| Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
| Going into 'survival mode' |
The Boston Globe article Going into 'survival mode' reports that New Englanders are reacting to current financial conditions by embracing their inner frugal Yankee... It helps that the Gosselins have long hewed to strict spending limits. They have gone out to dinner only once in the past six months. (They are not alone: The March edition of MarketBrief, which publishes consumer research for the restaurant industry, reported that customers are cutting back on visits to fast-food and full-service restaurants alike). The Gosselins have bare-bones cable TV, Internet, and phone packages. They upped the deductible on their auto insurance, reducing the premiums. They buy electricity from a wholesaler. Ken Gosselin summed up his attitude as: "Keep the money in your pocket. Be a good Yankee. Defer your gratifications. Get that Beemer after you retire." |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 2:57 PM *
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"[L]eft high tech, where his annual salary and bonuses came to $85,000, to become a teacher in Amesbury, which pays him in the mid-$50,000s... He also ran smack-dab into the real-estate slump when it took him nearly a year to sell his three-bedroom condo in Newburyport, and even then he had to settle for much less than his asking price. He now lives in a one-bedroom, 500-square-foot condo in Charlestown."
Wait, they never explained why he went from a 15 minute commute and a 3 bedroom to an hour-long commute and a tiny one bedroom. No wonder he needed to buy a new car, and I wonder if his mortage payments & condo fees are really much cheaper.
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"[L]eft high tech, where his annual salary and bonuses came to $85,000, to become a teacher in Amesbury, which pays him in the mid-$50,000s... He also ran smack-dab into the real-estate slump when it took him nearly a year to sell his three-bedroom condo in Newburyport, and even then he had to settle for much less than his asking price. He now lives in a one-bedroom, 500-square-foot condo in Charlestown."
Wait, they never explained why he went from a 15 minute commute and a 3 bedroom to an hour-long commute and a tiny one bedroom. No wonder he needed to buy a new car, and I wonder if his mortage payments & condo fees are really much cheaper.