Economic troubles

As I wrote the previous post, about our upcoming vaca in Bali, I considered how out-of-touch we are, as expats in Tokyo, with the US financial crisis.

Unlike most Americans in the US, where costs for food, gas, and other commodities have risen and where many people are losing their homes, we pretty much live on a fixed budget with fixed costs, thanks to subsidies for housing, utilities and education from the Washington Post.

We don't have a car (though I often consider buying one), so we're unaffected by gas prices, and I've figured out how to buy groceries here without breaking the bank on $5 Japanese apples or pricey Japanese beef. Also, we've taken a pay-as-you-go approach to credit cards and have zero debt other than our Seattle mortgage. And we almost never buy expensive stuff, clothes, purses, shoes, or trinkets - even though that definitely puts me on the least-well-dressed list among expat wives.

So other than a shocking decline in our 401ks or other investment accounts, which we hopefully won't need for several years, I'm feeling fortunate that we can be cautious about our spending and ride out the next few years.