tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post2101571420658825182..comments2024-01-08T22:40:19.118-08:00Comments on The Thrifty Chicks: ConfessionShopping Golightlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04086883816963590796noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-74626884131555704142010-09-15T09:59:01.839-07:002010-09-15T09:59:01.839-07:00Anon 2,
You are correct. Many people seem to forg...Anon 2,<br /><br />You are correct. Many people seem to forget that there are other ways to help than just giving money. Offering your talents to help people or somehow lighten the load off the planet is a good way to start.<br /><br />I too fear this encroaching self entitlement that many people in my generation and certainly the younger generation are revealing.<br /><br />Again, if you take, you give. There must be some balance. <br /><br />You may become an extraordinarily wealthy person. You may have worked very hard. BUT, this country provided the playing field, and to that you must give. Hard work does not assure wealth. There are the hard working poor.Shopping Golightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04086883816963590796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-90761165074640860482010-09-15T06:29:02.834-07:002010-09-15T06:29:02.834-07:00Anon 2. Yet again.
GoLightlys: Thank You! There w...Anon 2. Yet again. <br />GoLightlys: Thank You! There was mis-communication. And, I guess, I do have an agenda. I am sharing a strategy that any pedestrian and his/her friends can use to really help people in this stinko economy. Owing to the team efforts I described, three people have won jobs in the last six weeks. Two of the jobs were professional ones (both individuals hadn't had full-time employment for 2.5 years) and one was for a 75-year old who needed an additional part-time gig to pay off credit card bills. None of these were easy fixes ... Personal skills and networks were tapped into in each case to give these people the extra boost they needed to get noticed and get hired. Wishing for the best didn't do it; editing, coaching, and phone calls did. Of course, employment isn't always the issue. Nor is overspending. Growing up in the 50s, I saw catastrophic health problems and bills break my own family. I truly appreciate the many comments in which readers have opened their hearts with support. I'm just gently suggesting that they can do even more by putting their creativity, ingenuity, detective skills, and networks to work for others. Even if it's just to promote your Denver yard sale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-24317702139989647582010-09-14T20:55:07.386-07:002010-09-14T20:55:07.386-07:00Thank you Mr. Golightly.
It should be noted that ...Thank you Mr. Golightly.<br /><br />It should be noted that Mr. Golightly cut my hair for the photo and Little Pie pulled the strands of hair from the cap for the highlights. The family that thrifts together plays salon together.Shopping Golightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04086883816963590796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-51801526355142563302010-09-14T16:14:58.856-07:002010-09-14T16:14:58.856-07:00Mr. Golightly here. I rarely comment, and feel pr...Mr. Golightly here. I rarely comment, and feel privileged to contribute to this conversation.<br /><br />I am pleased to see so much spirited discussion and honest sharing on this post. And I appreciate the good wishes bestowed upon our family. Thank you.<br /><br />Yes, we played by the rules, not just by deed, but in spirit. We lost - big time. We can't look back, only forward, but I have one thing to say about trickle-down greed, and another to say about consumerism.<br /><br />Our "system" allowed some pretty shady things to happen. Think of a room of 5 people (I'll use men). The first guy has a blank sheet of paper. He draws a tic-tac-toe board (octothorpe) upon it, and sells it to the next guy, claiming his actions are a value-add - all at hefty profit. The next guy adds an "x", and so on, passing it along until someone is stuck with a completed game, which has no more value than it did at the beginning (arguably it didn't have any real value at any point along the way). It wasn't worth the value of the paper it was written on.<br /><br />In this game, all that was done ise pushing paper, with no real work achieved. And in this particular game, lying is allowed, and goes unchecked, so the game isn't above board. In the end, someone got stuck with a lousy worthless piece of paper they weren't weren't even accountable for - we were, and now we have The Great Recession. Oversight is not a four letter word. If the EPA's oversight could clean up Lake Erie, regulation of clear "investment" misrepresentation is more than worth a shot. Just ask 90% of us, especially the 18% of us that are either unemployed or underemployed.<br /><br />And now, we're expected to "patriotically" bail out our own system by engaging in consumerism! Hogwash. It's not happening, because people are now becoming more aware of their prior excesses.<br /><br />There is nothing wrong with capitalism per se, it's how innovation and competition help us get better goods and services. Honest incentives are good for our system. But there is something vastly wrong with consumerism, the culture of pervasive excess. I'm glad my lovely bride Shopping is championing the cause against harmful excess.<br /><br />Things may finally be looking up for the Golighty's, but my pride prevents me from mentioning how long we've been, how shall we say "less than fully gainful".<br /><br />I don't view this time as necessarily humbling or anger-filled, rather I feel weary and choose to concentrate on re-tapping into our potential.<br /><br />As for our 2nd car (Shopping is indeed correct that half of our 15 years of marriage featured 1-car-ness), it's a 1991 with almost no book value, and the pain and expense of fixing and selling it is not a good use of our time.<br /><br />By donating it to public radio, it will definitely be repurposed, and the tax advantages will almost assuredly outweigh selling it. That might make a difference should we have made enough to actually pay taxes this year. We won't owe any taxes - we made too little.<br /><br />Thank you for reading my comment.<br />Sincerely, Mr. GolightlyMr. Golightlynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-61441348397693124082010-09-14T09:33:25.313-07:002010-09-14T09:33:25.313-07:00Mrs. Golightly,
