Is being on a fixed income during these economic times causing you to "hunker down"?

Wayne said:
Per topic nope not cut much but major surgery sure has the unable to walk and drive part...
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Sorry you can't walk and drive. That makes life hard. I had a bad fall last yr. and broke my arm; was badly bruised from head to toe. I have neuropathy in feet, which affects balance. I walk very slowly and use a cane outside the house. The body does heal, even in my old age, thank heaven. So this year I can drive once more and walk about the same as last year. I hope you recover well and will be able to walk again. Are you having physical therapy?
 

Youngster said:
Is being on a fixed income during these economic times causing you to "hunker down"?
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Not yet, but that day may come. I am a bit torn on the inflation thing, I am sure its coming, However I am not sure if I should be saving or just spending whilst the money is still worth something...

I don't hunker real well, but will do what I have to. Having once been poor I know I can get by on less.
 
I'm OK I guess and not asking for much. I'm not drawing social security yet and working part time. Hopefully no major car repair or anything.

If I needed to, I could stop all spending except for food, feeding the cats and needed care items and toiletries. I have books and crafting items. I'd want to go out shopping but could make myself not do so.
 
NorthernLight said:
Thanks, good tip. I'm not hungry. I think it's that I've always loved grocery shopping. Too bad I'm not one of those "get in, get out" shoppers!
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I have also enjoyed grocery shopping. Since I shop with cash, I only take the cash I need (plus a little extra). Making a list also helps, so I don't shop much more than that. I used to shop every four days, now I shop weekly.
 
Alligatorob said:
I am not sure if I should be saving or just spending whilst the money is still worth something...
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I've been thinking the same thing. Maybe I should be putting some of my money into gold or silver. Maybe crypto, but I don't know that much about that.
 
Only buying the basics and at Aldis to save more. Spending less at stores with higher priced goods. Sorry I can't make them richer...I need my money more than the store does. My food allotment was cut down so now I have to be even more careful what and how much I spend.
 
I've made a few changes, purely voluntary and what I should have done long ago, anyway. I'm certainly not struggling, and I haven't been in that situation of having to decide which necessity I have to give up. But I still don't like the economic chaos. It blows my mind that the Fed kept interest rates low for so long, without expecting it to feed inflation. And now when rates are back up to where they were 40 years ago when this was normal, it's treated at as a crisis. I think the government spends too much time pumping up the economy, when things are already going well. Isn't capitalism supposed to even itself out if we leave it alone? So why don't we leave it alone? We don't need the economy to be hot. I suppose this is good for Wall Street, but as part of the common rabble, I would settle for stability.
 
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I'm going to say no, my lifestyle is still the same but I'm also a careful spender.

What I have done the last two years (kind of unconsciously) is live off my SS only, I didn't use any investment monies. I wanted to do the financial exercise simply to see if I could, and it turns out I can. Of course a lot of other things had to be in place, like no debt or any planned major financial expenditures.

It's comforting knowing I can live off my current income and use investment money for other things.
 
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I don't 'hunker down' for financial reasons - only bad storms.:)

I haven't changed much in my spending habits, but do grumble more when everyday costs keep rising.
I think my days of getting bottled water delivered is coming to an end promptly .. price is ridiculous for delivery.

But have to live with rising rent, utility costs and car insurance
... although car expenses may end soon when I quit driving. That's something to look forward to I guess.:unsure:
 
I have always been “frugal” and so is my partner so our lifestyle fits in with the current state of affairs. We live in a fly over state and in a small town.

These past three years we have been working on our wills (I have no children, he has an adult boy that he helped a woman raise, she has passed away) and estate. Making sure it is not taken by anyone (if there is such a thing but they will have to put up a great fight).

We currently live on a quiet lake (mud puddle) that is wonderful but recognize that as we are aging we might not be able to care for it so spending some time working on our one story shop/home (currently has renters) to eventually move there and have a place for a caregiver to help us when we need it (many years off, we hope).

