What's the recession look like in your neck of the woods?

[JennifersLost]

I know that different areas and families are going to experience this differently. I live in northern BC and we're surprised at how many people here think it's not going to be any big deal in western Canada.

 

Meanwhile, my family in NY/Connecticut are on the edge of their seats. My sister was giving me a rundown of all the pricey boutique stores in her fancy-schmancy area of Connecticut that had shut down.

 

On the west coast my friends are riding out the storm but seeing house prices drop for the first time in years.

 

What's it look like near you?

[Rhonda in TX]

I know of a few people who have lost their jobs, but it's not wide-spread. If your job is associated with the oil industry (and a lot are), you are probably okay for now. However, I know DH's company is talking salary freeze. (he works for an oil-related company) I have not seen a lot of businesses closing, other than nation-wide chains. One bad thing is that houses are not selling. I think people are just too nervous.

 

Interestingly, we have an online scrapbook store and have not seen business drop. In fact, January has been a very good month for us.

[Tree House Academy]

In TN, I am seeing stores close down and go out of business that I never thought would go out. Lots of the small town, local businesses have also had to close doors. In Knoxville and other larger cities, there have been a LOT of layoffs. A ball bearing plant near my home gave all salaried employees a 20% salary DECREASE effective Jan 1. The price of groceries rises each day at our grocery stores. A lot of people are very worried about losing their jobs. Houses are not selling - no one is buying. Credit cards are hounding you to stay their customers when you call to cancel the cards. Banks are offering the lowest interest rates I have ever seen on home loans, though many many people are defaulting on their mortgages at the same time.

 

It is only going to get worse, I am afraid.

[*********]

Um, it looks awful. I live in Michigan. You know, the birthplace of the automobile? Yeah, woo hoo. My husband, like pretty much everyone I know, has as job that is closely linked with the industry. No idea for how long.

[Tutor]

We live in a college town that was on the top ten lists of best place to retire and best place to raise a family recently but is located in one of the poorest states in the nation where the main employers are oil, the military, and manufacturing (esp. cars, large appliances, and furniture). The recession has had odd effects here.

 

In the town and immediate surrounding area: house prices/ rents have dropped but there is still residential and retail building going on; a large road construction project is in the works; our parks and rec areas are in the process or just finishing major improvements; there is some concern about education spending and some government and large business partnerships with the university are on hold while spending plans are re-evaluated

 

In surrounding towns: manufacturing plants are closing, putting off planned improvements, or not opening (we were supposed to have a car plant built nearby in 2012 which would have provided 6,000 jobs, I think, but that has been put on hold indefinitely); scheduled oil refinery builds are not happening; the military is waiting to see what kind of cuts are going to take place an if base closures will be involved; the governor has successfully cut the budget to meet necessary cuts this year, but with the rise in unemployment, welfare benefits, ChiP, and Medicaid, there may be huge deficits looming in the future; some businesses are closing, but they seem to be mostly national chains (this town has a huge history of shopping locally, so small businesses seem to be weathering a little better right now)

[elise1mds]

So far this area has been mostly unaffected as far as I can tell. Existing homes aren't selling well, but new construction seems to be doing fine. The only major layoffs have been from large national companies who are hurting all over, though I've heard of a few companies panicking and laying off a few just to cover their backsides even though they're not in a lot of pain financially. Banks are stable. Grocery prices have gone up but not drastically, and gas prices are okay. I think a lot of people around here are just waiting to see what the rest of the country does before making any big moves. I guess that's one benefit of living in an oil/farm state.

[Erica in PA]

**Oops, sorry for the double post.** Content is in other post.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Erica in PA

[Erica in PA]

It's getting a little scary here in our area. At my co-op of about 50 families, I know of at least 10 who are really having a hard time financially, either because their husbands have lost their jobs, or because they were self-employed and are not getting work. It's gotten to the point where those of us who can have been bringing in food for those who need it.

 

At our church many of our friends have had their hours cut, or overtime eliminated, and at least a few have lost their jobs. This is a fairly blue collar area, and it seems like those are the jobs being affected most around here. Several older people in our congregation lost a good deal of their retirement money and are worried about that.

 

A friend whose husband is a contractor told me yesterday that because her husband is getting no work at all they need to sell their home, which her dh built himself only 7 years ago, and look into renting. Other friends have sent me emails asking for prayer because their family is having to make hard decisions.. some homeschooling families may need to send their kids to school so that mom can work full-time, some are talking about moving or downsizing, many are searching for jobs.

