The Economy

[RolliePollie]

Like Zen, I'm single and it's just my income, which is nothing to brag about. What scares me is that I've already been living a very frugal life and I am not exaggerating when I say there isn't much else to cut back on. I don't have cable TV, my cell phone is a pre-paid that I never use, and I have dial-up internet. I don't smoke, I don't drink (much), I don't have a Starbucks habit, I rarely go out to dinner, and I shop at Grocery Outlet, which is the coolest grocery store ever (if you have one in your town, check it out!). I don't have air conditioning, last winter I kept my thermostat at 61 degrees, and I wash my clothes in cold and hang them to dry. I want to buy a new bike, but I guess I better get my priorities straight and make sure I can afford to heat my house next winter! I'm even a frugal cyclist. My Trek 1000 WSD (the cheapest Trek road bike) has 4,000 miles on it and I still have the original chain. And I've got 2,000 miles on my current tires. I got a $50 REI gift card for opening one of their credit cards and I'm going to use that to buy tires. Oh, and I always pay off my credit cards every month!

The main change I've made is doing errands after work when I'm already in town and pretty much not driving anywhere else if I can help it. I'm trying desperately to make it on $50 a week in gas, but I'm failing. I drive a Jeep Liberty and it gets horrible mileage. But I own it outright and don't have a car payment, so after running the numbers, it makes the most sense to just keep it. Plus I live in the mountains where it snows and I need 4 wheel drive. I would commute on my bike, but it's just not realistic. It's too far, too hilly, too dangerous, and takes too long. I live in a very rural area so public transportation is not an option either.

I also agree that this poll is probably skewed. I work for County government and my office is in the welfare building. Every morning, there is a line outside the door...and each week, it gets longer and longer. They open the doors at 8 am and my coworkers tell me people start lining up before 7:00. I've heard caseworkers talking about people who were in tears because they were so embarassed to be asking for assistance. I think a lot of folks out there are getting very desperate.