What changes are you making?

[madscot13]

I'm a news junky, but now, I avoid following the news at all. I'm prone to "ticker-itis" and get nervous if I rely on the negative press to determine my mood.

I'm thinking of buying another house closer to work so I can walk/ride. Even though I'm only three miles from work now, that's too far to cycle in a suit and uses 1/4 tank of gas/week (for 30 miles total) because the engine never warms up. I think that there are values out there and being near campus would be neat.

Right now, I'm only down 10% from the market peak, so I'm not thinking of selling anything...

Silver started a full time job a couple months ago...and now I'm glad since my income will probably be the lowest in about 10 years as my bonus is tied to company earnings...

Mr. Silver, i am sure you have already considered changing at work, but walking generally does not build up too much sweat. Selling your house might be rough (although buying one still shouldn't be). However, i walk a 20 minute mile. I also have stubs of legs and don't have too much of a pace. You can get in a good work out- less than 2 hours a day. I assume you are still trying to lose weight and walking is excellent for that I always feel trimmer in my legs). however, that is probably an hour and half lost (assuming it is a 15 minute drive including parking) each day. Maybe you can't afford to lose that. Everything is at a premium these days. Just a brief thought from someone who is too young to be dispensing any.

[Mr. Bloom]

However, i walk a 20 minute mile. I also have stubs of legs and don't have too much of a pace.

That's a great idea! For winter when sweating's not a problem, but it's too cold to ride, I could walk. I have stubby legs too, BUT, I can walk 12 minute miles...and I have sidewalks on the entire route. I think I'd benefit from the detox time

[madscot13]

That's a great idea! For winter when sweating's not a problem, but it's too cold to ride, I could walk. I have stubby legs too, BUT, I can walk 12 minute miles...and I have sidewalks on the entire route. I think I'd benefit from the detox time

i always do my best thinking when I am walking. Biking requires too much concentration. I'm not sure what that is saying about me.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That's a great idea! For winter when sweating's not a problem, but it's too cold to ride, I could walk. I have stubby legs too, BUT, I can walk 12 minute miles...and I have sidewalks on the entire route. I think I'd benefit from the detox time

Another suggestion is to get a 50cc scooter, which gets about 95 miles per gallon of gas. Even in the coldest Indiana temps, you'd do the 3 miles to work in about 10 minutes maybe? Nice and breezy in the hot summer too....and won't mess your 'Mr.BankMan' suit.

Get rid of those gas guzzling zoom-zooms!

[madscot13]

Another suggestion is to get a 50cc scooter, which gets about 95 miles per gallon of gas. Even in the coldest Indiana temps, you'd do the 3 miles to work in about 10 minutes maybe? Nice and breezy in the hot summer too....and won't mess your 'Mr.BankMan' suit.

Get rid of those gas guzzling zoom-zooms!

Hey I was getting him off of all fuels!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey I was getting him off of all fuels!

Yeah but severely cutting gas use by going from 15-20mpg to 95mpg is a great start! That's like using 1/4 or 1/5 of what was used before, right?

An electric bike might be an option too, since he has moderate weather, few hills, and pretty smooth roads for his 3 mile short commute.

[smilingcat]

Overall, I'm down about 15% on my investments, house valuation excluded.

Anything different? not really, just staying put on the sideline and watching this mayham with a heavy heart. I'm not in a mood to talk about monetary policies right now for fear of offending people. And no I have zero tolerance for vultures who are eagerly waiting to pick up foreclosed homes. I find it reprehensible.

However, I am thinking of "exit strategy" from this mess. And reading lots of historical data on past economic crashs both here in US and abroad. Very interesting. There is a common theme and it is replaying today.

My house will be paid off in nine years or so. and my car is paid off no credit card debt. Have a line of credit with low interest rate sitting there just in case.

