I know I am not alone when I say that with each month I am finding it more difficult to pay our everyday bills. We do have a fixed rate mortgage that we are happy for.

Hubby's overtime was cut drastically and I am picking up more hours at work. Everything that we purchase has gone up significantly with no cost of living increases to match. This has been adding a lot of un-needed stress to our lives.

Hubby was thinking about getting a part time job but that wouldnt really work because he needs to make himself available for the overtime if and when it is available.

Sorry for venting but it is just sooo hard to stay afloat these days I think we are worse off now than we were 5 years ago.
:beat:

just curious, but what part of the country do you live in?

It'a hard for a lot of folks these days. I'm noticing higher prices at the grocery store and we all know gas has soared in recent days. I try my best to cut down on expenses by couponing when I can. Do you have anything you can sell, ebay, yardsale?

AMEN! I agree with all of you! My husband has been laid off for 5 weeks now with no end in sight due to a strike in Detroit. I have already had to get into our EF for some things that we did know about, but were not expecting this lay-off. I already work two jobs and he does draw unemployment. He would like to get another job, but there are none to be had around here. And even if he did, they would not even pay what his unemp pays as of right now!
I do work for the schools and as soon as school is out for the summer I plan to work more at my second job. That will help. But it's things like the Flood insurance that we are required to pay. (Even though we don't even get a puddle in the street around here. ) And the balance on our Electric budget. The fun just keeps coming. But, we will survive! I know it could be a lot worse.

We live in PA.

I do use coupons faithfully and shop for bargins. I do try to cut costs but its still a struggle.

I made less money last year, I still managed to pay our bills last year and have a little leftover to splurge on my kids.

This year i've made more money and struggled badly. My natural gas and electric rates went up a lot and i'm paying more for groceries.

Is there a possibility to see if you can make any of your bills cheaper like telephone,, etc?

I'm sorry this is causing stress in your lives.

You're right it is getting harder and harder to stay afloat. Everything keeps going up but our wages. It is frustrating when we are working just to pay the bills. There is no room in the budget for any extras right now.

We even cancelled a trip go to visit dd at college next week. We just can't afford the extra gas (200 mile trip each way) or a motel room for the night. Plus we since we would both have to take two days off from work no income those days.

momishem - :hugz: I can't imagine how hard it must be for you right now. I hope the strike ends soon and your dh can get back to work. Hang in there.

I can't imagine how hard it must be for you right now. I hope the strike ends soon and your dh can get back to work. Hang in there.

I also hope things start looking better for you soon.

momishen - I hope the strike ends soon

It's true inflation is up and our paychecks are worth less and less.
We make more money than ever here and have less left over after living expenses.

I am finding the same thing. The company that my dh works for contracts their work out to another company. That contract has been up since March and we are on pins and needles waiting to see if the other company renews it or not.
Gas is 3.49 here now and my dh drives 50 miles one way to work.
Prices on all grocery items have gone up and I've taken a summer job in a state park to bring in some extra money!
Sending you some hugs and I hope things look up for you soon!

I live in Nova Scotia, and it's definitly getting harder. We can't affor a house in the city, but if we move outside the city (we both work in the city) we won't be able to afford the gas OR 2 cars that we'd need. Our groceries are really expensive here too. IE chicken goes ON SALE for 4.99/lb. for boneless skinless. I am always AMAZED when I see the sale prices in the states. However, I work at an emergency shelter, so I know how bad it can REALLY be for some. *SIGH* Hopefully things will pick up...until then it's creativity time ;)

Thanks, ladies. I hope it ends soon, too.

I have found myself tightening the budget. I have decided not to go on vacation this summer due to the cost of gas. I have found that all of my bills have increased (food, electric). I have really had to aggressively investigate and utilize the frugal tips which I have found on this board and also thru other frugal websites. I am using public transportation alot more. I am not going to far out of my neighborhood for other activities (church, groceries etc.). I am eating alot less meat. I am curtailing my book buying and utilizing the library alot more. :gum:

I am feeling the pinch from groceries and clothing, having a preteen boy who is eating my out of house and home and outgrowing clothing every month or so recently.

