How to Survive a Personal Economic Collapse
June 21, 2016
By Daisy Luther theorganicprepper.com
With all that is being written about the economic collapses of nations around the globe, people in America seem to be waiting for some huge event.
But what if it isn’t a huge event like a stock market crash or a currency collapse that you actually need to be concerned about? What if our disaster starts out looking nothing like the economic crises in Argentina, Venezuela or Greece? What if the real financial disaster in the future is more personal? What, if that financial disaster has already happened?
It’s here and it’s not what anyone expected.
Despite the lack of fanfare in the media, for many North Americans, the collapse is here. In homes across the country, the struggle to survive has already begun. And it isn’t what you think. This isn’t relegated to only lower income neighborhoods. As an article from a Cincinnati new station stated, “Hunger doesn’t know a zip code.”
For many people who were formerly financially comfortable, the economic collapse has already happened, in the form of a job loss, hours that have been cut back due to Obamacare requirements for employers, an exorbitant medical bill or other crushing debt, or simply an inflation rate that has outstripped your pay increases. Despite all of the warnings, many people are still going to be absolutely blindsided.
For many families, personal finances have reached a catastrophic level – they are left to make terrible choices:
• Which utility can I live without?
• Should I walk away from my mortgage?
• Should I eat something so I can work harder or should I skip meals so my kids have food?
• Should I use the grocery money to take my child to the doctor or should I wait and hope he/she improves without medical intervention?
• Do I risk the IRS-enforced penalties by forgoing enrollment in Obamacare or should I skip that whole grocery shopping thing so I can pay the monthly premiums and enormous deductibles in order to stay in the government’s good graces?
These are the kind of decisions that people across the nation are grappling with every day. And it’s not the people who you’d expect that are having these problems.
I’m talking about good people, hardworking men and women who have always been employed and paid their bills. A personal financial crisis does not just strike those stereotypical “welfare queens” with the long manicured nails, Gucci knock-off purse, and a grocery cart full of EBT-funded lobster.
I’m talking about the person next door, who seems to have it all together. I’m talking about that quiet family that sits two rows in front of you at church. I’m talking about that two-income family with two children and a car in the driveway that takes them to work and school 5 days a week. I’m talking about people just like you and me.
Here are the signs of a personal economic collapse.
A personal economic collapse is a little different than the major crises you see all over Europe right now, where huge segments of the population can’t feed their children or stay employed. It is a crisis that just hits your family due to a given set of circumstances. (In actuality North Americans are on the brink of the kind of collapse that is occurring in Europe, but because of easy access to credit and a buy-now, pay-later society, many of us still have the appearance of prosperity.)
Here are some signs that you may be in the midst of a personal economic collapse:
• You can only afford to pay the minimum payment on most of your bills.
• The same dollar amount you used to spend on groceries doesn’t buy enough food to feed your family for the week.
• You can’t afford to go to the doctor when you’re sick.
• You are taking dangerous steps to “stretch” needed medications because you can’t afford the prescriptions.
• Your utility bills are past due and your power is in danger of being cut off.
• You skip meals in order to save money or to have enough food for your kids.
• You’ve lost your job or had your hours cut.
• You have lost property due to foreclosure or repossession (such as your home or your vehicle).
Surviving the crisis
Times are tough but you can survive this. This article is written for people who can still hang on and maintain a modicum of their current lifestyle. If your situation is worse than this, here’s an article for those times when no matter how hard you try, you simply can’t pay your bills.
1.) First you have to see exactly where you are.
It’s time for a brutally honest assessment of your finances. If you use your debit card or credit card for most expenditures, you’ll easily be able to see what you’re spending and bringing in.
Print off your bank account statements for the past 2 months. On a piece of paper, track where your money is going. List the following
• Rent/Mortgage
• Utilities
• Car payments
• Vehicle operating expenses (fuel, repairs)
• Insurances
• Credit card and other debt payments
• Telephone/Cell phone
• Cable/Satellite
• Internet
• Extracurricular activities for the kids
• Extracurricular activities for the adults
• Dining out
• Groceries
• School expenses
• Clothing
• Recreational spending
• Gifts
• Miscellaneous (anything that doesn’t fall into the above categories gets it’s own category or goes here)
Don’t say to yourself, “Well, I usually don’t spend $400 on clothing so that isn’t realistic.” If you spent it, then it’s realistic. You are averaging together two months, which should account for those less common expenses. Brutal honesty isn’t fun, but it’s vital for this exercise.
So….what do you see when you look at your piece of paper with your average monthly expenditures for the past two months? Are there any surprises? Did you actually realize how much you’ve been spending? Most of us will immediately see places that we can trim the budget. Those $1-$5 purchases can really add up. Reining them in may just allow you to take care of an important need that you thought you could not meet.
It can’t continue like this. The economy will not withstand it. Step one is to see where you can cut things out right now from the above expenditures. Can you reduce your grocery bill? Slash meals out? Budget more carefully for gift-giving and school clothes?
2.) Rethink necessities.
