Fabulous Financials

photo credit: udt007us

I don’t know why, but this image made me laugh. A “recession” special? HA HA Two hot dogs and a drink for almost $3? Are you serious? Or is it a “special” because tax is included? Maaan, this is BS! I can buy a pack of hotdogs, hot dog buns, and a 2 liter Dr. Perky for almost $3. LOL

So what’s prompting these ridiculous marketing ploys?

Gas is predicted to be $4 everywhere by this summer. Regular unleaded is over $3.75 where I live. People are responding. I see quite a few walkers and bikers in the morning.

People are losing their homes left and right. Buy a house you can’t afford under normal lending standards and that’s what happens. Not really surprised. Responsible Savvy property owners are responding. Rental prices are going up.

Grocery prices are skyrocketing. Bought any fresh produce, eggs, milk or cheese lately? Rumor has it, there may be a shortage of certain items. Farmer’s are feeling the pinch and nut cases are responding. It has gotten so bad, folks are trying to hoard rice. WTF!

If you want a ‘big picture’ of how economic changes are affecting the average person, the NY Times has a spending graphic that illustrates “All of Inflation’s Little Parts.” There’s no doubt we’re in a recession, but the million dollar question of the day is - how will YOU respond?

Me? I don’t plan to do anything. Fear breeds fear and panic will only make things worse. Therefore, I will continue doing what I’ve already been doing:

• Remain consumer debt free
• Leverage my good credit rating only when absolutely necessary
• Continue to save/invest 20%+ of my earnings
• Maintain my marketable skills and make sure they are current AND competitive
• Establish multiple streams of income
• Create a spend plan to manage my money instead of my money managing me
• Live beneath my means
• Eliminate unnecessary “wants” (i.e. cable, Tivo, landline, iPhone, gadgets, etc.)
• Just say “no” to lifestyle inflation (increase income, maintain standard of living)
• Avoid frivolous purchases
• Practice delayed gratification
• When shopping, hunt for bargains
• Continue driving my fuel efficient, paid for, Honda Accord
• Grocery shop with a list
• Buy generic brands when appropriate

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Now, if I had to, I could downsize my lifestyle and live on next nothing. It wouldn’t be a painful transition either. Been there, done that, not too far removed from it. Take the girl out the ghetto, but the survival skills last a lifetime. LOL!

No seriously, the key is to apply responsible financial habits every day of your life, not in “response” to a crisis situation. I know we can’t control everything, but being “proactive” can reduce the fear and help you make better decisions.

After a recent scare, I realized that BabyGirl and I are not prepared for an emergency situation and I’m trying to do better. With the help of Be Red Cross Ready and various emergency lists from around the web, I’ve created my own inventory list of “must have” emergency planning items:

1. Food
   1. Water
   2. MREs
   3. Can food
   4. Manual can opener
   5. Plastic utensils
      
   6. Crackers
   7. Oreos (don’t ask)

2. First Aid/Medicine
   1. BG’s Inhaler
   2. Tylenol*
   3. Motrin
   4. Aspirin
   5. Antibiotic ointment
   6. Band-aids*
   7. Duct Tape*
   8. Gauze pads*
   9. Scissors*
   10. Hot/cold compress*
   11. Digital Thermometer

3. Survival
   1. $100 (dollars and coins)
   2. Emergency contact list (long distance family)
   3. Breathing masks
   4. Space blankets
   5. Flash lights*
   6. Light sticks
   7. Candles
   8. Matches
   9. Butane lighter
   10. Gloves (work and latex)
   11. AM/FM radio
   12. Batteries (AA/AAA)*
   13. Mini sewing kit (needle, thread, safety pins, etc.)*
   14. Set of warm changing clothes
   15. Extra socks
   16. Extra glasses/contacts
   17. Rain poncho
   18. Prepaid phone card $5
   19. Trash bags*
   20. Whistle
   21. Pocket knife
   22. Map ?
   23. Survival book ?

