Are You Living Desperately?

My car broke down. It’s going to cost me about $2600 to $3200 to get it fixed. Unless I win the lottery or find a genie in a bottle, it’s going to remain parked in the driveway for awhile.

As I walked home from work, I really started thinking about the effect this snafu has had on my life. First of all, I realized how dependent I am on having a car. I feel like someone has cut off one of my legs. Seriously. I have to take public transportation which, as anyone who takes public transportation can tell you, takes half the day just to accomplish one or two tasks. It now takes me twice as much time to get to work and as the icing on this lovely piece of cake, I’ve had to cut my hours because the bus schedule is not very accommodating.

I miss my car.

Collaborate: Save Money by Tapping Into Your Network

The gas squeeze is officially on. I recently read an article about gas prices going up and maybe hitting $4.00 per gallon before they sink under the $3.00 mark again. Things are so bad that I actually found myself reminiscing with my boss about gas costing only $0.79 per gallon when I graduated high school. You could fill up with a ten spot and still have money left over for McDonalds. Unfortunately, those days are gone and I’m certain we’ll never see them again so you might as well plan on trading in your car for a hybrid.

With the recession about to hit us (despite what the politicians say), it is important that we get a grip on our expenses. The pooling of resources has always been a good way to ensure that everyone in the community survives harsh times as well as experience a better quality of life. Here are seven ways that you and your network of friends, family and neighbors can come together to save money, increase buying power and successfully surf the rough ecomonic waves.