I think we are all feeling the burn at the gas pump & grocery store. I try to stay positive since dh is so busy at work, but still feel thing could unravel. This summer could bring very high health insurance premiums again (every year I wonder how I can afford another increase), among other things. I hope prices will level off, but I'm not holding my breath. Just a few years back I felt things (bills, savings & such) were right on track. Now I'm very unsure what the future will bring. Of course much of it is out of our hands.

Try to stay positive. I find I feel much better if I can put the money stuff aside & go for a walk, listen to some music or read for fun (no newspaper, etc). I know many are in much tougher situations, but I find the more I focus on money the more stressed out I can get. Sometimes I just have to find something else to focus on & to talk with dh about. Not sure this helps, but maybe.

Definitely tough times, all around. I'm sorry you are going through this.

This is a rough month for us as my tuition bill for grad school just came in for my class that starts in May, but I haven't been reimbursed yet for the class that I'm currently taking, so I don't know where the $1800 is going to come from.

Also, we owe $1700 in taxes, and dh dragged his feet filing the refund of $700 we would have gotten from the state, so we don't even have that to help defray the tax payment.

Add to that the rising prices in groceries, gas, utilities, etc and I think we're all feeling the pinch and getting a bit nervous.

Try to stay positive. I find I feel much better if I can put the money stuff aside & go for a walk, listen to some music or read for fun (no newspaper, etc). I know many are in much tougher situations, but I find the more I focus on money the more stressed out I can get. Sometimes I just have to find something else to focus on & to talk with dh about. Not sure this helps, but maybe.

I know what you mean, sometimes I think money is all we talk about. Well the lack of it that is. I know I find myself worrying about it more and more. I've had to make a real effort not to hit up my fiance with what bill came in the mail or how much I had to pay for something the minute he walks in the door. We both need to relax a little at the end of the day. He likes to read for a while and I've been getting back to my cross stitch projects.

That said he did agree to have a financial meeting tonight. Hope it goes well, he really hasn't been too involved with the budget process. He knows I've been doing the best I can with the money we make so pretty much has left it up to me. But, I'm finding I need his support and input with this and he needs to see what it looks like on paper. Not a pretty sight! Wish me luck.

Amy, I think school teachers don't make nearly what they should. We had several wonderful teachers when my dd was in school that left our district because they simply couldn't afford to live off the salary they were getting. I don't know about now, but then Wyoming paid some of the lowest teaching salaries in the nation. Some went to other teaching jobs in better paying disticts, but a few left teaching completely for other better paying careers.

Hope you can work out paying for your tuition.

I hope things get better for everyone soon, especially those who are out of work or working less hours. I'm lucky enough to be in a job which is pretty much recession-proof (knock on wood), but as a home health nurse I'm really feeling the pinch from gas prices. We recently replaced my old work vehicle with another 4 cylinder and I was complaining recently to DH that I didn't think our "new" car gets as good gas mileage as our old car did. My DH said, "Honey, the gas mileage is the same. It's the gas prices that makes it seem worse." :( I also noticed that grocery prices were definitely higher when I went shopping last week. I paid around $17 more than we usually do for our bi-monthly shopping trip and I was buying the same things I had bought in the past.


--Michelle

Big hug to all! :hug2:
Thank goodness the heating season is ending for most of us. Just know that you need to pinch wherever you can to save to offset the high cost for next heating season. I see alot of garden veggies & less meat in our future, not a bad thing but wish the money saved could go towards long term savings or something fun instead of planning for the cold of winter & getting from home to work.

Sister of yours, pinching & saving here in Upstate NY.

Not that misery likes company, but in a funny way you all are an encouragement to me. We're in this together in some small way. Hopefully we can show greater understanding when we meet face to face with others in rough spots, having struggled ourselves.

Dad never earned much, but I remember Mom never turned any one away who needed a meal. The standard fare was scrambled eggs, kidney bean salad, biscuits and coffee. With the change in prices our current choices might be different, but as long as we share we can never consider ourselves really poor. A former neighbor said when she grew up and unexpected company came for supper, her mom would say, "put another cup of water in the soup".