 

As for us, dh's job seems to be secure for now, but that could change at any time. We've dropped as many extras as we can for now, dropped the kids' lesson and activities, so that we can put as much money as possible into paying off our debt, in case dh would lose his job. We've also put the idea of looking into buying our first home on the back burner, because we could not be stuck with mortgage payments if dh lost his job. When you're renting you have a lot more flexibility, and a lot less to lose if things go badly. We're looking to see if we could find a less expensive apartment to rent, as well.

 

So yeah... it's pretty serious around here. This is the first time in my adult life that I've seen this much widespread financial difficulty. It's scary, because growing up in the late 80s and 90s, things seemed pretty easy for most people, as long as they were willing to work. It's been an eye opener, to see how quickly things can turn.

 

Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention is that it has affected our church's budget as well. (Our church has about 250 members.) People's giving dropped significantly last November, and the church has had to institute a spending freeze. Because we're committed to not going into debt at the church, only the bare necessities are being paid (salaries, utilities, etc.). My dh leads the youth group, and that budget is gone until further notice. Our yearly church retreat has been cancelled due to lack of funds. The church secretary couldn't even buy copier paper one week! We need to go to the church website and print out our bulletins for now. So there's another area where we've seen an effect.

[Janna]

Well, we're in Indiana. Need I say more?

 

Dh has been without a job since December and there hasn't been one job offer or even any interviews of substance. Everything available seems to be sales that are 100% commission. Jobs that we thought would work out haven't.

 

We're just waiting and praying. Nothing more we can do.

[LG Gone Wild]

Well, we're in Indiana. Need I say more?

 

Dh has been without a job since December and there hasn't been one job offer or even any interviews of substance. Everything available seems to be sales that are 100% commission. Jobs that we thought would work out haven't.

 

We're just waiting and praying. Nothing more we can do.

 

but how are you making ends meet? Are you working or your dh doing side jobs? Hmmm, maybe this should be a new thread.

[LG Gone Wild]

I know that different areas and families are going to experience this differently. I live in northern BC and we're surprised at how many people here think it's not going to be any big deal in western Canada.

 

Meanwhile, my family in NY/Connecticut are on the edge of their seats. My sister was giving me a rundown of all the pricey boutique stores in her fancy-schmancy area of Connecticut that had shut down.

 

On the west coast my friends are riding out the storm but seeing house prices drop for the first time in years.

 

What's it look like near you?

 

 

 

In my area of the West, it is okayish. There are more empty office buildings and store fronts. Some places have going out business signs. The big scare for us, right now, is the state going belly up and emptying out the prisons.

[lynn]

Not to bad here in N Alabama. The stores like Linen n things, circuit city etc have shut down. Restraunts are still pretty busy for lunch as usual. The only real tell tale sign is the amount of clearance racks of winter clothing and Christmas decor are in stores. N Alabama usually is last to feel the impact of recession.

[Wendi]

In my family, my dh is blessed to be working for a health care company that's doing very well, growing and hiring. He just got a good raise in the fall. In our church family and acquaintances, so far, so good. I'm not aware of anyone losing their jobs, although we know a couple of people at church who work for car dealerships, so who knows?

 

In our neighborhood, like most in the country, house prices are down quite a bit and houses are taking longer to sell, although our neighbor across the street was able to sell her house within a few months. (We bought our house six years ago; the value went up almost 50%, then sank back down to what we bought it for. I'm hoping it doesn't sink lower!) I'm sure there are foreclosures, but we don't see houses falling into disrepair. Our area is pretty affluent. When I go to the mall, I see plenty of shoppers. The only stores that have closed are a few chain stores. Local businesses seem to be doing well, as far as I can see. Unemployment has so far disproportionately affected certain industries (construction, lending, autos, etc.) and our white-collar area seems relatively unaffected overall.

 

Phoenix is apparently really having to cut services and the mayor went to DC to ask for help. The state is really making drastic cuts to try to balance its budget, too, and there is controversy over cuts to education and health care services.

 

Wendi

[Anita in NC]

Things are NOT good in the Raleigh, NC area. High tech jobs seem to be shedding employees. The corp that my husband works for is set for yet another round of layoffs in March, cutting its workforce by another 40%.

 

Friends that have lost their jobs have been unable to find another, unemployment benefits have ended and people that seemed to have had their act together and led responsible lives are walking away from their houses of several years as they are unable to keep up the payments.

