How bad is the economy, really?

[Hedgehogs4]

My husband and I are very insulated from the current economic situation. He has a steady job with very good pay, we have no debt other than our mortgage, and we are pretty much able to keep our lifestyle going in this economy without a lot of sacrifices. The only signs that we see of the downturn is an occasional small business closing up or the occasional laborer saying that jobs are down. We live near DC, so the gov't is pretty much the main employer, and believe me, they are not planning on downsizing any time soon.

 

Our question is how bad is it really? Have you been affected by the downturn in the economy? If so, how? I am attempting a poll along with this so that i can get some stats to go along with it. I hope I word it well.

[m0mmaBuck]

We own a small IT business that caters to small businesses. Work has slowed significantly and many times clients are slow to pay for services (many of accounts are 30-60 days past due). We have been able to keep our technicians employed but not with the number of hours they had become accustomed to in previous years.

 

DSS is 18 and is having a terrible time finding a part-time to full-time job. Many of the jobs that would normally go to "kids" are going to older people with more experience and responsibilities (i.e. families to support, mortgages to pay, etc.). I saw a report on the new the a.m. that stated that job-seeking teens 16-19 yo have a 25.9% unemployment rate at present. I believe it.

[Meriwether]

Dh works in the food business. As long as people eat, he should have a job. His company hasn't laid off workers - they are trying to ride out the recession even in the plant where they could have cut back easily last year (poor harvest). Regardless, his job is fairly secure. Unless, they pass cap and tax. That would put his company in a downward spiral. We live in a very fiscally conservative area and the overall economy is okay here. Some factories have cut hours. One large employer shut down. Most of the small businesses have been doing okay.

[Peela]

I think "the economy" is a pretty abstract concept that covers so many nuances it would not be possible to succinctly sum it up.

However, seeing how many hours a day (and night) so many of the dhs here work....I really consider these to be a kind of dark times for at least Americans in general, and probably many others. They may be able to afford things previous generations couldn't...but the price is awfully high! Since when is working 12 hour days a life? That is slavery to a system that is obviously working very well for someone, but I am not sure who.

The cost of living here is getting higher and higher yet our state is having a boom. The benefits do not spread across everyone- they are selective.

 

Same with "the economy". There are people who thrive during every economic "depression".

 

We are fairly insulated also (actually, Australia is doing fairly well, relative to other countreis), but on a personal level, our electricity bill has literally doubled in the last 12 months, and it was pretty high before. The cost of living has gone up tremendously. However, we live well, we homeschool, I work only part time, dh works only part time.

 

Having money doenst make a good life, but not having any is obviously very difficult for many people. Is "the economy" about quality of life, or about just $$$.

 

Who knows. Obviously many people in the U.S. have been hit hard.

[elegantlion]

My dh has been out of work for 7 weeks. He's a self-employed carpenter. He's been in biz almost 30 years and never been out of work this long. He's applied for many jobs after exhausting all his current leads and around here no one is hiring in his field.

 

At least in our state we're starting to see it trickle down to services like my dh's. People are just not spending money on anything unnecessary.

 

ETA: After reading Peela's comment I wanted to add that we are looking at downgrading our lifestyle so that dh can work less hours. That most likely includes a move, but I'd rather have my dh home more than more stuff (except books...which I will find a way to support my habit somehow).

Edited July 3, 2010 by elegantlion

[Joker]

We live in a touristy town and have not really noticed any problems. Businesses are busy, new homes are still being built and dh's job is going well. Our only issue is that we bought our home about two months before everything crashed, so we owe more than it is worth (even though we bought a very small home within our means). Dh still only works 8-9 hours a day and is actually getting a promotion next month. It is hard to understand what others are facing when things still seem "normal" here.

[Starr]

I voted that we haven't been effected but our extended family has some real economic trouble.

[Hedgehogs4]

It is hard to understand what others are facing when things still seem "normal" here.

