As it takes about the same time to make oodles as it does a little. Be careful to not forget about it and try to use it in about three or four days. Otherwise freeze portions for later use without the ramifications of spoil.
Whatever of the many shapes and sizes that you choose is up to you. The real big deal is the sauce. Just get a jar or can (the Hunts in the can is the least expensive at my store) and add what you want. Spaghetti or pasta sauce seems to vary from around a dollar to upwards to $7 a jar. The sauce seems to make to meal. As the pasta is pretty much the same. Just different shapes, sizes and colors.
You can make a sauce with or without meat. With enough veggies you can get away without meat. Still have good taste and work a meatless Monday meal. Just take any basic pasta sauce. Add diced tomatoes, green peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms and some seasoning. Most canned products have a lot of salt in them already. So you do not have to add that much. Unless you want of course. if you are going to have meat in your sauce cook it separately and add it to the sauce later. This accomplishes two things. This way you know the meat is completely cooked. You also then have the option of having a veggie sauce and a meat option. As you will most likely be microwaving the leftovers. Add the cooked meat if you want it. Leave it out if you don't. Try to allow yourself plenty of time to make your sauce. A day off or something like that. As it is best to just cook it slow. Decide how much sauce you will need in the near future and freeze the rest.
Portion out the pasta into plastic containers. Then before taking it to work add the sauce. Make some garlic toast and you have a nice lunch. As the fall is coming with the cooler weather soup time is coming up. Check out the post on a Great Chicken Soup Recipe.
Whatever of the many shapes and sizes that you choose is up to you. The real big deal is the sauce. Just get a jar or can (the Hunts in the can is the least expensive at my store) and add what you want. Spaghetti or pasta sauce seems to vary from around a dollar to upwards to $7 a jar. The sauce seems to make to meal. As the pasta is pretty much the same. Just different shapes, sizes and colors.
You can make a sauce with or without meat. With enough veggies you can get away without meat. Still have good taste and work a meatless Monday meal. Just take any basic pasta sauce. Add diced tomatoes, green peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms and some seasoning. Most canned products have a lot of salt in them already. So you do not have to add that much. Unless you want of course. if you are going to have meat in your sauce cook it separately and add it to the sauce later. This accomplishes two things. This way you know the meat is completely cooked. You also then have the option of having a veggie sauce and a meat option. As you will most likely be microwaving the leftovers. Add the cooked meat if you want it. Leave it out if you don't. Try to allow yourself plenty of time to make your sauce. A day off or something like that. As it is best to just cook it slow. Decide how much sauce you will need in the near future and freeze the rest.
Portion out the pasta into plastic containers. Then before taking it to work add the sauce. Make some garlic toast and you have a nice lunch. As the fall is coming with the cooler weather soup time is coming up. Check out the post on a Great Chicken Soup Recipe.
Don't Forget About Pasta
When thinking of coming up with a dinner. Do not forget about pasta. Any pasta is great served up right at the time of cooking. The great thing about pasta is that it makes a great leftover. As it takes about the same time to make oodles as it does a little. Be careful to not forget about it and try to use it in about three or four days. Otherwise freeze portions for later use without the ramifications of spoil.
Whatever of the many shapes and sizes that you choose is up to you. The real big deal is the sauce. Just get a jar or can (the Hunts in the can is the least expensive at my store) and add what you want. Spaghetti or pasta sauce seems to vary from around a dollar to upwards to $7 a jar. The sauce seems to make to meal. As the pasta is pretty much the same. Just different shapes, sizes and colors.
You can make a sauce with or without meat. With enough veggies you can get away without meat. Still have good taste and work a meatless Monday meal. Just take any basic pasta sauce. Add diced tomatoes, green peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms and some seasoning. Most canned products have a lot of salt in them already. So you do not have to add that much. Unless you want of course. if you are going to have meat in your sauce cook it separately and add it to the sauce later. This accomplishes two things. This way you know the meat is completely cooked. You also then have the option of having a veggie sauce and a meat option. As you will most likely be microwaving the leftovers. Add the cooked meat if you want it. Leave it out if you don't. Try to allow yourself plenty of time to make your sauce. A day off or something like that. As it is best to just cook it slow. Decide how much sauce you will need in the near future and freeze the rest.
Portion out the pasta into plastic containers. Then before taking it to work add the sauce. Make some garlic toast and you have a nice lunch. As the fall is coming with the cooler weather soup time is coming up. Check out the post on a Great Chicken Soup Recipe.