Your compassion and insight always...Mrs. Golightly,<br />Your compassion and insight always touches me. I feel for you - we have been in your situation. We still have not gone back to where we used to be, financially speaking. It is discouraging to watch others around us go merrily through life with excellent health care benefits, vacations, money to spend on entertainment, etc. while we work just to get by. Not to be nosy, but perhaps you'd consider selling the comuter car rather than donate it? Maybe you'll get a better tax break by donating. Hang in there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-40906297216299531542010-09-13T18:33:16.368-07:002010-09-13T18:33:16.368-07:00Georgirl,
I believe there is some mis-communicati...Georgirl,<br /><br />I believe there is some mis-communication. I believe what anon was noting that, even embracing a zen-like, simple, frugal lifestyle does not even save one in a crisis as such. This crisis was largely created by a few people who simply wanted to make a lot of money and they were allowed to do this. As a result, the market crashed. <br /><br />Now if we were experiencing some kind of natural disaster I could understand how maxing out your 401(k) donations or forgoing a second car and buying a home within your means would NOT matter. <br /><br />But, alas millions are suffering left from the destruction of a few people who had greed at their core.<br /><br />In no way do I believe a zen attitude translates to just sitting on the arse. I think it means to have little possessions and have a deeper meaning and value in life itself, to defer from mass consumerism.<br /><br />When will corporate America learn that screwing over the middle class by taking jobs over seas, demanding we use our credit cards like it's money in the bank, lay off thousands of people while execs still pull bonuses and DON'T take salary cuts for their poor decisions is simply not sustainable?<br /><br />Tis a sad thing that the middle class is diminishing and the working poor are not moving up any ladders but merely working more hours.<br /><br />If you do everything right, and things still turn you over. One needs to reflect on two major points, 1) How to get out of the hole. 2) If you were playing by the rules, why were you cast out? Is there something wrong with the game? Is someone cheating? <br /><br />In this case, Wall Street cheated and Americans paid.Shopping Golightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04086883816963590796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-60252228308631270572010-09-13T16:51:58.443-07:002010-09-13T16:51:58.443-07:00I don't know about the others, but I'm not...I don't know about the others, but I'm not recommending "adopting a zen attitude".<br /><br />What I was saying was:<br /><br />1. You can do everything right and circumstances turn your life upside down. That's life. It's happened to many before us, it will happen to many after us.<br /><br />2. Speaking from my own experience, events like this in my life were an impetus to make a much needed change in my life. It seemed like a tragedy at the time.<br /><br />In short, I don't recommend that one sit on one's arse and wait for good things to come. One proverb I've always liked is "A man has to stand on a hillside a long time with his mouth open before a roast duck flies in." Yes, good things can happen, but they need energy and input from us.<br /><br />My other favourite proverb is, "When prosperity comes, do not use all of it."geogrrlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16935352129240009810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-20354790833875059532010-09-13T10:03:47.410-07:002010-09-13T10:03:47.410-07:00Following on Ms. Theresa's comment on contentm...Following on Ms. Theresa's comment on contentment...I agree, we can't buy it no more than we can buy self-esteem. Still, I detect a confidence in many of these comments based on an almost spiritual trust that those of us mired in current economic woes will be the better for it and that eventually things will turn around. While I appreciate that adopting a Zen-like way of getting perspective on things is valuable, the passivity of it also strikes me as a tad short-sighted. Sure, turning off the "Buy Buy Buy!" messages and getting back to basics, etc. certainly does help one manage household resources. But is it going to help you or yours navigate the vagaries of the marketplace? This blog is mostly about the former, which is one of the things I enjoy most about it. But it's author is telling us that there's a point at which even if you've done all the right things, the economy can dismantle everything you've built. We all need to pay attention.