 

exactly...this is why we are asking the question. I really hope this doesn't come across as haughty or uncaring--actually it comes from just the opposite place. I feel so very blessed, and it's important to me to understand how others may be suffering / struggling so that I can help when the situation calls for it.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I voted that we have severely been affected. My dh was unemployed when we lived in Mi because of all the job losses (his job was very dependant on the local job market- when that went- his job went) and he could not find work for over a year. We moved states and he lost 2 jobs due to the economy. He just got a very good job in March, and Lord willing- it will last! :D

 

ETA: My mom, who still lives in Michigan, has been unemployed for over a year, has been looking constantly, daily, 5 days a week (give or take- like when she was sick) She looks full time for a job and has been hanging on with small temporary jobs. Not a good situation

Edited July 3, 2010 by wy_kid_wrangler04

[coffeegal]

We're self-employed, and our income is down 14%. Sometimes the belt feels mighty tight.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We've been indirectly affected - dh is much busier at work because they've had a hiring freeze and costs have gone up for insurance, taxes and groceries because of the economic situation in the country. It has led to us having to tighten our belt.

[Joker]

exactly...this is why we are asking the question. I really hope this doesn't come across as haughty or uncaring--actually it comes from just the opposite place. I feel so very blessed, and it's important to me to understand how others may be suffering / struggling so that I can help when the situation calls for it.

 

It doesn't come across haughty at all. I said that because I "know" things are bad elsewhere but I don't "see" it in my everyday life. I also feel blessed that things are going well for us. My dh and I constantly ask why things seem normal here when we see the things we do on tv. We wonder if we're missing something. It upsets us and makes us wonder what the heck is going on. We help in our own ways and we hope others in our situation are doing the same.

[Alenee]

I answered that we had a job loss. Dh did find another job almost immediately but he was making about 60% less. For us, that was severe underemployment. He started his own automotive repair business and then was also offered a better job this past March. We're still not at the level of income as before but we're doing better and his industry is picking up. The automotive business is doing alright too...people are keeping their cars instead of buying new.

 

I do think the economy is slightly picking up but is still very rocky. You just can't count on job security.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

We have been indirectly affected. Dh is an attorney who represents injured workers. Fewer jobs in our state have led to fewer workers making claims which leads to less income for dh.

[peachskittles]

My SO lost his job and was on unemployment for a year in Indiana with no job in sight. Out in Indiana, it was really bad. We took a chance, looked at the packing houses in Iowa, and lo and behold, almost everyone was hiring. We picked the one that had the best starting pay and seemed to have the best benefits.

 

From the application date, interview, driving here for a physical and back home to actually starting the job was around 6 weeks. The only downside was we had to pay out of pocket to get here for the physical and then moving out here but it's a job.

 

He's been working for 16months now. Work is pretty much the 36 hour guarantee right now (stupid swine flu), but it isn't too bad actually. Out here it doesn't seem like many people are unemployed, but in this city we have 3 packing houses I believe and I'm gonna guess 75% (ok that might be a bit high) of the people here are working in one of the 3. On the other side, though, we have a high immigrant population due to the packing houses. Not a lot of people really want to work at a packing house (the job my SO got, the guy before him lasted one day before he quit).

 

His mom recently had to move out of Indiana because after like a year and half on unemployment, unemployment was over due to the Senate decision (I think that was who did that) and there were no job opportunities for her. She is moving out to Nevada I think. Not sure how the job market is out that way at all.

[jewellsmommy]

My dh works for the city and we are blessed that he has great job security. They did institute a hiring freeze a yr ago. They also stopped cost of living increases AND merit raises. Not only that but our insurance was downgraded, while the cost increased :glare:. So, we have been mildly effected.

[Tap]

I say somewhat, but it a bit more than just inconveniences....just not total job loss or more.

 

Our wages are down 10,000 a year and dh is working 70+ hour weeks more and more.

 

My employer...in the past 5 years, my position has seen a .35 raise. Yep, 35 cents. They also cut my position back from 120 hours worth of employees, to 60hours....doing the same work. Work isn't getting done, and more errors are occurring. It has been very bad. I work in health care so the costs can be very high if there is a mistake. But again, I do have a job, so that means something.

 

The last unemployment statistic I heard was 12%. More than 1 in 10 and that doesn't include teenagers who are looking for first jobs that have adults instead of teens doing the job.

[Supertechmom]

Unemployment is ranging from 10% to 20% depending on the county. Our salary in car sales dropped 2/3 and has slowly like over a year crept up to where it is roughly 1/2 of what it was before the crash. We had to drop insurance, cut everything, and tighten the belt. We both take any side jobs we can doing anything to make up the difference each month.

 

Food has been a roller coaster. Prices on the basics range from a few cents to a dollar or more difference weekly. Eggs this week are 1.78. Last week the same carton was 2.48 IT's crazy. Utilities have gone up and up. I know longer even know what it's going to cost to feed us just staples.

