This is the first time in my adult life that I've really felt the affects of a struggling economy. I'm not a fan of this. Not one bit.
My job? Not too secure right now. You may recall that I am a freelancer. There are layoffs occurring at my company. We are meeting today to discuss the viability of our publishing line. When people are worried about putting food on the table, adding books to the bookshelf, just isn't a priority.
Gas prices? Adam is spiffing up the truck today and taking it to a dealership to see about trading it in for something with better fuel economy. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a sign of the times. Just doesn't make sense to hold onto something that is costing you $800/month to operate when you're working part time and going to school. Even though you LOVE it.
That $600 I'm getting from Bush? "Bush Bucks" as Scott calls them...That wouldn't even pay for rent for a month in the Northeast. I'm not sure how the $600 I'm getting is going to stimulate the economy...I can tell you that I am not going to use it to buy a fancy new anything...It's going in the savings account. So that I can eat, when I don't have a job. Thanks, Bush!
Although I didn't agree with everything that Gary wrote in his post about the Presidential Primary (I happen to want Clinton to fight to the end, because I think she is the one that can get us out of this mess - but that's my selfish opinion! I realize this!). He is right, we're in a real mess in this country and I sure hope our politicians wake up, stop being selfish and start fighting for us.
I'm lucky. I have a family that I know I can count on to help me out if I do happen to find myself out of a job and unable to find another. But, I read a story yesterday about how several middle-class Americans are being forced to live in their cars because they can no longer afford their mortgages or rents. The lead story in my local paper this morning said that local Humane Societies are seeing a huge influx of family pets for this very reason.
I sure hope we're seeing the worst of it, and times start getting better. Has the slumping economy affected you yet? If so, what are you doing to adapt? Have you started cutting back?
Other than worry, it hasn't necessarily affected me yet. I'm still riding, etc. But, I'm not buying anything that I don't "need" for fear that I need to hold onto any extra penny at this point. OH, and I haven't broken my promise to myself to not step foot in a Walmart...So, it can't be all that bad. I guess it's just that the thought of what 'could be' is very real.
4 comments:
I hope things improve for you fast... I mean really fast... perhaps a cost of living raise and more. We have began to feel the crunch.. a little. Coffee has went up $4 in the last three months cheese has went up $3, diapers have went up a huge amount... I don't even want to say and we have two kids in diapers now. Our property taxes have went up so much here since the town is growing so fast that it raised our morgage by more than $100/ month. That is not ok. There are a ton of people that took out WCDA loans... a state program to help first time homebuyers get into their own homes.... and took out their max, now they are having to sell because they can't afford the extra expense. We felt like the government would screw us eventually so we were conservative with our price limit. It is supposed to help people with money woes, not give them the shaft. I don't know how much of our financial change is the economy and how much is getting used to paying for two kids and doc bills. I am going to say it is most likelly both. We are ok now and we always have the option of me going to work, but child care might cost more than i can make. I am just hoping in the next few days I am going to be blogging about some big changes in our lives. I can't say much now, but I will have a lot to write about soon so keep on looking. Good luck with the meeting and with the scrimping..... We will send positive thoughts your way.
I hope you have good changes on the way, Lori. Sounds like you guys were really smart about the price cap on your mortgage. One of the big problems, it seems is that people have been living outside of their means, and with a bad economy, that's a recipe for disaster. I will check your blog - Looking for some good news!
It's true that teachers aren't buying books that they don't need, but Lois finds books that teachers ought to have...
With your skills, there's a job out there for you. It may take a while to find out exactly what it is, where it is, etc., but you'll find something that you LOVE!
It seems that "Washington" always takes the blame when something goes wrong in this country when, in fact, I don't really think that they are to blame for this country's financial mess.
Bush can't be blamed for this (we have a little conflict in the Middle East and a foreign policy that is in complete disarray that he can be blamed for).
Clinton, Obama and McCain can't "fix" this. There is nothing to fix. This is part of the business cycle. There are ups and downs in the economy all of the time.
It seems, though, that certain things trigger these cycles.
When housing was going full speed ahead and everybody was working, nobody stopped to ask why.
Unfortunately, credit was being extended to everyone in the form of adjustable rate mortgages. No one considered the consequences of what would happen when these mortgages "adjusted".
Now we know and it trickles down and affects all of us.
When we bought our house, we had the same philosophy about our mortgage limit as the Moody family.
Unfortunately, not enough people did and we are all paying the price.
Things will get better. I've been through this before.
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