"Crisis, what Crisis?"

[dr greg]

not here so far

Binkie, in the financial news today, Australia is saying there will be no recession in Australia, indeed they are expecting a continuation of economic growth that has been experienced over the last few years, albeit at a slightly reduced rate due to the difficulties that overseas markets may experience.

What was that thing about "The Lucky Country"

The actual quote was from Donald Horne and it doesn't mean what you think

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/luckycountry/
but all I know is that I've had two successive weeks of the biggest sales ever at the markets I do, people are shelling out for retro men's wear no problem, I got $250 for an old hawaiian shirt on Sunday, he obviously wasn't worried!

 

[Miss 1929]

I work for the agency that just got $700 Billion dollars. I am hoping us Government Gals will get spa treatment like some of the bankers have....
But seriously, I have cut back on any modern era shopping. Buying vintage is so much more worth it and makes me happy (and feel more lovely). Plus I plan to work on some of those vintage sewing patterns.

Hi darling! We miss you.
Can you slip me a few million? The Treasury will never miss it...

 

[Joie DeVive]

My mother has been going cuckoo during these past few weeks. She is a child of the depression and remembers family losing money in banks. Hers is in Wells Fargo and I told her that, if that bank failed, everything would fail.
She has since calmed down.

Karol makes a good point. I've been hearing about people pulling their money out of banks and putting it in under their mattresses. For goodness sake please don't do this. If your money is in a FDIC bank, your money is guaranteed by the full faith of the US government up to certain amounts. For exact amounts, check with your bank or the FDIC, but for most of us it's up to $100,000. Your money is safe. If people pull their money out on a large scale, the government will make sure people get their money, but that means it will have to print it to do so. That means that the value of the dollar will go down dramatically. And Karol is right, if we get to the point that the FDIC fails, (we won't) your money won't be worth anything anyway. [huh]
Besides, if you have large sums of cash in your house it is a safety issue. You are begging to be burglarized, and most home-owner's insurance will only cover up to a certain amount of cash on the property.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Just so everyone realizes ...they actually -raised- the FDIC insured amount on most accounts.

"On October 3, 2008, Congress temporarily increased FDIC deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2009."


From http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2008/fil08102a.html

 

[Paisley]

And don't sell your account to Mr. Potter for fifty cents on the dollar.

 

[Joie DeVive]

And don't sell your account to Mr. Potter for fifty cents on the dollar.

lol lol
Yeah, because your money isn't here. It's in Joe's house and Mary's....

 

[Miss 1929]

And keep Mama Dollar and Daddy Dollar in the Bailey Savings and Loan safe and they will have babies!

 

[Paisley]

Just take out the cash you need to get by.

 

[Cricket]

My family and I have basically kept our same lifestyle except for a few changes to save a buck or two. Our biggest money sucker was eating out all the time. We spend more money on groceries now and eat in more often. Besides when we have our date night and go to a nice place to eat, it seems more like a night on the town. It seems like a real treat.

Oh, and our "nice country drives" have been transformed into "downtown walks." Oh well, it is a nice opportunity to window shop as the sun goes down.

 

[tuppence]

thinking i should do the "Right" thing and tighten my belt due to the looming finnancial storm clouds gathering , I tried to do the right thing yesterday.

I had to travel to Fremantle, a nearby town to change my Library books and order a coconut, at the green grocer. There was a display of Vintage Citroen light 15's from the 40's to ogle too. Thinking I could save money i purchased a 3rd class train ticket, then thinking i didn't realy want to make eye contact with any 3rd class type people I had to by some reading material, so i bought "Tatler" "Horse and Hound" and "Razzle" ( for the articles), but when it came to the crunch i just couldn't go through with it, sitting in a crowded carriage, I mean, so I jumped into an empty 1st class compartemente. Imagine the shame when on arrival at Old Fremantle Town my ticket was checked and I had to pay the full 1st class fare, and 3rd Class fare , adding the cost of the periodicals, which I had subsciptions to anyway, and were sitting on the grande Rhulman table in the Library at "Baumont Court"

Its all just false ecconomy when one thinks about it "Carry on as usual, say I"lol

What are you doing to save money?

Oh Binkie, What a travesty. They railways are not employimg the right type nowadays, They should have realised that YOU DESERVE to be in first class, just by the fact that you are a better class of people

 

[Miss 1929]

One has to special order a coconut in Australia? I am surprised.
Please tell me, Binky, that it was a rare and exotic breed of coconut not appreciated by the masses.