 

We are fearful of what the future holds as my husbands company where he has worked for 20 years have stopped paying severance to employees that they lay off. If he were to get laid off he would get NOTHING. When we had planned for the "what ifs" of life we had every expectation of receiving that 6 to 9 months of severance and medical benefits. Now the rules have changed.

 

Our biggest fear it how are we going to afford medical benefits as COBRA is so expensive and with pre-existing conditions we would be not qualify to go out into the market place for cheaper insurance.

 

I don't know how people are going to make it.......

[newbie]

Like a depression. Most of my friends dh's are out of work.

[TraceyS/FL]

I know someone that lost their job (note, i don't know that many people here), one whose branch is closing and having to now commute to work.

 

The neighborhood behind/diagonal to us has about 30 homes..... 8 got served with foreclosure papers last week according to the animal control officer that was here.

 

On the flip side, it's a good time to be pondering the buyout of a spouse in a divorce!

[Jenny in Florida]

Stores are closing. And those that are open have cut back on their inventory. We're very dependent on tourist dollars in this area, too, so the fact that folks aren't travelling is hitting hard. For example, we are friendly with a family in which the dad works for Disney. He cut back his schedule to part-time in order to finish his master's degree, and now finds he is on the work schedule only one day per week (instead of the two or three the family was counting on).

 

My husband works for a company that has a contract with Disney and has seen his team cut in half over the last year.

 

Our church had to cut back significantly this fiscal year, because pledges were down. We cut at least one part-time staff position out entirely and cut back our religious education director's hours. At least two programs also lost their entire budgets.

 

And ours is not the only church to feel the pinch. I learned this last weekend that the cathedral that sponsors my son's choir is also cutting back. They had to let go one part-time musician and have cut both program budgets and the salaries of the remaining staff.

 

Another major thing my family has noticed is the hit being taken by arts organizations and anyone else who relies on corportate donations. Everywhere we look, performance schedules are being cut back and events are being cancelled. Since we're an artsy family, this is very painful to watch.

[Janna]

but how are you making ends meet? Are you working or your dh doing side jobs? Hmmm, maybe this should be a new thread.

 

It's ok, I don't mind being asked. ;)

 

We have savings and a severance package he got that we've been living off of. We rent our house, so we don't have the "luxury" (JK) of not paying our mortgage payment.

 

Neither of us are working. In fact currently, as I type, he's putting some high end stuff we have on Craigslist.

 

We have been in pretty high spirits about it though. We have faith, and I honestly don't know where we'd be without it. We have gone through this before (about 5-6 years ago) where dh lost his job, we had high debt and lost *everything*. That was a horrible time, but also a time of tremendous spiritual growth and I wouldn't take that experience back for anything. The Lord provided for our needs and then some in ways would never have dreamed. Because of that, we *know* he will provide again. To doubt His faithfulness now would be a slap in the face and completely embarrassing.

 

So we wait.

 

I will say that this time off that dh has had has afforded us opportunities that we wouldn't otherwise have. He gets to be with our baby and see the accomplishments that he otherwise would miss. He gets to help others in need (shoveling snow for our neighbors while they're at work, helping move furniture and the like to our new church building etc), and he gets to have more hands-on with the homeschooling and experience all that my day would otherwise entail without him here. More importantly, we're *all* sick currently with a nasty, long-living cold. Because he hasn't needed to get up early for work, he's been able to help me in taking shifts with the baby who can't sleep because he can't breath. Woo-hoo!

 

We feel very blessed. Truly.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Janna

[KidsHappen]

Also in TN and we are also seeing a lot of local businesses close their doors. I think the Saturn plant has cut back and I am not really sure about the Nissan headquarters that just opened. Of course, we are seeing a lot of the big national stores close. On the other hand, real estate seems to be doing better than it was a year ago and people are not shopping or eating out any less.

 

Most of the people that work on my cul-de-sac are computer consultants and they are all still working. My hubby's company is starting to cut back benefits and the yearly bonus is looking questionable but he says there is still plenty of work because companies are hiring less workers and contracting out. My brother drives a truck and he is definitely getting less loads and is having a hard time making ends meet.

[Hillary in KS]

It's not bad here. There have been a few isolated layoffs, but nothing big or widespread. I know that at dh's company they would LOVE to hire people who are willing to work. But not many people apply.

 

Unemployment in our neck of the woods is lower than the country's average.

