Friday, May 15, 2009

More fun than a barrel of monkeys......


So why is a barrel of monkey so fun?


And just what are all the monkeys doing in there?


I for one would absolutely have no fun at all, packed all together with a bunch of others, in a barrel of all things...........


Just wondering aloud. So hey you, please at least say hello in a comment. I would like to take a roll call and see just who is still stopping by every now and then. And if your new, don't be shy, I have not followed anyone home.........lol

Anyway, I was thinking about just how many others are going through these tough times right now. It is way more than anyone wants to admit. I know that's the truth as I see it. In my circle of friends and acquaintances, more than half have lost their job or taken pay cuts or will be out of work soon if things don't change.


And then I run in to the occasional crazy person. Crazy defined by the fact that they tell me how great things are all of a sudden. Someone told me that stocks were soaring, that the Dow was over 8000(I think that's right). Anyway, did everyone forget that it was up over 12,000?


Anyway, apart from the random crazy person, so many have worries and really have to put every expense into categories: Wants and needs.


EXAMPLES: I want to enjoy air conditioning this summer. I need to pay the house payment, so if it means being hot, life just became a little sweatier. I want to go out to eat once a week with spouse. I need to feed somewhere between 8 and 12 people at my house EVERY day. I want to work just one job and then come home and be with my family. I need to earn enough money to pay for at least the necessities such as the water bill.


I think ya'll get it by now. But with our household income at less than half it really is coming down to defining wants and needs with new meaning. I mean, I really do want nice things for me and my family and many of the creature comforts we have taken for granted for so long. But in just my parents generation, there were dirt floors and two room houses with 6 kids. So ya, I think I can handle it. I at least have the most awesome family in the whole world going through it with me. In the right perspective, I can go without anything material in this world if I get to have my family healthy and together.
So, your assignment.......YES, there is homework! Your assignment is to think of something you may have thought of as a need that you now may see as more of a want. Or give me an example of each. And HINT HINT, things can be different for each one of us. For instance, I may think a shower every day is a want.......and others in my family might tell me it is a need....lol
Have a great day my fellow stalkers of the blogosphere!

19 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm here, and reading!

Dina said...

i'm here...a vacation is a need and a want, in particular one at the beach that i so desperately miss..its part of my being and im landlocked so that is the need part. but it does not look like that will happen this year, i might be able to squeek in a weekend but thats such a tease it makes me sad

Anonymous said...

I am here stalking you, on occasion I am taken away by those rascals I call children. They seem to need, need, need.

Children usally take swim lessons in the summer. I kept thinking that they needed them. But just decided it was more of a want. What I really need is my car fixed some time soon, so I can drive around and find a new job. Current one I can walk to. So, no swim lessons this year! Funny thing is the children did not really care that we were not going take lessons when I told them.

Rhonda said...

We eat out A LOT! We really should stop....

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

I hear you, Blogstalker. Everyone is feeling the crunch. Even millionaires have to make adjustments to what they've become "accustomed to".

Yes, it's not too much to go out once a week. For me, being that writing is a rollercoaster ride financially, I always take care of those things that MUST be paid for. Then for things that I really enjoy doing or want to do, I prioritize and see what I'll be able to afford or try to find freebies. For me, as film is my passion and go often, I'll go to the first show as it the least expensive one.

Find a minor baseball league near you for a day out.

An interesting blog http://myyearwithoutspending.
blogspot.com may help.

Good luck to you and your family,
Blogstalker. It's no picnic!

Mike said...

Shower every day with 8 to 12 people in the house? Charge 'em. 5 minutes $2.00.

Messy Jess said...

back to full time blogging - so did you out yourself or not? I'm confused....

Tulsi said...

We are working more with wants versus needs with Mikele. I think her phone is a need only when I need to get a hold of her when really it is a want for her self. She is actually doing incredibly well considering she usually got what she wanted when she wanted. She has to think about whether she wants to go to the movies or lunch with friends with the same money. Cable is a want, not a need and may be terminated. The internet is a need as Steve does some business on line at home and Mikele is one of the best school research project person. She goes 110% on research. We are still in the thinking stages. There are only 3 people living at home. My taking a quilting class could be more of a want than a need ,but I'm sorta shy and tend to be a hermit and this has gotten me out with adult women who were a blast to be around. I don't usually attend Enrichment Night. I also learned a skill that could be put to use. I have tons of fabric since no one is needing aprons.

Country Mouse, City Mouse said...

