What Sacrifices Have You Had to Make as Direct Result of the Recession?

I thought it would be interesting to see what direct result the recession has had on peoples lives and if it is differing from that of other peoples nations. I will start with mine

1) Downsized from a house to a shared flat.
2) Had to get rid of my car and replace with a bycicle
3) Reverted to the budget supermarket foods.
4) Stoped drinking alcohol.
5) Stopped paying in to my pension.

Based in UK

I'm sure my story is similar to many of you out there.

Well since my wife and I were still in college with minimum wage jobs in 2008 we have not had to downsize at all. We have in fact become much more affluent since the great recession.

reply to post by michael1983l


To be honest the recession has helped me out in a way? The wife and I had quite a pile of debt when it first broke out. A subsequent job-loss scare at the company i work for spurred us on to spend the next few years working toward paying it all off.

Today here we are nearly debt free (mortgage withstanding) and I can honestly say we've never had more spare cash.

I will also never open another line of credit ever again. If I can't afford it, I can't have it. Simple.

reply to post by Socrato


You are one of the few lucky ones then. I think the majority of us have had to make sacrifices over the past 5 years.

reply to post by michael1983l


Luck has nothing to do with it. I've just worked my ass off and made smart decisions and never got into any debt whatsoever.

We knew this was coming 20 years ago, so we bought a piece of property, off grid, grow all our own food(pretty much!) and have simple solar installations for lights, movies and rechargables. The property was $15,000 for 40 acres, it had huge trees on it that were daily falling down, so we had it select logged and paid it off in less than a year. We have struggled on almost nothing at times, but now we sit at a relatively good spot to ride this out as long a mother nature keeps on going,(no bets there) But we cancelled Netflix this week, and am thinking of taking long distance off the phone. We built everything by hand on our place, often times using materials that others had thrown away. We call it W.I.L.A. Farm (WILA) stands for (Whatever Is Laying Around). I know it seems tough for you and everyone, we decided to have it tough right away since we knew this was coming. Most people thought we were crazy for living the way that we do, but now we have people call us and want to come out and have interns on the farm regularly to learn and help out. We chose to be different, to break from the pack, now at times we seem to be leading it. Odd huh?

I graduated from college in 2010 and am doing great since the 2008 recession. I live in an apartment with my girlfriend and we both work fulltime. We also go out at least a few times per week for drinks/food and grocery shop at least weekly. The vast majority of my classmates have also gone on to careers of their own and are supporting themselves



I'm surprised, because the news keeps telling me how my generation is lazy and starving in the gutter waiting for government handouts because of Obama

My industry was hit pretty hard. I lost my job, house, townhouse, 2 vehicles, a motorcycle. Among other things.


It was the best thing that could have happened. Today I have a normal job, less stress, 1/2 the money, but my family has never been happier.

1. moved from a nice, large 2 bedroom, 2 story duplex into a small one level 2 bedroom apartment for less rent

2. have not bought clothes or shoes for myself in a year, everything goes on my daughter

3. have had to eat less so my daughter can have more

4. do not travel to see family in two years, cannot afford gas

5. cut off cable 2 years ago

6. no cell phone, I use gmail phone

7. keep heat down in winter, use air conditioner on only the hottest days in summer

8. past two years, no Christmas gifts for adults, only for our daughter

9. have sold many of my things on craigslist such as electronic devices to make extra money

10. have had to sell off my books, cd's, movies, etc

11. have not been to a movie theater in a year, out to dinner, six months ago

12. have had to put off dental care for myself and eye exam and new glasses I need desperately

Would Obama and his wife Michelle live this way?

Sacrifices! lets see well i cant afford the gas and electrical bills any more and thats with prepaid meters. So i cannot heat and power my flat properly. Food prices have almost doubled so i cant feed my family in the maner we are accustomed too. Even travel fares doubled so im finding it hard to buy a travel card so my kid can get to school. Essentially i feel as if we now live on the breadline in what is supposed to be a first world country! Sad but true IMHO!

reply to post by Starchildren


That is a lot of sacrifice, makes mine look small fry. I sure do hope things get better for you soon, you need to reward yourself a little more for all that hard work you are doing.

