Comments on: 7 Financial Tips From the Great Depression

By: JD

JD — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:54:23 +0000

It is amazing how much you can save if you just take a little time to study where your money is going. When I was laid off late last year I had an adequate savings to survive several years without employment if I needed to but I was still focused on cutting useless expenses. I called up all my utility/service providers and negotiated lower rates or just completely cancelled extra things. I was able to cut my cable/internet/home phone bill in half by switching providers and retaining the same exact service just because they were willing to compete for my business. I cut my cell phone bill substantially just by calling and threating to leave unless they could offer me a better deal. Same with my gym membership. Use coupons! I know it is hard for us guys to use them especially when you have a decent amount of money and you feel weird using coupons for such small things but it adds up and it really is just money you are otherwise throwing away. Use them only on things you would buy anyway of course or things that are a great deal with the coupon and that you’d like to use. Take advantage of double or triple coupon days and sale items in the grocery store and I fill up my trunk with groceries for about what I pay to fill up my car with gas. The biggest thing is cutting your housing expense. I am not married nor have any kids yet so it is easier for me than it is for people with families but if you can even move to a place that is a few hundred less per month you save thousands each year. I live in a fine place but it is not in the hippest part of the city but it is very safe and nice with a lot of things nearby and my rental payment is actually a fairly small expense for me each month. For most people this isn’t the case, their housing expense is a major expense each month. I try not to have any expense that is major except for my own expense which is saving my money. I have since found another job since being laid off and I am saving even more than I did before which is over half my salary each month.

By: roddy

roddy — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:51:17 +0000

The generations of yesteryear had much better values to nearly everything, hard work was the only way for most of them to acheive anything

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:45:50 +0000

RE: the old adage “If you can’t afford to pay cash, you can’t afford it.”

While this is great advice for determining IF and WHEN you can afford something, there are many people who take that to mean do not USE a credit account to buy something IF you have cash. This is a foolish application of that wisdom.

The wiser choice is to use credit accounts to your advantage, while minimizing the risk of getting into trouble. Do not buy something unless you can afford to pay it, but use the credit accounts to give you extended warranties, easier return policies and negotiating strength, expense tracking and trends, cash back bonuses, etc.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:56:31 +0000

A very good article and for the most part, posts. Though I don’t see the country looking like the pictures, but the advice to help out is very good. Too bad this advice is not taught in schools so the past generations don’t get hooked on credit and use cash for most transactions. My parents did well without Credit Cards and pinched their pennies.
Jon Kepler made a good point about oil. There is no way this country can go completely off oil, too many things depend on it: generation of electricity, steel plants, long hauling trucks, planes and ships. We can probably create our own using solar cells, the wind and such but not for lighting up a city like New York, Chicago, LA or Detroit. The Government should do only what it is authorized to do in the Constitution and no more. The Constitution is not a living document and is not open to interpretation, it say what it means and means what it says. If you are unsure what the Federal Government can do, read Article 1, Section 8 and you will then know. Sorry, but the Federal Government got us into this mess, and it is up to us to get us out. What ever the Federal Government does, it does for its own purposes and not for our benefit.
Remember to live with in your means and if you find something you want, ask yourself ‘do I want it now or can I wait and pay cash for it?’

By: Jon Kepler

Jon Kepler — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:44:21 +0000

Uncle B, that was a very crazy post. Worse than that, you haven’t linked to a website or blog of your own where I can read about your credentials to determine whether or not I should take you seriously. You sound like an activist; most activists have websites.

We are not going off oil. There is no alternative to oil. Airplanes and ships literally CANNOT run off of anything other than oil (the rare exception being a nuclear powered ship).

Oil is not going away. Greed is not going away. Automobiles and highways are not going anywhere either.

By: Uncle B

Uncle B — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:38:47 +0000

Illusions
A dangerous illusion, American life can continue in its archaic 18th Century style, using solar and wind power, is dead wrong! Houses will be smaller, family of two-sized, super-insulated, LED lighted, passive solar heating oriented, use ground heat storage, use totally solar refrigeration in smaller, better, specifically designed units, stoves will incorporate microwave means of cooking and operate on low solar power, diets will change, less meat, more aquacultured fish, more “GMO’ed to grow fast and bug free veggies” from backyards, water efficiency built in, greenhouses built in, gardens attached, composting even humanure mandatory, We may see whole neighborhoods of homes like these, sharing communal breweries, wineries, mechanical shops,small local wind farm installations, water supplies from deep wells, power from solar collector arrays, and schools run by local governments. Interconnecting, not by highways, but by steel wheeled trains for economy sake! and battery scooters commonplace! We are going off of oil, but a lot of other changes will occur as a result of a severe government imposed carbon tax! We are entering a new green age, ruled by scientists, not market greed! The large American pot-belly and big fat ass will disappear as we move to a more sustainable, pig and cow grease- free diet. The (GRD) great republican depression and its stringent money supply will be the enforcer of a new way of life for all North Americans! As the GRD blackens our skies and spreads slowly through our society, unemployment, food shortages, housing shortages, and lack of transportation by automobile will earmark the changes to come! The American Dream will be so altered as to no longer be a dream but a psychological and sociological paradigm shift that even a direct nuclear hit could cause! We are so far out of touch with reality that even a shoe in our President’s face doesn’t arouse us! The GRD will grab us by our very existence, change the food we put in our mouths, take our oil and oil driven chariots from us and put us foreclosed out into the streets to meet anarchy and a new reality. Humbled, we will accept any changes necessary to live a sustainable life thereafter, or perish at the oil pumps, with empty-tanked Corvettes, pregnant girlfriends, GED-free and no food in our stomachs. Last Call America! Last Call.

By: Georgiana

Georgiana — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:54:07 +0000

Very good post, thanks!

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:15:15 +0000

Very good points, but for many of us, a car is a necessity. I live in an area where our mass transit is laughable and doesn’t go where you need it to, when you need it to.

They key to vehicle ownership is not to buy more then you can afford or need. A car is a poor financial investment, period. Deal with it the best you can.

As for GatesVP, the comparison to China and India isn’t apples to apples. Sure, they have more people and more land compared to us, but they also are not fully developed countries. Let’s see those figures in 10 years.

Coupons were left out of this blog and someone else mentioned, they are a great way to save money (without resorting to Wal-mart) If we use a lot of coupons and the store doubles some of them, we’ve saved $20 on our grocery bill before, sometimes more.

By: Marc

Marc — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:21:29 +0000

This has a lot of good well-intentioned information, as well as great comments. One thing that is missing in current society (but present in other places in the world) is an emphasis on reuse.

Having lived through the Depression made everyone conscious of what resources could be used in the future to defer costs.
I believe that a general focus on reuse across the board could lead to some creative ways to save money. It’s a shame that we can’t typically impart the same level of discipline. I guess it is human nature that that degree of discipline must be imposed from outside forces or events, etc.

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:09:29 +0000

This is a great article! It is great to be reminded of how much we really do have, even if we are short on cash. Also, for those who have a hard time spending cash instead of credit, at least make sure that your credit card interest rate is low so that you don’t spend a cent more than you have to. Here’s an article to help you lower your interest rates: http://www.brighthub.com/money/personal-finance/articles/17952.aspx
Basically, the lower payments you can achieve on your credit card, the more practical it is to use them.