 

The state gov just closed entire DEPARTMENTS and slashed jobs all over as well as cut a huge number of teachers. Libraries are slashing hours/workers. Hospitals have job freezes. Builders are building less and several have given up their offices and moved everything into their homes to cut expenses. Teenagers can't find jobs because so many adults are working those jobs. Who wants a teenager when you can pay an adult minimum wage? Churches are slashing staff, events, and some services to stay in budget. the university staff is not getting pay raises, incentives, or merit pay. It's just a mess around here. Even Wal mart has scaled back on their hours in some of the stores around and cut workers. But everyone is working more and more.

 

Sad thing is it is all going to take another nose dive. The same signs that started before the crash have started back up. banks are tightening who they will loan to, construction has fallen off, realtors are not selling again. we'll just have to hope it is mild this time around.

[kat19]

My husband is unemployed at this moment and start classes at the community college in the fall.

His workplace has cut hours, cut pay, changed insurance and laid a ton of guys off trying to stay afloat.

[ChrisOR]

Here's a good Washington Post article about the widespread economic effects.

[sbgrace]

My husband has a secure field in this economy I think (CPA/govt auditing) but, unfortunately, in state government. Our state is cutting every department first by I believe something like 2 million per department and soon more from their budgets. There are no exceptions for small departments, low overhead departments, those with nothing to cut.

 

In our case so far that has meant "forgoing" thousands in pay over the last few months. We've always been financially careful and frugal. Now we have no savings and are in debt for the first time in our lives because we simply couldn't completely cover my son's medical expenses and I lost two major appliances in the same time period as the pay cuts. It's been stressful. It's killing me to have bills we can't pay and it may take us six months of spending only food/utilities/medical to get rid of them if things don't get worse, nothing else "bad" happens, and they don't cut his pay again. My husband and I are no longer eating the same food as the boys (who have special diet needs) but eating as cheaply as we can. I'm worried about the upcoming cuts which are even more money. They will either further cut pay, cut employees, or both. It's good to get that out!

 

I voted somewhat. It could be much, much worse.

Edited July 3, 2010 by sbgrace

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I voted severely affected, but in a weird way.

 

I had left my job willingly to go back to school. I was making almost 2000 a month, with all living costs (rent, utilities) paid for. However, this was working as a nanny, and since I want more children, this isn't a field I could stay in forever. This was after speaking to my parents and them offering to help me get through school.

 

My dad retired from his job, but with the intention of finding a new, part time job. He HAD to retire, could no longer handle working full time due to increasing age.

 

My mom had a great job. When I left my job and my dad retired, his retirement plus her income plus my student aid was more than enough to support both households.

 

Then my mom lost her job because of company cutbacks. :glare: She has been searching for a job, but has been unsuccessful. We are currently trying to support 2 households off of about 30K a year, plus a little extra when I can find babysitting jobs. Pretty tough.

[Mrs Mungo]

My immediate family has not been impacted. However, my extended family is definitely feeling it.

Edited July 3, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[Wildiris]

How bad? Bad! Dear Loved One gave up looking for work 10 months ago, and he's been an unemployed contractor in CA for 18-24 months. He started an ebay business that seems to be thriving on moderately high end goods, so not everyone is out of work and some people do have disposable income. We're use to the feast or famine lifestyle of the construction industry, but my brother is not. He has always worked since he was 12-years-old, has skills in programming and transportation, but he found himself laid-off at the beginning of the year and job leads are few for a man over 50.

 

When Dear One looked for jobs after the construction industry collapsed, he was at a disadvantage because of his age. Being over 40 and being interviewed by someone in their 30s didn't work. He knew too much and was over qualified for every job he applied to even when he dumbed down his resume.

 

To me, I see inflation. The cost of living, food, gas, basic utilities, are rising and real wages are falling. For Sale signs are on every street and more often than not people are upside down on their mortgages. Economic relief in the form of job development has not materialized. I'm still waiting for the recovery to come to my home town.

[Pamela H in Texas]

My hubby was laid off in June 2009. He has taken 2 temporary jobs totally 6 months so it's not absolutely horrible, but....We have moved across the country, gave up our family pets due to the insecurity but wish we hadn't. I have taken a job but it won't be enough when this temporary job lays off in Oct and that is assuming I *can* continue working with my circumstances anyway.

 

I think we will be okay (I hope) somehow, but it's REALLY difficult stress-wise to always have unemployment looming over head. It's worse now when the gov't can't/won't pay out benefits.