DH's overtime will be alot less this summer too. We usuallystick his OT up to pay for any extras. The summer time is usually when there is a lot of it. The company is feeling the price pinch as well though and they've hired more service guys so they can pay more regular pay versus OT. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it does HURT when the prices are rising. I've never worked much OT but a few hours a month were helpful with things like kids shoes and things like that. We've been told NO OT at all. Enerything has went up to some degree so we;re feeling the crunch as well.

Extra (((((HUGS))))) to those of you that are actually short a whole income. I don't know how your doing it.

Yeah, it's definitely getting tough. When we were at the grocery store yesterday I was wanting a little bit of fresh veggies & fruit...a couple tomatoes, a cucumber. I just couldn't bring myself to buy any. None of it looked good at all...it was 1.29 for one cucumber... Tomatoes were 3.99/lb... 2 lbs of strawberries were a "bargain" at nearly $8.

Gas is up to 3.49/gallon. It takes one gallon for us to get to the college and back home... My Dh has to go there 4 times a week (more lately with group projects). Summer semester will be 5 times a week. Fall semester is SEVEN times a week!!! (I have an 8:30am class...he has a 7pm class). I have NO clue how we're supposed to cover THAT kind of gas budget? That doesn't count going to Church, other errands (which will be done on the way home!), etc.

We've had to be so "un-frugal" the last month since I've had a broken foot... I couldn't stand...which meant no scratch cooking/baking...amongst other things. I'm shifting us back into "frugal high gear" now that I'm into a walking cast...

I know we'll all pull through this... I just hope things at least level out price-wise. A stop in the price increases doesn't put things back as they were, but at least we'd know HOW to budget for a while!! :shrug2:

It is getting harder and harder to stay on track here too. DH already works 70 hours a week at his job, and does odd jobs on the side. We live way out in the county, so with the price of gas, any job I could get in town would put us further in the hole (there are only retail jobs available - all the mills have closed down in the past decade). We are cutting way back on everything around here, but with gas, groceries, and our electric rates constantly increasing, and no cost of living increases, we are starting to feel the hurt too. :(

Its getting tough. We are paying down debt. I think thats our best weapon. I am buying less groceries. Everyone is going to have to be happy with one pork chop, not two. Not being brand loyal except to 4 things. Wearing things out and using them up.
Gas is crazy so I try to do all the errands at one time. Getting harder to do it all.

I have never known exactly how much the comparison of gas is, because ours is in litres, but I just found out lastnight that our gas here in Nova Scotia is almost $5.50 a gallon!! Our car isn't too bad on it, but we will definitly be thinking carefully before making any roadtrips. We're supposed to go to Maine this summer, but hopefully we can round up some others to go so we can slpit the gas!

champagnium--Imperial gallons or US gallons. Imperial are 20 cups and US gallons are 16. Regardless, it sounds like gas is more expensive there. I think I would be taking the bus. (Because that is an option for me)

I'm in southern Ontario and right now our gas is around $1.15/L which works out to $4.35/US gallon. We're one of the lowest areas in the country right now.......
They're saying by summer it's going to be up around $1.40/L which works out to $5.39/US gallon:surprise:

Where are people are going to come up with that kind of money....... plus higher utilities, groceries, taxes, etc..... :beat:

erghhh........ won't let me edit.

It should say the $1.40/L works out to $5.30/US gallon.
Regardless, we are still paying more here in Canada than those in the US, but no where near what they are paying in England and probably the rest of Europe.

We're feeling it too! Dh company is owned by a US company, so they are tightening their belts.

We are making good progress on debts, so I hope things don't crumble. I just got notice from a part time family they are increasing their days, by $200-250 per month! That's getting slammed into the snowball asap. My girls got really shorted on b'day gifts this year. BUT, it had waw factors. They got complete outfits for under $40 including shoes. Versatile outfits that double/triple thier wardrobes, so they are thrilled. usually their daddy doubles what I gt for them but we didn't. Their party is bringing a couple friends swimming then a sleepover. Cheap.

