My main goal for the time being is not to incur any debt. Any money spent on credit cards has to be counter-weighted by the same amount in savings.
We have friends who still go out to dinner, who haven't seemed to cut back on their life-style, even though they're unemployed. Eating into savings, I guess.
I have to wonder how many people in Bend are "temporarily" dipping into equity, or borrowing. Trouble with temporary and debt is that they are usually mutually exclusive.
Our life-style is pretty modest, and I have to just hope we don't have any car break-downs, or house repairs, or health issues come up. I built up a huge cushion in my break-even point at my store, never expecting to need it.
It came a lot closer in September than I would've thought possible.
This month is actually coming in at expectations, not even at 'worst-case' expectations. Since last month was 10% below worst-case, that would average us out so far at worst case. But, the 'trend is my friend,' and suspect that Sept., like January, will turn out to be a bit of an anomaly.
As I keep saying, it's a game of expectation. September was so bad because I didn't expect it to be so bad. January could be just as bad, but because I'm expecting it, it won't be so bad....if that makes any sense.
More of the mainstream economists are now beginning to say that the 'recession' may have started as early as November of last year, with a two month swing of before or after.
Since I saw a downturn starting on the very same week in mid-August that the 'credit-crisis' was first mentioned, I believe my own personal, Pegasus recession started then.
We're at that moment when I have to go my own way; not pay the slightest attention to the activity around me. Because there is always a lot of activity past the point where there should be activity; because of denial, and lack of experience.
This is where experience counts.
We have friends who still go out to dinner, who haven't seemed to cut back on their life-style, even though they're unemployed. Eating into savings, I guess.
I have to wonder how many people in Bend are "temporarily" dipping into equity, or borrowing. Trouble with temporary and debt is that they are usually mutually exclusive.
Our life-style is pretty modest, and I have to just hope we don't have any car break-downs, or house repairs, or health issues come up. I built up a huge cushion in my break-even point at my store, never expecting to need it.
It came a lot closer in September than I would've thought possible.
This month is actually coming in at expectations, not even at 'worst-case' expectations. Since last month was 10% below worst-case, that would average us out so far at worst case. But, the 'trend is my friend,' and suspect that Sept., like January, will turn out to be a bit of an anomaly.
As I keep saying, it's a game of expectation. September was so bad because I didn't expect it to be so bad. January could be just as bad, but because I'm expecting it, it won't be so bad....if that makes any sense.
More of the mainstream economists are now beginning to say that the 'recession' may have started as early as November of last year, with a two month swing of before or after.
Since I saw a downturn starting on the very same week in mid-August that the 'credit-crisis' was first mentioned, I believe my own personal, Pegasus recession started then.
We're at that moment when I have to go my own way; not pay the slightest attention to the activity around me. Because there is always a lot of activity past the point where there should be activity; because of denial, and lack of experience.
This is where experience counts.