Just been wondering lately how the economy is affecting everyone around me. It sure has affected me and my family- especially with Spence's line of work- being in the mortgage industry. Times are tough and things are tight. This has been a trial for me. I have had to penny pinch before from being a single parent so it's not an entire new ballgame for me, but it doesn't make it any easier. With gas and food prices high it doesn't help. It seems like every time you turn around someone needs money for something. I have been catering more so that has definitely been a blessing to help pay for the little things. Has anyone else been affected by the economy? What are you doing to survive?
In my patriarchal blessing it tells me that my material/temporal needs will be met. So that leads me to think that maybe this is a trial I have to go through so that when I do have lots of money that it will make me appreciate it more so that I don't go and blow all of it on needless things. :-) Or maybe it's a way of telling me that I need to lower my temporal needs. LOL
4 comments:
Jackie, I am so sorry to hear about you & your family's losses recently. It is so hard, especially when it is sudden! We experienced almost the exact same thing with my husband's father at the end of May. It was devastating!! I did have my husband go get checked out & HE DOES have the same thing my father-in-law had, so at least we know & he can take the Beta blockers & be monitored!! None of us will know if it was our exact time to go - but I think when it comes down to it - it does help with peace of mind knowing that you knew or that you tried your best to prolong your life!! So I hope your husband can stay on top of his heart - it is hard thinking about, especially as the spouse & what does our future hold? We understand how heartbreaking this is!! We are so sorry & hope your family will be comforted during this hard time!!
With the economy... we do feel the pinch!!! The prices at the pump & grocery store are just the biggest ones. We penny pinched all summer long & ate from our food storage for months!! (Sure came in handy!!) With my husband's commute to work, the couple trips he has had to go on, a family reunion or 2, & transporting youth around for his calling - our gasoline bill the past couple months has been $700+ (OUCH!!) I have stopped going out unless completely necessary, or for church on Sundays - or we all are going together somewhere!!
In our area things are just going wild & we are in the middle of a huge boom. House prices have tripled!! (There is no way we could move here with a family during this time!) If one can work - there is work available & they are paying very well! I think Mc D's is even hiring HS kids to work for over $11/hr. (What happened to the $3.75/hr back in our HS days?) I know of many places that pay much more - especially if you are & can stay drug free!! ISN'T that terrible to be coming to that point in the world!!
Childcare centers are lacking a ton in our area & people are begging for help!! I have had about 20 people approach me to watch their kids as I have been able to stay home with my kids & have babysat a bit here & there for several over the past couple years. As I called around to see what the current rates were going for... I was appalled to see that the YWCA is charging $7.25/hr for just one child! (no discount for 2nd child either!) HOW are families doing this?? Other places were charging in the $4.75 - $6.50/hr range!! I was floored!! So I did decide to take on a small house full of teacher & staff (at our schools little ones - SO I can have the same breaks as my kids) to help with our extra expenses w/gas, & now that school has started, braces on the boys, & we need to do better with saving for next summer when I am not working again. I took all the prices from our area & just averaged them together - The families were more than willing to pay the price!!! I am amazed that I will actually make more money staying home, than going back to work at our hospital. Even though it isn't the most glamorous or easy of work... That is how we are coping with the changes in our area for now!!
Good luck, it is so neat that you cater!! I would just eat all the food & of course there would be very little profit!! Have faith & continue to pay your tithing. The Lord does teach us during these hard times & tests us to see how strong we are when the going gets tough!!
(I feel a great refining happening in my own life as I continue to try to love & have patience for other children - all day long!!)
He will bless you - stay strong!!
Jackie,
We feel your pain girl!
We had a fence built a couple of months ago and they broke the sprinkler pipe...when Tyler went to fix it, the idiot phone company had laid the phone lines right in line with the sprinkler pipes and Tyler hit it...$250.00 to fix it...I have dental work that needs to be done...another $250.00 even with insurance...still trying to pay off the doctor bills from Joelle,s birth...every time I fill our truck up with gas I just want to cry...because of the problems with the airlines Tyler is still making the same amount of money as when I meet him TEN years ago! But now we have three kids and everything is more expensive...I don't have any answers...I just don't buy anything for myself anymore. Oh how I'd love some new clothes and shoes! :>
Jen
You do seem to be working quite a bit lately. The other day, Greg said, "Wouldn't it be nice not to live paycheck to paycheck." You bet! I refuse to cut back on healthy food like fresh fruits and veggies, so we've cut back on other things. I quit the gym, I don't drive if I can help it, and we cut out family vacation this year. We talked about Jackson Hole and Lake Powell, but I can't even imagine what it costs to fill up a boat at Powell. I hope it gets better. I just hope we don't get "comfortable" with gas prices at $3.70. That is still way too high! I let Greg manage the finances because I have serious anxitety attacks.
I didn't know you did catering! It figures - you know how to make yummy food!!
Things are tight, yes. I feel fortunate that Cannon's paycheck is the same no matter what is going on around us, but it's still crazy keeping up with everything. I started worrying like crazy this summer about food storage (because of some of the shortages we've been seeing), so, of course, our food bills are through the roof because I'm buying extra. So we have to tighten up everywhere else. We've had to cut or delay indefinitely some of the things that we were wanting. We don't go far very often because of gas prices. We just don't visit with family as much as we used to.
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