Rising cost of living

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I saw this on CNN the other day (sorry I can’t quote it but look it up if you don’t believe me). They said that because of the rising cost of oil and gas, many companies can no longer afford to ship their products while keeping them at the same cost to the consumer. Ultimatley they will have to raise the prices to off set the cost. This will produce a higher cost of living here (in Canada) and in the United States.

I suspect that the US will get it worse then us, because your gas prices are much higher than ours at the moment. I remember when my mom bought gas at $0.39/L CDN when I was about 8 or 9. I’m now 21 and DH just bought gas at $1.31/L!!!

I’m very worried about this because right now, I can barely afford the cost of anything now…if they raise the price of everything, we’re in trouble.

If anyone has any comments…please post them!!!

Thanks
 
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. We’re currently living with my parents now and I’m so relieved that we don’t have to worry about paying our own gas bill this winter. DH makes pretty decent money, but we can’t afford to live on our own until I find a job. It was just getting impossible. I think we’re going to be seeing A LOT of elderly/ poor people freezing to death this winter due to the heating costs. For a lot of people, the combined costs of gas for their car and heating their homes is as high as a house payment! Then tack on groceries and insurance premiums. It’s impossible!

These high gas prices are directly hitting DH and I in the pocketbook. DH is a mechanic, he works at a GM dealership. The last 4 months there has been NO work in the shop, and the guys are paid only according to the jobs they do. If there’s nothing to do, they don’t make $$. I think this is directly related to the gas prices, because every time they went up in the past, there’s no work to do. People can’t afford to put gas in their cars AND pay to fix them. So, they’re just trading them in when they break. (It doesn’t help us that GM is offering all these incentives to buy new cars :rolleyes:). So here we are, BROKE, hardly even able to pay our van payment and insurance. We’re counting down the days when GM quits offering the deal of “employee pricing for all”. :mad:

Please pray for us because we’re financially at a dead end right now. If it wasn’t for my faith, I would feel hopeless right now.
 
First, the cost of gasoline is actually higher in Canada. If you use your quote of $1.31 per liter, that would translate into nearly $5 per gallon. Gas where I am is about $3.60, but before Katrina, it was about $2.95, where it is expected to return. I don’t think there is anywhere in the US where it is $5.

I imagine some services and goods will increase in price, but I wouldn’t expect it to be across the board. Companies cannot afford to give away their goods and services at a loss, so if their costs go up there is little else to do. There is little we can do, other than lobby the government to recduce taxes, making fas cheaper, or lobby the government to allow oil drilling in the US.
 
OH…i forgot about the exchange rate…oops!!

I don’t know…I can see it affecting everything. Rent will go up because of the cost of heating, food costs will rise because of the cost of shipping. Tuition and books have gone up because of a greedy government. They way I see it, we’re being set up for a lot of people being pretty destitute. I’m way in debt because I’m a student, Dh on the other hand, is still in debt (but more from a lack of willpower to save than anything). If I’m gonna hurt bad by this, I can’t imagine what the people who have it worse than me are gonna deal with…pray for them…they’ll need it more than i.
 
I’m a single home-owner. I make fairly good money and have very little credit card debt. I just took a second job simply because of a huge increase in my real estate taxes, rising gasoline and utility costs. I can barely keep up with my utilities. My only 2 daughters live out of town and we used to love to talk on the phone but that’s pretty much stopped because we don’t want the phone bills.

It’s discouraging because I thought I’d be in a much better financial situation at this point in my life.

I try to be thankful for what I do have and I try to stay very close to the sacraments during this time. If it wouldn’t be for my faith, I think that I’d be very discouraged and become somewhat depressed.

Blessings to all,
Shannin
 
I think that folks need to be made aware of the economic impact of Katrina so that they can budget accordingly. Lots are going to be shocked when their heating bills are doubled from last year. The cost of anything that goes through the port of New Orleans will go up: natural gas, oil, coffee, and bananas to name just a few. The cost of food is going up because the Southern US agriculture base has been severely impacted: chicken farms, cotton and so on. (No, we don’t eat cotton but cotton seed oil is used in processed foods.)

We have a charity budget for the year and it didn’t include Katrina. So we can not give to other charities in order to help Katrina survivors, or we can cut out something else. And choosing to cut our something else means that money won’t be spent here in the local economy.

But next year, with the doubled energy costs, the increase in property taxes, food, and other things, there won’t be much left to cut. And Katrina survivors will need help for a long time.
 
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sarcophagus:
OH…i forgot about the exchange rate…oops!!

I don’t know…I can see it affecting everything. Rent will go up because of the cost of heating, food costs will rise because of the cost of shipping. Tuition and books have gone up because of a greedy government. They way I see it, we’re being set up for a lot of people being pretty destitute. I’m way in debt because I’m a student, Dh on the other hand, is still in debt (but more from a lack of willpower to save than anything). If I’m gonna hurt bad by this, I can’t imagine what the people who have it worse than me are gonna deal with…pray for them…they’ll need it more than i.
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I forgot about the dollar exchange rate , too. That actually makes the discrepancy even higher. I just changed it from liters to gallons.

