i know its not just me but DANG when is all this stuff going to slow down...my electric bill is through the roof....$350.00 and more a month. Now i get my home and flood insurance. home is up by nearly $300.00 flood is additional $200.00. Not to mention all the other bills that seem to continue to rise little by little. Also to add New Hanover County Tax office came out to my house UNINVITED and said there have been improvements on my home so they are increasing the tax value of my house nearly 20K!!!!!!!I am tired of hearing.."its the enonomy" UGH ok just venting! im done...NEXT... 

I am with you. They pulled up in front of my house three years ago in the pouring rain and just looked. Next thing you know I got a new assessment. Once my daughters are grown I may consider Wallace for living. It is going to get worse for our pockets in New Hanover County if this economy ever pulls up. It took me three days to get through an article in The Atlantic magazine last week. The article is about fifteen pages long. I had a lot going on and wanted to absorb it all. It had to be one of the best I have ever read about our country and the effects the economy can have on its inner cities, people and finances. Here it is online: How A Jobless Era Will Transform America 

well the tax guy came out here and looked too, then we got a letter wanting for US to measure everything and then they would put a value on it! I'm talking run in horse barn, pump house, metal storage bldg, and covered carport with attached workshop. My Hubby has a 51 Jeep that will NEVER be on the road. (Mud Truck) and they want the vin from it too!This is Pender Co. I'm sure I have it a little better than yall do but DANG! 

I guess I have been blessed because my electric bill has not gone over $190 at all this winter. But the grocery bill hasn't been too nice lately, that's for sure. I've been searching on line for places to download and print coupons. I've found quite a few good places to get coupons, but too many of them are for products I don't need or use. Grr! I'm glad I can get some of the stuff I need and want on WYS so at least I can save some money over shopping at the stores for those type of things. I can't remember the last time I bought any new clothes from a store! Of course it's pretty tough for me since I had my hours cut from 40+ to 30 a week starting January 1. I don't mind the extra time off, but a 25% pay cut hurts! I'm dreading going to get our income taxes done too. I can't remember the last time we got a refund, so we'll probably get clobbered again this year. 

Something I am doing for the second year in a row is plant a vegetable garden. This saved me a lot of money at home and at work last year. If you don't have any space or a good place in your yard for a garden then you can still use large containers. Chicken, turkey and cow manure can be used to erich the soil. This is great if you have younger chidren that are still teachable. My teens, well, I will leave it at that. There is nothing quite like watching something you planted grow and produce edible food. Last year I did broccoli, tomatoes ( cherry, Better Boys, etc.), spring onions, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, cucumbers' Year round I have a garden filled with herbs. Rosemary, dill, oregano, basil, etc. There is nothing like going out and making cuts of youjr own herbs for the baked chicken, adding dill to your salad, etc. This is a good hobby and a great way to still enjoy foods that others making more money than we do can afford to buy from the store. 

hmmmmm maybe I will market all this horse manure I have! We grow massive watermelons but thats about it. My hubby wont touch a vegetable with a 10 ft pole lol 

We just got a letter saying our taxes went up because they have just now discovered our shed which has been there for 15 years??? I don't get it! 

My daughter in law grew tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and zucchini in pots last year and did pretty good with them. I don't know if I have the will to grow a garden again. I used to do it a long time ago. But fresh veggies are so good - and good for you. I wouldn't mind growing cukes and squash; may give those a try! 

We have a huge generator at the station.. Right behnd that is where we planted our garden there for work last year. It was still producing tomatoes into November 2009. I covered the dining room table at work from end to end and side to side with the last crop. I took them home and placed bananas and apples in a closed container with them. They ripened for eating in about a week. I was shocked that it all worked out. I had no idea I was capable of growing any crop until last year. You all shouldld try it. You can do it. undefined 

I haven't used my central heat since the holidays.I use a kerosene heater and a Dimplex freestanding woodstove complete with fake flame.It holds heat very well so I have the kerosene heater on till I go to bed and by the time I get up at 5:30 am it's still about 72 in here.My electric bill this month was $165.Probably wouldn't be that high if I didn't use the oven so much. I'm planting tomatoes,squash,watermelon,cukes,sunflowers and pumpkins this year.I'm gonna plant a little closer to the pasture this year so that I can get that fertilizer run off when it rains,LOL. I already collect eggs daily,chicken and turkey.The pear tree does good some years and some years it doesn't.The blackberry tree is extremely prolific and produces way more than I can deal with.All my stuff is grown organically. I could make goat cheese but thats a ton of work!!! I do milk them when they have a baby so that I can have colostrum on hand if need be and milk for orphans. I spend $140 a week total.Thats for groceries,animal feed and neccessities like tp,soap,cleaning supplies etc... My truck is a gas guzzler but thats a neccessary evil.Duallys just aren't and never will be the most fuel efficent so I make damn sure I plan my trips accordingly.I put $30 a week in it unless I have have to go beyond the Pender county line.And I try to only do that once a month. Yup,I'm a frugal cheapy!!! 

