The looming Recession and its effect on YOU?

With this dreaded recession almost a certainty...and with the word "depression" being thrown around here & there...how has this economic meltdown affected you so far?

...and how can it further affect you, if at all?

Personally, it hasn't hit my company (yet?). So far, so good. The alarm business if faily recession-proof, and the NY Metro area is still viable. I'll be screwed if a full-fledged depression hits, and construction on Long Island comes to a grinding halt. Then I might wind up jobless, IF my company doesn't assign me to another division.

What has really hit me hard is the depreciation in home values & the mortgage crisis. I was in the midst of seeking a refinance on my mortgage, for some much-needed home improvements(!!!), when all of a sudden no one wants my business anymore. (low credit score)

So I'm saving up (very slowly) and hope I can replace the roof before winter.

gas prices have been affecting me the most
and I have no other way of traveling to/from work
I could car pool, but other people annoy me. (haha)
Food prices are starting to creep up on me and my familia,
as far as work....it's all good, so far.

for starters $10 per pack of smokes.... insane!!!

loveletter said:

I have not really been hit that hard yet.

I drive a lot, but my wife owns her own business, so she works out of the house.
Food has gone up, but not enough to break the bank.

Luckily, we made a really good decision on buying our home, because it was in the right area. I really looked at where we bought and what development was happening, to ensure that I did not have as much risk in the investment.

My home value is actually still up about 25%.

higher gas and food prices have affected me so far...

i think it's too early for the full effects of the depression/recession to be felt just yet.

increasing paper prices and fuel costs are taking a burdeon.

If I Were A Pig on the Farm Instead of A Pig In Bed I'd Have Rights

seekingtruth said:

I have to say that for myself and my family thus far it has had some positive outcomes, such as

We drive less and combine trips and think travel through a bit more
We support our local farmers even more now to cut food costs
We look even harder at the "want vrs need" purchases

All this has helped in family commnication and deeper learning/life skills for the teens

Mach said:

Stymie said:

Mach said:

I have to say that for myself and my family thus far it has had some positive outcomes, such as

We drive less and combine trips and think travel through a bit more
We support our local farmers even more now to cut food costs
We look even harder at the "want vrs need" purchases

All this has helped in family commnication and deeper learning/life skills for the teens

Good stuff Mach.

I work from home now so I'm only affected with rising food costs.

Mach said:

Stymie said:

Good stuff Mach.

I work from home now so I'm only affected with rising food costs.

The food costs help me to rethink the real value of the food - like is a 4$ bag of junk chips really WORTH it ?

I would rather add a dollar to that 4 and buy FRESH organic strawberries

I don't see that as a bad thing really

Stymie said:

Mach said:

The food costs help me to rethink the real value of the food - like is a 4$ bag of junk chips really WORTH it ?

I would rather add a dollar to that 4 and buy FRESH organic strawberries

I don't see that as a bad thing really

It's not.

Since I started working from home a month ago, I started cooking a lot more and have for the most part gven up fast food. I feel so much better.

'The looming Recession and its effect on YOU?'


I wish the mainstream media would ask and cover such crucial questions...

About a week ago I heard on the BBC World Service a half hour [!!] report on how certain species of bees were having a hard time doing their bee's routine/activities under the current global ecological conditions, and how their numbers might become reduced or even extint if environmental evils like global warming were not halted.
Poor bees...

PurpleJedi said:

Well there is an impact on my budget, holding steady, but very alert to changes.

"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man." General Ann Dunwoody

Mach said:

Flo6 said:

loveletter said:

RodeoSchro said:

If you have a 401(k) or other retirement program, and you've been invested in a stock index fund since George Bush took over, you're SOL. You have actually LOST money to inflation. You have less spending power in your retirement account now than you did 8 years ago. If you are approaching retirement, you know what I'm talking about.

The recession has not even begun. But it will, and soon. Hate to break this to you seekingtruth, but the housing crash is just ramping up. Foreclosures are going to continue to increase through 2009. I don't know where you live but the odds of maintaining value are not great. Credit is tightening, and home inventories are going to increase greatly. This will drive down prices. My advice is to sell now, and buy in a year at greatly reduced prices, or commit to staying in your current home for the next five years at least.

What will bring us out of this? My answer is: FIX THE DAMN BUDGET. The United States of America isn't as addicted to oil as it is to debt. Our government has borrowed its way to fiscal insanity. Interest expense is the THIRD LARGEST component of our entire budget - behind only entitlements and defense. And this is in times of LOW RATES. Guess what happens when rates go up (as they will, to fight the inflation that scares the shit out of Bush)?

Our government's borrowings takes capital out of the system - capital that could be used to create jobs and increase tax revenues. Make no mistake - we HAVE to increase tax revenues. It'd be great to balance the budget by cutting spending, but that has NEVER been done by ANY party. We have to raise taxes.

Ultimately, we will be able to lower taxes, but only after we have returned to budget surpluses and paid down our national debt to a level low enough that interest costs and foreign purchase of our debt don't threaten our very way of life.

Vote Obama. He knows how to fix this. John McCain has no idea, and that is more dangerous to America than any terrorist could ever be.

There is no recession.

PurpleJedi said:

Flo6 said:

'The looming Recession and its effect on YOU?'

I wish the mainstream media would ask and cover such crucial questions...

About a week ago I heard on the BBC World Service a half hour [!!] report on how certain species of bees were having a hard time doing their bee's routine/activities under the current global ecological conditions, and how their numbers might become reduced or even extint if environmental evils like global warming were not halted.
Poor bees...

Thanks!
Actually, the bees worry me too.

RodeoSchro said:

I know that it's hitting lots of people now that they're digging into their savings
and checking accounts.
On a normal day, we would only have 1 or 2 checks at end of day. Now we have at least 15 per day.

"Ur beauty,gives1PAWS .." ~CallMyName

~U&ME4EVER IT IS!~

As a social worker, unfortunately I will always have job security because there will always be families with dysfunctional family dynamics. As a hospice social worker, again, I will always have job security. High gas prices have effected me the most however, because I travel through 2 counties to see my patients and often drive over 400 miles a week. (I do get gas reimbursement for my work, which helps tremendously, but typically gas reimbursement also covers wear and tear on your vehicle. At these prices, it's only covering my gas, and not the wear and tear on my vehicle, and if gas continues to increase, it won't cover my gas.) I have put over 22,000 miles on my car in the past year alone for work.

thepope2the9s said:

RodeoSchro said:

PurpleJedi said:

In Michigan we've been in a so-called "one state recession" for a few years now - there are empty homes all over the place due to foreclosures and property values are plummeting.
There are more homeless walking around and folks with "will work for food" signs. The gas prices are very high and, for me, I'm just thankful to have a job right now.

Measure in Love
"May the voice of the child in you never stop speaking. May it fall like a gift from heaven, offering to dessicated words its splendorous burst of laugher, the salt of its tears, its all powerful wildness." Maurice Blanchot