Traveling has become less interesting as we have traveled in the US the last 8 years seeing this beautiful Country. Not interested in foreign travel. I traveled much out of the US when I was young.

We both are on a fixed income. We rent movies from the library, I download library books to my iPad and of course I am a craftsperson with a great many supplies (worked in the arts and craft industry all my life so ”stuff”), more than I will get through in my lifetime. He likes to fiddle with mechanical things that go wrong or upgrade where necessary. The summers we mow lots of property and winter we plow. We keep a small garden. We have burnt wood to heat our home and water but are getting ready to transition to gas because of our age, plus if we want to sell the lake property a wood burner will normally not be an attraction to buyers. Do it while we can.

We take every day as a blessing and tell ourselves each night that we are blessed.
 
Where I live Thrift Stores and the so called Dollar Stores are very popular. No, the customers there are not only low income "down and outers." Often folks with good incomes go there because you can get some really great bargains. For example, on my last 2 month trip to the hot tropics, I needed a hat. I had 2 choices:
1. I could have bought that silly tourist Tilley Hat for $100 plus at some over priced travel store.
2. I could have bought a nice baseball cap for $3 at our local Thrifty store.

Guess which place got my business? Remember, "A fool and his/her money are quickly parted" and I like to think that I am far from being any kind of fool!
 
Packerjohn said:
Where I live Thrift Stores and the so called Dollar Stores are very popular. No, the customers there are not only low income "down and outers." Often folks with good incomes go there because you can get some really great bargains. For example, on my last 2 month trip to the hot tropics, I needed a hat. I had 2 choices:
1. I could have bought that silly tourist Tilley Hat for $100 plus at some over priced travel store.
2. I could have bought a nice baseball cap for $3 at our local Thrifty store.

Guess which place got my business? Remember, "A fool and his/her money are quickly parted" and I like to think that I am far from being any kind of fool!
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For me living in the country, it's a long trip to buy groceries. It pays if I need $50 worth, but for a loaf of bread or a last minute ice cream craving, the Dollar store saves me a trip and the gas. Their prices are generally higher at the Dollar Store, but I have found a couple of real bargains there too.
 
JustBonee said:
I don't 'hunker down' for financial reasons - only bad storms.:)

I haven't changed much in my spending habits, but do grumble more when everyday costs keep rising.
I think my days of getting bottled water delivered is coming to an end promptly .. price is ridiculous for delivery.

But have to live with rising rent, utility costs and car insurance
... although car expenses may end soon when I quit driving. That's something to look forward to I guess.:unsure:
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When are you planning to stop driving? I had to stop (or practically stop) in 2005. Having been a field worker for the second half of my career in government, I loved the freedom of being on the road for a good part of the week. I never thought I'd be satisfied with not having that freedom. Surprisingly, I'm very happy that I can no longer drive. So while I didn't look forward to it, it wound up being a good thing. When you do stop driving, I hope you'll be able to say the same.
 
JustDave said:
For me living in the country, it's a long trip to buy groceries. It pays if I need $50 worth, but for a loaf of bread or a last minute ice cream craving, the Dollar store saves me a trip and the gas. Their prices are generally higher at the Dollar Store, but I have found a couple of real bargains there too.
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You have to watch the Dollar Store. Some things seem like a bargain but they have been down-sized in quantity so you are paying less for less. Again read the labels.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
When are you planning to stop driving? I had to stop (or practically stop) in 2005. Having been a field worker for the second half of my career in government, I loved the freedom of being on the road for a good part of the week. I never thought I'd be satisfied with not having that freedom. Surprisingly, I'm very happy that I can no longer drive. So while I didn't look forward to it, it wound up being a good thing. When you do stop driving, I hope you'll be able to say the same.
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I used to drive a lot for my job and liked being on the road. The last couple of years, however, I dreaded it and am glad I retired when I did.
 

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