Whatever of the many shapes and sizes that you choose is up to you. The real big deal is the sauce. Just get a jar or can (the Hunts in the can is the least expensive at my store) and add what you want. Spaghetti or pasta sauce seems to vary from around a dollar to upwards to $7 a jar. The sauce seems to make to meal. As the pasta is pretty much the same. Just different shapes, sizes and colors.
You can make a sauce with or without meat. With enough veggies you can get away without meat. Still have good taste and work a meatless Monday meal. Just take any basic pasta sauce. Add diced tomatoes, green peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms and some seasoning. Most canned products have a lot of salt in them already. So you do not have to add that much. Unless you want of course. if you are going to have meat in your sauce cook it separately and add it to the sauce later. This accomplishes two things. This way you know the meat is completely cooked. You also then have the option of having a veggie sauce and a meat option. As you will most likely be microwaving the leftovers. Add the cooked meat if you want it. Leave it out if you don't. Try to allow yourself plenty of time to make your sauce. A day off or something like that. As it is best to just cook it slow. Decide how much sauce you will need in the near future and freeze the rest.
Portion out the pasta into plastic containers. Then before taking it to work add the sauce. Make some garlic toast and you have a nice lunch. As the fall is coming with the cooler weather soup time is coming up. Check out the post on a Great Chicken Soup Recipe.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Staying Afloat In A Not So Perfect Storm
I guess that every employer is telling every employee the same thing. We have to keep our costs down. Your wages are part of the cost. minimizing waste, selling more to that one customer, being the best is what it is going to take to remain in business.
That is the buzz word at about every business. You wonder with the stock market at record levels why is everyone trying so hard? If the Fed stopped pumping a hundred billion into the economy every month see what happens. It seems that no matter what they tell people the economy is in a very fragile and volatile position.
Forward looking companies know that. They are looking to establish and retain a reliable and loyal customer base. Because when the facade collapses you are going to have less customers to rely upon. The recession that started in 2008 gave the companies a great template. Do more with less. Have less workers and get as much or more done than you have in the past with more workers.
Now with the "recovery" underway. Consumers are used to almost $4 a gallon gas. High prices on food and other consumables and services are the norm. There is a whole generation that knows nothing else. So as time goes on people get more particular about things. What they buy and what kind of service they expect. They become Epicureans to a certain degree. If you want their dollar you are going to have to give them at least what they expect. Otherwise they will go somewhere else until they find what pleases them at this point in time. My money will spend anywhere attitude. Which for the most part they are right. It is their money. So companies have to go the extra yard to get and retain customers.
With a economy that is mostly depending on retail and service most people are underemployed. Or at least feel that they are. We may be doing the best we can. Maybe the job you have is the best you can do. Are we doing the best we can at the best we can? A general college education (one that is not specific) really means nothing. Past mistakes in choices and actions have nothing to do with the here and now. So to keep yourself from going crazy do not feel bad about what you are doing. Figure your college time as an experience and a learning process. Consider a a luxury that a lot of folks couldn't enjoy. Use what you learned in everyday life.
The strange thing is that companies have a lot of cash on hand. In a previous post I mentioned that Proctor and Gamble is going to drop about one hundred products. Is that tucking in a bit or what? I do not see how that is not going to cost a lot of jobs. I am sure they are cutting out a lot of redundancy and dead weight products.
But there does seem to be some wiggle room for companies. They may start one person in the same job for one wage and another at a different rate. What is fair about that. Maybe one is more qualified than the other. That is justification. What is the other criteria involved? Who you know? Who you are? How you look? Is there a template that companies follow? You do not see too many "ugly" people in advertisements or news channels do you? That is part of the facade. We all want to be beautiful and successful. In reality everyone came be beautiful. Everyone can be ugly. Most people have about the same intelligence.
I just read on MSN news about some college degrees to avoid. It also gave several positions that these people have with those degrees. Most are not even closely related to the degree possessed by the degree holder. Mostly service and retail. Jobs that used to be filled with high school graduates. When they learned something in high school. Without being dangled to going to college. I admit when I went to high school my entire goal was to just get out. Go to college and move to the land of milk and honey. There are so many institutions now of higher education. Most came after the Education Act of 1964. These institutions provide employment to many people of all walks of life. From the professors to the janitors. This system is an large part of our economy.
Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century. So you go to college. Get a degree that thousands of people have. Get a job that used to be filled by someone with a high school education. Only with a lot of student loan debt. And get stuck in a low paying job. Or multiple low paying part time jobs. On PBS radio they stated that there are twice as many people working part time jobs now then seven years ago. In the poor economy of the early eighties I worked several part time jobs. Factories did not want to hire me because I had a "college" education. Other positions were not available because I did not have experience. So you face reality and just go out and get a job.
