Nearly everyone I know is broke, this economy sucks!

Originally posted by Neopan100
I can confirm--we are in the same boat..general debt (student loan, mortgage, utilities, etc) are killing us now..just 2 years ago..we had enough per payday to have some fun (buy books, go to movies, maybe a small clothing purchase) but now FORGET it..we barely put food on the table..our income has only slipped a little..so that tells me everything is getting expensive. We don't have cable and try to keep our debt at a very minimum..we are down..it's getting frustrating and depressing.

On another note..I have been thinking lately about going back to school for biology. Our local state college has a bachelor of science in forensic biology. I don't know if I want to go into debt another 25K to get it though???

You should qualify for the Pel Grant, and Bog waiver they pay you 2500 per semester that was the only way I was able to go back to school... Just go to the schools financial aid department and ask them about it. I've been going for 2 years now and haven't had to pay a dime out of my pocket.

Yeah. Its bad. Prices in everything have sky rocketed in everything. I used to enjoy going to the city clubbing at least every other weekend, dancing and having drinks, getting hotels. I haven't been out like that in 2 years! Now I'm struggling to put gas in my tank, keep food in my house and pay my bills. I quit paying my credit cards cause I got tired of trying to freeze my butt off all winter by not using the heat. The heating bills are ridiculous. I use the money I would put on my credit card towards the heating bill. My room mate and I only keep certain areas of our apartment heated, and still the bill is outrageous. I now spend alot more time in my room listening to my fave music while ats'n. My boyfriend and I spend most of our nights together in, with some red box movies and vodka. Its a real treat if we have the money to go out to dinner once in a while, or bowling or a movie. Everything has gotten ridiculously expensive. One thing I refuse to do is let money or lack of run my life. So I appreciate what I do have, what I can have, family, friends.... Things that matter the most.

The whole gun situation is insane. Gun stores are packed, everything is on back order. I was lucky enough to get my first gun recently, an ar style rifle. I've started target practicing which is mad fun by the way, and have also been picking up ammo here and there and I'm currently looking for a few extra clips. Its insane. My intuition tells me something is coming and I want to be prepared.

Originally posted by miss_sky
Yeah. Its bad. Prices in everything have sky rocketed in everything. I used to enjoy going to the city clubbing at least every other weekend, dancing and having drinks, getting hotels. I haven't been out like that in 2 years! Now I'm struggling to put gas in my tank, keep food in my house and pay my bills. I quit paying my credit cards cause I got tired of trying to freeze my butt off all winter by not using the heat. The heating bills are ridiculous. I use the money I would put on my credit card towards the heating bill. My room mate and I only keep certain areas of our apartment heated, and still the bill is outrageous. I now spend alot more time in my room listening to my fave music while ats'n. My boyfriend and I spend most of our nights together in, with some red box movies and vodka. Its a real treat if we have the money to go out to dinner once in a while, or bowling or a movie. Everything has gotten ridiculously expensive. One thing I refuse to do is let money or lack of run my life. So I appreciate what I do have, what I can have, family, friends.... Things that matter the most.

The whole gun situation is insane. Gun stores are packed, everything is on back order. I was lucky enough to get my first gun recently, an ar style rifle. I've started target practicing which is mad fun by the way, and have also been picking up ammo here and there and I'm currently looking for a few extra clips. Its insane. My intuition tells me something is coming and I want to be prepared.

My Wife and i use to do the same thing once a month. Go to a different town, get a room and just have fun at local bars and clubs. Cant do that now. We spend alot of our time at home now saving money. Our goal is to get away for our 1 year Anniversary. We'll see what happens.

What you are saying, OP, is pretty true. But keep something important in mind. Just cause you and I may not know anyone doing well there are LOTS of people who are doing exceptionally well. WallStreet, for example, will be paying-out $20B (billion) dollars in BONUSES this year. That's over-and-above salaries and commissions. The banks (remember those folks to whom we gave $billions of our money when they screwed the economy?) are doing extremely well. Congress just got a 10% raise.

So WE may be sucking bathwater as are the people of Spain, Greece, UK, Italy... hell just about everyone, but the elite are doing better than alomst any other time in recent history. That's a fact.

It's a retracting cycle. It has been working toward this for years but it's now drawing to the big finale. The system we have been using for centuries and centuries is not working properly anymore...I don't think it was ever created for this many people...or for a fair and equal society for that matter.

The big companies and wealthy business owners are paying less money which means that their workers have less buying power which means they will buy less products...which means the corporations will have fewer sales and make less money. It's kind of astonishing when you look at the inevitable end of this.

Apparently there is only so much money in the world. I hear some folks talk about "wealth creation" but the truth is...you are not "creating wealth"...you are finding a niche that causes someone to spend their money on your product or service rather than somewhere else. It's not like everytime there is a new product, development or discovery that suddenly billions or trillions of dollars appear in the world...this is a falsehood propagated by elitists.

If I develop a new "widgit" and people flock to buying it...it's not like there is suddenly "new" money to buy it...that money is being funneled from another product somewhere else...it is not "creating wealth" it is re-directing it...and there is a difference.

The only people "creating wealth" are those that are growing food or mining precious metals...and when you really stop and think about it...that is really all about how you look at it.

reply to post by camaro68ss


Good luck, I hope you and your wife enjoy


Since I haven't been out in so long my goal is to start saving now to have a weeks worth of fun next year and go back to the winter music conference in Miami. Haven't been there in years and def can't afford it this year, so I'm really hoping to treating myself to something I love next year. Even if I can only fly down for a few of the parties.. Its very therapeutic and something I need to do!

reply to post by jtma508
I tend to agree if we take care in who we call 'Elite'. There is the top 20% or so in the U.S. who make high incomes and then there is the true 1% in the Soros and Buffet range of power and unthinkable wealth.

