The economy

This is in part a reaction to some posts at Nothing Knew and a post I have been playing around with. My post was decidedly whiny, so I never published it.

The economy sucks. I work for a Big Financial Company (BFC) and I know this first hand. The sight of the Lehman employees leaving with their boxes haunts me and threw me into a funk last week. Hubby and I are relatively safe right now, but cost cutting is a huge focus at work. We are also collapsing systems and reducing redundant employees. That means they decide if I am more important than my colleagues in the mid west. Who ever gets paid the least and can uphold quality the best gets to stay. Getting paid the least is my specialty, so I may dodge another bullet.

So what is my reaction? Aside from last week when I flipped out (rule of thumb - when the economy sucks this bad DO NOT CHECK YOUR 401(k). You will go crazy), we have started cutting our expenses drastically. Any alleged luxury is on it's way out. I have my eye on cutting Netflix and would love to get rid of cable. I will be outvoted on the cable (can't get rid of the sports) and Netflix means we don't have to take the kids to the movies. But cutting simple things seems to work. No more juice boxes. I cancelled the paper. Granted I was pissed at the lousy service, but I was able to cut $18 a month and I hardly miss it. I can get my For better of For Worse online. I convinced the kids to choose simple costumes for Halloween. S will be Thomas the Tank again and Trinks will be a Kung Foo girl. I drink cheap coffee. I reuse some zip top bags. Hubby and I carpool (except when the economy forces him to work until 8 PM) and pack our lunches. We joined the library and now I don't feel like we need to buy Scholastic books every month.

Two of my favorite websites offer advice and ideas. Get Rich Slowly is about a guy who got out from under debt and learned how to save money in the process. He covers a bunch of topics and seems down to earth. Another one site I visit is The Dollar Stretcher. This is update weekly and runs from stories from the incredibly frugal to sound financial advice about debt and savings. I'm not ready to make my own laundry detergent, but washing everything (except linnens) in cold water with half the detergent helps save money. I've also started cutting the dryer sheets in half. It doesn't make a difference.

A third site, Saving Dinner, is a valuable resource for menu planning. When we plan menus, we save money. The kids get involved so they feel like they are part of the dinner process. We've tried food I never thought we would like. Leanne Ely, the Dinner Diva at Saving Dinner is a wonderful down to earth woman. I met her a few years ago in Baltimore at a Flyfest. A Flyfest is a Flylady event. A Flylady is someone who rescues you from your perfection and gives you your life back.

So I have rambled on a bit, but I don't think it's as whiny as my first couple of drafts. I hope everyone is able to stay afloat until this mess passes. And I hope my 401(k) recovers before I retire.