I keep going back to the European template. There are always people in big positions. But the majority are working low end jobs many times multiple low end jobs to get by. And I would guess that most rent their housing instead of owning. In reality many people feel that they own their home. But most have a mortgage. So they are buying their home. Not owning it anyway unless they have it paid for and a deed in hand. So why buy a home anyway? Just like buying anything else on credit. It is that warm and fuzzy feeling of owning something, just thinking you do.
At the rate we are going who is going to afford the big houses built over the last twenty years. Maybe that is what happened to the old Victorian mansions from the late nineteenth century. There is going to be a lot of people needing a place to live but cannot afford homes. Especially big homes. So the price will have to go down. The others will have to be divided into multiple living spaces like the old Victorian mansions were. Or simply torn down to make way for low income housing. A majority will barely be able to pay rent, let alone taxes, insurance and a house payment. That is why there are a lot of companies and individuals buying up property right and left. Knowing a big renting market is emerging.
But who is the ones making the big bucks. Someone is. I do not know who. With a inexpensive home starting at $100,000 and an inexpensive automobile starting at $20,000. Who that is making $20,000 a year can purchase one? A $15 minimum wage would make $31,200 a year. Just about 60% of the $53,000 "average". That minimum would raise some prices. But should not that much. That should actually stimulate the economy. That would be around a 30% income increase for those making around $25,000. That would take a lot of people out of the poverty bracket. So the government could cut subsidies. If you are going to make the money you can't get food stamps. All of the cost of living has went up except the minimum wage. This will move us more to capitalism instead of socialism. It could be a good move. I did not think so in the beginning. But what is going on now isn't working either. So a poor person who works full time would make $30,000 a year. One ramification would be the demise of full time workers. Which many companies are moving towards anyway. Part time workers are not getting benefits. Another ramification would be that certain people that have qualified for government benefits may exceed the threshold and no longer be able to get them or other tax benefits towards their income taxes. Even though you at the bottom level you still make more than you need. The people making $8 and hour now would be on par with people making $10 an hour now. Creating a new bottom bracket with all making the same. The big squeeze would go on the people on a fixed income and those in the "middle class" living to the max on their income. Taking another chunk out of the middle class. Erasing the American Dream that pretty much came about after World War 2. Everyone isn't going to own a house and car. Everyone isn't going to get the "big" job. Everyone isn't going to go to college. Taking a current German model is the advent of trade schools. Can't be a bad idea as Germany is one of the strongest economies. Often bailing out the other European countries.
If you look at the Europeans most have socialized medicine. A higher minimum wage should result in more taxes collected. Less people collecting benefits from the government. Also less full time employed people. So if we go to a true socialized medicine environment the bigger thing of being a full time employee is less important. At this point in time the major benefactors of Obama Care are the ones on Medicade. Not people buying insurance on a "spot" market.
So there are a lot of sides to the coin. You cannot make $15 an hour and still get benefits. Unless of course you only work a few hours a week. The people that are collecting Social Security benefits would have to have at least a 20% increase to handle any fluxes in consumer prices. The folks on Medicare have been forced to spend a lot of their own money to pay the difference between what Medicare pays and what they have to pay. So many of them are spending upwards to a thousand dollars a month to get a hassle medical care. So this throws the ball back on the physician. Pay them like $100,000 a year without the fear of malpractice. They save $500,000 a year in insurance. I guess that the culprit here is insurance. With socialized medicine then may have to drives Fords and Chevrolets (but still afford to live in the large houses). They should make more money due to their skills and education. An education that is specific and useful to society. The medicine man or woman has always had a high place in societies due to their skills.
The availability of easy credit has always made our economy cook. That is what led to the Great Depression starting in 1929. The severity of economic up and downs has been softened due to regulations. Even as bad as the downturn was in 2008 it could have certainly been worse. In the early 1990s there was an economic downturn. A lot of the troops in Desert Storm were National Guardsmen. Only to return and not have a job to return to. Creating a slump. I was lucky enough to have a job with a company that had a strong foundation.