Very interesting question! I was just talking about this yesterday with my hairdresser. I wanted a haircut and colour, I needed a haircut and colour. I waited 4 months between cuts and I coloured at home. I want a new door, but will just buy a can of paint instead. I could go on and on.

EmmaP said...

i am here - as usual... and not shy at all about it.

We cut the Dish the first of april. my kids thought they would DIE. funny - other than the occassional "i'm bored", no one has ever brought it up again. And I am so busy, I can't even remember how I managed to fit TV in at all. So - we are now 7 weeks TV-Free. (This just may be a blog-post in the works here). Thanks.

someone mentioned cuts and colors. Well, In the past, I always thought about growing my hair out, but then would get tired of it and get it chopped off. But hair cuts (for girls) are a want. so i am now letting it grow long. And I do a "trim" about every 4months.

i save gift cards for family nights instead of ME nights or Girls nights. Other than that, we dont eat out.

I dont even go to the grocery store as often. and when i do, i stick to the basics. no frills. no chips - no soda. tho i did splurge on $2.50 ice cream yesterday. kids were excited.

laundry soap is a need. but i tell them on sundays, for example, if they have only worn it for a short spell and it still looks clean and doesny smell - Hang it up!

i think twice about venturing even 9 miles into salt lake just to "go to the mall" to meet friends or even just hang out. I mean it is gas money, plus parking even if i dont buy anything! so if I want to go really bad, i consider taking Frontrunner (luckily the frontrunner is right on my street) to the central hub and then Trax from the hub to wherever else i wanna go downtown... like the jazz game or meeting friends. (but only if i get the free jazz tickets from work!)

i took my kids to the SL Bees game because i scored 3rd row seats from work. We ate BEFORE hand and had $1 cones from McDonalds after wards.

i am not a coupon clipper... but i suppose i could/should be.

Need: I have a job. Want: a better job.

Need: Toilet paper. Want: "Good" toilet paper.

Melissa B. said...

I feel your pain, and your frustration. Hubby is self-employed, and his client list has plummeted in this "economic downturn," as the economists like to call it. But my parents-and his-survived the Depression, so I think we can deal. On a much brighter note, BTW, make sure to stop by my Silly Sunday Sweepstakes today...I've got a Big Fish Tale to tell!

Anonymous said...

A need is running water...used to have well water but with the electricity going out lately due to weather, am glad to have city water.
A want...getting take out WAY too much!!!! I am slowly cooking more meals at home.

Ronnica said...

I've done away with many flagrant wants, but there are several that would still need to go if I needed to get down to it. Diet Dr Pepper is definitely up there on that list, but it's not going any time soon, hopefully!

Nessa said...

This is my firsat time here and I really enjoyed this post. Times are so rough right now. We did a lot of needs vs wants when we decided I should be a stay at home mom years ago. With things getting tighter, I worry if we will be able to make it. Makes for stressful times. Anyway, I love the blog and will be back often!

Mike said...

I won't take credit for this one You can go read John's blog to find out about angel food ministries.

http://outofmyhat.blogspot.com/2009/01/economizing.html

Night Owl Mama said...

WAVY HI. Good to see you stop by. it gets so crazy with contest entering. LOL.
I want to win all the contests I enter for all the great stuff on the net. LOL yah cause that will happen.

I need to clean my house and stop spending so much time on the net.

There how did I do?

Juliana said...

Hi dear! I think we need and want to blog. Or maybe we just don't want to but we need to. I don't know the more words we learn and the better we become at communicating sometimes the harder it is to ask for what we really need or even know what it is we need. Where do we draw the lines between needing any wanting? For me...THINGS are wants...people are needs...well except for things like AC because I grew up without it and now am not sure I could part with it....

Breezi@ Not Your Average Fairytale said...

Hello Blog Stalker!

You actually left a comment on my blog a while back... and I was really honored that a stalker such as yourself would find me!

So, I started stalking you. :) Nice twist, eh?

I'm really sorry that your family has had a rough go of it lately. Losing your job stinks the big one. Hopefully you'll be able to find your way to brighter pastures soon!

let's see... I've always thought as my hobbies such as scrapbooking a need. It is actually a need in my case, as it is my journal, not only for me... but my kids too. However, I think all of the crazy amounts of ribbons, embellishments, etc... those are wants. I'm sure the next generations to come won't hate looking at something I made just because it doesn't have something fru-fru attached to it.

Christine said...

I am with you...it has been a redo in my thinking here as well...wants vs needs. I find myself being much more thrifty then I use to be. I also find myself depending more on God in tough times as well.

Blessing on ya stalker friend =O)

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