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-76309307681161552862010-09-13T07:28:59.160-07:002010-09-13T07:28:59.160-07:00I am sorry to hear that you are going through diff...I am sorry to hear that you are going through difficult times. I am in Canada, where the economic downturn has not been nearly as bad as in the U.S, that being said I just finished reading an article that said 59% of Canadians are living paycheck to paycheck. Although we save for retirement and have pensions, we are in that 59%. My husband works at a Honda plant, which stopped COL increases when the bottom fell out. Thankfully my husband has been there 21 years, and the industry is rebounding(though one wonders for how long?)<br /><br />I think it can only get worse. I see children being raised with such attitudes of entitlement. This cannot be sustained. I am doing my best to teach my children to be content. It is only through God that I can find any sense of hope or contentment. And, I need only turn on the news and see that most of the world lives in abject poverty, and then I know I have MUCH to be thankful for. <br /><br />You are very much an inspiration, and I hope that things turn around soon for your family.Theresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410176479138340024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-56776047199904801432010-09-12T15:49:00.383-07:002010-09-12T15:49:00.383-07:00Try not to regret too much - compared to others in...Try not to regret too much - compared to others in our culture, your STUFF is probably not as bad as your panic makes them seem. My husband, age 57, was out of work 15 months and now has a job at 1/3 of that old salary. Still we feel so fortunate - all credit cards had been paid off, no car payment so we only had the mortgage so we just made it. We could never have managed without our history of living frugally. I love your blog - your family will make it too!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-8467383859350939242010-09-12T11:56:22.814-07:002010-09-12T11:56:22.814-07:00I too am sorry to hear of your troubles. But, as ...I too am sorry to hear of your troubles. But, as you know you are not alone. Many including myself have struggled right along with you. I too have stopped visiting the local Goodwill so much and have held a few yard sales to implement the lack of funds in my home. Cleaning up and cleaning out is my mantra during this time. I have always been a coupon clipper/ thrift store shopper/ pretty much a minimalist so I have been sharing this knowledge with others. Recently I took 2 unemployed friends to the grocery store and helped them get so many free/greatly reduced price groceries they were astounded. So that is but one way recently I have been helping give back. I also scored 20 free boxes of crackers, 20 boxes of free cookies, and multiple boxes of cereal at Giant food stores and we dontated those to the Food Bank locally. Things will get better, and in everything in life the good and bad I have found such valuable lessons in them both.Melodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-43942881936498844862010-09-12T11:54:00.982-07:002010-09-12T11:54:00.982-07:00I too am sorry to hear of your troubles. But, as ...I too am sorry to hear of your troubles. But, as you know you are not alone. Many including myself have struggled right along with you. I too have stopped visiting the local Goodwill so much and have held a few yard sales to implement the lack of funds in my home. Cleaning up and cleaning out is my mantra during this time. I have always been a coupon clipper/ thrift store shopper/ pretty much a minimalist so I have been sharing this knowledge with others. Recently I took 2 unemployed friends to the grocery store and helped them get so many free/greatly reduced price groceries they were astounded. So that is but one way recently I have been helping give back. I also scored 20 free boxes of crackers, 20 boxes of free cookies, and multiple boxes of cereal at Giant food stores and we dontated those to the Food Bank locally. Things will get better, and in everything in life the good and bad I have found such valuable lessons in them both.Melodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-5715531954831937372010-09-12T10:50:44.380-07:002010-09-12T10:50:44.380-07:00I'm sorry to hear that things have become diff...I'm sorry to hear that things have become difficult for you and your family. I hope that you find the job/income you need to help you keep going.<br /><br />Sometimes you can do everything right and circumstances still turn your life upside down.<br /><br />It stinks when that happens. But sometimes, looking back, you find life was giving you a kick in the butt. Forcing you to change things in your life for some as-yet-unknown reason. At least, that's been my experience.geogrrlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16935352129240009810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-72063234607825660742010-09-12T10:15:19.552-07:002010-09-12T10:15:19.552-07:00I am fortunate enough to have had my lay off notic...I am fortunate enough to have had my lay off notice from my local school district rescinded, but in many ways I feel that this is a year of grace. I saw something yesterday that made me think - I went to one of our local Goodwills to get some pants for work, and the parking lot was packed. I drove around until someone came out and I was able to snag a spot. On my way home I went past a local mall, with many empty spaces in the parking lot. Many are learning the value of thrift right now, and hopefully those lessons will stick during better times.Jillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-19427831888336696712010-09-12T06:24:03.485-07:002010-09-12T06:24:03.485-07:00(Anonymous #2) One of the interesting things that ...