[CAMom]

In my area of the West, it is okayish. There are more empty office buildings and store fronts. Some places have going out business signs. The big scare for us, right now, is the state going belly up and emptying out the prisons.

 

Ummmm....yeah! The release of prisoners onto the streets is making me a bit nervous!

 

We have a few folks at church who have very recently been laid off. Our general area seems to be holding up fairly well for the moment. It's not rosy but it's not crashing down yet.

[elegantlion]

We're in oil country too so far I haven't seen a big impact. My fear is for the retail sector here. We are losing two stores due to nationwide shutdown, Circuit city and Goody's. Our town tends to be "bottom of the barrel" when it comes to retail so I imagine most companies will put our town near the top of the hit list.

 

Our locally/family owned Mexican restaurant, my favorite place, has quit being open on the weekends.

 

I've seen some stores paring down the quantity of brands they carry and some stores seem to be holding the inventory longer, hopefully creating better sales.

 

My dh's job, construction, has not been affected. We're self-employed and he has work lined up for several months. This has been one of our better years.

[JennifersLost]

This is really interesting. My heart goes out to everyone having a hard time making ends meet. Hang in there!

 

I wish I knew how to make some sort of a map diagram we could be entering our information on.

 

Interesting, too, how people in the same areas can have different viewpoints. It seems like some in southern California feel fine and others are feeling the pinch.

 

I wish we had more flexibility about moving. I'd like to sell my house and move somewhere really cheap, but because of family and rentals we're kind of stuck here.

 

I hope more people chime in with their experiences. Is anyone in New England?

[Year Round Mom]

We live in TN, too, in a military town. At first I wasn't worried about selling our house when we move in a few months, since our soldiers are coming back right now and need a place to live. But my friends are having a hard time selling their houses because no one can get a mortgage! Now, I'm worried.

 

We've seen what others have already posted: closing of big stores, like L-n-T and Circuit City, but still see lots of consumers at the stores and restaurants.

 

The dh of a friend started working weekends (mornings only) at his present job bc they let go of a part-timer. So now he works 6 days a week, but still with no overtime. Another friend's dh has been out of work for a long time and can't get a job, though he's putting his resume out everywhere.

 

Ironically, giving was up in the month of January at our church!

[LG Gone Wild]

Like a depression. Most of my friends dh's are out of work.

 

What sector? Although not in SD county but close enough, our area is holding up for now. DH works north county and is so far employed. What part or parts of SD are tanking?

[LG Gone Wild]

 

 

 

Another major thing my family has noticed is the hit being taken by arts organizations and anyone else who relies on corportate donations. Everywhere we look, performance schedules are being cut back and events are being cancelled. Since we're an artsy family, this is very painful to watch.

 

Our Monart studio has up and left. I was considering sending my ds back there but I drove by and saw it empty. It is a shame because it was a great studio.

[catalinakel]

Here in Henderson, suburb of Vegas, things are not very good. Just heard yesterday that Station Casinos may go under....there are probably at least 6 large station casinos here, and if they go under, I imagine that will be tens of thousands of people without jobs. Finding a job here is really tough....gaming is the main industry, and apparently people aren't doing as much as they used to. So many jobs here depend upon the entertainment industry...it really drives home the point that luxuries are not necessities in this sort of economy.

 

Housing is nuts-we moved here from California almost 5 years ago and were thrilled to afford a house...but now feel quite stuck, as home prices have dropped so much. We couldn't sell if we wanted to. There are entire new neighborhooods that have not sold, and new office bldgs. that are completely empty. Hubby is a special ed.teacher, so he has some job security, but since we are no longer a fastest growing city, the school district isn't as desperate as they were for teachers a few years back. The state's economy is bad because of the drop in gaming revenues....so they are talking cuts across the board. Yet there are new casinos being built still....one wonders if they will become beautiful vacant bldgs...there was much joy about a call center coming here and providing jobs, but those jobs don't pay much.

 

things don't look good, but we trust in God.

[Shenan]

Let's see....

 

We personally know 5 people who have been laid off.

 

2 friends who have lost their homes but still have their jobs.

 

My sis was nearly evicted in Dec. after she had emergency gall bladder surgery and her disability insurance at work refused to approve her for disability. (They thought the surgery was unnecessary. Never mind that her gallbladder nearly ruptured and she nearly died.)

 

We know 2 people whose cars have been repo'd.

 

We know a handful of part time people whose hours have been cut drastically.