If your finances are out of control, the best possible reality check is a stark look at what necessities really are. It is not necessary to life to have an iPhone, a vehicle in both stalls of your two-car garage, or for your children to all have separate bedrooms. People in parts of Europe and South America right now will tell you, as they scramble for food, basic over the counter medications like aspirin, and shelter, that necessities are those things essential to life:
• Water
• Food (and the ability to cook it)
• Medicine and medical supplies
• Basic hygiene supplies
• Shelter (including sanitation, lights, heat)
• Simple tools
• Seeds
• Defense Items
Absolutely everything above those basic necessities is a luxury.
So, by this definition, what luxuries do you have?
3.) Reduce your monthly output
Reduce your monthly payments by cutting frivolous expenses. Look at every single monthly payment that comes out of your bank account and slash relentlessly. Consider cutting the following:
• Cable
• Cell phones
• Home phones
• Gym memberships
• Restaurant meals
• Unnecessary driving
• Entertainment such as trips to the movies, the skating rink, or the mall
4.) Waste not, want not.
We live in a disposable society. Food comes in throw-away containers. People replace things instead of repairing them. If you throw out more than a couple of bags of garbage each week, that’s a very good sign that you may be wasting resources.
Before throwing anything away, pause and think about how it might be able to be reused.
• Food: Many times small amounts of leftovers can be recycled into a brand new meal. Meat bones can be used to make broth or stock. Small amounts of veggies or grains can be frozen and added to a future soup or casserole. Leftovers can be frozen in meal-sized portions to take to work for a brown-bag lunch.
• Clothing: Clothing that is torn or damaged can often be repaired with only rudimentary sewing skills. If it has been outgrown or cannot be repaired, often the fabric or yarn can be reused for other purposes, from cleaning rags to fashionable accessories like scarves and headbands, or home items like throw pillows, potholders or rag rugs. When all else fails, the fabric can be used for cleaning rags or patches to repair other items. Keep jars full of buttons, elastic, and other notions that can easily be removed before you throw a clothing item away or relegate it to the rag bag.
• Electronics: Obviously, initially you should attempt to repair (or have repaired) electronic items that are not working. If this is not feasible, are there components of the item that can be reused, either now or in the future? What about hardware such as screws or fasteners?
• Containers: Most food comes in a container of some sort. Before throwing the container away, consider whether or not it might be useful. Glass jars, plastic tubs, and plastic bags can often be reused to store food in your refrigerator or to contain food in brown bag lunches. Clean aluminum cans can hold all manner of items, from hardware and tools in a workshop to sewing and craft supplies. Use your imagination.
5.) Take control of your food budget.
The price of food is skyrocketing. Who hasn’t been to the grocery store recently and been shocked at the high price of that cart full of groceries or at the mysterious shrinking food packages that are the same price as yesterday’s larger ones?
• Stockpile: Create a stockpile of nutritious, healthy staples at today’s prices to enjoy when the cost goes even higher tomorrow.
• Preserve: Learn to preserve food yourself when you come across a windfall. Pressure canning, water bath canning, freezing, and dehydrating can allow you to take advantage of great sales or end-of-season scores.
• Eat less: This suggestion isn’t for everyone, but many of us could stand to shed a few pounds. Perhaps now would be a good time to cut back a little and shrink both your waistline and your weekly food bill. Lots of people eat for the sheer entertainment of it or out of habit. Next time you’re watching TV, grab some mending or a crossword puzzle instead of a bag of potato chips. Dish out slightly smaller servings at dinnertime to leave enough to stretch the leftovers for a brown bag meal the next day.
• Drink water: Skip the beverages and drink water instead. At less than $1 per gallon for purchased water you simply can’t beat the price. It’s better for you than sugary drinks. If you are lucky enough to have well water or access to spring water, your drinks don’t have to cost you a penny.
• Focus on nutrition instead of convenience: Buy the best quality of food you can, and skip the processed, nutritionless convenience foods.
• Grow your own. In the summer, grow the biggest garden you can. In the winter, or if you are an apartment dweller, put some sprouts and greens in a sunny windowsill to add some fresh produce for pennies.
6.) Reduce your dependence on utilities.
Energy rates are skyrocketing. As the prices begin to rise, more and more people will be unable to pay their bills and eventually their power will be shut off. Check your bill each month and as prices increase, use less power. Try some of these ideas to reduce your reliance and drop your bills.
• Hand wash your clothing
• Hang clothes to dry
• Cook on a woodstove or outdoor grill
• Can foods to preserve them instead of relying on a large chest freezer
• Turn the heat down a few degrees and use non-grid methods to keep warm
• Use rain barrels to collect water
• Direct the gray water from your washing machines to reservoirs
• Turn off the lights and open the blinds
• Use solar lighting whenever possible
How do you intend to weather the storm?
June 21, 2016
By Daisy Luther theorganicprepper.com
With all that is being written about the economic collapses of nations around the globe, people in America seem to be waiting for some huge event.
But what if it isn’t a huge event like a stock market crash or a currency collapse that you actually need to be concerned about? What if our disaster starts out looking nothing like the economic crises in Argentina, Venezuela or Greece? What if the real financial disaster in the future is more personal? What, if that financial disaster has already happened?
It’s here and it’s not what anyone expected.
Despite the lack of fanfare in the media, for many North Americans, the collapse is here. In homes across the country, the struggle to survive has already begun. And it isn’t what you think. This isn’t relegated to only lower income neighborhoods. As an article from a Cincinnati new station stated, “Hunger doesn’t know a zip code.”
