<p>My college educated engineer H got the first (modest) raise in over 7 years earlier this year, so after a long spell of decreases in income due to increased insurance premiums (big), loss of travel allowance, cutbacks in paid holidays, increased copays, etc. we at least saw some more pay this year. Over the years the media has mentioned cutbacks like these, and loss of retirement benefits for many, but considering the big hits many people have taken I have to think that the media hasn’t been overly aggressive in painting the economic picture black.</p>
<p>As for the present, we’ve been in retrenchment mode for some time now, so the easy reductions were made long ago. We live close enough to family to make car trips viable but the gas cost is really getting to be an issue, both for me and for family that might opt to come visit. I think that more people are feeling more pinched at present, but there are obviously the ‘haves’ that are doing well. For most of us I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.</p>
<p>If this “recession” had happened a few years earlier, we would be feeling the pain. But luckily for us, our youngest has graduated from college and our mortgage was paid off just before middle child started college. So now that we have an empty nest with no mortgage payments we finally have extra money. DH is retiring in August and has been working from home anyway. I work only a couple of days a week so we don’t even feel the pinch from the gas pump much. I have noticed food prices going up, but then we have fewer mouths to feed. So we’ve been very, very lucky.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, those around us are not as fortunate. Houses in our neighborhood are either not selling or at a fraction of what they were going for a few years ago. Jobs are hard to come by for everybody.</p>
<p>I’m a lawyer. Corporate litigation is slow to a degree that my father has not seen in his 44 years in practice. I know we don’t get (or maybe deserve ) much pity, but a lot of young JDs with heavy loan burdens are in dire straits. Big firms are laying people off right and left, including partners. Real estate and some other transactional fields are very slow, too. Who’s busy? Bankruptcy.</p>
<p>I’m very lucky to be working in civil rights. There’s been no slowdown in discrimination. :)</p>
<p>I can imagine…hard to get financial aid in grant form, so these law students take on debt with the idea of paying it back with $$ from their high paying jobs.</p>
<p>I never answered the original question. The answer is yes. Not as much as others, thank God, but yes. A year ago I left a “very secure” job for something more risky but with the potential for lots of growth. Talking intellectual growth. I had noticed that my employer was no longer promoting education for employees. I saw this as a desire to keep us from asking for more money since we could not go elsewhere without updated skills. I made the jump and wokred hard to get an edge. My wife, barely said a word but I could tell she didn’t like it. 2 months ago I took another job that capitalized on the last years risks. This job is pretty stable…but not ironclad. We relied on my wifes public servant benifits for the last year since the small company I worked for had poor offerings.
I used to take great pride in the fact that all my friends considered me the cheapes man they had ever known. I run a wood stove in the winter to curb heating costs. I cut the wood myself. Make the kids stack it. Do my own yard work. We have several cars but all of them are old. The last 4 vehichles we have bought were used. I make my college bound daughter pay her own gas. She was working right up till the beginning of summer.
I have gotten lazy in my frugalness. But all this talk of the scarcity to come has me antsy. So…I will probably have a family meeting soon and tell the kids that the belt is about to get tightened.<br>
Do I need to? probably not. but the effort will not hurt me. I can remember just 10 years ago when I was pennyless. I didn’t like it and wouldn’t like it if it occured again. Hope everyone adjusts well to the new reality and does well.</p>
<p>The recession does not have quotation marks for me and my family. It is certainly real. Right around the time of the reports of the sub prime mortgage turmoil, the insurance company I was at cut a ton of people as a reduction in force, RIF, if you will. RIF, RIP, Recession, the new three Rs.</p>
<p>So after 26 years of selfless work for this company, and timed exactly when my first (of three) was considering college, a lifelong dream of hers, this soul-less cipher of a Forbes 100 company said thanks with a pink slip. Incredibly, the college my daughter finally chose, initially made no adjustment (after all, I had a severance). Finally understanding that it would not be fiscally prudent to spend the last few thousand we have on college, they made a slight adjustment (better loans (!) ).</p>
<p>No job yet for me after three months. They say that this “recession” might be different than previous ones, especially considering that the economy is much more global now compared to before (1980s, eg). So the lives of families of computer programmers in Bombay are improved a bit, but Joecollegedad is looking at HomeDepot and Walmart, and is fast becoming a former member of the American middle class. If joecollegedad works at Walmart, please keep buying cheap chinese products, so at least he can be employed there as a greeter. :)</p>
<p>I submit that it is better for America that those three American kids to go to college, and Joecollgedad remains joemiddleclassdad. No comment on the Bombayians. Pls support limits on H1B1 visas.Too many H1B1 visas make for an even playing field wagewise, reduces the American middleclass and the prospects of achieving the American dream - for Americans.</p>
