This is a question for Australians: Have you changed your ways (or been forced to change your ways) since the economy slowed? How has your life changed in the last few months?
How has your life been affected by the global economic downturn?
It has affected us a little. More worry than anything else.
We have become more aware of our spending habits and toned it down. I have even started to buy some food at ALDI instead of Coles to save $$.
The government %26amp; media has caused this financial panic and made it worse that it should be.
This time last year we were told to stop spending or inflation would sky rocket, now we are told to spend spend spend to help the economy recover.
Its a gamble..do you save $$ in case it gets worse and you lose your job, or do you continue to spend this Xmas in hope it will help the economy.
On the postive side, the furniture and plasma's are dropping in price - just in time for our renovations!!
How has your life been affected by the global economic downturn?
I've tried to be more conservative with my money, trying to put more away in case something happens to my job. Australia hasn't been affected as much as other countries though it seems, it's all talk of doom and gloom but the really bad times haven't hit, or won't hit us as bad. I think Christmas parties and company spending is going to be minimal this festive season though.
Not at all. I live a balanced life, and dont overspend. Materialistic people are the ones who will suffer. As you have seen, the greedheads are all selling their boats and big cars.
Nothing really, we just have to watch our spending a little bit more than before.
I started to focus more on saving for a rainy day, like loosing my job. I paid out my credit card. But I still have my car loan.
I have become more conservative with my money, I am spending less, and worrying about my superannuation and savings in the bank, will they just disappear one day due to another economic meltdown?
Brilliant ..my pension has gone up as the dollar has fallen in value ..petrol has gone down and the mortgage interest rate is falling
Brilliant
The contract I was working on was closed down two weeks ago - supposed to have gone up to xmas. Then the company laid off 20 people.
So I'm now unemployed for the first time in absolutely ages and the job market in Sydney is impossible right now... Just before the summer holiday. Great stuff...
We'd already put all our savings into term deposits at the high rates guessing that interest rates were about to drop, so for once, we did well. As for the rest of it, I'm not spending anything unless I really really have to, and we've changed our supermarket habits to buy only absolute necessities. No more little treats.
We're not eating out like we used to - used to be once a week, now it's maybe once a month. I've suspended my gym membership, cancelled my credit card (don't want the temptation), and stopped meeting friends for coffee - round my house or round theirs is fine, but $4 every time when it's four or five times a week, or more, and it all adds up.
We're also not spending on booze or going out for drinks. We'll drink what we have in the house, but when that's finished...
I'd already bought the xmas presents I needed to buy, so that won't be affected (not that I ever spend much anyway). We're driving to Melbourne for xmas to visit family, thankful that the price of petrol has dropped to a dollar a litre.
My partner's still working, so we have money coming in. But I'm used to having ready cash all the time and not spending savings... will be hard to get used to!
I manage a branch of a medium sized company in Victor Harbor SA.
Most businesses here report around a 25% drop in income.
My November has been a disaster.
My income is down over 80% and I have been here over 2 years now.
I have no orders for Christmas when normally I would be inundated with orders and chasing them daily.
It is quite frightening as obviously my job will be on the line very soon if business doesn't pick up.
So merry Christmas to everyone and good luck to us all.. We'll need it.
Cheers.
Working in sales position, poor sales return in the last few months %26amp; staff put off in all areas, including myself.
In general, business %26amp; small business finding the public not spending on items as the trend in the past few years.
Car industry also suffering due to poor economic influences.
No change whatsoever. All abundance in one's life is directly correlated with ones thoughts about it. This is a much bigger picture than what it appears.If your'e interested in improving the abundance in your life then a great read is Money and The Law of Attraction by Ester and Jerry Hicks. You will need an open mind but if you don't have one of those already you are sure to go down with the negativity of the current global financial market.
living alongside the Amish and the Mennonites here in Southern Michigan. Also having a friend in the 4-H things are about par, the two party system has been re-established, things look to be solid
Personally nothing is different. I live week to week as it is and have done for some time now so I'm used to it. I'm a great budgeter and bargain hunter so I don't think things will hit me too badly but others may not be so lucky. I don't think the severity of it all will hit us until around February next year, that's when we'll all need to start pinching penny's - maybe in an attempt to make them preform mitosis and make copies of themselves!
