Coping with hard times

The situation came like a frog in slowly heating water. Two years ago I had a growing stock portfolio, a house going up in value, a growing business and in a blink of an eye it seems I've rented out my house and am living in small apartment nursing my old car to last another year. I didn't see it coming until it was here.

Tomorrow I turn 62, I will start getting social security. I have been self employed most of my life so the check is not large, nor am I entitled to unemployment.

Was it just denial that made me not scrape and horde and save like our parents did? They grew up in the depression and the war and did not have the same of view about money.

So, now I am thinking back to the times I spent with my parents and to try to relearn the lessons they were trying to teach me.

Libraries: free books, movies, newspapers. We went to the local library all the time if we needed books.

Ate at home, unless we went to a hamburger joint , we never went out.

They bought middle of the road cars and made them last.

I remember my father who was a Doctor, well respected, doing well financially, finally bought a Mercedes 230sl. It was a big deal and a great joy to him. He took very good car of it, washing and waxing it himself, no one was allowed to drive it, including parking lot attendants.

That car lasted him 10 years.

There is a change about consuming, looking for clothing on sale, not going to expensive trendy restaurants, going to libraries for books that I have to stop viewing as cheapness. It's about value and living within means.

Around the block

Hockey Mom for President?  It's the dumbing down of the Federal government.  Since they want to discredit the fed, electing totally inapropriate candidates will definitely do it!