School is an expense that has really seemed to go up in the US in recent years. I graduated in 2002 just in time for my university to increase tuition by about 15%.
 
With all the different “clubhouses” around here I think we need a financially distressed clubhouse. It seems like a lot of us are in the same boat.
 
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shannin:
I’m a single home-owner. I make fairly good money and have very little credit card debt. I just took a second job simply because of a huge increase in my real estate taxes, rising gasoline and utility costs. I can barely keep up with my utilities. My only 2 daughters live out of town and we used to love to talk on the phone but that’s pretty much stopped because we don’t want the phone bills.

It’s discouraging because I thought I’d be in a much better financial situation at this point in my life.

I try to be thankful for what I do have and I try to stay very close to the sacraments during this time. If it wouldn’t be for my faith, I think that I’d be very discouraged and become somewhat depressed.

Blessings to all,
Shannin
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Shannin, (off topic…sorry) Try Pioneer Telephone. I have them and they have really great rates. In-state rates are what get some people and what make some companies too expensive, but at least for MD, they offer great in-state and out-of state rates. And if your daughters use the same company it’s even cheaper, like 2 cents a minute.
pioneertelephone.net/planinfo.asp
 
I agree Rayne…we need one to share all our tips and trials. So many people are distressed over money.
 
It seems to me that the most frightening cost of all is housing. Here in the Pacific Northwest real estate prices are skyrocketing with no sign of slowing down…and from what I gather, that is the trend nation-wide.

One would be hard-pressed to find a home under a quarter million dollars in the rural area that I live in.

How is a young American man expected to afford that? Even with a 4-year degree I have serious concerns about my ability to provide for a wife; let alone 3 or 4 or 13 kids (like my parents had).

Count me in as the newest member of the ‘financially distressed’ club.
 
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rayne89:
With all the different “clubhouses” around here I think we need a financially distressed clubhouse. It seems like a lot of us are in the same boat.
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How about if we start a thread about this? What forum would you suggest?

And if it has a funny name, we can boost each others’ spirits, while we’re giving money-stretching tips and praying.

So, I suggest “Penny-Pinchers’ Paradise”, and let me be the first to lay claim to “Keeper of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

🙂 🙂 🙂
 
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Courtneyjo:
How about if we start a thread about this? What forum would you suggest?

And if it has a funny name, we can boost each others’ spirits, while we’re giving money-stretching tips and praying.

So, I suggest “Penny-Pinchers’ Paradise”, and let me be the first to lay claim to “Keeper of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
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I actually do think it’s a good idea since there seems to be a lot of financial stress for many members of the forum. When I started my bankruptcy thread several people came forward with their experiences and some good advice. The more I talk to friends about it, the more I find out just how many people actually have gone through bankruptcy at one time or another. It’s just not something that people talk about.

Your title is cute :). Although right now I don’t feel like I’m in paradise :crying: and penny pinching isn’t feeling heavenly at this point. We do need support and encouragement from one another. Just knowing others are out there in your situation makes you feel less alone.

How about the ECA (economically challenged association)?😛
 
Shannin, looks like you best me to it. See you at the Water Cooler at “New Thread for Saving Money.”
 
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rayne89:
I actually do think it’s a good idea since there seems to be a lot of financial stress for many members of the forum. When I started my bankruptcy thread several people came forward with their experiences and some good advice. The more I talk to friends about it, the more I find out just how many people actually have gone through bankruptcy at one time or another. It’s just not something that people talk about.

Your title is cute :). Although right now I don’t feel like I’m in paradise :crying: and penny pinching isn’t feeling heavenly at this point. We do need support and encouragement from one another. Just knowing others are out there in your situation makes you feel less alone.

How about the ECA (economically challenged association.)😛
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Shannin has started one. See above.
 
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MooCowSteph:
Shannin, (off topic…sorry) Try Pioneer Telephone. I have them and they have really great rates. In-state rates are what get some people and what make some companies too expensive, but at least for MD, they offer great in-state and out-of state rates. And if your daughters use the same company it’s even cheaper, like 2 cents a minute.
pioneertelephone.net/planinfo.asp
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Thanks Steph. I just checked it out and it looks too good to be true but I’ll take your word for it.

Blessings,
Shannin
 
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Courtneyjo:
Shannin has started one. See above.
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Yes, I did start one, but I guess I didn’t give it a very catchy title. (Not many prople responded.) We do need to share these tips because the economy is going to get pretty bad over the next few months.

Shannin
 
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shannin:
Thanks Steph. I just checked it out and it looks too good to be true but I’ll take your word for it.

Blessings,
Shannin
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I’ve been using them for about 2 years without any problems. One note, however, if I remember corretly - there are different rates if you want to be billed versus being billed automatically with a credit card/checking account. It helps them to keep their costs low if they don’t have to mail paper bills and such. I do it and have had no problems. You can also add money to the account if you don’t like the idea of automatic billing - just sign up for it anyway but keep you account stocked with a few dollars extra.

Now I think I’ll check out that money savers thread in the water cooler before I derail this one. 😃
 
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