In the mid 1990s things started picking up due to the tech. Which eventually became the tech bubble. Everyone jumped into the stock market. Day trading. We all had the stock market on our pagers. Cell phones became available to a lot more people. Construction picked up again. New businesses emerged. We were cooking again. Sub prime loans became available. Golf courses and casinos were being built. The promised land again. Then came 9/11/2001. Proof of how fragile things are. Everything came to an economic standstill again. In the car business we did not see a customer for weeks. All of a sudden fairly easy 0% financing started. Again easy credit saving the day. The thought of not having ownership or equity was out the door. Things were moving again. Only to lead to the 2008 demise.
As people we tend to figure things out. Whether perception or reality. As vast majority of perception creates reality. It is what it is. The liberal use of benefits of the government has kept crime down for the most part. Imagine if millions of people were actually starving. That would create a desperate situation making it not even safe to be anywhere. As the 1980s band Culture Clubs stated, " when people become desperate they learn to survive". As a whole most everybody is doing OK.
The strange thing is that companies have a lot of cash on hand. In a previous post I mentioned that Proctor and Gamble is going to drop about one hundred products. Is that tucking in a bit or what? I do not see how that is not going to cost a lot of jobs. I am sure they are cutting out a lot of redundancy and dead weight products.
But there does seem to be some wiggle room for companies. They may start one person in the same job for one wage and another at a different rate. What is fair about that. Maybe one is more qualified than the other. That is justification. What is the other criteria involved? Who you know? Who you are? How you look? Is there a template that companies follow? You do not see too many "ugly" people in advertisements or news channels do you? That is part of the facade. We all want to be beautiful and successful. In reality everyone came be beautiful. Everyone can be ugly. Most people have about the same intelligence.
I just read on MSN news about some college degrees to avoid. It also gave several positions that these people have with those degrees. Most are not even closely related to the degree possessed by the degree holder. Mostly service and retail. Jobs that used to be filled with high school graduates. When they learned something in high school. Without being dangled to going to college. I admit when I went to high school my entire goal was to just get out. Go to college and move to the land of milk and honey. There are so many institutions now of higher education. Most came after the Education Act of 1964. These institutions provide employment to many people of all walks of life. From the professors to the janitors. This system is an large part of our economy.
Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century. So you go to college. Get a degree that thousands of people have. Get a job that used to be filled by someone with a high school education. Only with a lot of student loan debt. And get stuck in a low paying job. Or multiple low paying part time jobs. On PBS radio they stated that there are twice as many people working part time jobs now then seven years ago. In the poor economy of the early eighties I worked several part time jobs. Factories did not want to hire me because I had a "college" education. Other positions were not available because I did not have experience. So you face reality and just go out and get a job.
I keep going back to the European template. There are always people in big positions. But the majority are working low end jobs many times multiple low end jobs to get by. And I would guess that most rent their housing instead of owning. In reality many people feel that they own their home. But most have a mortgage. So they are buying their home. Not owning it anyway unless they have it paid for and a deed in hand. So why buy a home anyway? Just like buying anything else on credit. It is that warm and fuzzy feeling of owning something, just thinking you do.
At the rate we are going who is going to afford the big houses built over the last twenty years. Maybe that is what happened to the old Victorian mansions from the late nineteenth century. There is going to be a lot of people needing a place to live but cannot afford homes. Especially big homes. So the price will have to go down. The others will have to be divided into multiple living spaces like the old Victorian mansions were. Or simply torn down to make way for low income housing. A majority will barely be able to pay rent, let alone taxes, insurance and a house payment. That is why there are a lot of companies and individuals buying up property right and left. Knowing a big renting market is emerging.
But who is the ones making the big bucks. Someone is. I do not know who. With a inexpensive home starting at $100,000 and an inexpensive automobile starting at $20,000. Who that is making $20,000 a year can purchase one? A $15 minimum wage would make $31,200 a year. Just about 60% of the $53,000 "average". That minimum would raise some prices. But should not that much. That should actually stimulate the economy. That would be around a 30% income increase for those making around $25,000. That would take a lot of people out of the poverty bracket. So the government could cut subsidies. If you are going to make the money you can't get food stamps. All of the cost of living has went up except the minimum wage. This will move us more to capitalism instead of socialism. It could be a good move. I did not think so in the beginning. But what is going on now isn't working either. So a poor person who works full time would make $30,000 a year. One ramification would be the demise of full time workers. Which many companies are moving towards anyway. Part time workers are not getting benefits. Another ramification would be that certain people that have qualified for government benefits may exceed the threshold and no longer be able to get them or other tax benefits towards their income taxes. Even though you at the bottom level you still make more than you need. The people making $8 and hour now would be on par with people making $10 an hour now. Creating a new bottom bracket with all making the same. The big squeeze would go on the people on a fixed income and those in the "middle class" living to the max on their income. Taking another chunk out of the middle class. Erasing the American Dream that pretty much came about after World War 2. Everyone isn't going to own a house and car. Everyone isn't going to get the "big" job. Everyone isn't going to go to college. Taking a current German model is the advent of trade schools. Can't be a bad idea as Germany is one of the strongest economies. Often bailing out the other European countries.
