21 Things We're Learning to Live Without

[MotoH]

I went from buying about 5 jackets a year to 2 or so, although my hooded sweatshirt and flannel shirts have gone up. Although I did save a few dollars by getting the 14k white gold class ring instead of the 14k yellow gold one! We heat our house about 70/30 with wood and a gas furnace, so our gas bill is around 50 bucks a month.

Quite frankly this recession is bollocks.

 

[Borg]

Come on, no one actually said that, did they?

Yes, really.

Are they the same people who play "Powerball" only when the jackpot is really large?

Hey, I resemble that remark.

I talk to a woman do has defended her 'mortgage deduction' when she could have paid it off (but I imagine a lot of others do think the same).

They get 'sold' on the idea--I think by the mortgage company

I've tried to explain it to her, but she's convinced

I've also had some long conversations with people, trying to get them to understand this. Basic math is not most people's strongpoint. They do get sold on the mortgage deduction thing and some of them look at me like I'm crazy and throwing my money away. Usually they can't seem to wrap their head around saving x dollars per month multiplied by 12 is greater than the tax benefit - they only see the loss of X dollars when they do their taxes.

The other thing that trips them up is the true return on the deduction. They just see a (hypothetical) $12,000 mortgage deduction and don't equate that with the fact that the actual taxes that they pay only goes down by $3000 if they're in a 25% bracket. Some of the smarter ones have countered at this point that their deduction may be keeping them out of a higher tax bracket - which, of course, leads to more explanations.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I hate the idea of owing money. I have never had a credit card or taken out a loan in my life. I need to save up for a car right now and I do not know how many times I have had to explain to people that I am not willing to increase my monthly bills by a few hundred dollars or so for the next five plus years just for a car.