For many people who were formerly financially comfortable, the economic collapse has already happened, in the form of a job loss, hours that have been cut back due to Obamacare requirements for employers, an exorbitant medical bill or other crushing debt, or simply an inflation rate that has outstripped your pay increases. Despite all of the warnings, many people are still going to be absolutely blindsided.
For many families, personal finances have reached a catastrophic level – they are left to make terrible choices:
• Which utility can I live without?
• Should I walk away from my mortgage?
• Should I eat something so I can work harder or should I skip meals so my kids have food?
• Should I use the grocery money to take my child to the doctor or should I wait and hope he/she improves without medical intervention?
• Do I risk the IRS-enforced penalties by forgoing enrollment in Obamacare or should I skip that whole grocery shopping thing so I can pay the monthly premiums and enormous deductibles in order to stay in the government’s good graces?
These are the kind of decisions that people across the nation are grappling with every day. And it’s not the people who you’d expect that are having these problems.
I’m talking about good people, hardworking men and women who have always been employed and paid their bills. A personal financial crisis does not just strike those stereotypical “welfare queens” with the long manicured nails, Gucci knock-off purse, and a grocery cart full of EBT-funded lobster.
I’m talking about the person next door, who seems to have it all together. I’m talking about that quiet family that sits two rows in front of you at church. I’m talking about that two-income family with two children and a car in the driveway that takes them to work and school 5 days a week. I’m talking about people just like you and me.
Here are the signs of a personal economic collapse.
A personal economic collapse is a little different than the major crises you see all over Europe right now, where huge segments of the population can’t feed their children or stay employed. It is a crisis that just hits your family due to a given set of circumstances. (In actuality North Americans are on the brink of the kind of collapse that is occurring in Europe, but because of easy access to credit and a buy-now, pay-later society, many of us still have the appearance of prosperity.)
Here are some signs that you may be in the midst of a personal economic collapse:
• You can only afford to pay the minimum payment on most of your bills.
• The same dollar amount you used to spend on groceries doesn’t buy enough food to feed your family for the week.
• You can’t afford to go to the doctor when you’re sick.
• You are taking dangerous steps to “stretch” needed medications because you can’t afford the prescriptions.
• Your utility bills are past due and your power is in danger of being cut off.
• You skip meals in order to save money or to have enough food for your kids.
• You’ve lost your job or had your hours cut.
• You have lost property due to foreclosure or repossession (such as your home or your vehicle).
Surviving the crisis
Times are tough but you can survive this. This article is written for people who can still hang on and maintain a modicum of their current lifestyle. If your situation is worse than this, here’s an article for those times when no matter how hard you try, you simply can’t pay your bills.
1.) First you have to see exactly where you are.
It’s time for a brutally honest assessment of your finances. If you use your debit card or credit card for most expenditures, you’ll easily be able to see what you’re spending and bringing in.
Print off your bank account statements for the past 2 months. On a piece of paper, track where your money is going. List the following
• Rent/Mortgage
• Utilities
• Car payments
• Vehicle operating expenses (fuel, repairs)
• Insurances
• Credit card and other debt payments
• Telephone/Cell phone
• Cable/Satellite
• Internet
• Extracurricular activities for the kids
• Extracurricular activities for the adults
• Dining out
• Groceries
• School expenses
• Clothing
• Recreational spending
• Gifts
• Miscellaneous (anything that doesn’t fall into the above categories gets it’s own category or goes here)
Don’t say to yourself, “Well, I usually don’t spend $400 on clothing so that isn’t realistic.” If you spent it, then it’s realistic. You are averaging together two months, which should account for those less common expenses. Brutal honesty isn’t fun, but it’s vital for this exercise.
So….what do you see when you look at your piece of paper with your average monthly expenditures for the past two months? Are there any surprises? Did you actually realize how much you’ve been spending? Most of us will immediately see places that we can trim the budget. Those $1-$5 purchases can really add up. Reining them in may just allow you to take care of an important need that you thought you could not meet.
It can’t continue like this. The economy will not withstand it. Step one is to see where you can cut things out right now from the above expenditures. Can you reduce your grocery bill? Slash meals out? Budget more carefully for gift-giving and school clothes?
2.) Rethink necessities.
If your finances are out of control, the best possible reality check is a stark look at what necessities really are. It is not necessary to life to have an iPhone, a vehicle in both stalls of your two-car garage, or for your children to all have separate bedrooms. People in parts of Europe and South America right now will tell you, as they scramble for food, basic over the counter medications like aspirin, and shelter, that necessities are those things essential to life:
• Water
• Food (and the ability to cook it)
• Medicine and medical supplies
• Basic hygiene supplies
• Shelter (including sanitation, lights, heat)
• Simple tools
• Seeds
• Defense Items
Absolutely everything above those basic necessities is a luxury.
So, by this definition, what luxuries do you have?
3.) Reduce your monthly output
Reduce your monthly payments by cutting frivolous expenses. Look at every single monthly payment that comes out of your bank account and slash relentlessly. Consider cutting the following:
• Cable
• Cell phones
• Home phones
• Gym memberships
• Restaurant meals
• Unnecessary driving
• Entertainment such as trips to the movies, the skating rink, or the mall
4.) Waste not, want not.