I have a girlfriend who lives in Japan so am constantly travelling over there. When I last visited in July 1AUD=100JPY but now, 1AUD=62JPY so my money has seen a 38% decrease against the Japanese Yen. Therefore I can't travel there as often. I was going to go on exchange as a student, but it may prove to be too expensive now.
We are are family of three and one due next June we are not materialistic people we just like to live comfortable we do not smoke but do drink from time to time but do like to have weekends away or go to nice restaurants and we started making significant decisions about five months ago we cut down on Fox-tel package we sold one car we got debt free of two credit cards have changed the boy school for next year as he is private and they raised the school fees by a whooping 9% made more payments on mortgage and started saving we told family and friends no x-mas presents this year only for the kids and a min of $30.00 and one present only if they wished to give more we asked for the boy's school fund! we have cut our electricity cost by $40.00 per quarter our shopping habits have also changed and nothing to be bought unless it is absolutely necessary our combined income is above $100,000.00 P/A so to those who say nothing has changed wake-up and get in with the times obviously you do not have a family or mortgage and you live at home with mummy and daddy and bloodging of them.The worst is yet to come!
Overtime which has been consistant for a couple of years has now been cut right back due to slower demand for product, thus reducing net income by about $250 per week. One small consellation is the fuel and mortgage interest rate has come down a little bit, but no doubt it will be up again some time in the future.
Just got to tighten the purse strings a bit more.
My Life has not changed in the slightest, Thankyou!!
I lost my job which was in recruitment, in fact everyone did and the office shut up shop! Unfortunately I am one of many particularly in the recruitment industry and many friends who still have thier jobs say its very stressful and people are being let go everyday and there are no jobs coming in :(
not much because we respect mother earth.lol
it is always up and down
So far I have not been affected by the market meltdown, although I expect it will certainly soon to start to take a toll
It hasn't
Petrol is cheap. The shops have stuff on discount. Our mortgage is less than before. Its great.
It hasn't affected us as yet. Interest rates were never a problem as we're renting. Our larger family car was written off 3 months ago, and we've replaced that with a smaller car, which costs even less to run now due to the price of fuel falling. Both myself and my husband still have our jobs, and because of the jobs we are in, we won't be unemployed unless it is our own doing.
We are more careful with our money, but I wouldn't say our lives have been affected negatively in any way.
Working in a large recruitment company; number of people we payroll on a weekly basis has not dropped yet!! It鈥檚 more about panic at this stage! it would help if the media could just stop talking about it too much
lol, nothing really
But my family is looking forward to buy a house this year, since the interest rate going down; beside the money we pay for rents probably more than the money we're going to pay for the bank every month.
Plus my mom used around $50k buy shareholders and stuffs, she kinda lost everythin because market slowed :
|The only thing that has changed is that I now have a recession-proof business I run from home in which I help families reclaim their time together and have a recession-proof income themselves....this is not MLM and I only accept serious and motivated people who want a change in their personal and financial life.
not one lil bit! im spendin as much now as i eva have! i pay all my bills on time, eat well, run my car %26amp; pay rent (on my own mite i add) %26amp; still have plenty left over. sux 2 b others :D
I haven't been affected that much yet. I earn enough to survive and not much more, no loans or stocks to worry about, thankfully.
However it will affect my future spending habits. For example I was going to learn how to scuba dive, now I consider that a luxury. There are more important things to save for.
This so called global downturn has not affected my lifestyle whatsoever. I have a family of 6 and we have not had to change anything, we still live a full life and go to movies, go travelling, go out to dinner, have take away food several times a week ETC etc.... I don't know what your all on about global this global that blah blah blah........
Ummmm..... I don't think that my life has changed much....But yeah...I am pretty happy that the petrol prices have gone really low.....But otherwise...I think my life is still the same and i guess the reason behind it is because the effect of Global Financial Crisis isnt that high compared to other countries such as India, America, Thailand, Malaysia Etc...
We will never be truly informed about the scale of the global financial meltdown as long as the media in Australia insists on putting stories about (AFL) footballers/cricketers as headline news. Ignorance is bliss, maybe, but my opinion is that we are living in an deceptively safe bubble. Hate to say it but wait til reality hits in the New Year.
Sorry not really answering your question just responding to some of the above answers.
Financially, I am better off than ever. What has changed is that because there is so much negitivity out there, I have put off some purchases untill I know the worst is behind us. And I know that threatens the economy because if even people with money dont spend, then the downturn becomes worse.
