Multigenerational Families

The current economy has been affecting families in various ways. My son has friends that have lost their jobs and are moving back home. I have a neighbor whose daughter, husband and 3 kids who may lose their home do to the husbands job loss. Today I read about seniors who are being forced to move in with their sons and daughters. Actually my best walking friends mom may just have to do that. People in their 80's + do not have the time to re-coup their losses. Staying in the work force is the topic of conversation where I work. I am up to renew a 5 year contract and some days I wonder if I will have the energy to work at my same pace for the next 5 years. I love the job security but have to admit I am not as young as I use to be.

Eating Healthy on a Shoestring Budget

I just got back from a walk to the local farmers market. My friend and I love to walk on Saturday mornings and this morning she had a limited time to walk so we went to the farmers market to talk while we shopped. Today they had great looking berries. I picked up some veggies to finish up a three bean soup we are making today and a loaf of fresh baked bread. When I got home I was browsing the web and found an article by CNN correspondent Sean Callebs who has just finished an assignment where he lived on the equivalence of food stamps for a week. The thing he missed most was his diet soda. Amazing after a month without it he lost his taste for the diet drink and felt he may have lost a few pounds and felt pretty good. Cooking meals at home takes some thought and planning. I did have to soak the beans last night and get a few fresh ingredients but the three bean soup should be good for a couple of meals. A child of the 60's I did not eat in a sit down restaurant until I was a senior in high school. The only fast food I had was an occasional White Castle Hamburger. Maybe this generation needs to learn how to cook.

Cutting costs

When the kids were young I clipped food coupons weekly. I gave up the practice when they grew up and our food bills decreased. Well, as a cost cutting move I started clipping coupons again. Last week I saved $42. I don't think I would be able to save this much weekly because my pantry is filled and I have back-up laundry soap, dish soap, tootpaste etc. Yesteday an older women was slowing the line with all her coupons and the person in front of me was getting a little impatient. I made a comment on how much I saved the week before and the woman looked at me for a second and commented "that much". She than proceed to tell me her son graduating this year from college had no job prospects in sight. She was frustrated for him. Yes, our young adult children are suffering from the down ecomony even more than us old timers. We at least had an opportunity to enter the workforce and work our way up in the world. It seems the world as they know it is collapsing. In my opinion we are headed back to the late 1970's to early 80's went interest rates were 12.5% and I sewed my kids clothing and clipped coupons weekly. Maybe we will all benefit from going back to simpler times.