Originally posted by michael1983l
reply to post by Starchildren

 

That is a lot of sacrifice, makes mine look small fry. I sure do hope things get better for you soon, you need to reward yourself a little more for all that hard work you are doing.

I hope they get better soon too. Thank you. I know there are people who have it harder than I do, and I'm thankful to have a roof over my head and enough to just get by.

reply to post by michael1983l


Here'a a few items from my list:

Extra people moving in and out of house due to loss of theirs (down to 2 extra now)

Feeding friends and neighbors who can't afford groceries (eating less ourselves to do so)

Babysitting six days and nights per week because daughter unable to afford daycare, even working 2 jobs

Took in grandkid for 4 months because daughter got in trouble with law

Dvd collection and many tools in pawn shop- paying interest each month so don't lose them

Laundromat because dryer broke- can't afford a new one

Car sits in driveway- can't afford gas

Last dinner out Feb.15th- gift cards from Christmas paid for it

No new clothes, shoes or haircut in over 2 years

Gifts for holidays and birthdays for little kids only

And the list goes on....

The recession isn't getting better, I don't care what the MSM says!

The recession hit my business hard. We have sacrificed a lot. More than I can list. But at this point, things are beginning to look up, mainly because I choose to see it that way. We have friends and family that are in a lot more debt than we ever accumulated. Soon we'll be debt free, and we're going to stay that way by continuing to change our view of money and resources.

You need what you need. You don't need everything you want.

reply to post by littled16


I feel for you and good on you for helping those that are struggling. I hear what you are saying about the recession not getting better and that may be true for the USA right now. Here in the UK there is a very faint smell of the situation starting to ease off but it is a very fragile one and it may slip back yet. This recession has certainly been a difficult period.

Things just seems to keep getting more expensive.

Got rid of cable tv

No dining out at restaurants.

Switched to budget food at budget supermarket.

No more day trips in the car-too expensive, try to use car less and walk more.

Have not been able to travel to see family.

Gone without some medical care, too expensive.

Not buying clothes, shoes or anything else unless it is absolutely necessary.

Dryer broke, just hang clothes or use laundromat.

Unable to move, need a cheaper place now, rent just seems to keep going up.

Trying not to use the heat unless it is really really cold. Thank goodness you do not need air conditioning up here!


However, around here, it seems like it is a little busier, and some of the places that were empty after 2008 now have new small businesses. There is more traffic too, for a while the streets, even the freeway looked like a ghost town. I never thought I would be happy to see more traffic.

reply to post by michael1983l


"Here in the UK there is a very faint smell of the situation starting to ease off"

Where exactly? Coz ile tell you this its not getting better in Glasgow!

Here are some off the top of my head in no particular order.

1. Canceled all vacations

2. Unable to visit my ailing mother on the east coast

3.Changed habits as relates to water, heat, electricity

4. Only shop at Goodwill, buy stuff on Craigslist, etc.

5. Grow as much of my own food as possible

6. Went vegetarian (for ethical reasons, but has certainly saved us a bit of $$)

7. Only have one vehicle for a family of four.

8. Switched to generic brand for just about everything

9. Cut way back on our cable channels

10. Switched to a $10/month gym membership

11. Make my own shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, toothpaste, etc.

12. Reined in the Christmas spending on the kids

13. Started using coupons again

14. Foregone dental work which I'd have to pay out of pocket


______________________________________________

A lot of these are actually really good things! And I have definitely not "sacrificed" much at all. Just tightening the belt, and tightening the belt, and tightening the belt. It will get worse, much worse, before it gets any better, though. So I know sacrifice is coming.

reply to post by OuttaHere


"11. Make my own shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, toothpaste, etc"

Thats a shame but nice to see you have the know how!

Condoms (joke) Went back to truck driving gave up trailer, car, just about everything living on our truck. Love it most days pain in the ass others.