If you look at the Europeans most have socialized medicine. A higher minimum wage should result in more taxes collected. Less people collecting benefits from the government. Also less full time employed people. So if we go to a true socialized medicine environment the bigger thing of being a full time employee is less important. At this point in time the major benefactors of Obama Care are the ones on Medicade. Not people buying insurance on a "spot" market.
So there are a lot of sides to the coin. You cannot make $15 an hour and still get benefits. Unless of course you only work a few hours a week. The people that are collecting Social Security benefits would have to have at least a 20% increase to handle any fluxes in consumer prices. The folks on Medicare have been forced to spend a lot of their own money to pay the difference between what Medicare pays and what they have to pay. So many of them are spending upwards to a thousand dollars a month to get a hassle medical care. So this throws the ball back on the physician. Pay them like $100,000 a year without the fear of malpractice. They save $500,000 a year in insurance. I guess that the culprit here is insurance. With socialized medicine then may have to drives Fords and Chevrolets (but still afford to live in the large houses). They should make more money due to their skills and education. An education that is specific and useful to society. The medicine man or woman has always had a high place in societies due to their skills.
The availability of easy credit has always made our economy cook. That is what led to the Great Depression starting in 1929. The severity of economic up and downs has been softened due to regulations. Even as bad as the downturn was in 2008 it could have certainly been worse. In the early 1990s there was an economic downturn. A lot of the troops in Desert Storm were National Guardsmen. Only to return and not have a job to return to. Creating a slump. I was lucky enough to have a job with a company that had a strong foundation.
In the mid 1990s things started picking up due to the tech. Which eventually became the tech bubble. Everyone jumped into the stock market. Day trading. We all had the stock market on our pagers. Cell phones became available to a lot more people. Construction picked up again. New businesses emerged. We were cooking again. Sub prime loans became available. Golf courses and casinos were being built. The promised land again. Then came 9/11/2001. Proof of how fragile things are. Everything came to an economic standstill again. In the car business we did not see a customer for weeks. All of a sudden fairly easy 0% financing started. Again easy credit saving the day. The thought of not having ownership or equity was out the door. Things were moving again. Only to lead to the 2008 demise.
As people we tend to figure things out. Whether perception or reality. As vast majority of perception creates reality. It is what it is. The liberal use of benefits of the government has kept crime down for the most part. Imagine if millions of people were actually starving. That would create a desperate situation making it not even safe to be anywhere. As the 1980s band Culture Clubs stated, " when people become desperate they learn to survive". As a whole most everybody is doing OK.
Staying Afloat In A Not So Perfect Storm
I guess that every employer is telling every employee the same thing. We have to keep our costs down. Your wages are part of the cost. minimizing waste, selling more to that one customer, being the best is what it is going to take to remain in business.
That is the buzz word at about every business. You wonder with the stock market at record levels why is everyone trying so hard? If the Fed stopped pumping a hundred billion into the economy every month see what happens. It seems that no matter what they tell people the economy is in a very fragile and volatile position.
Forward looking companies know that. They are looking to establish and retain a reliable and loyal customer base. Because when the facade collapses you are going to have less customers to rely upon. The recession that started in 2008 gave the companies a great template. Do more with less. Have less workers and get as much or more done than you have in the past with more workers.
Now with the "recovery" underway. Consumers are used to almost $4 a gallon gas. High prices on food and other consumables and services are the norm. There is a whole generation that knows nothing else. So as time goes on people get more particular about things. What they buy and what kind of service they expect. They become Epicureans to a certain degree. If you want their dollar you are going to have to give them at least what they expect. Otherwise they will go somewhere else until they find what pleases them at this point in time. My money will spend anywhere attitude. Which for the most part they are right. It is their money. So companies have to go the extra yard to get and retain customers.
With a economy that is mostly depending on retail and service most people are underemployed. Or at least feel that they are. We may be doing the best we can. Maybe the job you have is the best you can do. Are we doing the best we can at the best we can? A general college education (one that is not specific) really means nothing. Past mistakes in choices and actions have nothing to do with the here and now. So to keep yourself from going crazy do not feel bad about what you are doing. Figure your college time as an experience and a learning process. Consider a a luxury that a lot of folks couldn't enjoy. Use what you learned in everyday life.
