Within Means
This post is likely going to make some of you nod and some of you shake your heads. In fact, it’ll probably make those who usually nod, shake their heads and vice versa. Some of you might never come back, and I’ll have to live with that.
I’ve been following the economic crisis from a distance. I don’t know the intricate ins and outs, but I do understand that it is impacting people everywhere and that the ripple effect is yet not known. It has been building for years and it is impossible to put blame on any one person or even administration.
On a personal level, Slappy and I are largely unaffected (for the moment) because he has a 5 year job contract with the hospital (even if the pay is fairly lousy) and I have loans from graduate school. We are in debt and will be for years to come, but we’re in good condition with our debt, largely because we’ve planned for it.
Others are not so economically lucky and it is a terrible fate that many face. However, being down on your luck is not an excuse for some of the things I’ve seen lately. When I see people on blogs and on twitter talking about not paying bills, overdrawing checking accounts and defaulting on loans, it pisses me off. Or when I hear about my hairdresser who let her home go into foreclosure because she was planning on moving any way, it makes me angry.
That is stealing.
If you walked out of a store with a 24 pack of water without paying, you’d be arrested. So why on earth should you be able to use all the water in your house without paying a water bill?
And yes, a distinction needs to be made here. I don’t mean to lump everyone together. There are plenty of people who are without a job for reasons they cannot help. There are plenty of people without a job who are trying to secure one. And there are plenty of people without jobs who are doing something about it and are making ends meet. Those are not the people I’m talking about. I’m talking about those who are in an economic crisis, but don’t seem to be working on getting out of it. I’m talking about those who point blame at the government and stay in their overly air conditioned houses, using their wireless internet, piling up bills that they can’t and won’t pay.
If you’re unable to pay your bills, you should not continue to have high speed internet service in your house.
If you’re unable to pay your bills, you should not have a TiVo let alone be wracking up the cable/satellite bills to make it useful.
If you’re unable to pay your bills, you should not have a live in nanny when you know that daycare is more affordable.
If you’re unable to pay your bills, you should not have a housekeeper.
If you cannot live within your own means, you need to stop paying for things that are not necessary and minimize your expenditures. This is not political, this is COMMON SENSE.
Is it more difficult to get by without a nanny and housekeeper? Of course, and yet, people do it all the time. Is it unpleasant to not have a computer hooked up to the internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Heavens yes. But there are places, like libraries and internet cafes, where you can get internet access for MUCH cheaper than the cost of a computer and the associated cable/internet services. You can get a cheaper cell phone plan, you can buy clothes at places that are less expensive. You can minimize costs, it’s simply not all that difficult. It’s just less pleasant.
Yes, it involves sacrifice. Yes, it means missing out on things you like. That’s part of life, and it’s not fair that those of us who are planning and budgeting are having to pick up the slack for those who are choosing to live beyond their means (which does not mean those who simply have no money and therefore no means. I mean people who are just being frivolous, unconcerned overspenders.)
I don’t think the whole economic crisis can be solved with such a simple plan, but I do think it’s something we need to examine. I think we need to take a look at our lives and the lives of our friends and families and we need to look at what we’re doing. We need to be outraged about overspending. We need to be outraged by people taking advantage of the system. And we need to be outraged by those who think that they can get away with stealing.
We cannot expect the government to fix nation wide economic problems if we aren’t even willing to make economic sacrifices within our own homes. Change has to begin somewhere. Why not here?
18 Responses to “Within Means”
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Welcome! I'm Katie, a 28 year old, full-time graduate student who just happened to have brain surgery in November of 2007 to give my ginormous brain a little more space. This blog chronicles my daily life, from relentless headaches to being a doctor's wife. Sit down, get comfortable and stay for a while.
Word. We were used to a certain way of life before law school and that has had to change dramatically. And there’s still things we could do better.
We only have one cell phone for this very reason. It’s inconvenient as heck but it saves us an awful lot of money.
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Nodding my head vigorously. I agree.
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You speak it sister!!
Now head on over to my place and enter to win some free laundry detergent, or a bondage duckie!
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Amen! it makes me so angry when I hear people talk about negotiating with credit card companies to pay 50 cents on the dollar of what they owe (or less), who act outraged that the CC company doesn’t want to settle (or won’t settle for a low enough amount). I know that CC companies will screw you if you let them, but did you SPEND that money? Did any one twist your arm and make you accept the high interest rate?
I do feel for those who have truly fallen upon hard times and are doing everything possible to economize and make ends meet. There but for the grace for God go I… And I do think that those individuals do deserve a helping hand, a leg up, and compassion and understanding. But there are too many people who accept no accountability and no responsibility for their own actions.