 

We know 2 people who have had their salary cut.

 

and most everyone we know who still has a job will not be receiving any sort of raise this year.

 

Dh told me last night that some of the bosses came out to the jobsite yesterday and worked with the supervisors to number employees. The employees were given numbers ranging from 1-4. 1 being an excellent worker to 4 being a slacker/lazy worker (sorry couldn't think of the polite politically correct word for this). So when you know what hits the fan the number 4's will go first.....followed later by the 3's and so on...

 

As for businesses....if it isn't Wallyworld, Food Lion, or Joann's I have no clue what's shutting down in our region. Oh except the Circuit City we drive by on our way to Wallyworld.

 

Most of the people we know are located in the NW VA, NoVA, MD, and WV panhandle.

[LizzyBee]

I live outside Raleigh, and it was not bad at all here until the past couple of months. Real estate was flat but holding its value. Even now, restaurants are busy, stores are busy. But new home construction is in the tank, commercial construction is slow, people can't find jobs, and people who do have jobs are feeling really insecure. We have 3 friends who have been laid off. I heard just yesterday that Raleigh is one of the best places in the country to be right now; nevertheless, I'm very glad there is a shortage in my profession and my job is not in danger.

Edited February 10, 2009 by LizzyBee

[BritAnnia]

I'm a little farther west in the Piedmont Triad area of NC. Things are sliding downhill here with many layoffs at the larger companies being announced daily.

Friends of my dh have been laid off or had cutbacks in hours/pay/benefits.

The company my dh works for had already laid some people off last year, closed satelite plants, stopped 401k contributions, frozen wages, instituted mandatory multiple weeks off without pay, changed other benefits so the employee carries more of the cost, as well as a variety of other cutbacks.

Over the Christmas period they had announced another round of layoffs would begin... but they let everyone fret over it for 6 weeks before messing around with the way they let the 100's who'd lost their jobs finally know it was them. Dh was very tense, I can tell you! Thankfully at this point he's safe but as the remaining employees were told at the time. The company is struggling and if orders don't at least hold steady, the company may not survive next quarter. We're remortgaging the balance we owe on our home which will bring the monthly cost down... just in case.

My older two dc each have part-time jobs, (ds at Bojangles and dd at a clothing store in the mall), and both are experiencing lack of hours. There just aren't enough customers to guarantee the need for more than a few employees to work at one time so the bosses share the hours amongst the staff and it's slim pickings for everyone.

Aside from the layoffs here, on a wider scale, the county is talking of making significant raises in property taxes and the state wants major dollar amounts returned from each county to cover the budget deficit.

[Tess in the Burbs]

housing prices are down. friends being laid off. Dh's job may end in March. But the area around me is building and new stores are opening up. But others are closing. It's hard to tell really. I notice less people in the restuarants and the big box stores when it used to be busier times. We are living our normal life without the extras right now. If dh loses his job next month we have no intentions to sit it out and try to pay it all....we will leave and let the house go immediately...as we don't want to be in this area long term anyway. we have temp plans to move in with family and store most of our stuff. but panicking? nah. for us, we trust God completely and dh has applied like crazy...if the window to stay is going to crack open it will, but if not, we are willing to move on and wait to see what's next in our lives.

[Vicki]

We live in West Texas and things are fine here. Grocery prices are up. There are still plenty of now hiring signs on businesses. We have another new hotel going up and the mall is remodeling and adding stores. I know offerings at our church is still up $32,000 this past Sunday.

God bless,

Vicki

[Suzanne in ABQ]

It's barely noticeable here in New Mexico. Everyone is just as poor as they always were! :o) Seriously, New Mexico has remained stable because it wasn't falsely inflated to begin with. Selling houses is a problem, and food prices have gone up, but unemployment is much lower here than the national average. In Albuquerque/Rio Rancho, the main employers are the Air Force (and various military contractors) and Intel. Both are stable.

 

Some small businesses, especially those who cater to "marginal" services (like art classes, etc.), are having a hard time.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Suzanne in ABQ

[HeathenMom]

things seem fine in the Houston area. the only people i've seen losing their jobs work for Chevy. tons of retail places are hiring. there is lots of construction going on out here on the west side in the 'energy corridor' and they're even building new homes in the back of my neighborhood again.

 

my husband is self employed and reliant on people spending their disposable income. He had the best January that he's had in 4 years.