Good for you Poosh. My parents heat their house with a woodstove - there is no central heat or a/c in the house. For years my father has cut his own firewood and even had extra to sell. He's unfortunately gotten to the point where he can no longer do that (he's 86 and has a heart condition) and they are thinking of putting in central heat. But they have saved tons of money over the years by heating their house with wood. He also grows a lot of their produce, and since they live in Florida (north of Orlando) they have all kinds of citrus trees in their yard and they sell a lot of their excess fruit. I learned to live frugally from my parent's example! My mother even cooks on the woodstove and uses the oven in it which saves on the electric bill even more. 

Carmen, "New Hanover County Tax office came out to my house UNINVITED and said there have been improvements on my home so they are increasing the tax value of my house nearly 20K!!!!!!!" Oh crap!!---what pricks. I'm sorry---but even this local govt. needs to learn to live within it's BUDGET and not be over spending. They are so desperate for YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY that they can now sit on google and look at your property and see if you've made improvements so they can TAX you on it. 

I can't believe they are increasing the tax value of any real estate in this down market! Most of us should have our value lowered because we'd never be able to sell them right now for what the county has valued them at! 

they have to make up that 7 million budget deficit somehow. 

And it will continue to get worse and worse. You can't tax your way into prosperity! 

I'll tell you one thing. City firemen (and women) may go three years or more without a pay raise. I count myself fortunate to be employed. I would rather see us forgo a pay raise and remain employed than to see the elderly taxed out of their homes. They are already bombarded with medical bills and to keep raising taxes and water/sewer rates will only compound the problem. You will never hear this guy complain about not getting a raise. P.S. Up north a lot of homes have a basement. In the south we have sheds. Do they tax for basements up north? We don't have basements because as you dig down you hit the water table early on, so I am told. 

Statistics show that more men have lost their jobs during this economic downturn than women. Some men have become so desperate that they have gone to various extremes to gain employment. Here is one example.... Gainful Employment for Desperate Men 

I don't know if they tax for basements or not - probably do because it would be counted in the square footage of your house. You are correct about basements here in coastal NC - the water table is too shallow in most places for basements. 

I love that movie! 

LOL...funny movie. I really should rent it and see it as an adult. I saw it so long ago as a kid---I'm sure there is lots that I missed. 

If you watch that movie again, Tootsie, then be sure and watch the special feature wherein Dustin Hoffman is interviewed. I think the 25th anniversary edition has it. He talks about some things he learned about what women go through. He speaks of one experience where he was at a function and while dressed as a woman felt the rejection that some women experience. The role impacted his life in a positive way and he carries the lessons learned from that experience with him today. 

Maybe all men should spend a week in a woman's "body" to see what it's like. Likewise, maybe some of us women should spend a week in a man's "body" to see how it is for them also. Neither gender has any clue what it's like to be the opposite sex. 

Maybe all men should spend a week in a woman's "body" to see what it's like. Likewise, maybe some of us women should spend a week in a man's "body" to see how it is for them also. Neither gender has any clue what it's like to be the opposite sex. oh my- how i would love to switch roles with my husband for just ONE day.. one day thats it......im pretty sure thats all it would take..LOL 

LOL 

Most of us should have our value lowered because we'd never be able to sell them right now for what the county has valued them at! You can do that if you have your house appraised by a real estate appraiser and fight the tax department. Did it and WON. I do not like the tax department. They are only out for your money. 

Of course they are - that's their job! Glad to know they can be beaten though and congrats to you! 

Jiminy Christmas. It looks as if what I heard last year could become fact. Time to get rid of the SUVs and get a gas saver. Read 'em and weep, or read 'em and get on your bike to go to work :-) Gas Will Go Up $10. Per Barrel Per Year "Carbon said he expects oil prices to rise about $10 a barrel a year for the next four years." 

When will we start drilling for the gas which is located under our own land? Do I say "gas" or should I reference it as our "resources"? I've been reading so much,lately,that says we have more than enough to support our country. What is the deal?