 

I just always feel the stress deep in my chest. I'm tired. I'm grumpy. I'm in pain and sick. I'm scared. It's just a giant snowball leading of into.......

 

Okay...so deep breath. Keep fighting. Keep pushing ahead. Keep hoping. It'll all work out somehow :)

[Carrie12345]

"Somewhat"

 

My ex has been laid off, so child support isn't coming in at the moment. That's a little bit of belt tightening.

 

I really want to move, but the chances of selling our house are ridiculous in this area. We're swamped with identical houses in foreclosure. Fortunately, we're not in danger of that happening to us.

 

The big question mark comes in the form of dh's company being sold to an investment firm. It's highly unlikely that his job would be cut, but it would be silly to assume it's impossible. We don't know how that will impact our health insurance, dh's vacation when the baby is born, his vehicle situation, or his bonus structure. And we won't know until the end of the year.

[Renee in NC]

We live in a touristy town and have not really noticed any problems. Businesses are busy, new homes are still being built and dh's job is going well. Our only issue is that we bought our home about two months before everything crashed, so we owe more than it is worth (even though we bought a very small home within our means). Dh still only works 8-9 hours a day and is actually getting a promotion next month. It is hard to understand what others are facing when things still seem "normal" here.

 

We live in a very touristy town in FL and things aren't great here. My dh works for a major venue that is in full swing right now. Ticket sales are WAY down, even compared to February. My mother has been in business in this area for 15+ years. Four years ago she had 12 employees, now she has 2 (in one business.) She started another business and she just isn't seeing the business she was hoping for. The "snowbirds" weren't here in as great of numbers and those that were did not spend as much as in the past. Unemployment is 11.9% here and 15.4% in the county above us, even with a mass exodus of population in the past year or two!

 

On the other side, though, we have a high immigrant population due to the packing houses. Not a lot of people really want to work at a packing house (the job my SO got, the guy before him lasted one day before he quit).

 

 

 

We used to run a poultry slaughter plant in NC. We rarely had citizen applicants and those we did have didn't last long. It is nasty, nasty work. I hope it works out for you!

[Ravin]

Part of it depends on where you live. Here, I've had numerous friends lose jobs, lose pay/required to take unpaid furloughs, etc. A couple of people I work with lost their homes. A couple of other friends were able to buy houses because they were foreclosures and sold for a fraction of what they were worth before the housing crash.

 

Where my mom lives (Amarillo area), there has been very little impact from the recession. Unemployment has been steady, housing values have held...they've been quite well insulated. Things like that can color peoples' perceptions a good deal. If things are fine around you, why care about the big picture?

[Ginevra]

I chose "somewhat affected", but it is a substantial difference from 3 or more years ago. Fortunately, the position we were in before the recession (no debt, relatively low living expenses, substantial savings) is the reason we haven't lost our home or had other severe repercussions. My husband runs a plumbing company and a home building company. The home building company earned no money last year and we have barely scraped by with the plumbing company, going months at a time without paying ourselves. It is looking up a bit since last year, but boy - it has been quite noticeable.

[kewb]

We own a small IT business that caters to small businesses. Work has slowed significantly and many times clients are slow to pay for services (many of accounts are 30-60 days past due). We have been able to keep our technicians employed but not with the number of hours they had become accustomed to in previous years.

QUOTE]

 

Same here. My dh's company caters to small and mid-size companies. Some clients have closed. Others are very slow to pay. New projects take months instead of weeks to get approved.

[creekland]

I chose somewhat. Hubby's job (Civil Engineering) is down about 50% of what it used to be and there is no longer any sort of backlog (used to be 3 - 6 months). Like others, one of the hard things is getting clients to pay us. Bills are often overdue. However, there is still work and we are still eating etc. We had to cut almost all extra expenses, but they were mainly luxuries (travel, eating out, etc). Still, I KNOW our cutting back has hurt others in business and I feel for them. When we do go out or buy something I try hard to support the local businesses we want to keep in business.

 

What I dislike the most is that our investments took a huge hit. That was supposed to be college and retirement $$ for us. Retirement is a little ways off, so that can possibly recover. College starts next year for my oldest. Fortunately, he is a good student with nice extra-curriculars and going to a college that provides aid. His tuition is covered. We still need to cover room and board. That should have been easy. Now I'm hoping for more hours this fall. Time will tell.