 

[SpitfireXIV]

My family and I have basically kept our same lifestyle except for a few changes to save a buck or two. Our biggest money sucker was eating out all the time. We spend more money on groceries now and eat in more often.

that's been about it around my house too. we've always been fiscally responsible, so when a layoff happens, or gas prices go up, we're good. just cooking a lot more at home now. which isn't so bad when it's cold outside but nice & warm in the kitchen!

i've just had to keep myself from indulging in any bakelite lately... that's been harder than anything else!

 

[pigeon toe]

Oh Binkie, What a travesty. They railways are not employimg the right type nowadays, They should have realised that YOU DESERVE to be in first class, just by the fact that you are a better class of people

 

[bwelkk]

Karol makes a good point. I've been hearing about people pulling their money out of banks and putting it in under their mattresses. For goodness sake please don't do this. If your money is in a FDIC bank, your money is guaranteed by the full faith of the US government lost most of mine years ago up to certain amounts. For exact amounts, check with your bank or the FDIC, but for most of us it's up to $100,000. Your money is safe unless they pull another "bank holiday" like they did last depression. If people pull their money out on a large scale, the government will make sure people get their money, but that means it will have to print it to do so. That means that the value of the dollar will go down dramatically. However, the dollar value of gold will rise at an equal rate And Karol is right, if we get to the point that the FDIC fails, (we won't) your money won't be worth anything anyway. hence the gold [huh]
Besides, if you have large sums of cash in your house it is a safety issue. Perhaps, but not for me. It'll be a safety issue for the people in my house. You are begging to be burglarized, and most home-owner's insurance will only cover up to a certain amount of cash on the property. I hope their medical insurance covers acute lead poisoning

 

[Ace Fedora]

I spent several years living paycheque-to-paycheque, so being cheap just comes naturally to me. Having two young kids means I never go out, so no big loss there.

 

[Miss 1929]

Haven't seen one of these since 1933...

on Wall Street! At least he is wearing a hat. He would probably have better sales in 30s vintage of course...

The price has gone up considerably too...

 

[IndigoFanatic]

This isn't really affecting me all that much since I'm a grad student right now, and for a full year before this I was collecting unemployment while changing careers and working as a dog-walker.

Some corners that I've cut over the past year and a half:
cutting my own hair (usual haircut, $17/1.5 months; buying my own clippers, $20; it really made sense)
not using shaving cream (quick dry shave in the shower isn't too bad)
eating out once/week max, and splitting a meal with someone when I do
public transportation (time consuming but far less expensive)

I'm sure there are others, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head...

 

[Joie DeVive]

Ok, since I found your last entry somewhat confusing, let me see if I can sum up:

• You don't have faith in the US Government.
• You think if the US has another "banking holiday" like in the Depression that the money is not safe.
• You assert that as paper money goes down, gold will go up.
• And lastly that there isn't a risk that you will be burgled because you will be sitting on it with your gun and will shoot trespassers.

Did I get the gist?

• Ok, well, the FDIC did not exist in the last Depression, so we don't know for sure how that will play out.
• And I still say that if the US government goes bankrupt, we'll have a lot more to worry about than how much our worthless paper money is worth.
• As for gold, yep, you are right. However, most of us aren't sitting around with gold in our safes. And if you are depending on gold, you better make sure that it is in antique coins, because during the Great Depression, the government came in and made people sell back their gold to the government at the going rate. Antique coins are exempt because as an antique they have an added value beyond the monetary. If you really want to go this route, you might be better off with silver, copper and nickel. Not only are these easier and cheaper to acquire in the older coins, they are in smaller denominations, and hence would be easier to trade.
• Lastly, while I have no troubles with your assertion that you can protect yourself, you should check your local laws on the regulations about firing on intruders. They vary from place to place. But besides that point, you do have to sleep and (I assume) leave at some times. That again puts you at risk for burglary. Homeowners policies still only cover a limited amount of cash in the home, and gold or other precious metals would probably need a rider on your policy. That might be worth looking into.

 

[52Styleline]

General Electric is hovering aroung $20 a share. I'm buying all the blue chip stocks I can afford at this fire sale level.

 

[Miss 1929]

It's all just too, too sordid...