We live in a disposable society. Food comes in throw-away containers. People replace things instead of repairing them. If you throw out more than a couple of bags of garbage each week, that’s a very good sign that you may be wasting resources.
Before throwing anything away, pause and think about how it might be able to be reused.
• Food: Many times small amounts of leftovers can be recycled into a brand new meal. Meat bones can be used to make broth or stock. Small amounts of veggies or grains can be frozen and added to a future soup or casserole. Leftovers can be frozen in meal-sized portions to take to work for a brown-bag lunch.
• Clothing: Clothing that is torn or damaged can often be repaired with only rudimentary sewing skills. If it has been outgrown or cannot be repaired, often the fabric or yarn can be reused for other purposes, from cleaning rags to fashionable accessories like scarves and headbands, or home items like throw pillows, potholders or rag rugs. When all else fails, the fabric can be used for cleaning rags or patches to repair other items. Keep jars full of buttons, elastic, and other notions that can easily be removed before you throw a clothing item away or relegate it to the rag bag.
• Electronics: Obviously, initially you should attempt to repair (or have repaired) electronic items that are not working. If this is not feasible, are there components of the item that can be reused, either now or in the future? What about hardware such as screws or fasteners?
• Containers: Most food comes in a container of some sort. Before throwing the container away, consider whether or not it might be useful. Glass jars, plastic tubs, and plastic bags can often be reused to store food in your refrigerator or to contain food in brown bag lunches. Clean aluminum cans can hold all manner of items, from hardware and tools in a workshop to sewing and craft supplies. Use your imagination.
5.) Take control of your food budget.
The price of food is skyrocketing. Who hasn’t been to the grocery store recently and been shocked at the high price of that cart full of groceries or at the mysterious shrinking food packages that are the same price as yesterday’s larger ones?
• Stockpile: Create a stockpile of nutritious, healthy staples at today’s prices to enjoy when the cost goes even higher tomorrow.
• Preserve: Learn to preserve food yourself when you come across a windfall. Pressure canning, water bath canning, freezing, and dehydrating can allow you to take advantage of great sales or end-of-season scores.
• Eat less: This suggestion isn’t for everyone, but many of us could stand to shed a few pounds. Perhaps now would be a good time to cut back a little and shrink both your waistline and your weekly food bill. Lots of people eat for the sheer entertainment of it or out of habit. Next time you’re watching TV, grab some mending or a crossword puzzle instead of a bag of potato chips. Dish out slightly smaller servings at dinnertime to leave enough to stretch the leftovers for a brown bag meal the next day.
• Drink water: Skip the beverages and drink water instead. At less than $1 per gallon for purchased water you simply can’t beat the price. It’s better for you than sugary drinks. If you are lucky enough to have well water or access to spring water, your drinks don’t have to cost you a penny.
• Focus on nutrition instead of convenience: Buy the best quality of food you can, and skip the processed, nutritionless convenience foods.
• Grow your own. In the summer, grow the biggest garden you can. In the winter, or if you are an apartment dweller, put some sprouts and greens in a sunny windowsill to add some fresh produce for pennies.
6.) Reduce your dependence on utilities.
Energy rates are skyrocketing. As the prices begin to rise, more and more people will be unable to pay their bills and eventually their power will be shut off. Check your bill each month and as prices increase, use less power. Try some of these ideas to reduce your reliance and drop your bills.
• Hand wash your clothing
• Hang clothes to dry
• Cook on a woodstove or outdoor grill
• Can foods to preserve them instead of relying on a large chest freezer
• Turn the heat down a few degrees and use non-grid methods to keep warm
• Use rain barrels to collect water
• Direct the gray water from your washing machines to reservoirs
• Turn off the lights and open the blinds
• Use solar lighting whenever possible
How do you intend to weather the storm?
How to Survive When You Can’t Pay Your Bills
www.theorganicprepper.com October 8, 2018
by Daisy Luther
Let’s talk about poverty.
I don’t mean the kind you’re talking about when your friends invite you to go shopping or for a night out and you say, “No, I can’t. I’m poor right now.”
I don’t mean the situation when you’d like to get a nicer car but decide you should just stick to the one you have because you don’t have a few thousand for a down payment.
I don’t mean the scene at the grocery store when you decide to get ground beef instead of steak.
I’m talking about when you have already done the weird mismatched meals from your pantry that are made up of cooked rice, stale crackers, and a can of peaches, and you’ve moved on to wondering what on earth you’re going to feed your kids.
Or when you get an eviction notice for non-payment of rent, a shut-off notice for your utilities, and a repo notice for your car and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about any of those notices because there IS NO MONEY.
If you’ve never been this level of broke, I’m very glad.
I have been this broke. I know that it is soul-destroying when no matter how hard you work, how many part-time jobs you squeeze in, and how much you cut, you simply don’t make enough money to survive in the world today. Being part of the working poor is incredibly frustrating and discouraging
It is a sickening feeling when you’re just barely hanging in there and suddenly, an unexpected expense crops up and decimates your tight budget. Maybe your child gets sick and needs a trip to the doctor and some medicine. Perhaps a family member is involved in an accident and can’t work for a few weeks. It could be that your car breaks down and you need it to get back and forth to work because you live too far out in the country for public transit.