I'm making opportunities where I can. I sew. I've approached one boutique so far. once I get a few things in there, I'll approach another. Even with the economy slumping, there is a few niches with certain income brackets to be capitalized upon. That is something that I can build on, it has longevity. So I'm working at that.


I'm also looking to add one more full time child in the daycare. That'll add a substantial amount to my incom.e

I feel like I'm burning candles at both ends at times. But that'll pay off. When all the debts are gone and the income being broguht in can be used for something fun(uh...what's that??)

I looked at the numbers. I figured out why we are in debt! It's not that we spend spend spend, well we do, on basics. But realistically, the cost of living here is 4x faster than what our wages have been. I was thinking of quitting childcare. I took the numbers.... On dh income, all we could afford is mortgage, insurance, gas to work and 1/2 the utilities!! That's how much things have gone up! No wonder the line of credit slowly crept up! There is NO way we can make it on one income. Not a chance. We have 4 kids. There are school fees, next year it's nearly $1000. Clothes, 2 entering puberty at the same time, it's gonna cost me. We're firm believers in sports...that costs money. Even with cutting way back in areas, we'd still not make it on 1 income, because it already doesn't cover groceries and all utilities.

The economy right now sucks! But we're plugging away at it. We'll soon get rid of more debt...and then more... and soon everything! Still hope to get rid of EVERYTHING in 5 years. As long as dh works we're good. If it came down to it, he can work from home in the garage, but he doesn't want that.

It really is getting harder just to live day to day! My best best friend's husband was just let go from his job last week! They are already struggling and it just breaks my heart to see how hard things are for them!

We're paying $1.82 a litre in NZ

With the current exchange rate, we're paying almost $2.45 per liter.
(taxes included)

It really is getting harder just to live day to day! My best best friend's husband was just let go from his job last week! They are already struggling and it just breaks my heart to see how hard things are for them!

There is not much more terrifying than being unemployed. I went through a bad year where I was rotating between un- and underemployment. I had to take a number of crap jobs with bad hours, little pay, no benefits.

I do have a degree, several years of relevant experience. I must have sent out literally hundreds of cover letters and resumes. Took me an entire year before I found a job that offered me normal hours, decent salary, and fantastic benefits. Well, tell you what, I am holding on to this job for dear life and stockpiling money away. Although the firm and the industry are stable, it is always hard to know the future anymore, particularly with prices going nowheree but up.

I wish your friend`s family luck. It is really hard out there.

We're paying $1.82 a litre in NZ
That works out to $6.89 a US gallon!!!!!!!! :sigh:

With the current exchange rate, we're paying almost $2.45 per liter.
(taxes included)
and WOW......... that's $9.27 a US gallon!!!!!!!

Ughhhhhh.......... I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. We'll be doing some major money :jug: if gas gets that high here.

There is not much more terrifying than being unemployed. I went through a bad year where I was rotating between un- and underemployment. I had to take a number of crap jobs with bad hours, little pay, no benefits.

I do have a degree, several years of relevant experience. I must have sent out literally hundreds of cover letters and resumes. Took me an entire year before I found a job that offered me normal hours, decent salary, and fantastic benefits. Well, tell you what, I am holding on to this job for dear life and stockpiling money away. Although the firm and the industry are stable, it is always hard to know the future anymore, particularly with prices going nowheree but up.

I wish your friend`s family luck. It is really hard out there.


I remember doing this for a few years until I found my current job. I feel the same way as you do. I'm hanging on to this current job for dear life:snork:. I am also stockpiling food and other necessities, paying down cc debt, and establishing a small EF. I had a small Ef that helped me get through my last year of unemployment, but we didn't have a stockpile of necessities and my cc card debt was even higher when I found myself unemployed than they are now. I want to be better prepared to weather more stormss...as they come are way.

