Selfsufficientish.com

If it hits you like it hit us (US), you'll feel it in food prices and gas first. Pensioners and retirees have lost money hand over fist. Public services will be hit, likes roads, schools, welfare. When welfare gets hit it gets nasty.

You can't sell a house here, though they say it's a buyers market. Maybe, but the banks aren't lending so it wouldn't matter. Then construction work goes away, layoffs. Then stores close or lay workers off because no one is buying building materials. Then you can't afford to pay your mortgage or taxes so you lose your home since you can't sell it......circle back to the beginning.

States are not collecting the needed revenues becuase of soooo many layoffs and no one is spending, so they aren't getting tax dollars to run the govt. Last I head California is going to issue IOU's for state tax refunds. They are cutting back or eliminating student loans and grants for college. People who are laid off cannot afford health insurance so there are not as many doctor visits or prescriptions being bought. OR, they go to the emergency room for an earache that they cannot afford to go to a doctor for, and they never pay that bill. The doctors and nurses don't get raises, hired, etc. No one is buying big ticket items. The big 3 car dealers are practically giving cars away. The only green people are thinking about is the green that can pay their bills.

Everything is so interconnected you never think about it. I sincerely hope it doesn't hit you as hard as it has hit us. And this is just the beginning for us. I'm not sure what the scale of it is in the UK. Iceland is looking really bad right now.

I work for a public school. Next week is our meeting with the superintendant to discuss the multi million dollar cut in our funding. I just hope I still have a job next week. Ugh, too depressing.

Eek I think it has been happening to us simultaneously - Building companies shed all their jobs 6 months (ish) ago, no-one can get a mortgage, despite interest being the lowest since WW2, the big job losses recently seem to have been in Manufacturing (Chorus steel works and Car makers)

My thinking is that we need this every now and then to clear out the system, get rid of the unprofitable companies then afterwards the new innovative (hopefully green) companies can flourish in a fresh market. Like a forest fire.

Hold on tight everyone.... it'll be alright in the end.

Is your govt. doing an 800+ million dollar (pound) stimulus package? It's interesting how the different countries view and handle it.

I think we need to let it run its course, but it will be a very painful process. These bogus stimulus packages just seem to prolong the pain and in the end help the little guy not at all.

bodrighy wrote:Have you tried putting a board under the 'medium' matthress. Works for me.

Recession tends to be worse for those who have something to lose. Personally I rent my house, live day to day with few savings and (at present) no job to lose as I was made redundant last July. I'm one of the lucky ones. I have a loving family all living close by and a wife who has the same attitude as me. We already shop at charity shops and boot sales, because we prefer to, not just because we have to and we do weird things like make our own pies, cakes, jams, wine etc. Being skint isn't as bad as it's made out to be. Losing something is hard, not having it in the first place isn't.

Pete

I'm with pete on this one. I have nothing but a loving wife, son and dog. No money, no debts ( now) no holidays etc but the recession has focused our minds a lot more. I plan ( and she of great dexterity) will make deep beds on saturday in 3/4 of the garden. We will grow fruit and veg. I'm making my own bread, butter, sausages, burgers, cakes, jams and pickles. I'm skint but the happiest I've been for a decade or more.
I need to get to grips with the heating as I'm very frugal, in fact I'd call me a skinflint and yet our gas bill for the year to may 09 will be around £1053.67 (Still that's £300 plus less than last year and we have also had the price rises) Electric is stable at £450 ish.

We had a lot and lost it all now we are materially poorer we are morally and ethically much happier. We will survive the post oil / fossil fuel crisis in the coming years but I know a lot who won't.

i was over in the uk last week and when visiting friends in dunstable,beds, i couldnt get over the amount of betting shops, pubs and estate agents how on earth do they survive

For everyday people living the ish life anyway, I can't see that it will make such a huge difference as we are already hugely comitted to change and enhancing our living naturally.
I fully agree with Bodrighy that " losing something is hard and not having it in the first place isnt" however is this enough to make make others make that change because they need to make a lifestyle change or is it purely because they have no choice economically and will revert when the chance arrives, if this is the case nobody seems to be learning anything that counts.
All these problems have arisen from greed and overconsumption, its true legislation has stunk for a long, long time and is evidently not working on many levels and for those who are only just noticing public services have been hit for a long time before that, as has been the taxation on all the things that will help make a difference!!!
Personally I am far richer in many ways for being worse off financially than I could have ever dreamt about and would not swap that for any amount of money in the world!!

sheena wrote:For everyday people living the ish life anyway, I can't see that it will make such a huge difference as we are already hugely comitted to change and enhancing our living naturally.
I fully agree with Bodrighy that " losing something is hard and not having it in the first place isnt" however is this enough to make make others make that change because they need to make a lifestyle change or is it purely because they have no choice economically and will revert when the chance arrives, if this is the case nobody seems to be learning anything that counts.
All these problems have arisen from greed and overconsumption, its true legislation has stunk for a long, long time and is evidently not working on many levels and for those who are only just noticing public services have been hit for a long time before that, as has been the taxation on all the things that will help make a difference!!!