We’re going to see this more and more.
As our economy continues to crumble, these are the situations going on in more homes across the country every single day. Just recently, I wrote about the fact that nearly half of the people in America have difficulty meeting their basic needs like food and housing. That financial collapse bloggers have been warning about? It’s not just coming. It’s here.
It’s simple to believe that the people suffering like this are just lazy, or not trying, or are spending frivolously. No one wants to think that these things can occur through no fault of the individual. Why? Because that means these things could also happen to them.
Every time I write about crushing poverty, someone adds the comments section a smug declaration about how people need to get an education, hang on to a job, buy cheaper food…there’s a litany of condescending advice. I’m sure this article will be no exception, and please, if you’re in the situation I’m describing, let the criticism roll off of you. People who haven’t been there don’t understand and somewhere deep inside, they feel that by being critical, they can assure themselves they will never find themselves in a similar situation.
How do you prioritize when you can’t pay your bills?
The advice I have may not be popular, but let’s talk about prioritizing your payments when you can’t pay your bills. I am not promoting irresponsibility here. It’s just math.
When you have less money coming in than you have obligated to go out, you will not be able to pay all of your bills.
It’s that simple.
First, do a quick audit of your financial situation so you can see where you’re at.
Then you must prioritize. I know that you want to pay every single bill but that may not be possible right now. When you get your feet back on the ground, you can set up payment plans for the things you had to set aside while you were busy trying to survive.
This list of priorities assumes that you have some money coming in, but not enough to meet your obligations. You simply have to choose survival. I suggest the following order of payments.
1.) Pay for shelter first
Your number one priority is keeping a roof over your head. That roof may not be the roof of the house you are in now, though, if your circumstances have changed and you can no longer afford it. If you can still manage to pay your rent/mortgage, do so in order to keep your family housed.
If you rent, and your rent is a reasonable price, make this the first payment you make from your limited funds. You really, truly don’t want to be homeless and moving is expensive. Try your best to stay put.
If you own, consider your property taxes and insurance as part of your mortgage, because if you stop paying any of these, your home will be foreclosed on.
If you can’t pay your mortgage, property taxes, and insurance, you have a while before the home gets foreclosed on and you are forced to move out. If this is the case, it’s absolutely essential that you put aside money for the place where you’ll move should you have to leave your home. You’re going to need first, last, and deposits in many cases, particularly since your credit isn’t going to be stellar due to your financial situation. When you are in this situation, it can be difficult to force yourself to save money when so many things are being left unpaid, but if you ever hope to bail yourself out of this situation, you absolutely have to do this.
The laws vary from state to state, (find the specifics for your state here) but basically, this is the timeline:
So, the bottom line is this: either pay your housing costs or put aside money for future housing as your first expenditure.
2.) Buy food
You have to eat, and so do your children. If you don’t eat, you’ll get sick, and then your situation will be even more dire.
3.) Pay for essential utilities
You should be cutting your utility usage to the bare minimum and using every trick in the book to keep your bills as low as possible.
If your utilities get shut off, it’s going to be difficult to cook from scratch and you won’t be able to keep leftovers from spoiling. You need the water running from your taps to drink, cook with, and clean. Depending on the climate and the season, heat may be vital as well.
If you can’t ay the entire bill, call the utility companies and try to make payment arrangements. If your utilities are shut off, then you will have a hefty reconnection fee on top of the bill.
Another point to remember is that our culture believes it’s absolutely necessary that all homes be plugged in to the utility system. If you have a work-around, like wood heat and hand pumped well water, and decide that your utilities are not essential, you need to be prepared to face those whose opinions differ. Some cities have condemned homes which are not connected to the grid, and if you have children who are of school age, sometimes a “concerned” teacher or neighbor has been known to report your situation to the child welfare authorities. (Recently an off-grid homeschooling family had their children removed from the home by police.)
4.) Pay for car/work necessities
What must you have in order to keep working? For me, it’s the internet, since I work online. All of my clients contact me via email and the work I do requires that I be able to send it to them and research things online. I live in the country, so driving to the library on a daily basis would cost more than my monthly internet fees. For another person, this necessity might be the cost of public transit or keeping their vehicle on the road so that they can get to work. Choose the least expensive options to keep yourself working, but maintain your job-related necessities.
5.) Pay for anything else
After you’ve paid all of the above, if you have money left over, now is the time to pay your other expenses. These expenses include debt that you’ve incurred, contracts you are involved in (like cell phone plans, etc.) Choose very carefully how you dole out any remaining money.
I’ve been down this road. I really get it. It saddens me to see people I love in this situation now.
These books can help. I found them to be life-changing when I was broke, and the lessons have stuck with me throughout my adult life. You may be able to find them at your local library.
Finally, if you are in a situation in which you can’t pay your bills, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry about…
Life may not be exactly as it was before, but it will be good again.
www.theorganicprepper.com October 8, 2018
by Daisy Luther
Let’s talk about poverty.
I don’t mean the kind you’re talking about when your friends invite you to go shopping or for a night out and you say, “No, I can’t. I’m poor right now.”
I don’t mean the situation when you’d like to get a nicer car but decide you should just stick to the one you have because you don’t have a few thousand for a down payment.