[Amber in SJ]

I'll chime in from the Bay Area of CA. We discovered something interesting today. According to one online service, our house was worth $666K in January '07 and $378K in January '09. Our local postal annex closed and the next closest has cut hours. Many businesses are going under. We have two families in our church group who have "walked away" from overwhelming mortages. I didn't understand this at first, but they couldn't sell the houses, not even for a short sale, so they turned the keys over to the bank and walked away. We know many families whose main breadwinner has been laid off. DH has survived several rounds of lay-offs, but has taken a mandatory 20% pay cut and is looking at unemployment in 60 days. There will be no severance package.

 

I don't know anyone who has not been affected. Most people think this is not the bottom. We have also heard of people being very loving & charitable to those in need.

 

Amber in SJ

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

In the nearest large town some small stores going out of business, major employers cutting hours and employees. Dh's employer is giving no pay raises this year. The school system announced today a 4 million cut which would include administrators and high school teachers. Colleges preparing for a reduction of state funds. Lots of clearance sales in retail stores, except for Wal-mart and Target, oddly enough. Lots of articles and news clips on how to take care of finances.

 

Our small town doesn't seem to be affected that much except that people are planning larger gardens and thinking of ways to save money.

[newbie]

What sector? Although not in SD county but close enough, our area is holding up for now. DH works north county and is so far employed. What part or parts of SD are tanking?

 

YOu are lucky, anything not coastal has been hit bad. Friends losing jobs left and right.

 

Good news today, one friends dh got a good lead on a job, thank God.

[Tokyomarie]

Um, it looks awful. I live in Michigan. You know, the birthplace of the automobile? Yeah, woo hoo. My husband, like pretty much everyone I know, has as job that is closely linked with the industry. No idea for how long.

 

We're in MI. The auto industry has been downsizing for years, so people around here have been in and out of work. The housing industry- both new construction and existing homes- has been slow for some time. But business otherwise was reasonably decent. Until the last few months. It hit home for me when our local family-owned pizza place closed this weekend. Didn't know it was going to happen. I ordered pizza about a week ago. Dh tried to order on Sunday and the number was no longer in service. Saturday was the last day.

 

And last week I went to the city near us and found my usual gas station in that location closed. I usually stopped there on my way home from a certain weekly activity. No more. The gas station across the street is still there but I cannot safely navigate in and out, with respect to the direction I need to go, without putting myself in danger of an accident. So I nervously drove all the way home with the gas light on, hoping I could make it to my freeway exit without running out of gas rather than risk my safety at that particular intersection.

 

If my gas station and my pizza place have closed, what's next?

[Sparkle]

I would say pretty bad, although there are a few bright spots. Many people I know have had their work hours reduced or been laid off. All the state workers (of whom my dh is one) have been furloughed 2 days a month, equaling a 10% pay cut, for the next 18 months. Many stores have gone out of business. Grocery prices have gone up and gas prices are creeping up too.

 

The couple of bright spots I see - there were several houses in our neighborhood for sale due to foreclosure, but they all seem to have sold recently. I'm happy about that.

 

I do see some new construction in the area.

 

I'm thinking things are going to get worse (maybe a lot worse) before they get better.

[Beach Mom]

Here in our neck of the woods just north of the DC madness many have lost jobs. We know many in our neighborhood and church that are currently unemployed. Those working for government contractors seem secure but many private sector companies have had rounds of layoffs. We have seen many small companies close in our small town. DH lost his job in the summer and he and most of those laid off with him have not found work. This are tech guys that in previous times were highly employable. We read recently that MD/DC is one of the worst job markets right now along with NYC and Detroit.

 

Groceries, gas and heating costs have all risen significantly here.

 

Thankfully we have been okay financially so far and are trusting that God will show us where he wants us to be if it is not here. The housing market has slowed here so if we need to move we are concerned about selling, but we will cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

[ChemMommy]

it's mostly okay. Some layoffs, but not an overwhelming amount. The oil industry in ND is booming and the economy is growing so fast we can't keep up with it. There's a surplus in the state budget.

 

In Minnesota, the state government has major cuts to make. Class sizes are supposed to go from 28 to 40 next year in public schools in our town. Prices of food are up; prices of other retail goods are down significantly. Houses are selling decently, but our housing market did NOT have a bubble.

 

I can be very fearful since we are NOT prepared for a job loss in this family. Also, dh and I both work for the same organization, so we could both get hit. I have to remind myself that my possessions and "wealth" are gifts from GOD, not from man.