Consumer Bob

San Diego Consumer

Doing WIthout

Living Well in 2009
By Consumer Bob
Posted on Wed, Jan 7th, 2009
Last updated Wed, Jan 7th, 2009

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

My wife has been quoting that line to me for years. I think it originally dates back to the Depression. I’ve seen her live by it for 30 years of marriage and today it sounds quite modern.

Our recent economic slowdown has forced many people to think twice about where they spend their money, the value (or need) of their possessions, and how to get by with less. New car sales were down more than 30 percent in December. The sales of new clothes are also down. You name a category and chances are the numbers reflect a society that’s less willing to shell out for the latest and greatest. But do you know who’s sales are up? Goodwill Industries has seen a steady increase in store sales. Used clothes are a hot item.

So maybe it’s time to rethink the way we shop, the way we spend and the way we think about our possessions. Maybe we need to be better about using up what we already have and stretching our resources. And maybe at times we simply need to live without.

Now I’ve never owned a new car. Right now I have cars with mileage on them between 120 and 366 thousand miles. Used cars have worked out pretty well for me. Sure I’ve spent money fixing them up and keeping them running but I’ve saved a ton of money by avoiding a monthly payment for a new car.

I’m not the monogram type. I don’t buy cheap clothes but more the solid variety, Lands End, Macys and even a used shirt or pants along the way. I wear them until I get holes in the elbows or neck that can’t be fixed. You can see me wearing them on T-V everyday and they look just a good as the higher priced brands sitting next to me on the set.

My house does not match. What that means is I can’t tell you if I’m early American or Queen Anne or Art Noveau. I have a kitchen table we bought at a used furniture store, a bookshelf I made and no stainless steel kitchen appliances. I’ve fixed the kitchen chairs many times and have vowed to replace the table and chairs for about five years now.

My wife grows flowers and I grow tomatoes. We don’t buy cut flowers or tomatoes in the summer. We’re trying to be better about mulching and drip watering and we step on a lot of snails. There’s something about coming home from work and sticking your hands in the dirt that relieves stress and puts life in better perspective.

We use coupons. Not so much the grocery ones because we really don’t buy a lot of those things like processed foods and soft drinks. But we check the ads and try to buy what’s on sale. We clip out the cheap movie passes from the newspaper and use two-for-one coupons from the magazines for local restaurants. We bring home any extra food and I generally bring my lunch to work.

Now don’t get me wrong. I have a really nice camera and we like to travel. We’ve taken our children camping through France, Spain and England but that’s a whole other story about vacationing on a budget.

All I’m saying, it’s OK to be cheap. Now is a great time to reevaluate what you’re doing with your money, your possessions and your life. Lessons learned now while times are difficult will carry with you when times get better.

So go ahead and use it up.

Why not wear it out?

Now is a great time to make it do.

And if you don’t really need it, then do without.

About the author: CONSUMER BOB-- Bob Hansen has been fighting for the consumer in San Diego for more than 15 years. He's a television reporter for NBC in San Diego.
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Comments

Posted by MIKEY	Wed, Jan 7th, 2009
Hey bob, if you want to expose a real scam, look into directbuy http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q5=directbuy&Search=Search&q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21

Posted by Shawn Frey	Thu, Jan 8th, 2009
You can get a GREAT used car in today's economy. Simply decide what you want, set up automated search robots on the web and get ready for a flood of activity. Get your cash or financing lined up and go make a deal.

Posted by Debbie Crawford	Thu, May 14th, 2009
Yesterday, May 13th, my husband made a debit card purchase of $10 worth of gasoline at the Valero station near the courthouse in Vista. Because their prices were higher than Exxon, he waited until the afternoon to fill his tank at Exxon ($35). I checked our bank account online last night, and Valero had made a "preauthorized" transaction of $75 that would be processed on May 15th. For two days, we would be unable to access $65 in our checking account. Fortunately, we weren't down to that limit... Can you explain why this took place? Other vendors process a charge immediately and for the actual amount. Where do I go to complain about this practice? Thanks very much.

Posted by RALPH CASTRO AND MARJORIE SILVA	Thu, Jun 11th, 2009
SWINE FLU, CORPORATE GREED=CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES... We booked 2 cruises on January 28,2009 aboard the Carnival Splendor going to Mexico on May 10 and May 17,2009. We paid $1765. Swine flu hit Mexico and Carnival cancelled cruises to Mexico and went instead to Canada. We asked for refund: http://www.carnivalconnections.com/cruisetalk/forums/t/66480.aspx Our travel agent wrote: Dear Mr. Castro and Ms. Silva; I am not in the position to interpret the policy of Carnival Cruise Lines. However, I encourage you to take your concerns directly to them as they alone have the discretion to make a determination on such matters. We have been advised that no refunds will be provided but that guests who cancel will be provided a future cruise certificate in the value of the gross total paid on the reservation so long as they notify us by 5/04/09 of their desire to cancel the reservation. ***YOU MUST INDICATE YOUR DECISION TO KEEP OR CANCEL THE 5/10/09 RESERVATION ON THE SPLENDOR BY TODAY 5/04/09 3PM ET TO ENSURE THAT YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FUTURE CRUISE CREDIT. FAILURE TO INFORM CRUCON IN WRITING VIA EMAIL BY THAT TIME COULD RESULT IN FORFEITURE OF THE FUTURE CRUISE CREDIT AND/OR ANY OTHER COMPENSATORY ACTION*** CARNIVAL HAS MADE NO DECISION REGARDING THE 5/17/09 SAILING OF THE SPLENDOR UP TO THIS TIME Sincerely, Ms. Mel Burton Guest Relations Mgr CruCon Cruise Outlet 800-493-6609 guestrelations@crucon.com As of today, we do not have our money. We don't fly an don't like the cold so we have no other cruise options except to go to Mexico later in the year but we are worried about fly recurrences. So our two week vacation was spent at home on money we set aside for tips and cruise excursions. Carnival has had our money since 1/28/09 and we won't cruise again for another year. Nice, huh????

Posted by Maria A. Cadwell	Wed, Sep 9th, 2009
There is a neat scam taking place at the Exxon gasoline stations you pull in to Exxon,choose a pump,notice the pump No.,and go to pay before you get your gasoline.You go back to your pump only to find some small purchase made by someone else(in my case 5 dollars and change).You go in to find what is goin on and the small,young,heavyset,hispanic employee tell you that you have already bought the small amount of gas;you claim that no such a thing happened,but all is in vain. My car was almost empty and must get the gas. The woman offers to check the pump, she pushes the buttons and presto everything is OK, the $5 figures desppear and the $5 plus goes to her pachet. This happend at Exxon of Broadway and Mollison in El Cajon, Ca.

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