I don’t mean the scene at the grocery store when you decide to get ground beef instead of steak.
I’m talking about when you have already done the weird mismatched meals from your pantry that are made up of cooked rice, stale crackers, and a can of peaches, and you’ve moved on to wondering what on earth you’re going to feed your kids.
Or when you get an eviction notice for non-payment of rent, a shut-off notice for your utilities, and a repo notice for your car and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about any of those notices because there IS NO MONEY.
If you’ve never been this level of broke, I’m very glad.
I have been this broke. I know that it is soul-destroying when no matter how hard you work, how many part-time jobs you squeeze in, and how much you cut, you simply don’t make enough money to survive in the world today. Being part of the working poor is incredibly frustrating and discouraging
It is a sickening feeling when you’re just barely hanging in there and suddenly, an unexpected expense crops up and decimates your tight budget. Maybe your child gets sick and needs a trip to the doctor and some medicine. Perhaps a family member is involved in an accident and can’t work for a few weeks. It could be that your car breaks down and you need it to get back and forth to work because you live too far out in the country for public transit.
We’re going to see this more and more.
As our economy continues to crumble, these are the situations going on in more homes across the country every single day. Just recently, I wrote about the fact that nearly half of the people in America have difficulty meeting their basic needs like food and housing. That financial collapse bloggers have been warning about? It’s not just coming. It’s here.
It’s simple to believe that the people suffering like this are just lazy, or not trying, or are spending frivolously. No one wants to think that these things can occur through no fault of the individual. Why? Because that means these things could also happen to them.
Every time I write about crushing poverty, someone adds the comments section a smug declaration about how people need to get an education, hang on to a job, buy cheaper food…there’s a litany of condescending advice. I’m sure this article will be no exception, and please, if you’re in the situation I’m describing, let the criticism roll off of you. People who haven’t been there don’t understand and somewhere deep inside, they feel that by being critical, they can assure themselves they will never find themselves in a similar situation.
How do you prioritize when you can’t pay your bills?
The advice I have may not be popular, but let’s talk about prioritizing your payments when you can’t pay your bills. I am not promoting irresponsibility here. It’s just math.
When you have less money coming in than you have obligated to go out, you will not be able to pay all of your bills.
It’s that simple.
First, do a quick audit of your financial situation so you can see where you’re at.
Then you must prioritize. I know that you want to pay every single bill but that may not be possible right now. When you get your feet back on the ground, you can set up payment plans for the things you had to set aside while you were busy trying to survive.
This list of priorities assumes that you have some money coming in, but not enough to meet your obligations. You simply have to choose survival. I suggest the following order of payments.
1.) Pay for shelter first
Your number one priority is keeping a roof over your head. That roof may not be the roof of the house you are in now, though, if your circumstances have changed and you can no longer afford it. If you can still manage to pay your rent/mortgage, do so in order to keep your family housed.
If you rent, and your rent is a reasonable price, make this the first payment you make from your limited funds. You really, truly don’t want to be homeless and moving is expensive. Try your best to stay put.
If you own, consider your property taxes and insurance as part of your mortgage, because if you stop paying any of these, your home will be foreclosed on.
If you can’t pay your mortgage, property taxes, and insurance, you have a while before the home gets foreclosed on and you are forced to move out. If this is the case, it’s absolutely essential that you put aside money for the place where you’ll move should you have to leave your home. You’re going to need first, last, and deposits in many cases, particularly since your credit isn’t going to be stellar due to your financial situation. When you are in this situation, it can be difficult to force yourself to save money when so many things are being left unpaid, but if you ever hope to bail yourself out of this situation, you absolutely have to do this.
The laws vary from state to state, (find the specifics for your state here) but basically, this is the timeline:
- When you make the decision to let your house go back to the lender, you will have a month or two before they send you a notice of default.
- From that point, you usually have 3 months before the foreclosure proceedings begin. During those 3 months, you should be saving the money you would normally be putting toward your mortgage.
- At some point, you’ll get a notice to vacate the premises.
- When this happens, you have two options. You can choose to move to a different home, or you can file for bankruptcy, if you feel your situation is such that there is absolutely no way out.
- If you file for bankruptcy, the home can’t be re-sold by the lender for 3 more months, giving you more time to put aside money for your move.
So, the bottom line is this: either pay your housing costs or put aside money for future housing as your first expenditure.
2.) Buy food
You have to eat, and so do your children. If you don’t eat, you’ll get sick, and then your situation will be even more dire.
- Stick to simple, wholesome basics and cook from scratch. Beans and rice have fed many a family.
- Tap into your inner Southerner and make inexpensive, filling meals like biscuits and gravy.
- Make soup to stretch just a few ingredients to feed a family.
- Save ALL of your leftovers, even the ones on people’s plates. Add them to a container in the freezer and make a soup from that at the end of the week.
- Clean up after the potluck at church. Sometimes you can take home the leftovers.
- Don’t skip meals to stretch your food further. You need your health and your strength to overcome this situation.
- Go to the library and check out a book on local edibles. Go foraging in the park or in nearby wooded areas.