(Anonymous #2) One of the interesting things that didn't fully come across in my previous post is that a TEAM is evolving. I'm the writer, but others serve as reviewers on the resumes and cover letters. And we're all keeping our ears to the ground (and asking others to do the same) for potential opportunities. Most importantly, we've gotten bolder about making THE ASK for others. Sometimes we simply connect our candidate with the contact. After this informational interview he/she is able to take the contact's name and parlay it into an intro for another informational interview, and so on. With this post we hope to encourage others to see if they, their significant others, friends, and colleagues can coordinate to lend a hand to job seekers they may know or even know of second hand. No meetings are involved. No award dinners will eat up your schedules, patience, or pocketbooks. Yet you can have powerful, far-reaching results that will make a difference in your communities with what amounts to very little effort. Members of my team have had to re-invent themselves again and again in their careers. We've been fired, downsized, folded, spindled, and mutilated. If you and yours have been more fortunate--good for you. But remember, 'there but for the grace of God go I.'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-38172337152019870492010-09-12T03:38:43.021-07:002010-09-12T03:38:43.021-07:00I hear you sister Amy. Great article and very ins...I hear you sister Amy. Great article and very inspirational. Chantal and I are dipping our toes back into the reuse arena. In the past, we would troll the furniture stores looking for just the right piece only to be disappointed. We were young and found pleasure in going to the local reuse. Chantal and I would bring home items. And with her crafty eye and artistic skills (much like yours) she would refurbish a lovely piece for our house. I think we still have some pieces sitting around that date back 20 years. So we are right there with you. My challenge today is to just de-clutter. I hate having a lot of stuff around that we are not using. So, next week, I will be packing up the family wagon for at least 2 or 3 trips down to the local reuse warehouse. Thanks for the article. And hang in there. <br /><br />All the best – EricAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-3591568641991429562010-09-11T19:10:23.322-07:002010-09-11T19:10:23.322-07:00Anon,
What a great contribution you are making! T...Anon,<br /><br />What a great contribution you are making! Think of how many lives you have helped. How much self-esteem you have contributed to this world.<br /><br />I salute your resume writing efforts! No doubt THAT is something many need help with in such times.Shopping Golightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04086883816963590796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-6404206353270870782010-09-11T17:56:47.118-07:002010-09-11T17:56:47.118-07:00Over the last few years I've developed a growi...Over the last few years I've developed a growing sideline of writing resumes. "Sideline" isn't really the best word for it because I don't take money. I do it as a community service for people I or my friends and colleagues know. I used to volunteer for charity causes contributing my money, time, talents, etc. but have opted for resume writing as a truly direct way of helping others. It's a one-person-at-a time effort and it's certainly not going to change the world. Still, it's helped a good number of people get back on their feet, change careers, etc. Long term I think these efforts will have been one of the small, but key things that will have helped some of these families weather the bad times,stay together, and secure their futures. A number of my friends have gotten involved and are sending people my way who need the help I can provide. And together we're linking our networks to open doors for leads, interviews, and job opportunities. All we ask is that the people we work with 'move it forward' by turning around to help someone else. While not everyone will want to help with a resume or cover letter, EVERYONE has a network. (Remember the Kevin Bacon game?) If you need a job, don't overlook anyone who might be able to connect you with someone who can help in some way. And if you know anyone looking for a job, DON'T be shy about extending yourself to lend a hand. The smallest effort can make a huge difference.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-85819746107184208612010-09-11T17:19:14.744-07:002010-09-11T17:19:14.744-07:00Anon,
Thank you for those words of encouragement. ...Anon,<br />Thank you for those words of encouragement. I'm sorry to learn of your situation but are glad that you've found employment.<br /><br />There is a part of me that has been purging thanks to the fight or flight reaction. If we must leave, best to go lightly.Shopping Golightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04086883816963590796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9051113577658386956.post-41587656854478658012010-09-11T13:28:12.841-07:002010-09-11T13:28:12.841-07:00So sorry your family is going through this. My hu...So sorry your family is going through this. My husband lost his job at 57, but was able to land another (we had to move!) and are starting over... but we feel blessed he found one at his age. Oh, and we have STUFF! We are donating alot to SVDP as we unpack..Please don't get discouraged as you are a true inspiration to so many , and so very talented. Brighter days are ahead....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com