<p>[USAJOBS</a> - Job Search](<a href=“http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/]USAJOBS”>http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/)
The federal government is hiring all over the country. And some of those jobs pay very well. This is not a scam site. It is the only way to apply for federal jobs. Even current employees use this site.</p>
<p>In fact if you’ve ever worked in budget, finance, accounting using SAP software (especially Business explorer), my dept wants to hire you.</p>
<p>DH took the retiree package from his “secure” big Fortune 100 company at the end of last year after many, many years with them. He’s been doing consulting and just started a new job a few weeks ago. Haven’t seen that first paycheck yet from the new company (and I do mean new-- its a start-up), but between the consulting and the retiree separation package that will pay him through August or early September, its actually been a lucrative yearso far, as far as income goes. That said, DH put a lot of the money in the stock market, and we have watched it float away. I am self employed, but so far this year things have stayed pretty stable. I count my blessings.</p>
<p>*** edit-- Just noticed sueinphilly’s last sentence. Fortunately, DH specializes in the aforementioned computer software program, so he is doing just fine. Again-- thank heavens some things are in demand.</p>
<p>I expect those Hedge Fund managers, IB bankers who assure their clients their mortgage backed securities and other financial instruments are triple A from Lehman, Citi, Bear Sterns are going be get sued soon. </p>
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<p>me,me,me. I qualify, maybe I should dust off my SAP business skills and move back to the States. ;)</p>
<p>The stock market is officially in “bear” territory now (defined by being down 20% from last October’s high) so maybe we can take the quotes off the “recession.”</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion, jym, my skillsets are rusty to be honest. Out of it for 3 years now. Although if I really want, with my experience it’ll take a week for everything to come back. I don’t know if companies WANT to give me that time. The last time I worked it didn’t feel like it, and I don’t want to lie or pad my qualifications. </p>
<p>Nowadays I am totally out of working for other people, and spend my time working on my health (neglected for many years), traveling and hopefully improving my mind (courses) and giving back (volunteering). If I get too bored with this retirement thing, maybe I’ll start my own little business and watch it grow. The last time I worked was in consulting, working for a very small outfit. The company owed me 10s of thousands of $$ of hard earned money. It took almost a year to collect it all and much aggravation. That stress took a toll on my health. I am almost afraid to work because of that.</p>
<p>Some very touching, heartfelt stories here. I’m wondering what (if any) kinds of reactions your children have had in relation to your family’s plight.</p>
<p>I recall inferring that my family was going through some tough times when I was a high schooler, but my parents didn’t explain the details to me. I could only see the effects on them.</p>
<p>Have you had frank discussions with your kids about how “things aren’t the way they used to be”? If so, how did they react?</p>
<p>It hasn’t cut too deeply for us yet, but we are feeling it. My daily commute to work is enormously more expensive than it used to be. Grocery bills are up. Health insurance premiums are higher. Everything we buy is just a little more expensive–and cumulatively, it adds up to a noticeable pinch in the monthly budget. I’m finding that I have less left at the end of the month now, and it’s harder to save.</p>
<p>My husband is searching for a new job, and it’s very slow. The value of our retirement funds is down significantly. The value of our home is down too. I’m hoping this trend reverses by the time the kids graduate from high school, but I’m feeling very wary.</p>
<p>Yes, Dave, but how can you tell it’s not going to go lower? :(</p>
<p>My H’s father was laid off or working part-time during the recession of the 70’s, and it meant my H had to pay for college himself after the first year.</p>
<p>It turned out to be a good life experience for him, I think…he got co-op jobs and grew up faster. </p>
<p>Of course, back then it was easier to declare independence from your parents and he got a small low-interest loan that he didn’t have to pay back until after graduation.</p>
<p>I’m glad we only have one left at home. It would be hard to explain to kids that they can’t do certain extracurriculars (voice lessons, karate) that cost money & use up gas. And that’s the choice we would probably have to make if we were still saving for college for 4.</p>
<p>OTOH, the kids might figure out how to make extra money to pay for something themselves, if they wanted it badly enough.</p>
<p>DS#2 , sadly, totalled his car a few weeks ago. He was , needless to say, upset, but even more upset that he had <em>just</em> filled the tank with $50 worth of gas! (Lucky the car didn’t blow up or something with a full tank, but he was really upset about that full tank going to waste, or to someone at the salvage yard)</p>
<p>“these law students take on debt with the idea of paying it back with $$ from their high paying jobs.”</p>
<p>Yes, exactly. That’s always been a problem for kids going to lower-ranked schools, which are sometimes just as expensive as the top 10, but only make lucrative starting salaries possible for the academic stars in the class. But now young associates with golden resumes are having trouble finding good work when they are laid off. $100,000+ in debt is no small matter.</p>
) much pity, but a lot of young JDs with heavy loan burdens are in dire straits. Big firms are laying people off right and left, including partners. Real estate and some other transactional fields are very slow, too. Who’s busy? Bankruptcy.</p>