Well considering the government is plowing billions into the banks to get them to lend money and the reduction in vat to get people to spend all points to the fact that they are not listening and going about the old ways of spending what they haven't got.

I was well greedy and over consumed massivly then had to pay it all back when the business failed so i learnt the hard way with baliffs and court orders but I got through it all and now consider mydself extremely lucky that this happened between 05 and early 08.

Big Al

Oh yes Big Al, you were extremely lucky: I bet it didn't feel like that at the time but just look back and think of the fantastic learning curve that you have travelled along - some people will never experience that in a million years and without experiencing that level of challenge and struggle how could you possibly compare it to the things that really are irreplaceable.
Congratulations on coming through the other side

sheena wrote:Oh yes Big Al, you were extremely lucky: I bet it didn't feel like that at the time but just look back and think of the fantastic learning curve that you have travelled along - some people will never experience that in a million years and without experiencing that level of challenge and struggle how could you possibly compare it to the things that really are irreplaceable.
Congratulations on coming through the other side

LEARNING CURVE !! LEARNING CURVE!!! More like loop the loop with a mega downward spiral chucked in for good measure. joking aside I look back each day and thank my perserveerance, my wife for support and my trancquelisers... sorry not the trancs,lol.

It was hard, depressing and after a while enjoyable when I had the measure of the creditors who where trying to hound me. I won in the end but I'll never ever have any credit in the future. If I don't have a penny to my name i'l never borrow again which is why it's taken me 11 weeks to get the money for my deep beds but the wood is coming tomorrow and my wife is making them on saturday and I'll make a cup of tea.......

Andy Hamilton wrote: On the downside fairtrade will no doubt take a bashing, so will organic food....

Yup!

We in NZ aren't feeling it as badly as overseas yet but im sure we will. I wouldn't be surprised if this recession or if not this one, the next one, will be the trigger to a significantly, permanently altered way of life.
- peak oil, limits of growth, power-down, transition to a low energy society - my usual maniacal speel

I will do ok i think, and some of those wise enough not to see me a total raving loonie! Interesting times are a'coming and are only going to get more interesting - guess why I'm retraining as a primary teach - depression proof job. Especialy for a male looking to teach in rural areas. My o/h will be doing her vet nursing degree next year, in no small part for the same reasons.

all the best people, isher's largely are going to have a better go of it than many others i think - spread the knowledge and email the link to all your friends.

The worst part in all this is not only the UK that is in a recession
its the whole world.
We are going through really hard times, we need to find ways to save money in all areas.
Especially when it comes down to food and energy.
Regarding energy we not only save money but also our planet.

GreenEnergy wrote: We are going through really hard times, we need to find ways to save money in all areas.
Especially when it comes down to food and energy.

I fancy that people are cutting back on a lot of the wrong things. Good food and enough of it without buying to throw away, a few good clothes, heating, a roof over your head and enough sturdy furniture to last for the duration will see us through. I suspect that people who have been buying junk clothes, junk furniture and junk food will have to learn that buying less and buying well saves money long term. I know how little a family can manage on - I've had to manage on the bare minimum for most of my life. The income I have as a pensioner is better than many times when I was working!

Generous credit has been the downfall of sensible shopping and led to a want it culture. Credit for buying unnecessary goods has also become the basis of the world's economy.

Flo wrote:

GreenEnergy wrote: We are going through really hard times, we need to find ways to save money in all areas.
Especially when it comes down to food and energy.

I fancy that people are cutting back on a lot of the wrong things. Good food and enough of it without buying to throw away, a few good clothes, heating, a roof over your head and enough sturdy furniture to last for the duration will see us through. I suspect that people who have been buying junk clothes, junk furniture and junk food will have to learn that buying less and buying well saves money long term. I know how little a family can manage on - I've had to manage on the bare minimum for most of my life. The income I have as a pensioner is better than many times when I was working!

Generous credit has been the downfall of sensible shopping and led to a want it culture. Credit for buying unnecessary goods has also become the basis of the world's economy.

True enough Flo and that's why the government is trying to get the banks to lend us more to spend our way out of recession / depression.

This depression is going to be a good thing I reckon. Obviously not if you have just lost your job and can't keep up the payments on the beemer, the CC and the loans along with T***o finest food etc but the general ones on here will see no difference or very little. I also feel that we on here and likewise sites will weather the storm oh so much better.

A good pair of leather boots might be a bit of a trouble to the odd cow but they will last longer than synthetic man made shoes from tiwan and china etc.

This thread has reminded me of a BIG argument I had with a very dear friend 20 years ago. he argued that perpetual financial growth was possible - I said that was 'mince'( I'm very aware financially! )
Now he is ill over what he has lost - as he had so many shares etc. We are getting by - as ever - but we have not lost anything yet - cos we didn't have much to lose! hubby is on half pay and bills are high - same as everyone else's but we are managing without regrets. I feel very sorry for him.
I hope all other Ishers are managing to tread water too!!

PS. 'mince' - is a much loved Scot's term for utter rubbish.