Window Shopper

I had to check this out for myself but it looks to be a good plan. So many families are going under because they are paying things that will not matter and do not pay things that really do matter. People need a place to live. They need food. They need to have lights and water. They need to have heat in the winter and, frankly, these days with the weather outside looking the way it does, they need the air conditioning as well. It is no longer an option. Now it’s a necessity.

But you can do some things to help your family. These are just suggestions. They are not a rule of thumb or any type of real advice since everyone’s situation is different. These things may not have anything to do with your situation at all. But if this is good for you, then it helps.

1) Deal with credit card debt. Pay the bills on that because the interest rate is going to kill you financially if you don’t. When the things are paid off, CUT THEM UP!!! Get rid of them. They are a huge part of the problem.

2) Pay what you need to have….utility bills are top of the list there. Also, your rent or mortgage is very important. If you don’t pay that, you won’t have to worry about utility bills. As homeless people you won’t have any. If your bills or mortgage are out of control, contact those whom you owe. They will work with you. DON’T IGNORE THIS! The bills do not go away magically. Things get shut off or you become homeless. That should not be an option.

3) For those who use heating oil or propane, contact your company and see if they have an incentive plan to pay for the oil or propane in the summer time when the prices are lower. Most places have such plans. Then, in the winter when the prices are way higher, you will get the fill up for the summer rates. The risk is that the price will go down but since that is highly unlikely, it’s worth the risk.

4) You can do things around the house to lower your heating and cooling bills by simply..in winter, lowering your thermostat a couple of degrees. Believe me, you get used to it. We did. In the summer, raise the thermostat a couple of degrees. This will save you some money. That bill is going to be high enough.

5) Insulate if at all possible. That will cut down on your loss to the outside.

6) Prioritize what is needed and what is not. Be brutal if you have to. No one needs that many snacks or cokes. Do you really need that extra cell phone? Does your cable or satellite have to have all those extra channels? Stepping down one level on either of those will save you quite a bit of money. Must the family eat out all those times? Go back to home cooking. There’s a benefit. You have family meals again.

It’s getting so that people are desperate now. I understand that. But it’s time to get in there and find ways to survive all this. With families helping each other, this can work. People don’t always have to lose out.

I do not have to tell you this. You already know the pain that is going on at the pumps. The problem is that we could have a few solutions but the congress will not deal with this like the American public needs. They seem to have stopped doing anything about this. Maybe I am wrong about that. But the last thing I heard was when the senators were a bit indignant that the CEOs wanted more tax breaks after having posted record profits last year. Unbelievable that they had the gall to want that.

One of the solutions to this problem is more economical cars. Want a laugh? As I started driving some years ago….ah hem…many years ago, the cars then were getting somewhere between 25-35 miles to the gallon. We had heard of test cars that were getting above 45 miles to the gallon. Yep. Then somewhere along the line, and here I would check out 1972 when the lines at the gas station were huge, they stopped trying for economy.

Lately, the car companies are seeing that big oil is turning against them (who would have seen that coming? Anyone with a brain) so they are scrambling to get more gallons per mile out of those new cars. The wonder is that they are thinking that 30 miles to the gallon is great. Uh no!!! All we need to do is go back to the older cars that get more mpg than today’s cars and we have it made. Well, see there’s the rub.

What’s the problem? When those cars were getting that great gas mileage, they were using actual gasoline. I know the difference. You could smell good gasoline at the pump. It had a distinct smell. Now, the gas smells funny and not good funny. They have changed the gas of today so much so that it took out most of the good fuel economy away.

And lets talk about using up our food to put in our tanks. Doesn’t anyone see a problem here???? We are not planting enough food to get us by for the rest of the year as a country. Yet, we are growing a vast majority of food plants to refine into fuel. Does NO ONE SEE????? What kind of stupid does it take to make this the solution to the problem? We are sacrificing our food for fuel!! COME ON!!! Get a clue, someone!!!

For the record, I have no intentions in using ethanol unless and until there is no other way. I refuse to be part of the massive stupidity that has come out of this so-called solution. NO, NO, NO!!! Someone please get a grip on reality here. If we use up our resources to make fuel, we don’t eat, our kids don’t eat, massive famine. What happens then? We start looking like a third world country. Hey, I do know we could get our belts tighter because most of us need to lose some weight anyway but not at the sacrifice of our children. Someone PLEASE think!!!! Stop the insanity!!!

For those of us who are eagerly awaiting the government stimulus package money, the wait is shorter than you think. The government is trying to slow down the bleeding of the economy so they are sending out the checks and direct deposits sooner than originally planned. So, if you are looking for that big check, it’s in the mail or going to be by the end of May.

Many of us are really going to enjoy that extra boon of money this month instead of waiting for up to three months. The original plan had some people waiting until July for checks simply because they were blessed with certain social security number endings. But now, it seems that they want the public to enjoy more monetary freedom much sooner. So, look for the checks to be at your mailbox or in your bank account. The electronic payments will start next Monday and be going out for a week!!! Paper checks will start on May 9th and take a while longer.

By the way, if you plan to spend the money instead of paying bill or saving it, check out your local grocery stores and discount stores for specials that they are putting on specifically for you, the tax rebate check holders. Big savings for you!