Living in the net

The financial crisis gripping the country had already created widespread confusion about what these problems might mean for ordinary Americans, and that was before a week of political bickering over a massive financial rescue package for Wall Street.

Hoping to calm a jittery public and win over some skeptics, a new version of the rescue package includes a provision that would increase the amount of money the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would insure in the event of a bank failure. That version passed the Senate Wednesday and was approved by the House of Representatives on Friday.

Instructions of How to Survive a Personal Financial Crisis
Step1: Make a real effort not to panic. Yes, you may find yourself in an comfortable position, but you need to make a point not to over react to the situation because that will only make it worse. Every time you feel yourself becoming upset say out loud: I’m not going there!
Step2: Sit down and go over your personal finances to see what you have. The hand you are dealt is what you are going to be playing with. Don’t be embarrassed that you don’t have a lot. Be glad you have something. And don’t feel obligated to tell a soul of your accounting. This is just for you to know how many chips you have and what you are fighting against.
Step3: Decide your priorities and cut the rest. Now we hear of all these people who could go without, yet we never go without the basis. Decide, past the basics, what you can live without and cut them. This will free some of your money up and make you switch things before they are taken away.
Step4: Start being creative with your money. If you use a lot of one item, check to see if it is easier to by in bulk. If you have errands, only go out once to save gas. Little things that save money add up quickly.
Step5: Remember to have some fun. Just because you are financially having trouble it doesn’t mean you need to be punishing yourself. Take time to deliberately set up once a week outing that is something you want to do. It could be dinner, a movie or even a walk at the park. You deserve to live so take advantage of our big world.

HeatherB’ advice:
Stacking Pennies has meal ideas for the girl on a budget:

The first step in spending less on groceries is planning, but planning takes effort, time and thought. Enter Single Servings,
a monthly column which includes a weekly grocery list, recipes, and
ideas on how to prep on Sunday to set yourself up for an easy week of
good meals.

Dawn at Frugal for Life figures out ways to keep the cost of heating your home down in preparation for the chilly weather:

My mom always used to say “heat rises” this was an answer to statement
that I was cold and would need to put on slippers, sweater or a hat to
stay warm if I didn’t want to lose that internal body heat. All three
items that when put together make you very toasty in your home in a
matter of minutes. And as I write this I realize I am bouncing my legs
up and down to keep warm and should really take mom’s advice and go put
on my fuzzy slippers and maybe even a robe or sweatshirt.

And Frugal Babe decides what to do with money deposited into her Roth IRA:

So as of the opening bell tomorrow, I’ll own 115 shares of GEX. I love
saving, and socking money away for retirement. But picking funds is
not my favorite way to spend a day. Good thing I’m a buy and hold
investor – I like only having to do this once a year. I also had
$1800 sitting in my traditional IRA from contributions I made last
year, and I used that money to buy shares in PowerShares Global Clean
Energy (PBD).

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