[tikitorch]

I just feel lucky that we haven't been too affected, no one has lost their job yet. We have cut back just because you never know when something could happen.

[....]

Hmmmm:

 

Job Loss - yep

Unemployed for 7 months - yep

Had to leave our Home - yep

Separated from Husband for 8 months - yep

Lived in RV for for several months - yep

Lived in campground, then hotel, now renting - yep

 

Hopefully, we can spend the rest of this recession without another bad thing happening to us. :crying: Good Times, People, Good Times...

[MommaOfThree]

My DH is a law enforcement officer and the county he works for hasnt had a cost of living pay increase in two years and no more overtime.

 

On top of the pay situation they are working at minimum staffing and dealing with more calls (lots of thefts b/c of the economy).

 

Personally it's putting us in a bind. Law Enforcement is a job you choose to help others, not to get rich in, so the pay's not great anyway. We are really starting to struggle with the prices of so much going up..

[rafiki]

.

[Dmmetler]

We've seen DH's work hours increase, as other workers were let go due to a supposed downswing in sales. But of course, that didn't change the schedule for new code or new features, just that fewer people are supposed to be doing the same work.

[Pam Wilhelm]

Job loss....... Jan. 2008

Finally found employment...... Mar. 2009

Put house on market and moved to Minnesota.... Mar. 2009

Lost house in GA to foreclosure because all the financial help promised to prevent foreclosure didn't apply to us..... Mar. 2010

Buying a new house, finally! July 2010

 

 

Hubby's job is solid (Agricultural)....... soon to be out of this moldy Townhouse and into our own house at an incredible rate, etc......... life is getting back on track for us...... except that we are so far away from family, etc. But we like where we are now... life is getting better. :D

[Ottakee]

Dh lost his job here in Feb. and has applied for several a week, often several a day since then.

 

He was a tool and die maker but in Michigan there are NO jobs in that anymore. He went to school to be an automotive instructor and then lost that job when the state downsized and closed the facility he as working at.

 

In our area, unemployment is 22% and that doesn't count the teens/young adults looking for work, those looking to start working---moms, recent grads, etc.

[FaithManor]

We are in Michigan and it is HORRIBLE. We are losing small businesses every day and the few big companies left are firing on a regular basis. Though DH holds his indentured servitude job - which is what the IT industry as become (work 80 hours a week, never have a day off, and take a pay-cut every year so that the CEO can get a 48 million dollar bonus and announce that American workers are losers - company CEO actually said that in a televised conference), we see nothing but loss and devastation for many of the families in our church and its depressing.

 

Our state waivers between 14-16% unemployment if you go by the official numbers. However, once people exceed the max. number of months they can collect unemployment, they are no longer counted because they aren't "in the system" anymore. If you add them plus the number of spouses that used to be SAHM who are desperately looking for work in order to keep their families afloat, plus college grads desperate for look but uncounted because they've never drawn unemployment, our rate is estimated at 25%. It's heartbreaking! Plus, in Michigan, women aren't generally able to get much in welfare to feed the family if they are still married to an able bodied male. NO JOKE - The social workers in our county advise women to divorce their husbands using a do-it-yourself divorce kit, get him to move in with his family, and then come back and apply! So the system works to actually break up families not keep them together. It's disgusting.

 

We have had more request for food assistance through our church's benevolence fund just in the past six months than we had in the last five years combined. As far as we are concerned, this is really not a recession for Michigan but a depression - especially when you consider that the unemployment rate for MI. during the mid-1930's was 24% and we've exceeded that.

 

As far as what we see in the area businesses, stock moves very slowly and of course, there is an inventory tax at the end of the year. So, many businesses are no longer stocking anything but the absolute bare minimum essentials for their type of store. My dad has a fireplace/furnace/ and alternative energy store. He has dropped three lines of energy efficient fireplaces and stoves because they are more of the high end...excellent investments but no one can afford the upfront costs. He will no longer be offering wind energy and may drop solar as well because despite the energy tax credits and DTE grants, most people are afraid to spend that much on energy upgrades. The closest Walmart has bare shelves and isn't worth going to for much of anything but t.p. and kleenex, the hardware store has stopped carrying tools and appliances, the lumber yards are going out of business because the contractors are going out of business, two beauty salons have closed their doors for lack of customers and they had been in business for many, many years, one supermarket closed up, the Radio Shack is contemplating bankruptcy, two furniture stores and a pharmacy all went belly up. The pharmacy is especially surprising but a lot of people can't afford their prescriptions. The ER's are overwhelmed because when someone runs out of blood pressure med or beta blockers, etc. they wait until they are in a bad enough state to be in danger and then run to the ER because they can get 30 days of meds from the ER pharmacy paid for by their private pay insurance because it's related to "hospitalization" or through state hospital bailout money if uninsured.