The strange thing is that companies have a lot of cash on hand. In a previous post I mentioned that Proctor and Gamble is going to drop about one hundred products. Is that tucking in a bit or what? I do not see how that is not going to cost a lot of jobs. I am sure they are cutting out a lot of redundancy and dead weight products.
But there does seem to be some wiggle room for companies. They may start one person in the same job for one wage and another at a different rate. What is fair about that. Maybe one is more qualified than the other. That is justification. What is the other criteria involved? Who you know? Who you are? How you look? Is there a template that companies follow? You do not see too many "ugly" people in advertisements or news channels do you? That is part of the facade. We all want to be beautiful and successful. In reality everyone came be beautiful. Everyone can be ugly. Most people have about the same intelligence.
I just read on MSN news about some college degrees to avoid. It also gave several positions that these people have with those degrees. Most are not even closely related to the degree possessed by the degree holder. Mostly service and retail. Jobs that used to be filled with high school graduates. When they learned something in high school. Without being dangled to going to college. I admit when I went to high school my entire goal was to just get out. Go to college and move to the land of milk and honey. There are so many institutions now of higher education. Most came after the Education Act of 1964. These institutions provide employment to many people of all walks of life. From the professors to the janitors. This system is an large part of our economy.
Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century. So you go to college. Get a degree that thousands of people have. Get a job that used to be filled by someone with a high school education. Only with a lot of student loan debt. And get stuck in a low paying job. Or multiple low paying part time jobs. On PBS radio they stated that there are twice as many people working part time jobs now then seven years ago. In the poor economy of the early eighties I worked several part time jobs. Factories did not want to hire me because I had a "college" education. Other positions were not available because I did not have experience. So you face reality and just go out and get a job.
I keep going back to the European template. There are always people in big positions. But the majority are working low end jobs many times multiple low end jobs to get by. And I would guess that most rent their housing instead of owning. In reality many people feel that they own their home. But most have a mortgage. So they are buying their home. Not owning it anyway unless they have it paid for and a deed in hand. So why buy a home anyway? Just like buying anything else on credit. It is that warm and fuzzy feeling of owning something, just thinking you do.
At the rate we are going who is going to afford the big houses built over the last twenty years. Maybe that is what happened to the old Victorian mansions from the late nineteenth century. There is going to be a lot of people needing a place to live but cannot afford homes. Especially big homes. So the price will have to go down. The others will have to be divided into multiple living spaces like the old Victorian mansions were. Or simply torn down to make way for low income housing. A majority will barely be able to pay rent, let alone taxes, insurance and a house payment. That is why there are a lot of companies and individuals buying up property right and left. Knowing a big renting market is emerging.
But who is the ones making the big bucks. Someone is. I do not know who. With a inexpensive home starting at $100,000 and an inexpensive automobile starting at $20,000. Who that is making $20,000 a year can purchase one? A $15 minimum wage would make $31,200 a year. Just about 60% of the $53,000 "average". That minimum would raise some prices. But should not that much. That should actually stimulate the economy. That would be around a 30% income increase for those making around $25,000. That would take a lot of people out of the poverty bracket. So the government could cut subsidies. If you are going to make the money you can't get food stamps. All of the cost of living has went up except the minimum wage. This will move us more to capitalism instead of socialism. It could be a good move. I did not think so in the beginning. But what is going on now isn't working either. So a poor person who works full time would make $30,000 a year. One ramification would be the demise of full time workers. Which many companies are moving towards anyway. Part time workers are not getting benefits. Another ramification would be that certain people that have qualified for government benefits may exceed the threshold and no longer be able to get them or other tax benefits towards their income taxes. Even though you at the bottom level you still make more than you need. The people making $8 and hour now would be on par with people making $10 an hour now. Creating a new bottom bracket with all making the same. The big squeeze would go on the people on a fixed income and those in the "middle class" living to the max on their income. Taking another chunk out of the middle class. Erasing the American Dream that pretty much came about after World War 2. Everyone isn't going to own a house and car. Everyone isn't going to get the "big" job. Everyone isn't going to go to college. Taking a current German model is the advent of trade schools. Can't be a bad idea as Germany is one of the strongest economies. Often bailing out the other European countries.
If you look at the Europeans most have socialized medicine. A higher minimum wage should result in more taxes collected. Less people collecting benefits from the government. Also less full time employed people. So if we go to a true socialized medicine environment the bigger thing of being a full time employee is less important. At this point in time the major benefactors of Obama Care are the ones on Medicade. Not people buying insurance on a "spot" market.
