 AmeriForce Finance Guide 2009
Letter From the Editor: Surviving these Times
For years, my husband and I had followed a budget, paid off our cars,
and had lived without many things so that we didn’t fall into heavy credit
card debt.
We had worked hard to try to follow the sound advice of the numerous
financial experts who recommend families and individuals accumulate 3-
6 months worth of emergency income in case of a sudden drop of income.
But when the income drop came in October in the form of a layoff notice,
we had only two months’ worth of emergency income and the equity in
our home had all but vanished. Our preparations and frugal ways did little
to help us prepare for the financial reality we were suddenly faced with.
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Immediately, we began to look at all the areas of our finances that could be trimmed, knowing full well that with thousands of other heavily qualified people being laid off at the same time, jobs were going to be hard to come by.
Therefore, we separated our expenses into two categories: those that had to be paid and those that we could reduce or eliminate.
We looked into our grocery spending habits as well as whether we could refinance our mortgage to reduce our monthly payment.
And once we had trimmed where we could, we took a step back, worked on creating new sources of income and stood back and waited.
In the meantime, I’ve kept busy preparing for this military Finance Guide, which couldn’t have come at a better time. And in doing so, I have gleaned a lot of useful information that I can use in my own life.
For instance, the article on using your credit cards wisely has given me insight on how we can use our credit cards to improve our overall credit score, which would help us if we later applied for a mortgage or car loan.
Another useful article was investing in these uncommonly difficult times. John Gilliam reminds us all how important it is to invest in our future, despite that the present economy looks bleak.
In fact, as Gilliam states in his article, Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most-successful stock investors, said in October, “A simple rule dictates my buying (of stocks),” he said. “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.”
For me and my family, however, we are eager to hear those robins sing again.
— Sara Graves,
Managing Editor
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