The top 20% are the ones who tend to create the jobs and I know a couple of them. I work for one at another web site. Down to earth people...and they did nothing to become the targets to tear down. However, the encouragement from TPTB do have us all at each other's throats. The Poor hate the Rich, the Rich blame the "Moochers" or Poor and the shrinking Middle Class are basically pushed to resent or hate both directions until we become one of the two ourselves.

The only ones I DO see doing well are the Political leaders and those standing just behind or around them along with those who put them there.

reply to post by camaro68ss


As senior in college about to pay 10k in debt back for my education, I'm really scared for my future. All of my friends who went to college have tremendous debts to pay back for the next 30+ years. Its a scary future for college students in this country. I got Pell grants that helped my debt but that just recently got taken away.

Some of my friends are over 60k in debt and next year my school has increased tuition again by 400 dollars. I find it disgusting that they are doing this to the future workforce of our country. The only way to pay off our debts is to join the military. I'm forced to take two internships where the employer isn't even required to pay me minimum wage and I have to pay 500 dollars just to take the internship. I'm sure they love the free labor

College is a business

If you've not started a garden yet you might want to. The growing season is starting and you still have time to jump on to it. If you don't have land to plant container gardens work well as well.

You can but a 55gallon drum from some production plants for less then $10. Cut it in half and make you self two nice size 27.5 gallon planters.

Originally posted by ObjectZero
If you've not started a garden yet you might want to. The growing season is starting and you still have time to jump on to it. If you don't have land to plant container gardens work well as well.

You can but a 55gallon drum from some production plants for less then $10. Cut it in half and make you self two nice size 27.5 gallon planters.

My goal is to get the backyard up and running with plumbing so i can start a garden. Problem is my fences fell down and are propped up by 2x4 at the moment. I need to get new fences before i can start on the backyard. When it rains it pours.

I do have potatos growing at the moment. there yummy

reply to post by camaro68ss


The economy is so bad. I know a few people that have some disabilities, and typically work, but have now resorted to filing for SSI. Can't say as I blame them either.

reply to post by flexy123


Well since your country is doing so much better (sarc) then why not tell us the secret! Oh ya thats right, our fed is proping up all of eus markets, has been since 2009, maybe we wouldnt have such an economic mess but we are paying the bills for an entire other continent also, bet you forgot about that didnt ya?

BTW, it is obvious the rest of the world has it right on guns, I mean look at greece, the police shooting unarmed civies for protesting, because they cannot fight back, what kind of a douche intentionally makes themselves a powerless victim? Not most Americans I can assure you, from our reconing you guys are all idiots, hey I know lets try to be helpless victims also so we can claim we are better than everyone whonisnt.........lol, just idiocy

I'm not broke, I just don't got any money. If it's not broke don't fix it

Make due with what you got. You don't need much money to have fun. Those high bills we tend to think we need are just wants. Just remember, you don't have to keep up with the jones anymore, they are broke too.

reply to post by inverslyproportional


All good points my friend. Alot of those Euro countrys dont know or understand that the FED, a privately owned banking cartel that has the balls of America in its hands, are propping up Euro countries with printed monopoly money.

I grew up beyond poor, we were so poor we lived in this apartment building and we moved to the adjacent one, just because it was 25 dollars cheaper a month. I know how to survive this. That is one of the advantages of growing up poor. Most people are going to "panic and get stupid" when it goes down.

reply to post by camaro68ss

Its not going to get any better either. This morning they are talking about the unavoidable "sequester" of more money... from you.

Originally posted by jtma508 " the elite are doing better than almost any other time in recent history. That's a fact. "

"Bentley and Rolls-Royce make so much off of so little that sometimes,
we wonder if they're real-estate agents rather than automakers.
Both German-owned British luxury brands posted record sales in 2012.
Bentley, under the Volkswagen Group, sold 8,510 cars, a 22 percent increase over 2011.
Rolls-Royce, owned by the BMW Group, sold 3,575 cars, just 37 cars more than in 2011."

editorial.autos.msn.com...

reply to post by skorpius


Yup never thought growing up on the bad side of the tracks was ever going to help me.

Originally posted by Hopechest

The key is to not live beyond your means, improve your skillset, and continually look for better jobs.

Does somebody really need a new car when they could take the bus, can you live without that cellphone, do you really need credit cards?

Living within my means and saving for my wants.

Some of us do need cars/trucks though as the RTA is not everywhere. But I always buy used, not new as it is just not worth it.

My cell is needed as well, but is a bare minimum cell with none of those apps that are really not needed, it's just a phone.

My cable is internet only.

And best of all, I have no credit cards.

I will admit that it can be very hard to get where I am at, and one bad circumstance can crash the budget. But I am next to stress free when it comes to my finances.

I also pay for my classes one at a time, when I have the money actually saved to pay for them.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Yea I hear you. To me, when I refer to 'the elite' it has less to do with how much money they have and more to do with what they are doing with it. Those that are using their financial wealth to manipulate markets, game the political system and hide behind lawyers and accountants to avoid carrying their own weight define the elite for me. There are lots of well-to-do people who made their money through inovation and hard work. God bless them. But a much greater number have upended this country, stolen its treasure and bought-off it's politicians for their own gain. The fact that no serious prosecution of the people 'on Wall Street' that doomed this economy has been undertaken sayd it all in my book.