4. Important Documents
   1. Laminated birth certificates*
   2. Laminated social security cards*
   3. Passports*
   4. Credit cards (including copy of front/back)
   5. Will
   6. Bank account info
   7. List of passwords ?
   8. USB drive with important electronic docs*

5. Toiletries
   1. Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer
   2. Deodorant*
   3. Soap*
   4. Toothpaste*
   5. Toothbrush*
   6. Toilet Paper*
   7. Moist (cleansing and disinfectant) wipes*
   8. Pads/tampons*

6. Pet
   1. Dog food*
   2. Small food/water tray*
   3. Leash and identification tag*
   4. Medical record (proof of rabies shot)*
      

7. Entertainment
   1. BE magazine or PF book*
   2. Mini Connect 4 or Checkers
   3. Cards*
   4. Cross word puzzle book
   5. Journal and pens

8. Car
   1. Fix a flat
   2. Jumper cables*
   3. Tire pressure gauge
   4. Cell phone charger*
   5. GPS*
   6. Ice scraper*
   7. Road flares
   8. Blankets
   9. Coins

What ya think?

Eventually, I plan to create three emergency kits:

1) the bare minimum necessities in two backpacks for one of those “let’s hurry up and get the f*** outta here!!” moments

2) everything else, including the two backpacks, stored neatly in a large plastic container for when we need to evacuate the state and unable to return home for a while

3) a kit including everything in #8 for the car only

Some of these things, I already own or have an extra set for an emergency kit* (just need to find/organize them), so my goal is to complete the e-kits within the next 6 months. I will make it a game - like a budget scavenger hunt - to see how many items I can find for FREE or really cheap. I’ll update my status every other month, but if I forget, y’all remind me. M’kay?

Is your emergency kit in order?

Are you prepared for an emergency? I’m not talking about a job loss or injury, I mean a real emergency. An act of God emergency. Another Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. Is your family prepared to go days/weeks without running water, electricity, food, gas, using credit cards, etc.?

It just occurred to me this weekend that BabyGirl and I are not prepared. For reasons still unknown to me, our electricity went out on Saturday night. First thing came to my mind was “shyt, did I pay the electric bill?!” Back in the day, I couldn’t remember. I was known to slip a time or two. LOL But I quickly erased the thought and began playing eye spy private eye. Ya know, slide the mini blinds down very slowly to peek at your neighbors. That’s when I noticed the whole friggin neighborhood was pitch black. WTF!

After about 10 minutes of looking like Rose Holloway on 227, I noticed a line of cars backing up towards my building. Now that really piqued my curiosity. Forget being discrete through the blinds, I opened the damn door. Hmph! By then, I saw about six cars lined up. WTF again! I really didn’t care WHY the cars were lining up, I just panicked. *thinking* “Aww shyt, we ’bouta to get the hell outta here too!” Forget that!

You should have seen my azz stumbling over dog toys, books, remote controls and what not. Pitch black dark, I done dropped the damn flashlight and was trying to find my pants and shoes. I said “BabyGirl, get ya damn coat and come on!!” OMG, just typing this post is hilarious. I’m in tears right now. LMAOOOOOO!! You know black folks don’t need an explanation. When we see a large group of people hauling azz, we just peace the hell out too. Ye’en know! LOL

So we get ready in record time. I’m feeling all uncomfortable because we’re outnumbered in these parts…if you know what I mean. I was prepared to pull an Obi-Juan Kenobi if anybody tried to f*ck with us in the dark. But when I got outside, I felt like a damn fool. Here I am thinking something was going down in the neighborhood and these folks were trying to escape. The cars were lining up because the damn security gate wouldn’t open. *blank stare* I never thought there was a down side to living in a gated community. Then it finally hit me. When the electricity goes out, the security gate ceases to function. Duh! After further inspection, cars were lined up on the inside AND outside of the community. Folks couldn’t get to their own apartments. Damn!

It was pure chaos. Someone had already called the fire department and others were trying to reach emergency maintenance. All reasonable responses, of course, but I’ve never seen so many people under distress over something so minor. This whole experience made me think about how I would have responded if the situation was worse. It made me think about my non-existent emergency planning kit. It definitely made me realize that I better not panic anymore and scare the bejeebus out of my child who will cry uncontrollably because we forgot the dog in the house.

Sorry Precious, I love ya baby. But when it’s going DOOOWN, if BabyGirl forgets to grab ya fluffy azz, you on ya own…dawg. LOL! Sike, I’m just kidding! A little.

Ok, for serious. I went browsing the innanets to learn about emergency kits/plans. During my search, I ran across this post by Blunt Money and she linked to a Red Cross emergency tutorial. It includes an emergency preparedness shopping list based on family size and how many days the supplies are needed. I figured it covers enough of the basics to get started. Here’s another list of must have items that should be in an emergency kit too. Good stuff. Now that I’ve been scared into action, it’s time to start collecting our emergency kit items.

Are you ready for an emergency? What’s in your emergency kit?

[image credit: cityofdearborn.org]