Surviving The Current Standard-Of-Living Crisis.

 There's no denying it anymore. No more lies. No more deceptions. No more phony charts and rates and excuses. The American economy is in a whirlwind of trouble. It's no use playing the blame game. That's not going to help any of us. What needs to be done, on an individual basis (and that means you and me) is find some way to survive this nightmare. Each day, at least for me, it seems to be getting worse and worse. I'm cutting out so many things in my budget that inevitably you (meaning me) come to a point where you've reached the end of your rope. I'm NOT there yet, but I'm worried. And so are you.

I don't listen to the news (anymore) nor do I believe anything. I have my own eyes and ears to tell me what is going on. I went food shopping today. For the first time ever, I saw people buying only one paper bag's worth of groceries. The only two shoppers who had a plethora of food in their carts were me and another foreign woman (she didn't speak English). And I shop at Aldi's, which is the most cost effective grocery store chain currently in the western hemisphere! The woman ahead of me on line, as she was checking out (with only 4 products) was speaking quite loudly to the cashier. She was telling him she wasn't going to buy any more food than necessary. She wasn't going to pay! Period.

This is my current food expenditure for the last month, February 2025:

Since I'm a bookkeeping/accounting kind-of-nerd, I have been keeping a spreadsheet track of all my expenditures for the last twenty years. I looked back and saw what I paid for groceries in February 2022. 

Here's what I spent:

Over the past year or so, hubby and I started cutting things out of our budget because we were finding it harder and harder to easily pay our standard monthly bills. At first it started out no more movie rentals, no more streaming services, a cheaper cell phone company, cheaper internet company. Then we got a letter from our long time home owners insurance firm that they went bankrupt and could no longer cover us. Before our homeowners insurance ended, we frantically searched for a reputable insurance company to take over. What used to be only $700 annually for homeowners insurance turned into a whopping 121% increase at another company (that would take us on) for $1,548. 

I did a year to year comparison (from 2024 to 2025 projected). The only good point for us is that since we have 99% No Debt, we only need $718 a month to continue to live here. Granted that's up from $557 and still affordable BUT nonetheless it's an increase of almost 30% in just one year. If you're in your 70s like we are, and on a sort of a fixed income (hubby sometimes works) how in the world do you continue to keep up?

Now I am certain that there are plenty more people like me who are feeling the same exact pain. It's no longer just you and me anymore. It's EVERYBODY. It's been interesting following more and more people on Social Media who have been gracious enough to post how they are dealing with their personal standard-of-living crisis. As we all know, eventually, you will run out of tricks, schemes, substitutions and eliminations and discover you might not be able to make it anymore. That may be alright for you and I BUT what if it is our government that is coming to the same conclusion?

America is in a deep financial crisis. "As of February 5, 2025, the US national debt was $36.22 trillion. This includes debt held by the public and debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts." 

How much income is America taking in via taxes (and now tariffs)?

I'll save you the brain power it would need to figure out if America is taking in enough income.

According to AI, here is the answer to that query: NO!!

 

In other words, ladies and gentlemen: AMERICA IS BROKE, BANKRUPT, DESTITUTE, RUINED

I really don't think there is anyone or anything that will change or can change the inevitable of what is 

coming. America is rapidly heading towards The Greatest Depression any of us has ever seen IMHO. 

This inflationary period we are all experiencing currently is way different from anything I went through 

back in the 1970s. We had fear back then but not the fear we are having today. There is a tremendous 

fear of homelessness, food insecurity, poverty, crime and despair. I don't think FDR himself could ease 

any emotions today by simply saying "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Ain't gonna work this time.

Remember the corporate layoffs that transpired last year in 2024?

Compare that to the corporate layoffs, so far, in 2025:

People may hate President Trump all they want right now (ditto for President Biden), but the new, additional 

layoffs in the United States Government may be the only thing that will stop America from spiraling into a

 'debt death spiral' of despair. 

"The federal government, after decades of bipartisan fiscal mismanagement, is now at the point where hard decisions must be made to avert even more painful consequences for all Americans in the not-too-distant future. We have empathy for the federal workers who already have lost their jobs and for those who may suffer a similar fate in the weeks ahead.

But we have even more concern for our children and grandchildren and for the millions of Americans whose quality of life will suffer immeasurably if our government can't learn to better manage our money.

Trump and Musk are admittedly imperfect drivers for this transformation. It's better, however, to have a bad driver who turns the car around before plunging off a cliff than one who believes the law of gravity no longer applies." Click here for more info.

Folks, we all are in for a very bumpy ride. The best thing we all can do is to be kind to each other. We also

need to share our experiences, our problems and how, if ever, we solved them. Especially listen to our older 

folks. They've been through some hard times and maybe we can learn a thing or two from these souls. Many 

of our younger generations are quite creative. I've learned a thing or two from my own daughter! Like where

to buy a good quality mattress for 1/4 of the price I would have paid. I'll write a post about it in the very

near future. Stay tuned.

Here are three people that I follow on YouTube quite regularly. The first is Jeremiah Babe. He can be a

bit doom and gloom at times but at least Jeremiah (click here) will tell you the truth AND give good advice. 

Next is Patara, a homestead woman, who gives fantastic advice (once she gets around to it) and has been

on YouTube for years. I got all my pandemic advice from Patara on Appalachia Homestead (click here)

Lastly, is this lovely over 70 gal, Robyn, who much to my surprise is a great, low budget cook!! Click here.

Check out this one video where she bought five bratwursts on sale and made five fabulous, 

frugal, healthy meals. She covered breakfast, lunch and dinner! Click here. And for an inexpensive 

substitute for maple syrup, try her brown syrup recipe that she's been making for 50 years! Click here.

Like this post? Want to read more? Sign up as a Follower and instantly get my next posts as soon as I hit 'send'. Comments are most welcome, provided they are respectful and considerate. 

Want to join Amazon? Click here for the link. Happy shopping! Please note: I make a small commission if you use my link and make an Amazon purchase.