- See if your grocery store sells out-of-date produce for use for animals. There’s often a fair bit you can salvage and add to soups or casseroles. (This is the only way we were able to have vegetables and meat during one particularly painful stretch when my oldest daughter was young.)
3.) Pay for essential utilities
You should be cutting your utility usage to the bare minimum and using every trick in the book to keep your bills as low as possible.
If your utilities get shut off, it’s going to be difficult to cook from scratch and you won’t be able to keep leftovers from spoiling. You need the water running from your taps to drink, cook with, and clean. Depending on the climate and the season, heat may be vital as well.
If you can’t ay the entire bill, call the utility companies and try to make payment arrangements. If your utilities are shut off, then you will have a hefty reconnection fee on top of the bill.
Another point to remember is that our culture believes it’s absolutely necessary that all homes be plugged in to the utility system. If you have a work-around, like wood heat and hand pumped well water, and decide that your utilities are not essential, you need to be prepared to face those whose opinions differ. Some cities have condemned homes which are not connected to the grid, and if you have children who are of school age, sometimes a “concerned” teacher or neighbor has been known to report your situation to the child welfare authorities. (Recently an off-grid homeschooling family had their children removed from the home by police.)
4.) Pay for car/work necessities
What must you have in order to keep working? For me, it’s the internet, since I work online. All of my clients contact me via email and the work I do requires that I be able to send it to them and research things online. I live in the country, so driving to the library on a daily basis would cost more than my monthly internet fees. For another person, this necessity might be the cost of public transit or keeping their vehicle on the road so that they can get to work. Choose the least expensive options to keep yourself working, but maintain your job-related necessities.
5.) Pay for anything else
After you’ve paid all of the above, if you have money left over, now is the time to pay your other expenses. These expenses include debt that you’ve incurred, contracts you are involved in (like cell phone plans, etc.) Choose very carefully how you dole out any remaining money.
- Keep one phone going, with the lowest possible payment. This is necessary for work, for your children or their school to contact you in the event of an emergency, and as a contact point for your financial situation. Compare the cost of a cell phone, landline, or VOIP phone. Every family member does not require a phone – you just need one. (I actually did go for a couple of years with no phone at all, but I’m uniquely antisocial and had email by which I could be reached.)
- If it’s at all possible, try to use the snowball method made famous by Dave Ramsey to pay off your debts and bail yourself out of your situation. Being free from debt will allow you to live a much freer life in the future.
- If paying off debt is not possible, try to make the minimum payments.
- If the minimum payments are not possible, you may have to default, at least temporarily, on debts.
- Buy some pantry staples. If you can add some extra rice or cans of tomatoes to the pantry, it will help see you through this tight situation.
- Be relentless in deciding what will be paid and what will not. This is not the time for arguments like, “But it’s our only form of entertainment” or “We deserve this one luxury.” Cut all non-essentials until things improve.
- Focus on the most frugal options possible.
I’ve been down this road. I really get it. It saddens me to see people I love in this situation now.
These books can help. I found them to be life-changing when I was broke, and the lessons have stuck with me throughout my adult life. You may be able to find them at your local library.
Finally, if you are in a situation in which you can’t pay your bills, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry about…
- The embarrassment you feel when you can’t afford to meet someone for coffee
- The sick feeling of seeing the bills pile up on the counter and not being able to do anything about it
- The knot in your stomach every time the phone rings and it’s a 1-800 number that you KNOW is a bill collector
- The stress of knowing you can’t remain in your home
- The fear that someone will say you aren’t taking care of your kids and they’ll be taken away
- The humiliation when people don’t understand and think it’s all your fault
- The hopelessness of watching the bank account empty out the day your pay goes in, and still having a dozen things unpaid
- The overwhelming discouragement of having fees assessed on top of debts you already can’t pay
- The anxiety over what tomorrow will bring
Life may not be exactly as it was before, but it will be good again.
How to get out of debt - it’s not rocket science
- Analyze where you money is spent
- Food
- Clothing
- Transportation
- Child care
- Dues
- Entertainment
- Eating out
- Set up a budget to live on less
- Eat in
- Don’t go out to concerts, movies, etc.
- Watch your travel and know when to buy gas
- Every penny counts!
- Save the money you would have spent in a separate account
- Envelope method
- Bank savings account (traditional bank or credit union)
- Set up emergency fund for medical bills, out of work expenses, etc.
- Pay down your debt
- Reduce what you use on credit card spending
- Make extra monthly payments to reduce existing debt
- Deb consolidation for lower interest rates
- Eliminate credit cards
- Saving money
- Live beneath your means
- Put saved money aside for a rainy day emergency fund
- You should have enough saved for a minimum of 6 month to pay bills in case you are out of work.
- Most people (60%) don’t have savings for one month! Get on the ball!
40 Lessons To Teach Your Kids Before They Leave Home
ZeroHedge.com Sat, 06/29/2019 - 22:30
Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper,
“Millennials” have been the butt of a million jokes about incompetence. The generation born between 1981 and 1996 is considered entitled, ultra-liberal, and naive about how life works. But maybe they’ve gotten a bad rap because what no one ever points out is that maybe the issue isn’t with these young people but with how they were raised. I know that my own millennial daughter is competent, frugal, and independent.