 

The nicer things in life are pretty well gone. In January, the county road commission announced that they didn't have enough money to adequately repair paved roads. The would be going around with some tar in the spring for the ones that could be salvaged but at $60,000.00 per mile to re-pave and no end in sight to the state's monetary woes, they were identifying a large number of roads that they would be returning to gravel! The State Fair has been eliminated. Our local schools are going to 40 students per classroom and eliminating some bus routes. Some children will be riding the bus for more than two hours if their parents can't or won't take them. The ISD had to cut some of the parent-pros that help the profoundly disabled children. The two post offices closest to us have reduced their working hours and I think the one in our town will be closed eventually which will put more people on unemployment. The amount of money from the state to our county for foster care has been cut in half. The only children who will remain in care are those that have been badly s**ually abused or whose parents basically nearly killed them. Neglect, malnutrition, and physical violence will not necessarily get a child

taken into care. Foster families are dropping out of the system like flies and replacements are very difficult to find. Community mental health is only open two days per week, community healt department, went from five days to three and you have to call a week in advance to see if they have the vaccine on hand because they can't afford to stock very much (HEP B for the medical workers can be a six week wait), and the county building inspector's division is only open one day per week because there aren't any remodels or new constructions. Most of the State universities are set to raise tuition anywhere from 10-25% for 2010-2011.

 

The most unbelievable thing about it is that this is nothing compared to Saginaw, Flint, Detroit, and some other more southern areas of Michigan.

 

 

I know other states aren't as hard hit. So, our perspective here is probably far different and especially from those that live on the coasts where things are still zipping along fairly normally.

 

Faith

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I voted 'other' but I could have voted "somewhat". DH's job has been insecure for most of the past 3 years. When things are slow the company will furlough 100s of workers. With the last furlough they cut everyone up until DHs work number. If they would have taken one more job it would have been DH.

 

The company and DH's union have increased the amount the employees must pay each pay period; some of those expenses have tripled. One expense went from $55 to $190. Crazy!

 

With less money coming in each month we have had to tighten our belts and make some serious sacrifices. I had to sell my horse because the boarding stable increased their prices to a crazy high fee which they said was in response to an increase in their expenses.

 

Our utility bills have doubled and we are looking at a 40% increase in the water payment after the new year. (They were very kind to give us a year's notice.)

 

My job is dependent upon student enrollment and state funding. I have been laid off twice and brought back at the last minute. Last summer I had a full schedule; this summer I am teaching one class (and very thankful for it). Even though there is a full time position open in the department the school is not filling it due to lack of funding and the State being so much in debt.

 

DH and I have been following Dave Ramsey and are debt free but each month we have very little left. We look at each other and wonder how? With no car payments, no barn payment we should have money left over...but then when we compare other expenses to what they were 2-3 years ago we can explain it all.

 

ETA: my brother was laid off for 2 years after his company decided to outsource his position. The company who took over the outsourcing finally hired my brother. He is doing the same work in the same office at the same desk for 40% less money.

Edited July 3, 2010 by The Dragon Academy

[The Girls' Mom]

I voted somewhat. While my dh's job hasn't been affected, My brother, father and step-mother have all been out of work for over a year. They just can't find a job.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I voted somewhat. Expenses are up, income is down, but we are surviving. He sells car parts and people are trying to maintain their vehicles rather than buying new. I'm worried about our health insurance premiums skyrocketing in the near future - as most people I know have seen significant increases in theirs. Some doubling....

 

My mom was laid off over a year ago and is now looking to take social security at 65 in a few months. She gave up looking for a job. She's frugal and managing pretty well.

 

My sister has had little jobs here and there. Her employer (a small engineering firm) laid her off and hires her back now and then for piecemeal work. She moved in with my elderly grandmother so they could help each other out.

 

My brother works for a county government and he's fairing okay.

 

-K

Edited July 3, 2010 by NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too

[....]

We are in Michigan and it is HORRIBLE. We are losing small businesses every day and the few big companies left are firing on a regular basis.