Hey Banana,

I've been wondering how you've been. I also live in the same area as Banana and the cost of living has defintely increased. I remember reading in the local newspaper LAST Summer that it has went up 6.8%!!! Now to add insult to injury the local Electric provider is planning on raising our rates 35-38% in about 1 year. It's hard to make ends meet when the local salaries are $10 -$12 an hour. That may have been fine 5 -10 years ago (heck I made that almost 20 years ago) when the cost of living was lower, but now since it has shot up 6.8% even if you get a 3% raise every year at work (which a lot of people don't even get that) it's still hard to make the ends meet. When they said recently in our local newspaper that Salaries were not keeping up with the cost of living they weren't kidding!

:surprise::surprise: Gas took a jump here overnight.
It's now at $1.17 per Litre (or $4.43 per US gallon)

I know what you mean. I quit my home daycare in January because of health issues. I have not worked before and although things were a little tight we have always been able to make it. This time we are not making it. We are falling further and further behind. I went yesterday to get them to pull my substitute teaching folder so that I can get back into that and I am already lined up to keep two girls for the summer. They are about 10 so it is not so hard to keep them. I am trying to throw together a yard sale for Friday and Saturday this week. Luckily I live on a main street so I get a lot of just pull in traffic so I do not have to spend money on advertising. I am not worried because of my Christian beliefs I know that we will be fine, but it is going to be a bumpy ride.

I hope things get better for everyone soon, especially those who are out of work or working less hours. I'm lucky enough to be in a job which is pretty much recession-proof (knock on wood), but as a home health nurse I'm really feeling the pinch from gas prices. We recently replaced my old work vehicle with another 4 cylinder and I was complaining recently to DH that I didn't think our "new" car gets as good gas mileage as our old car did. My DH said, "Honey, the gas mileage is the same. It's the gas prices that makes it seem worse." :( --Michelle

I did home health nursing for awhile and LOVED IT...but due to gas prices I just found my income was taking a huge hit. But I really really loved it!!!!!:dancing:

Kita-I have no idea which kind of gallon it as, I'm sorry, I'm clueless when it comes to converting litres and gallons! It was just something that came up in conversation.
Frooz: I HEART NZ!! Where are you? It takes an insane amount of time to get there from ehre, but it was worth it ;)

Feeling the same pinch here... DH and I are making over twice as much annually as we did ten years ago, but our standard of living is barely better now than it was then. We've already been living pretty stripped-down and frugal, but we haven't had a dinner outside the house in a couple months (bye bye to that occasional luxury), and what we eat at home is really paring down, too. We had always been of the mindset that health-wise it was worth paying a bit more to get a few products organic or chem-free, but that's going to be off the table, too. Even getting conventionally grown produce is looking daunting, pricewise, since grocery prices are rising noticeably. DH, who already works a full time job is going to have to get a part-time job to allow us to pay off a couple bills whose funding has just evaporated from our budget so we can cover the cost of basics like food and utilities. We both work at a university who is so deep in the red that annual cost-of-living raises are a total joke, and there probably won't be one at all this year. We love to be outdoors and take weekend trips to hike and camp, but not this summer. Looks like no trips at all - the gas will put it out of our reach financially. I know that there are worse things we could be living through, but this is the first time I've really ever felt seriously scared about being able to make ends meet. I don't know how people on fixed incomes survive...

Ditto..ditto..ditto...we are feeling it here also. I just had a big discussion with my family about wasting food, energy, water, etc. I am cutting things drastically here in the food dept especially. We are planning to put in a huge garden to help defray costs, and also, we have to buy new windows( in desperate need of those) and also, we are going to check out the attic to see about adding insulation. The only place I am going this summer is into town 1 time a week and staying around my house and in the pool. I also will be having a big garge sale to help pay for some paint and other small house things that I need to do.

I hear you.. i had to come back early from maternity leave because i just couldn't afford to stay off any longer. My mother even gave me a little extra money to pay bills and what not so i could stay off for maternity leave.

It's true inflation is up and our paychecks are worth less and less.
We make more money than ever here and have less left over after living expenses.

Perfectly said. Hubby and I were just having this conversation yesterday. Used to be hard to get ahead, now it's even harder to just stay afloat. :bang: