One of this Government’s big promises was to tackle fuel poverty but, sadly, it’s not happening.  The number of people who are struggling to pay their bills or who severely limit their home energy usage due to money worries, is rocketing.

Earlier today, I attended the Wirral Fuel Poverty Forum.  Wirral’s Home Energy expert spoke about the need to tackle fuel poverty and how Wirral is trying to help residents through work with the Warm Front.  Fuel poverty was one of the first issues I raised in Council and I’ve followed what Wirral has been doing with interest.

While there are some positive changes planned, such as treating tenants the same as owner occupiers, I’m afraid the whole programme is facing massive government cuts from £367 million to £195 million.  As a result, improvements to homes in Wirral are being delayed.

As a New Yorker I’m constantly confronted with the effects of not only a weakening dollar, but a diminishing job market and precious few government run social services. This blog represents my own personal quest to find the best place on earth to live, raise a family, and prosper. In that search for prosperity I intend to consider all aspects of the cost and quality of life, balanced with earning potential, and social services to determine the best place on earth to live well and spend little. I’m hoping to find interested people all over the world to contribute data that I will then compile into cost comparisons, price fluctuation charts, and lists of information that can be searched through by any like-minded future expats the world over. Thanks in advance to all those who contribute in some way to this project.

This should be prefaced with the fact that I will continue to rent right now because I know the city I’m in is not a final destination, and not even a five year destination.  Obviously, long term property ownership decisions are best made with a view to stability.

However, this article at wisebread raised an interesting thought in my own mind.  I look at things through hard calculations rather than fuzzy benefits (e.g. “having a backyard because I want one”), for example I just took a run at estimating my taxes for this year so I can consider if I want to make some early 2009 RRSP contributions.

I was curious what the costs/benefits actually were to renting, for me, right now.

What does my rental include, at $720? (annually, $8640)

One bedroom.  The number of bedrooms right now is irrelevant to me – I don’t want to live with a roommate anymore and I wouldn’t furnish any additional bedrooms.

Water and heat.  A quick search tells me I would expect a water bill of $50 per month.  Assuming I had purchased a house rather than an apartment, heating would be about $1000 per year, at minimum.  Let’s assume it would also be $50 per month for an apartment.  Total: $1,200.

Appliances.  My apartment comes complete with a new fridge and stove which I would otherwise have to purchase.  Sears tells me the fridge I have free use of is worth about $700.  The stove I am using is worth at least $800.  Assuming I have each appliance for ten years, and paid cash for them, the fridge is $70 per year and the stove is $80 per year. Total: $150.  I could do a similar calculation for washer/dryer use but because I pay a nominal fee to use the washer I’ll just call it even.

Insurance.  This would depend on what, exactly, I owned but would run at least $500 per year.  I currently pay $100 per year for renter’s insurance.  Total: $400.

Taxes.  From what I can tell, on a fairly low range property in my city this would be about $1,200 or more.  I’ll assume low with Total: $1,200.

Off the top, this means I save at least $2,950 per year on the above.  This means the actual value I’m paying that would have gone to a mortgage plus principle is about $5,690, or $474 per month.  Interest alone on a small house in this city right now would be about $7,000 for the first four years and I would have to come up with double the amount of cash (about $900 or more per month) to make payments.

Right now I’m using that extra $500 per month to eliminate student loans while interest remains low and looking at investment options.  I’d really like to max out TFSA contributions over the next five years, if I’m filing income tax in Canada, with a view to creating a $25,000 down payment nest egg.

One of the things I learned from a blue blood family I’m weirdly related to (but not related to sufficiently to have that kind of cash) is how estate planning results in continued property ownership: leaving property for your children is not always a great idea due to tax problems and division of assets.  However, leaving a large sum for a principle downpayment on a home to the grandchildren guarantees they avoid the hefty interest costs accompanying a mortgage.   Obviously, this isn’t an option or a concern for me, as I don’t yet have children, but the idea that these people with high level financial planners employed this to beat the system and retain generations of wealth was very, very interesting.

Right now, renting suits me because:

• It’s incredibly simple.  It streamlines my financial management.
• I’m transient, both in location and career choice, at least right now.
• Not being tied to property requiring more than a month’s notice frees up my career and travel options immensely.
• I don’t have a family and don’t need the kind of space which is difficult to rent – multiple bedrooms and a backyard, for example.
• It frees up my net pay to go towards other goals and projects.  I could carry a hefty mortage and associated bills on my take home salary but have financial goals in mind right now to meet certain needs.  One of those is preparation for an eventual nesting, but it’s not something I feel rushed towards.

I think the argument about being able to modify the property to your liking is kind of a moot point if you don’t have the funds for renovations, new paint, or carpet – all of which are a little expensive for new homeowners under thirty (or should be).  Even do it yourself projects are surprisingly expensive.

However, there is a huge advantage to being able to live rent free in old age – the point where you have the least control over generating income and less flexibility to meet market fluctuations.

Posted by Irresponsibility

As the First World frets about how to fight the Christmas flab the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports: “In 2008 the number of undernourished people in the world increased by 40 million“.

Not, as you might think, because of climate change, crop failure, too many pesticides, too little GM, or plain too little food. Globally the world enjoyed a “record harvest”. The problem is politics — and greed.

Hunger, in most cases, is caused by lack of money rather than a shortage of food production, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

Hunger isn’t an unavoidable natural catastrophe. It is a form of global social control. Hungry people are ill-equipped to hope, work, organise, or claim their rights. They don’t threaten the status quo. Terribly convenient for us, not so great for them.

Since I’ve been writing this blog for a few months, I figure it’s time to review the steps you need to take to move to the United Kingdom from Canada or America.

Step One:  Legalities

Can you legally make the move to the UK?  It’s not enough to have a Canadian or American passport! 

Check out this blog post:

• How to Get a Visa or Work Permit to Work or Study in the UK

Step Two: Bank Accounts, Accommodations and Flights

Once you know you can legally move to the UK, you’ll want to start getting everything in order to make the actual move. 

• How to Set Up a UK Bank Account From Abroad
• How to Get a Cheap Flight to the UK from Canada or America
• How to Find a Flat in the UK - watch this space for more details about my arrangement with London Relocation Services. They help you get a flat within 24 hours, and I’m working with them to get you a great deal on their services. Watch this space!

Step Three: The Job Hunt

Depending on your profession, this might actually be step 1 or 2.  In any case, here are my two cents:

• How to Get a  Job in the UK

Step 4: Network with other Canadians and Americans in the UK

Make new friends!  You are not the first American or Canadian to move to the United Kingdom, so why not make some new friends with others in the same boat as you across the pond? 

• How to Network with Other Canadians & Americans in the UK

Step 5: The Nitty Gritty – Health Care, Packing, Electricals, Shopping, Flights, Send Money “Home”…

• How to Get Health Care When you Move to the UK
• How to Move to the UK and Bring Your Electricals With You
• How to Send Money to Your UK Account from Canada or America and Vice Versa
• How to Book Flights Within Europe For Cheap
• 10 Books to Help You Make the Move to the UK
• How to Buy A UK Mobile Phone
• How to Shop in the United Kingdom

Wow!  That’s a whole lotta information that I wish I had when I moved to the United Kingdom from Canada.  I hope it helps you.

I am currently looking for more ideas for this blog.  Please help!  What would you like to see on here?  Any ideas?  Please share your thoughts below.

Chuck and I began thinking of relocating before we even met.

I was laid-off from Four Seasons Sunrooms where I worked as an executive assistant in January 2008, one week before my one year anniversary. I took a week “vacation” then promptly started my job search. I often searched for positions in the Albany area since at the time, I had a slew of friends in that neck of the (literal) woods.

It wasn’t too long after I was laid off, I met Chuck and we began dating. Things were going to well that I kept my searches more local in the event that possibly, just maybe, I found something good.

Chuck had also been laid off in January. His graduate program at Adelphi University had been cut a week into the semester. Already going back to Adelphi under stressful circumstances, he considered moving to Tennessee where a friend was living in a cheap apartment with a decent job.

Moving was on hold until later that year when he decided to go back to Rochester University and we had loose plans to head up north. Knowing Rochester had a problem with unemployment even in good economic times, I was nervous, but I was sucked into a cheaper lifestyle of living.

Our best apartment find, was a two bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse that was under $1,000 a month. That’s if we had the money to spurge. I could deal with the snow and ice and cold 10 months out of the year.

I was terrified, but excited.

Had our plans worked accordingly, I wouldn’t have started this blog because I would no longer be living in my parent’s house. I guess things happen for a reason.

So, almost a year later, we find ourselves in a similar position. Instead of moving north, we’re looking south.While we have a list of potential locales that we’d like to check out,  right now, North Carolina is leading the charge with its cheap living and lack of masters-to-teach requirement.

We’ll spend six days down below the Bible belt in good ‘ol country living.

A year later, I find myself terrified, but excited. We’ll see how I feel this time next year.

An interesting article in Sunday’s World-Herald about the Lincoln-based Archrival Studios that has grown into one of the top youth branding agencies in the nation.  After heaps of local, regional and international awards, a small core of dedicated employees and a worldwide client base including companies like Red Bull Energy Drink, Microsoft, Honda, State Farm Insurance and Pabst Brewing Co continue to “play with the big dogs.”  (read more)

The Wespac’s Melbourne consumer confidence survey in its lastest reports have shown a dip of 2.5% due to the two interest rate rises. Overall the current level of 38.3% is still above its average since last year.

To me, consumers are now starting to realised that savings is more important than spending to keep the economy a float. That’s a good, than following the government encouraging people to go out and spend during the last two stimulus programs.

As people now knows what is the most important to spend out of their budget as I hope they start paying off their debts off. Believe or not, we gamble more than we pay for the bills, who knows whoever got that expression from. Anyway the important things is that savings are good for anyone and having no debts is also super good.

Whatever its on their minds either the cost of living, mortgage repayments or saving for a rainy day. Saving is a step forward for a healthy economy, while I’m still foreseeing a gloomy future ahead and we might even have to face a double recession in the next 5 months to 3 or 5 years ahead (I don’t really have a particular time line but its going to happen anyway regardless of government intervention).

To me that recession in the future looks much worse as the recession that occurred in the early 1990.

Good luck for recovery for those who are saving.

Cheers

Lately, I find myself getting very excited about coupons. It’s obvious it’s rubbing off on my children when I hear them screaming…”look, a coupon!”. I’ve had a couple great shopping trips lately where I leave a store with bags of items and I didn’t spend anything, but instead, they gave me money! I remember a few months ago reading blogs about moms who were saving over 50% on their spending and how stores would pay them to shop…I thought “yeah, right”. Now, I’m the one doing it.

Now the other comment usually that comes to the table is that you end up buying a lot of junk or things you don’t need. And that can be the case…but you have to make choices to get the best bang for your buck for your household on great items you need. You might be surprised at some the coupons out there for healthy food. Recently, Food Lion had $1 off coupon you could use on fresh produce and there was an online printable coupon out there for 75 cents off of fresh pineapple to use at any store. There’s even $1 off coupons for gluten-free products here.

A couple weeks ago, I went to Rite Aid and left with two packages of Huggies diapers, organic lip balm, laundry detergent, and light bulbs. After coupons, they paid me almost $2 and I will be getting a nice rebate check from purchasing these items in a few days.

My two FAVORITE frugal blogs are Money Saving Mom and Southern Savers.

These ladies do a fanastic job keeping us informed about the best deals to be had. They both also have Facebook pages you can “fan” and keep up to date via your FB page.

If this is something you’d like to jump into…just take your time. Pick one or two stores to focus on. Rite Aid and CVS have become my favorite for lots of free household products. It does involve time, but there are great dividends. I’ve been at this about six months. I still have lots to learn, but I definitely feel that it is a worth the time and energy.

As a one-income family…this helps us to reach goals, like keeping momma home with the children, homeschooling, and working on our “debt snow-ball“. In addition to couponing, over the past few years, we’ve learned other money saving opportunities like growing our own food and preserving, eating foods that are “in-season”, using cloth diapers, harvesting deer and butchering it ourselves (thankfully Paul just got his first deer of the season a couple weeks ago), and buying in bulk when we have the chance. This past month we were able to purchase a couple of bushels apples from a nearby Amish community and we made homemade applesauce and canned some for this winter.

As a side note too, I recently read this fascinating article about the frugal fun that millionaires enjoy…#1 on the list…spending time with children and grandchildren…..and gardening was in the top categories also. Also, per this author’s research, only 27% of millionaires live in houses valued over $1 million. Hmmm….I know my couponing won’t make me a millionaire, plus that’s not our goal. But it can help with our family reaching other goals like being in a position to give more. Read here about this young family with some radical goals…like saving in one year enough cash to pay 100% for a home…talk about inspiration!

One final example of our recent coupon savings….last week, we stopped at a couple stores and spent $45 out of pocket with a savings of $83. So that’s a savings of 64%. I was very pleased! We came home with items like bread, yogurt, cereal, rice, diapers, paper towels, lunch meat, baby food, and of course some cookies (hey, sometimes it hard to pass up the cookies when they are FREE with the coupon).

Happy couponing!

~Ma

Here’s a funny story from the New York Post. (H/T National Review via ECM)

Excerpt:

On top of the city and state payroll tax, Social Security and Medicare [small-business owner John Logue] pays for employees, Logue said the city also hits him with a slew of permit fees. He recently had to pay $50 to obtain a certificate to collect sales taxes for the city and the state. In the past, it was free. He also pays the city to have a restaurant certificate, an exhaust-system permit and an illuminated-sign permit.

Logue said his [government-issued] water bills have also increased by nearly 50 percent in the last three years. Currently, he pays $1,600 every three months to the city.

“I’m getting to the point where I’m thinking about leaving New York,” he said.

And Kevin D. Williamson adds:

If you want to know where the future is headed, look where the people are going. And if you want to know where the people are going, check with U-Haul. Here’s an interesting indicator, first noted by the legendary economist Arthur Laffer: Renting a 26-foot U-Haul truck to go from Austin to San Francisco this July would cost you about $900.

Renting the same truck to go from San Francisco to Austin? About $3,000. In the great balance of supply and demand, California has a large supply of people who are demanding to move to Texas. There’s a reason for this.

Yes, prices rise when there is a high demand and supply is the same.

I once had a job interview at Fidelity in Boston, MA, and I remember going up the elevator with someone who commuted in every day from New Hampshire to avoid the taxes. And I remember thinking – this guy probably votes Democrat like everyone else in Boston.And shortly thereafter, New Hampshire turned blue and is now somewhere down in the gutter.

Why do Democrats do this to themselves? Anyway, the whole country will be like New York and California if more of these crappy bills pass, and where will we run to then? We’ll be stuck until the next election, and it serves us right. I think a good long period of suffering under Obama is just what we need to learn the importance of economics – the hard way.

Organizational downsizing has other negative effects that are not always very visible.  For example, today’s Wall Street Journal profiles several laid-off individuals who have had to rely on their severance packages and savings while they seek reemployment:

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Paul Joegriner hasn’t worked since March 2008, when he was laid off from his $200,000-a-year job as chief executive officer of a small bank. But you wouldn’t know it by appearances.

His wife, Marzena, shuttles their two young children to private school every morning. The family recently vacationed in Virginia Beach, Va., and likes to dine on Porterhouse steaks. Since losing his job, Mr. Joegriner, 44 years old, has had several offers. He’s turned each down in hopes of landing a position comparable to what he held before.

The family’s lifestyle over the past year and a half has been propped up by a $200,000 severance package and another $100,000 in savings — funds the family has burned through rapidly. By Mr. Joegriner’s own calculations, the family will be out of money in six months if he doesn’t find work.

“It will be D-Day,” he says. “But on the outside, no one has any idea that we’re in trouble.”

The article writes about the several ways in which the Joegriner family tries to save money, but they don’t seem very significant in terms of actual dollars saved. I know this is not how we would respond if one of us lost our jobs.  How would you respond?

Aneil

On average it will take you between 15 and 20 years to pay off your credit card debt using just the minimum payment. Most people are shocked when faced with this information for the first time. There is however a way of repaying your debt much quicker using a method known as “snowballing”

To begin make a list of all of your credit cards, personal loans, bank overdrafts and store cards etc.

List them in the following columns: the type of credit card, amount owed, regular payment amount, interest rate, total number of payments left on the debt, estimated payoff date. Put your list in order of highest interest rate first to lowest last.

In order for this plan to work you must have a good look at your income and expenditure. You need to leverage as much disposable income from your salary as possible. This is going to mean tightening your belt, making cut backs. Be prepared for some short term pain for a long term gain.

You must keep paying the minimum payment on all of your debts but by finding additional money you can “throw” it at your most expensive debt. Put as much money as you can into the debt with the highest interest rate. Let’s say you now make a monthly payment of £100 to one of your credit cards until it is paid off in full.

Once you have repaid this debt you have won the first battle, but the war is not yet won. Don’t give up now, you are just getting started in the fight against your debts. Perhaps your next most expensive debt is a loan which has a minimum repayment of £50.

You now have an additional £100 per month freed up to add to the monthly payment for this loan, so you will now be hitting your second most expensive debt with a total of (£100 + £50) £150!.

After you pay off the second debt, the £150 you were paying can be put together with minimum payment on the third debt. By doing this, you will decrease the number of years required to repay your creditors from approximately 20 years to much less than half this time.

By “snowballing” your debts, your debt repayment strategy is going to get faster and faster as well as your payments getting bigger and bigger, rather like a snow ball gathering pace as it rolls down hill.

Using this strategy, think about the ways you can free up money. If you spend £3 per day on a coffee at work that will come to £60 each month, add another £3 on a sandwich for lunch and this comes to a hefty £120 per month you could use to pay off your debts. If you spend £2 per day on chocolate think about putting that money toward your credit card payments and you could lose weight and pay off your debts at the same time.

Remember, money is an emotional thing. We spend money and make money based on an emotional drive. Take a careful look at what, and how much you spent, your money on in the last month. It’s not how much money you make that matters, but how well you manage it that counts.

Not for Nothing: My latest column on (Un)affordable housing on Long Island printed in this week’s Long Beach Herald.

Long Beach housing prices aren’t so ‘cool’ – LIHerald.com – Nassau County’s source for local news, breaking news, sports, entertainment & shopping.

“Mark my word, no one else cares about you, only your father and I.  No one else will help you.  No one.  I don’t care what you think.. . . Who needs $20,000 a year for rent and electricity and phone and internet and food?  Who? . . . It’s our money, you know, our money. . . . I won’t be able to go to Singapore next year.  That would have cost $7000.  I can’t just go without giving people money, you know. . . . How could you tell your father he should go to the wedding in New Orleans, plant that thought in his head?  Where does he have the money?  Europe he deserved, but this will cost him three, four thousand dollars between airfare, accommodations, the gift, if he stays longer to see the place. . . . I don’t question your being with Frank.  I know you have difficulties. . . . He’s manipulating you.  You have to look out for yourself.  What does he do all day?  Why didn’t he join the priesthood?  Why didn’t he become a social worker? . . . Why do you need two dogs?  I don’t care how much they love each other. . . . You should get evicted.  The kids in my school say that gets you housing more quickly.  Just make sure to get your valuables first, you know, your clothing, your jewelry, your trinkets. . . . Your father is very worried.  You have to cut your expenses. . . . Don’t deprive yourself.  You have to go out.  Eat organic.  That’s important.  No canned foods. . . . I’m glad we can have a civilized conversation about this, that no one’s being hysterical with me.”

An article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle titled S.F. transportation costs lower than in suburbs quotes a report being released by the Urban Land Institute with the all-encompassing title of “Bay Area Burden: Examining the costs and impacts of housing and transportation on Bay Area residents, their neighborhoods and the environment.”

Not that we didn’t know this already, but it says that “the average San Francisco household spends roughly $500 less on transportation each month than households in such suburban outposts as Antioch or Livermore.” All the talk about the inherent costs and problems associated with suburban life is great, but it’s the hard numbers that often drive the point home.

For families in more distant automobile-reliant suburbs, though, the monthly transportation costs spike. The estimate for Antioch is $1,311, for instance, while in Livermore it’s $1,281. Cities with little connection to transit also suffer – such as Pacifica, where a household’s monthly transportation is estimated to cost $1,246.

Read the whole article, it’s a good one to quote the next time someone tells you they live in the suburbs because it’s cheaper. Also check out the full report at bayareaburden.org. Also, check out the recent article Investment in public transit creates U.S. jobs for new green economy in The Hill.

At almost 27, I find myself in a serious relationship looking to make the next step that will eventually lead to the marriage step. It is very hard to take your relationship to the next level when you live with your parents.

Now, of course, I know plenty of couples that dated, got engaged and moved in after the wedding, but the difference is, whether they moved in before or after the wedding, they still had the funds necessary to move in together. No one gets engaged if they can’t afford to move out or in the case of many Long Island couples, have a basement apartment in their parent’s house they can move into.

My mother has offered to separate part of the house into an apartment, which would require the installation of a kitchen and possibly a bathroom. If not a bathroom, then it would require major construction to make the upstairs bedrooms larger to accommodate my parents and siblings. They would spend a butt-load of money and get nearly nothing on their return, because my parents would refuse to take rent from us. After Chuck and I spent a few years in this makeshift mother-daughter home, they would rent it out to a stranger, which would possibly help their investment.

The idea sounded great at first, but in the end I’ve put it on the bottom of the option list because I’d rather my parents not demolish my entire house just so Chuck and I can move in together.

Truth be told, it’s a bad time in general for young couples. While I am one of the lone few attached friends still living at home, those that have been able to settle on the Island acknowledged times are tough. In passing conversation I hear about taxes increasing and how the heat will be left off until the first snow falls.

A home should be your castle not your prison, but right now, my childhood bedroom is starting to feel like a prison.

I know the state of the Union here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. It’s one where nobody knows anything and nobody cares.  You might tolerate a state like that in-say, a paint store or a convenience store. But the new total bottom line theocracy in the U.S. businessman’s mind predominates even into the physician’s office, one of the places you always thought you could rely on for “care”.

I’m not sure when the kick-off began, but since the 90s, the slogans for business cry “cut all expenses to the very bone!”. Reduce quality to the very lowest you can possibly get away with…charge the highest price any jerk is stupid enough or desperate enough to pay…and for god’s sake, get rid of all employees you possibly can. Employees are expensive; knowledgeable employees even more expensive. Replace them with computers, make the rest work three jobs, and hire minimum wage monkeys for everything else you need.

Wages cost too much in America so now all employees are gotten from undeveloped  countries where the wages run $.60-1.50 a day. Import crap from slave factories and crap-making countries so you can “sell for less” than any American craftsman or American factory  can. Who cares if customers can’t understand your foreign employees? Who cares if the toys are dangerous? Who cares if the American economy goes under? As long as my mega-monopoly does well, and my profit margin stays at 800% or more.

If you think for a minute about this state of affairs, you will see that these unethical, unsocial, immoral business  practices will create an American wasteland and an oligarchy which, in the future-maybe even now- will not be able to be challenged or taken down.

I just pray I will not live to become Chinese, not that there is anything wrong with Chinese people; it is their government I abhor, and I don’t wish to live under it anymore than I would voluntarily move to Moscow or Iraq, with current conditions the way they are. That is why I point out these things here and now, because I would prefer that the U.S.A. avoid such a wretched, unjust future of rule by the exclusively rich, the communist, the dictator. Preservation of freedoms that America has known since its independence must begin now and we citizens (the government can’t do it because they are part of the rich & the powerful) must work to divert a runaway capitalism and replace it with a more moderate and regulated system where fair play, equal entrepreneurial opportunities, and justice are applied with equanimity and with ethical  systems of responsibility and accountability. Then, we can move back to a state where quality, good service, and people are much more important than the total bottom line.

Suggestions for Citizens Who Care:

!!!stop buying from publicly traded companies- no matter how persuasive their ads sound!!! (they are screwing us the whole way to the bank) !!!

There are agencies in this country who make billions of dollars per year by sitting around thinking up psychological and manipulative tricks to put in advertising to make people buy things that are bad for us, that we don’t need!

OK-they’ve downsized, laid off, and replaced employees with insane computers few can operate (can we lynch the guy who developed the computer telephone answering system?). The employees who are left have to do the work previously done by all who were laid off. They’ve outsourced the  factory work, they’ve reduced full-time people to part-time (cheaper for them) and they don’t mind at all selling us tainted and toxic food, dangerous medications, and other defective plastic items that break with normal usage, for the same price  we used to pay for better products years ago. How long will we stand for this????!!!!!!!!!

The expected life span of a laptop computer is currently 2 years. (@$800-1200)???????????

Large purchases for a middle class 1950s home/lifestyle:

refrigerator

stove with oven

1TV (color if you were fortunate) (shared)

1car (shared)

1 telephone (shared)

washing machine & electric dryer

hot water heater

furnace

Large purchases for year 2009 family:

refrigerator

stove and oven

microwave

large screen TV (family room)

additional TVs (each bedroom and possibly other rooms)

DVD players (one for each TV)

cable boxes/dvr/Tivo/satellite boxes (1 for each TV)

VHS player (1 or 2)

Digital cameras (1 or 2)

Digital camcorder

Desktop family computer, complete outfit

laptop computers for each child w/ accessories

laptop business computer for dad w/ accessories

MP3 players for each child

sound system connected to 1 computer

surround sound system in family room

cell phones for each member of the family

automobiles for each driving member of family

adjunct transports such as additional van/pickup

Heat pump/HVAC whole house system

hot water heater

1 jacuzzi tub………………………..

Even if prices had remained constant from 1950 to 2009, it is still obvious that the cost of keeping up with technology has caused our current cost of living to skyrocket. Add to that inflationary prices, additional high-priced insurance, and college and job expenses, and we can see why we’re struggling today with economics.

According to a blurb I just read in a magazine, 4 men control all the media in the U.S.!

By Ron Paul

There has been a lot of talk in Washington recently about senior citizens, mostly about how various healthcare reform models would help or hurt them. But there is another critical issue that has quietly devastated seniors financially over the last few decades. It concerns how the cost of living is calculated. How does the administration justify not giving a cost of living increase to Social Security recipients this year?

According to the official Consumer Price Index calculation, life has gotten cheaper for the first time in decades. If the government can show statistically that the cost of living has gone down, not up, then they can make the case for not giving a cost of living increase to social security recipients. But does this match reality? Using older calculations of CPI, the cost of living has actually increased — by roughly 5 percent!

The CPI (Consumer Price Index) is a calculation based on the average price of a fixed basket of goods that was initially designed to help businesses adjust for inflation. The government eventually started using it to determine cost of living adjustments for entitlement programs. Couple that with politicians’ discovery that they could raid the social security trust fund to pay for new spending programs, and you have a perfect storm to deny seniors what they were promised, while hiding the true size of the deficit. For politicians, it is a win-win.

For more click the link: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=323

Three years ago I had an argument with my ex-boyfriend who was from Pennsylvania. I told him that I wasn’t leaving Long Island and if I did at any point, I would have to move back. His lack of understanding my passion for the Island was one of the many reasons we broke up. Looking back on it now, I may have been subconsciously using my passion as an excuse to avoid taking the next step with him, but that’s neither here nor there.

Words can’t describe how I feel when I drive on the Robert Moses Causeway and see the sun rise over the Great South Bay and catch a glimpse of the never ending ocean on the horizon. I love our small towns, vineyards, farms and, when I’m feeling like a college student again, the local bars.

I love the change in seasons and how it never gets too hot, but never gets too cold. I don’t venture into Manhattan often, but I like that I’m just a train ride away when I feel the need to meet up with a city-living friend or visit a museum.

I love the pizza and a good bagel.

Sometimes I forget about all the things that I love because all I can think about lately are all the things I hate.

I hate that I work 35 miles away from my job, but it takes me an hour to get there because of traffic. I also hate that I have to plan my entire existence on Long Island, and leaving Long Island, on traffic. I hate that when I’m in Nassau County I have to ask questions like, “If I park here, am I going to get towed?” or “Does it have a separate lot or do I need to park on the street?”

I hate that people aren’t polite enough to say thank you when you hold the door open for them or let them cross the street without running them over. I hate that one person will cause 20 minutes of traffic just to get someplace 10 seconds faster. I hate that gas is 10 cents more expensive here than other places in the state.

I hate that property taxes cost more than most mortgages. I hate that the cheapest rent in a complex in a decent area is $1,100 a month plus utilities. I hate that the cheaper option is living in someone’s basement.

Most of all, I hate that the cost of living is so high and the salaries are so low that in order to take the next step in a serious relationship, I need to ask my parents to convert part of their house into a separate apartment or move away.

In the past two years I’ve been hit with a hard dose of reality. One day I’m going to have to leave.

Since events in the U.S. economy have negatively impacted the Baby Boomers’ retirement accounts, many nearing retirement age may have decided to put their retirement plans on hold. But there is another option: retiring off-shore. The lower cost of living in Mexico will allow you to retire in the lifestyle you had envisioned even with reduced assets. Mexico offers a convenient, secure and affordable alternative.

Only a few hours by air from anywhere in the United States and Canada, with numerous flights daily from most major cities Mexico is an accessible retirement destination. Whether you are looking for a charming colonial city, laid-back beach resort, or a world class golf destination Mexico has an option that will suit your needs. It doesn’t matter if your retirement dream is enjoying the warm breezes on a secluded beach or world class dining in a sophisticated setting you’re sure to find the retirement home you’ve always dreamed of south of the border. Mexico has options for every lifestyle and budget.

With one of the world’s fastest growing economies Mexico has a well developed infrastructure. From technology to banking to medical care you will find services here second to none. Medical care in particular is state of the art and offered at surprisingly affordable costs. A house call by a board-certified specialist costs only about $55 USD. In-home help, including skilled nursing if needed, is also quite affordable and in the means of most should the need arise. If your family includes pets our veterinarian services are excellent and pets are welcomed in many businesses and restaurants.

Communications are also a highly evolved industry in Mexico with most, if not all, of the services a modern retiree expects available easily. Those who are not quite ready to retire completely are able to telecommute for substantial portions of the year, generally the winter months.

Although Spanish is the official language of Mexico many people in tourist and retirement areas are fluent in English and many companies such as the telephone company, electric company and many grocery stores have English-speaking customer service departments and English versions of their websites. In fact, in my part of Mexico (Cabo San Lucas) it’s difficult to find an opportunity to practice your Spanish!

American and Canadian retirees feel comfortable in their new surroundings, quickly making friends and becoming involved in community service and social organizations. The ex-patriot community in most cities is extremely supportive and quick to help new-comers adapt. We are generally so proud of our towns that we’ll take any opportunity to show it off. Churches are often bi-lingual and a large part of many people’s social circle.

Home ownership in Mexico is secure. Article 27 of the Constitution of the United Mexican States guarantees foreign owners the rights, privileges and benefits of home ownership. If the property in question in within 50 km of the ocean (about 30 miles) or 100 km of the border (about 60 miles) the title will be held in trust with a Mexican bank; the trust permit issued by congress guarantees the foreign owner the same rights of a Mexican citizen as pertain to this property. Title insurance is available from Stewart, Fidelity and First American; U.S.-based escrow is also commonly used. Cross-border financing from U.S. lenders is available, interest rates recently were reduced and for qualifying buyers financing can be had for rates as low as 6%.

The US and Canadian dollar are especially strong against the peso right now. Today’s economic forecast predicts this will continue at least until mid-2011, making a smaller IRA go farther than ever before.

The cost of living in Mexico varies by region. My town, Cabo San Lucas, is considered one of the highest costs of living (as well as one of the highest standards of living) in the country. But even here day-to-day prices are less than in the United States. These are a few expenses I’ve encountered today:
• My maid is paid $23 USD per day, which includes cleaning, laundry and ironing. My friends complain I overpay, but I want her to be very happy.
• My gardener receives $38 USD every two weeks, he makes three visits per week.
• We had lunch with a friend today, the bill for three of us at our favorite taqueria was $13 USD.
• Doggie Day Care comes to about $6 per dog for a full day.
• A one-hour massage at the spa school is $11 USD, at any one of the local day spas or a home appointment you’ll pay about $45 USD.
• Extra-lean ground beef is $42 pesos per kilo: or about $1.45 USD per pound.
• Cantaloupe is less than 50 cents a pound.
• Gasoline, which is a government monopoly, comes to about $2.00 a gallon last time we bothered to convert pesos to dollars and liters to gallons.

Of course, you can pay more. Step into a resort hotel and prices jump like, well, Mexican Jumping Beans. Still we enjoy an enviable life at affordable prices. Quite frankly, I’m not sure why everyone isn’t retiring to Mexico!

Carol Billups is Broker/Owner of REALTY EXECUTIVES Los Cabos. A Certified Home Marketing Specialist, she has enjoyed working with both buyers and sellers for nine years and still thinks hers is the best job on earth. She is also the real estate columnist for Los Cabos Magazine. You can read more of her articles on www.reloscabos.com. You can reach her from the U.S. or Canada at 1-760-481-7694, or in Cabo at 044-624-147-7541.

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© 2009 Carol S. Billups