So there are a lot of sides to the coin. You cannot make $15 an hour and still get benefits. Unless of course you only work a few hours a week. The people that are collecting Social Security benefits would have to have at least a 20% increase to handle any fluxes in consumer prices. The folks on Medicare have been forced to spend a lot of their own money to pay the difference between what Medicare pays and what they have to pay. So many of them are spending upwards to a thousand dollars a month to get a hassle medical care. So this throws the ball back on the physician. Pay them like $100,000 a year without the fear of malpractice. They save $500,000 a year in insurance. I guess that the culprit here is insurance. With socialized medicine then may have to drives Fords and Chevrolets (but still afford to live in the large houses). They should make more money due to their skills and education. An education that is specific and useful to society. The medicine man or woman has always had a high place in societies due to their skills.
The availability of easy credit has always made our economy cook. That is what led to the Great Depression starting in 1929. The severity of economic up and downs has been softened due to regulations. Even as bad as the downturn was in 2008 it could have certainly been worse. In the early 1990s there was an economic downturn. A lot of the troops in Desert Storm were National Guardsmen. Only to return and not have a job to return to. Creating a slump. I was lucky enough to have a job with a company that had a strong foundation.
In the mid 1990s things started picking up due to the tech. Which eventually became the tech bubble. Everyone jumped into the stock market. Day trading. We all had the stock market on our pagers. Cell phones became available to a lot more people. Construction picked up again. New businesses emerged. We were cooking again. Sub prime loans became available. Golf courses and casinos were being built. The promised land again. Then came 9/11/2001. Proof of how fragile things are. Everything came to an economic standstill again. In the car business we did not see a customer for weeks. All of a sudden fairly easy 0% financing started. Again easy credit saving the day. The thought of not having ownership or equity was out the door. Things were moving again. Only to lead to the 2008 demise.
As people we tend to figure things out. Whether perception or reality. As vast majority of perception creates reality. It is what it is. The liberal use of benefits of the government has kept crime down for the most part. Imagine if millions of people were actually starving. That would create a desperate situation making it not even safe to be anywhere. As the 1980s band Culture Clubs stated, " when people become desperate they learn to survive". As a whole most everybody is doing OK.
The strange thing is that companies have a lot of cash on hand. In a previous post I mentioned that Proctor and Gamble is going to drop about one hundred products. Is that tucking in a bit or what? I do not see how that is not going to cost a lot of jobs. I am sure they are cutting out a lot of redundancy and dead weight products.
But there does seem to be some wiggle room for companies. They may start one person in the same job for one wage and another at a different rate. What is fair about that. Maybe one is more qualified than the other. That is justification. What is the other criteria involved? Who you know? Who you are? How you look? Is there a template that companies follow? You do not see too many "ugly" people in advertisements or news channels do you? That is part of the facade. We all want to be beautiful and successful. In reality everyone came be beautiful. Everyone can be ugly. Most people have about the same intelligence.
I just read on MSN news about some college degrees to avoid. It also gave several positions that these people have with those degrees. Most are not even closely related to the degree possessed by the degree holder. Mostly service and retail. Jobs that used to be filled with high school graduates. When they learned something in high school. Without being dangled to going to college. I admit when I went to high school my entire goal was to just get out. Go to college and move to the land of milk and honey. There are so many institutions now of higher education. Most came after the Education Act of 1964. These institutions provide employment to many people of all walks of life. From the professors to the janitors. This system is an large part of our economy.
Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century. So you go to college. Get a degree that thousands of people have. Get a job that used to be filled by someone with a high school education. Only with a lot of student loan debt. And get stuck in a low paying job. Or multiple low paying part time jobs. On PBS radio they stated that there are twice as many people working part time jobs now then seven years ago. In the poor economy of the early eighties I worked several part time jobs. Factories did not want to hire me because I had a "college" education. Other positions were not available because I did not have experience. So you face reality and just go out and get a job.
I keep going back to the European template. There are always people in big positions. But the majority are working low end jobs many times multiple low end jobs to get by. And I would guess that most rent their housing instead of owning. In reality many people feel that they own their home. But most have a mortgage. So they are buying their home. Not owning it anyway unless they have it paid for and a deed in hand. So why buy a home anyway? Just like buying anything else on credit. It is that warm and fuzzy feeling of owning something, just thinking you do.