We don't have a TV, cable, satellite, pay-as-you-go plan cell phone, haven't had TV dinner of any sort just some frozen snacks. Still go out to dinner like last night, El Pollo Loco (crazy chicken) 3 piece chicken with two side order (cole slaw for both) and one order of garden salad for the two us $8.60?? with tax. Another time Wahoo (fish taco) about $10.00 total for both of us.

and oh yes I do make my own Chai tea and save $$ over pre-mixed tea.

what else, I've always been one of those ultra MPG driver of sort. I get nearly 30MPG on my AUDI sometimes 34MPG average. Its an automatic quattro A6 wagon (to carry our two big fur babies golden and a lab)

oh we don't have heat nor AC in my house yes we are bit old fashioned in my 1300sq foot house big yard though. We haven't had to buy much groceries, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, raddishes, bell pepper, herbs all grown in our yard. And I bake our own bread... We also have myers lemon treeS, lime treeS, and Washington navel orange treeS (all dwarf trees but they do produce enough).

I guess you could say we are SUPER cheap.

[shootingstar]

I think my portfolio is down by 10-12% ..on paper. I try not to think too hard about this and sit on my butt to wait this out.

It hasn't stopped me from making vacation trips...as long as we make them with a component of physical activity (cycling, snowshoeing, etc.) to keep it somewhat healthy , save money on transportation (when vacationing), and think through foreign exchange rates with the Canadian dollar weaker now if we travel outside of Canada ..compared to 6 months ago, when our dollar was surging past the American dollar.

[Mr. Bloom]

Silver's sick and laying on the couch

So, I bring my new garden cultivator upstairs for assembly.

She says "why did you get that?"

"Well darling, it's time to start growing our own food to save money", I respond.

I wish I could have captured the sheer look of terror on her face

Then I went out and used my new cultivator to clean up some dead spots in the lawn

[Irulan]

Even though I'm only three miles from work now, that's too far to cycle in a suit

Funny, I know more than a few doctors and lawyers and other suit wearing types who ride to work, some 10-15 miles or more each way. Keep a towel and the right kind of clothes at work allow yourself some time to freshen up... it can't be THAT difficult to get the logistics down?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Then I went out and used my new cultivator to clean up some dead spots in the lawn

You've touched on my pet peeve....people with acres of GIANT useless lawns that they never even use, and waste gasoline mowing them week after week on massive rider mowers. All because they want their little plot to look like a miniature 'estate' or some such idea.
Huge lawns use our precious fuels, create only barren wasteland as far as wildlife is concerned, and give nothing productive back in return. Plus people pour chemical fertilizers and weedkillers (herbicides) on them- thus polluting our earth more and more. Even the earth worms can't survive in them.
Last year I rode my bike on a suburban type road, past dozens of houses in a row with 1/2 inch ugly barren mowed lawns. As I rode, I heard the unusual sound of crickets getting nearer. Turns out there was one house that had allowed their whole lawn to become a tidy little meadow. As I rode past it, I was greeted by a heavenly chorus of crickets singing, and i saw butterflies all over the wild flowers there, and also there were little sparrows flitting over the wild grasses and flowers, eating the abundant seeds. It was so lovely!
Then I passed that house and continued riding past the barren silent expanses of lawns again. Might as well just roll out plastic astro turf.


So you go Mr. S....plow that back 40 and plant it with FOOD!
The time has come for the nation wide return of the individual "Victory Garden".

[Bruno28]

[Mr. Bloom]

Well Lisa, our "estate" is one acre, so it would allow for a large victory garden, but unfortunately, in a community with unbridled billboards (my pet peeve), we are required by ordinance to maintain the lawns. As Zsa Zsa said "I get allergic smelling hay"

However, I've taken up the practice of letting it go dormant in the drought to minimize maintenance.

If it's any consolation, my condo in Bloomington is a designated natural habitat. We wrap around this pond

[Trek420]

I grew a tomato

[Bruno28]

I grew a tomato

It's a start...