 

Our state waivers between 14-16% unemployment if you go by the official numbers. However, once people exceed the max. number of months they can collect unemployment, they are no longer counted because they aren't "in the system" anymore. If you add them plus the number of spouses that used to be SAHM who are desperately looking for work in order to keep their families afloat, plus college grads desperate for look but uncounted because they've never drawn unemployment, our rate is estimated at 25%. Faith

 

You know, FaithManor, it was getting like this in St Louis when we left also. We had like 1/3 of the men on our block lose their jobs. It was horrible. You can't find another one. You have to leave. It's very, very sad and it affects everybody in those regions - not just people who lost their jobs... We had to leave elderly relatives back in MO who actually needed us to be close by. You just can't stay if there's no work.

 

If you drive through the Illinois side of St Louis, North St. Louis and a big part of downtown, it looks like we were attacked by an invading army or something. They also had a thing on TV where they were talking about St Louis having the largest feral dog population in any city in the United States. My sister worked at one of the hospitals on the west side and she said one guy was attacked by a group of dogs right outside their ER entrance.

 

I also have family in Detroit and they've described it as a ghost town. I think my uncle's house appraised at something like $30,000 (can't remember exact amount). My dad was trying to convince him to abandon it, but that's his home. I think older people just can't see themselves leaving.

 

How sad. Those people can't control the economy. They're just trying to pay their bills and take care of their families.

[Parrothead]

I picked somewhat. So far dh's job is pretty secure, but the cost of everything has just about doubled so yeah, our lifestyle has changed quite a bit. Getting something to our savings is difficult.

 

I pray for those that have been hit harder than us.

[Denisemomof4]

we haven't been financially impacted by the economy yet, but we do have worries. We just bought a new car, and it's the first time dh and I were nervous about a large purchase!

 

We worry about everyone affected in all areas, but we are very concerned about all those impacted by the oil spill and the trickle down affect. We're worried that things won't recover for a long, long, LONG time.

[KnitWit]

It's tough here. And, our only debt is our mortgage. No cc's, no other loans, cars paid for. We are not upside down in mtg...but if we had to sell, we'd probably *just* break even...and then rentals are about the same as our mtg pmt. THAT is very concerning.

 

And now we are hearing how all the tax stuff is changing in January. sigh.

[Hedgehogs4]

my vote when i started the poll was "unaffected," but honestly i suppose it could have been "somewhat affected" because i didn't consider the fact that we are definitely upside-down on our mortgage, so much so that leaving this house and moving to another would be impossible...and we hope that expenses don't go so high that we couldn't make our mortgage.

[angela in ohio]

I voted 'somewhat.' Dh took a bit of a pay cut (they started taking money from current public school employees in MI to fund a big retirement incentive to "create" new jobs,) but he took a promotion to make up for it, so we came out ahead.

 

We are in southeast Michigan, and we aren't as affected as some of the rest of the state (Detroit.) One car wash closed locally, and that's about it. There are new businesses opening, most people we know have their same jobs, etc. The town north of here just built a new Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, and some associated strip mall stores and restaurants. We knew a few people out of work, but they found other jobs. The one bad spot is the people we know who are in sales and don't have other skills. Once they are out of work, there aren't many places for them to go. Those companies are tightening their belts.

 

Our home value has decreased, but we bought as values were already declining and bid low, knowing that prices were still a bit inflated. It's still owht more than we paid. We have family who upgraded houses at the height of the bubble, paid way too much, and now they are upside down.

 

I don't think the problems in MI and OH are as much about the current economy, personally. They started the decline many years ago, based on years of poor leadership and policies/ taxes that drove business away. Experts locally say that when the rest of the country moves on in the cycle, heading into recovery, MI and OH will probably never recover fully.

Edited July 3, 2010 by angela in ohio

[sparrow]

Another Michigander, here. :iagree: with FaithManor. It is a very sad time in Michigan. We are fortunate, we have a well established family business that has not been adversely affected by the terrible situation in the state, but we have at least a half dozen friends that have been out of work for 6 months or more. We are still being careful with our spending because around here, you just never know what could happen next :(.

 

 

ETA: I voted "somewhat", as we're being affected indirectly.

[Desert Rat]

Dh is in construction management. He's been laid off since last October. No one is hiring and Las Vegas is slow to recover. Right now we're just hanging on. The trends in this area are saying that even if he does get a job it will be for less than half what he was making. So, we're in this boat for a long while.