An enlightening and amusing article from Ken Rockwell.
It arose from questions to the author about how he could afford such expensive camera equipment. His reply is interesting and appropriate for many Irish households today:
...I realized that I've always had a knack for buying expensive toys long before I'd ever had a job. Hopefully my cheapskate tricks can help you, too, which is why I share them here.
Our ability to buy expensive toys has nothing to do with how much money we do or don't earn. Like everything in life, it has everything to do with how well you use what you have.
We have taken bold, decisive and innovative steps to manage our way through this crisis. In all our actions, our concern has been to protect jobs, to provide a functioning banking system and to return this economy to the path of sustainable growth. We have sought to do all of this in a manner that is fair and that protects the most vulnerable.
And now a quotation from the Budget Statement of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (please excuse the extended quotation, but I wanted to get the figures in there):
The Society says that the reduction in the adult social welfare rate is very bad news. This cut will amount to €13.90 per week for a couple, which is compounded by the loss of the Christmas Bonus, increases in rent payable for social housing and private rented sector where rent supplement is given. In addition all families with children under 5 have lost €664 over the past year due to the cut in the Early Childcare Supplement.
Compared with this time last year, a single parent family with 2 children under 5 has sustained a cut of 10.4% in their income, or €1820 over the year, and a couple with 2 children under 5 have sustained a cut of € 2241 or 9.2% in their income. These cuts mean more hardship for families on social welfare, and will likely push people into debt.
...
“In the days before the budget, our Dublin office alone was receiving almost 500 calls a day seeking assistance. We believe that this was partly due to the fact that there is no Christmas Bonus being paid this year. We also have no doubt that, overall, this Budget will increase the calls for help that we, and other charities, will receive in the coming year” said Mairead Bushnell, SVP National President.
In conjunction with the good people at askaboutmoney.com (thanks Brendan!) we have added a new 'Bargain Watch' feature to Thrifty Pages.
Now when you can click on 'Bargain Watch' on the menu on the right, you can see the latest bargains as identified by the users of the askaboutmoney.com forums.