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Agreed.
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Amen sister. We live in a town where so many people have been living beyond their means. I used to get angry when my husband decided not to spend the money of the fancy country club membership, vacation in Hawaii every year or whatever.
Now as I watch people around me struggle… I am so grateful my husband is a saver and has the good sense not to buy things we really don’t need just because the neighbors do.
I have a friend who is constantly worrying about losing her job. She’s the main bread winner for her family of four. Yet she and her husband just bought a brand new car and are thinking of buying a vacation home! It makes no sense to me.
Great post.
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I’d have to agree with you. There are some things that are way more important than others. People seem to have reverse priorities at times, just how you put it. Favoring high speed internet and cable TV over the water bill is not a good idea.
I imagine there are a number of people who would forgo paying their oxygen bill (if one existed) in favor of playing World of Warcraft.
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Amen and amen. And now I have kids in high school, where financial savvy is being taught. Sponsored by credit cards companies. My children will NOT being taking that class. I think every child should be required to take Dave Ramsey’s financial classes in high school instead.
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I agree with you one million percent. I waited for a year and a half after I moved out on my own to get satellite TV, and almost a full two years for internet. It was tough, but I couldn’t afford it until I got married and my husband found a halfway decent job. Even then, we waited a few months for TV and a few more months for internet because we wanted to be absolutely sure we could afford it.
I see it a lot on shows like House Hunters on HGTV. People have a budget, but they really really want the granite countertops, or the marble floors, or the extra bathroom, or whatever. They go above their budget because they HAVE to have everything they want. Guess what? You don’t have to have all the amenities. Trust me, I wanted more than one bathroom in my house, but we couldn’t afford it, so a one bathroom house it was.
I could go on and on about the foolish spending habits I see every day from our friends – my husband and I discuss it frequently – but suffice it to say that I totally agree with you.
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AMEN! I know of someone who is going to declare bankruptcy (or try to) so she doesn’t have to pay back the credit card bills she racked up! That pisses me off so bad! I hope she is denied! Its called personal responsibility!
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Hell yeah! I was a little worried when I started reading this post but found myself completely agreeing with you. I don’t know what happened to accountability and responsiblity.
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I’m nodding my head over here. I completely agree. Things get way out of hand when people live way over their means.
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Word. and Amen.
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Sometimes the simple things in life are the only things that keep you from driving off a cliff. Sometimes that simple thing is having a housekeeper.
The End.
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I completely agree with you. I have been out of work for 14 months and counting (I was a teacher for 34 years.) Its come to living with generous friends as I keep trying to find work because I’m having to short-sell my condo as I can’t make the mortgage payments. I have every intention of paying off credit card bills that I haven’t been able to pay once I get some work. I’ve never been extravagant. I am trying to be responsible and accountable and I agree with you 110%. People blowing all their responsibility off can only be hurting those of us who are trying and need help with the CC companies, etc. And if someone just HAS to have a housekeeper, than give me a call – just as long as its a live-in situation and I can bring my small dog Max with me.
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I don’t care if someone has a housekeeper or a nanny or 5 million cell phones if that is their one & only splurge. I try not to judge how others spend their money, but when you watch a friend complain about having “no” money, or mention they are short on rent/mortgage YET AGAIN & then you see them get a new car, have a housekeeper, and generally seem to have all the bells & whistles its hard not to scratch your head & wonder. B & I spend a lot on groceries- we tend to buy nice food. That said, there are other things that we totally skimp on, they are just in “less visible” areas of our house. So I’m sure as I tell someone that yet again we really can’t go out to dinner they think “Didn’t I see a really well stocked cheese drawer at her house?!” without realizing that yes, there is the cheese but hey, I buy my undies in bulk at Target from the sales rack and my toothpaste in bulk with coupons.
Spend within your means and I won’t judge- but blow a huge wad on a vacation that you just *had* to stay the Four Seasons and then tell me you can’t afford your car payment that month and I’m bound to wonder where your priorities are.
Side note: don’t get me started on my diatribe about student loans. All this “stimulus” and we can’t consider letting recent graduates of graduate school have a little help?! The very people who are working their tail end off, and most likely in a profession or position that’s helping other people out???? Angers me to no end.
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What no TiVO? Why that’s just crazy talk. Isn’t that a basic utility like power and water?
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So funny, I was thinking about the same exact thing today. I came across a forum where people could ask questions about obtaining a mortgage and found a real gem.
The person had a judgement against them, and couldn’t afford the $50 per month payment required to settle the account. They wanted to know if this would hurt their possibility of being approved for a loan.
Amazing.
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