At the rate we are going who is going to afford the big houses built over the last twenty years. Maybe that is what happened to the old Victorian mansions from the late nineteenth century. There is going to be a lot of people needing a place to live but cannot afford homes. Especially big homes. So the price will have to go down. The others will have to be divided into multiple living spaces like the old Victorian mansions were. Or simply torn down to make way for low income housing. A majority will barely be able to pay rent, let alone taxes, insurance and a house payment. That is why there are a lot of companies and individuals buying up property right and left. Knowing a big renting market is emerging.
But who is the ones making the big bucks. Someone is. I do not know who. With a inexpensive home starting at $100,000 and an inexpensive automobile starting at $20,000. Who that is making $20,000 a year can purchase one? A $15 minimum wage would make $31,200 a year. Just about 60% of the $53,000 "average". That minimum would raise some prices. But should not that much. That should actually stimulate the economy. That would be around a 30% income increase for those making around $25,000. That would take a lot of people out of the poverty bracket. So the government could cut subsidies. If you are going to make the money you can't get food stamps. All of the cost of living has went up except the minimum wage. This will move us more to capitalism instead of socialism. It could be a good move. I did not think so in the beginning. But what is going on now isn't working either. So a poor person who works full time would make $30,000 a year. One ramification would be the demise of full time workers. Which many companies are moving towards anyway. Part time workers are not getting benefits. Another ramification would be that certain people that have qualified for government benefits may exceed the threshold and no longer be able to get them or other tax benefits towards their income taxes. Even though you at the bottom level you still make more than you need. The people making $8 and hour now would be on par with people making $10 an hour now. Creating a new bottom bracket with all making the same. The big squeeze would go on the people on a fixed income and those in the "middle class" living to the max on their income. Taking another chunk out of the middle class. Erasing the American Dream that pretty much came about after World War 2. Everyone isn't going to own a house and car. Everyone isn't going to get the "big" job. Everyone isn't going to go to college. Taking a current German model is the advent of trade schools. Can't be a bad idea as Germany is one of the strongest economies. Often bailing out the other European countries.
If you look at the Europeans most have socialized medicine. A higher minimum wage should result in more taxes collected. Less people collecting benefits from the government. Also less full time employed people. So if we go to a true socialized medicine environment the bigger thing of being a full time employee is less important. At this point in time the major benefactors of Obama Care are the ones on Medicade. Not people buying insurance on a "spot" market.
So there are a lot of sides to the coin. You cannot make $15 an hour and still get benefits. Unless of course you only work a few hours a week. The people that are collecting Social Security benefits would have to have at least a 20% increase to handle any fluxes in consumer prices. The folks on Medicare have been forced to spend a lot of their own money to pay the difference between what Medicare pays and what they have to pay. So many of them are spending upwards to a thousand dollars a month to get a hassle medical care. So this throws the ball back on the physician. Pay them like $100,000 a year without the fear of malpractice. They save $500,000 a year in insurance. I guess that the culprit here is insurance. With socialized medicine then may have to drives Fords and Chevrolets (but still afford to live in the large houses). They should make more money due to their skills and education. An education that is specific and useful to society. The medicine man or woman has always had a high place in societies due to their skills.
The availability of easy credit has always made our economy cook. That is what led to the Great Depression starting in 1929. The severity of economic up and downs has been softened due to regulations. Even as bad as the downturn was in 2008 it could have certainly been worse. In the early 1990s there was an economic downturn. A lot of the troops in Desert Storm were National Guardsmen. Only to return and not have a job to return to. Creating a slump. I was lucky enough to have a job with a company that had a strong foundation.
In the mid 1990s things started picking up due to the tech. Which eventually became the tech bubble. Everyone jumped into the stock market. Day trading. We all had the stock market on our pagers. Cell phones became available to a lot more people. Construction picked up again. New businesses emerged. We were cooking again. Sub prime loans became available. Golf courses and casinos were being built. The promised land again. Then came 9/11/2001. Proof of how fragile things are. Everything came to an economic standstill again. In the car business we did not see a customer for weeks. All of a sudden fairly easy 0% financing started. Again easy credit saving the day. The thought of not having ownership or equity was out the door. Things were moving again. Only to lead to the 2008 demise.
As people we tend to figure things out. Whether perception or reality. As vast majority of perception creates reality. It is what it is. The liberal use of benefits of the government has kept crime down for the most part. Imagine if millions of people were actually starving. That would create a desperate situation making it not even safe to be anywhere. As the 1980s band Culture Clubs stated, " when people become desperate they learn to survive". As a whole most everybody is doing OK.
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