[dr256]

Originally Posted by Destructo

Same here.... although if we all do this the recession will be longer & deeper....

Its an intriguing point that's starting to proliferate the news and mouths of politicians and some financial advisors this. Its almost as if they are now trying to blame us for this mess.

Our bills have been going up and up for years. Petrol, energy, food...
The banks have been given billions of our cash. The Bank of England has just announced a huge interest cut which the banks are busy pocketing. And now the government wants to offer us some temporary and deferred tax increases so we all run out and spend lots of cash to get the economy moving again...what! They must be mad.
They want us to spend now with tax rises just around the corner? They want us to spend now when our houses might drop into negative equity? They want us to spend when we might lose our jobs any day?

Sorry but the answer is no.

[DaedalEVE]

Originally Posted by dr256

Its an intriguing point that's starting to proliferate the news and mouths of politicians and some financial advisors this. Its almost as if they are now trying to blame us for this mess.

Our bills have been going up and up for years. Petrol, energy, food...
The banks have been given billions of our cash. The Bank of England has just announced a huge interest cut which the banks are busy pocketing. And now the government wants to offer us some temporary and deferred tax increases so we all run out and spend lots of cash to get the economy moving again...what! They must be mad.
They want us to spend now with tax rises just around the corner? They want us to spend now when our houses might drop into negative equity? They want us to spend when we might lose our jobs any day?

Sorry but the answer is no.

Exactly.
What happened was that the greedy got TOO damn greedy, and now we're just at the point where everyone is like "no". Banks, government, and economists will have you think it means things have slowed down or "receded"... when in actually the consumer has just had enough of these greedy bastards making 1200% profit off their services.
Prices go up, support/services do down, and the only one better off are the guys at the top who pocket those millions and billions so they can buy 12 houses, 14 cars, and god knows whatever other crap they don't even use. Because some people (a lot of people) seem to think that he who has the most stuff when he dies WINS.... well guess what numb nuts, YOUR DEAD, so I guess ya didn't win huh?

Sorry I'm just upset that not too many people can see the real problem and how it all works. Truth of the matter is we cause it.... we all do.
One jerk decided he can sell his food for more than everyone else, and the people pay it. Next thing you know everyone sells theirs for just as much... and suddenly not everyone can afford food, so they get higher paying jobs and make more money, the companies they work for have to start charging more for their services in order to pay these people with their higher wages and still make what they think is enough money for themselves, then once everyone is comfy and making enough to live comfy, that one jerk raises his food prices again just because he thinks he can make out better than the next guy. And around and around you go.
That's inflation in a nut shell.
It takes times like now for companies to realize how greedy they've been and decide it's time to take a hit to their profit margin in order to regain their customers. Right now the banks are the greedy bastards that started it, and caused investors to run around screaming "the sky is falling". And really that's why all that happened. Actual company values did't really go down in most cases (bankrupt banks excluded), they just showed less profit. That makes a lot of investors scared because being the greedy shortsighted things they are they want to make a LOT of money on their stocks, not a little.... so they sell the stocks, perceived demand goes down, and THAT effects stock prices. Suddenly everyone is selling in order to get what money they can out, and it all comes tumbling down like a house of cards.

Oversimplified I know but you get the point.
So frustrating... GRRR!~

[Surffrog]

To get back to the topic of this thread, here's a little suggestion for those of you who still have trouble leaving your credit cards alone.

Stick your cards in a plastic sealable bag. Then put the bag in a large jar of water (making sure it's bigger than your microwave). Place large jar into freezer. When you see something you THINK you want to buy, take the jar out of the freezer and let it defrost naturally. This will at least give you a 12-24 hour cool-off period to decide whether you really need it or not. I saved a fair bit doing just that. It may help one or more of you guys

[.OrgOwner]

Awesome suggestion Surf! I've never been great at saving money but I have always managed to find ways to make extra money.

[dr256]

I'm now wondering if I can get a jar large enough to fit the wife in!

[Surffrog]

Originally Posted by dr256

I'm now wondering if I can get a jar large enough to fit the wife in!

... or a freezer big enough to house the jar