As a parent, the most important job I will ever hold is “mom” to my two daughters. And if I’m not teaching them the important life lessons they need to survive and thrive in this crazy world, I’m not doing a very good job at all. Of course, once they get out there, there are a million variables, but how they deal with those variables has a lot to do with whether they were raised to think independently or raised to wait for rescue.
While I raised girls, I think it’s essential that we teach our kids skills outside the typical gender roles. Boys need to know how to cook. Girls need to know how to fix things. Maybe it won’t be their lot in life to do things outside their traditional roles, but take it from someone who never planned to become a single mom, things don’t always go the way you expect.
As my younger daughter prepares to leave the nest (*mom sobbing*) I feel confident she’ll be just fine because I’ve taught her to the best of my ability the things she needs to know to be a successful adult. The skills you teach your children while they’re your captive audience will see them through many things – not just everyday life but also through a potential disaster.
Everyday skills every young person should have
Here are the lessons that I think every parent needs to teach their child, whether you’re raising boys or girls. Before leaving the nest, they should be able to:
Some of the skills above will cross over into emergencies, like First Aid. Outside of the basics of everyday life, your kids leaving home should know:
ZeroHedge.com Sat, 06/29/2019 - 22:30
Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper,
“Millennials” have been the butt of a million jokes about incompetence. The generation born between 1981 and 1996 is considered entitled, ultra-liberal, and naive about how life works. But maybe they’ve gotten a bad rap because what no one ever points out is that maybe the issue isn’t with these young people but with how they were raised. I know that my own millennial daughter is competent, frugal, and independent.
As a parent, the most important job I will ever hold is “mom” to my two daughters. And if I’m not teaching them the important life lessons they need to survive and thrive in this crazy world, I’m not doing a very good job at all. Of course, once they get out there, there are a million variables, but how they deal with those variables has a lot to do with whether they were raised to think independently or raised to wait for rescue.
While I raised girls, I think it’s essential that we teach our kids skills outside the typical gender roles. Boys need to know how to cook. Girls need to know how to fix things. Maybe it won’t be their lot in life to do things outside their traditional roles, but take it from someone who never planned to become a single mom, things don’t always go the way you expect.
As my younger daughter prepares to leave the nest (*mom sobbing*) I feel confident she’ll be just fine because I’ve taught her to the best of my ability the things she needs to know to be a successful adult. The skills you teach your children while they’re your captive audience will see them through many things – not just everyday life but also through a potential disaster.
Everyday skills every young person should have
Here are the lessons that I think every parent needs to teach their child, whether you’re raising boys or girls. Before leaving the nest, they should be able to:
- Cook inexpensive, nutritious meals from scratch
- How to use up leftovers
- Get from point A to point B using public transit or under their own power
- Budget limited money so that the most important things are paid first
- Mend and repair items instead of replacing them
- Take a course in First Aid, CPR, and anything else applicable that is offered. The more you know, the calmer you are able to remain during a crisis.
- Have a good basic First Aid kit and know how to use everything in it
- Know some home remedies for various common illnesses: teas for tummy aches, treatment for flu symptoms, how to soothe skin irritations, and how to care for a fever
- Drive. Not only an automatic transmission but also a standard transmission
- Change a tire. You don’t want your teenage daughter stranded on the side of the road at the mercy of whoever stops to help. My daughters were not allowed to drive the car until they demonstrated their ability to change the tire with the factory jack.
- Perform minor maintenance, like checking the oil and fluid levels, filling up the washer fluid, checking tire pressures and topping them up if needed, and changing the windshield wiper blades.
- Use basic tools for repairs
- Cook a healthy meal from scratch
- Cook a “company” meal – everyone needs one delicious meal that’s a little fancier they can cook when they have a guest
- Grocery shop within a budget and have healthy food for the week ahead
- Speaking of that, how to budget in general, so that they don’t have “too much month and not enough money”
- How to clean
- How to do laundry, including stain removal
- How to think for themselves and question authority
- How to budget for holidays and vacations
- How to manage their time to get necessary tasks accomplished by the deadlines
- How to tell the difference between a want and a need
- How to be frugal with utilities and consumable goods
- How to pay bills
- How to stay out of debt (not easy with the college credit card racket that you see on campuses across the country and rampant student loans)
- How to pay off debt if they have it
- How to keep safe: they need to have basic self-defense and weapons-handling skills.
- How to navigate with a paper map – not Google or their car’s GPS
- How to make extra money fast if an emergency arises
Some of the skills above will cross over into emergencies, like First Aid. Outside of the basics of everyday life, your kids leaving home should know:
- How to light a fire
- How to cook safely over an open fire
- How to keep warm when the power is out, whether that means safely operating an indoor propane heater, using the woodstove/fireplace, or bundling up in a tent and sleeping bags in the living room
- How to keep themselves fed when the power is out – they should have enough supplies on hand that they can stay fed at home for up to two weeks: cereal, powdered milk, granola bars, canned fruit, etc.
- How to deal with the most likely disasters in their area
- About the dangers of off-grid heating and cooking, such as the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in unventilated rooms.
- How to purify water
- How to keep safe both at home and when they’re out. Be sure they know the difference between cover and concealment
- How to do laundry by hand and hang it to dry
- How to keep things sanitary without running water
- How to acquire food: foraging, fishing, gardening, hunting