How bad is it REALLY?

[Jeff Westover]

How bad is it really out there with the economy? What are the signs you're seeing?

A couple of weeks ago I was driving from LA to Fresno, an area I'm quite familiar with, and I was shocked to see some of the smaller farm town areas along Highway 99 practically abandoned. It really bothered me to see that.

Then, earlier this week, we had a job fair where more than 400 people showed up, which is not unusual. Except that we didn't really advertise the job fair. We just put a small sign up in the shop a couple of days before. We only needed a couple of people this year and --boom!-- we got slammed when all these people showed up

So I see things like that and I begin to think that it's really bad.

But then again, as I got on the plane earlier this week, it was packed with families going to Disneyland. I mean it was like the middle of summer and the airport was like Thanksgiving weekend. The hotel was swamped.

Every Friday night I take my wife out and we go early so we don't have to wait in line to eat.

So how bad is the economy REALLY?

I can't put my finger on it.

[Faith4always]

That's what I'm wondering.
Every weekend, the restaurants/clubs/stores are packed.
The housing market here is booming. There are people buying brand new vehicles off the lots. Diesel at that.
So....I am wondering what's really going on!

[JayIsh]

I think if you have your money in the stock market it's a REALLY scary time...If you just save what you can, buy only what you need and live within your means it's only a scary time...I don't see it as bad as they say it is in my own world though!

[JOHNOR]

i'm not sure how different it is in the U.S to us in the UK, but i would say things aren't good here.

yeah, people are still eating out and going out dancing/drinking etc.. but those with mortgages and cars to run are doing so alot less.

i am sick of filling my car up with petrol, only for it to need filling up again way too soon! my father in law is a self employed painter and decorator, work is slacking, no one seems to be able to afford to get their house decorated. same goes for beauticians/hairdressers that i know, work is slacking.

it's not as bad as the media is making out, but it's still pretty grim. people are losing their homes here because they can't keep up their mortgage payments, interest has gone through the roof!

nobody seems to be able to sell their property as no-one can afford to buy it from them, first time buyers just cannot get a mortgage. it's a vicious circle.

i hope we see a turnaround soon.

[dvdelf]

I cant say Im experiencing anything in the cell phone side of things

[pinkini]

well we went to a resort last weekend in wisconsin - we scaled back a little but kept our plans because we are doing fine right now. the hotel and everything - restaurants, shops - were all packed. so i haven't seen that.

however, i do work for a university and this week we have had 2 large meetings about the economy. endowments for non profits like university are essentially funds.... so the endowment here is very much affected.... endowments fund our operations and our financial aid to students. the univ is on an immediate hiring freeze through january when they re-evaluate the budget.

as such, my husband and i are saving quite a bit right now just in case we find that there are cuts made this winter.

my husband's position is stable but his company is not. it is looking like they will cut another 20% of the workforce at his company within the next 8-12 weeks.

i am seeing the economic affects more in business than personally. but we are setting ourselves up for the worst, hoping for the best.

[Chewy]

Things with me and my fiance havent really been differnt. We were both given raises with in the last month or so at our jobs. On the side i donate plasma so i still go out and spend money..But thankfully i don't have any stock in the stock market i do have 401 k but im only 21 so im a LONG way from retiring(cant spell).

[JanaBanana]

One word- GROCERIES

[George Broderick, Jr.]

I think a LOT of it is consumer confidence... it's often a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you THINK things are bad, you'll act accordingly and things WILL get bad. From my perspective, the only people who are going to get bit are those retiring within the next five years... most 401-K plans lost up to 20%... not a big problem if you can wait things out until the stock market goes back up. In fact, you may be better off. But those folks who are due to retire soon (like my mother-in-law) won't have that luxury of time. They'll take the bite pretty hard.

So you can only spend $20 on a Christmas present instead of $40... is that really so bad? You and yours will still have a wonderful holiday. The only ones wailing will be the retailers and, after working in retail for ten years, I can tell you, they're ALWAYS whining about a "sluggish season".

[SparkleNana]

Interesting thread.

There was a speaker on TV yesterday who said 4 things have carried the American economy since 1980.

(1) women went to work. In 1940, only 1 out of 10 married women worked. Since 1980, almost every married woman has gone to work to help support her family.

(2) Since 1980, as housing prices have gone up, Americans have borrowed more and more against the value of their house just to support their life.

(3) Since 1980, Americans have max'ed out on credit cards to support their life.

(4) I forget number 4.

The expert said, Americans have come to the end of the road on those things and thus the "crash" has begun. Just begun --- he emphasized. It will take several years to bottom out on this.

Cheerful, hu?

[Minta]

One word- GROCERIES

AMEN!!!! Our grocery bill has almost doubled in the past year. With little kids in the house we go through ALOT of milk too.
We didn't take a family vacation this year but a few day trips instead. We have cut back on going out to eat and I am trying more different recipes made with daily staples.
We also have cut way back on un-neccesary spending. Needs come before wants!

[ReineV]

AMEN!!!! Our grocery bill has almost doubled in the past year. With little kids in the house we go through ALOT of milk too.
We didn't take a family vacation this year but a few day trips instead. We have cut back on going out to eat and I am trying more different recipes made with daily staples.
We also have cut way back on un-neccesary spending. Needs come before wants!

DEFINITELY!! That and gas!!!!! Just yesterday, gas prices did start to go back down, but when you live in a metro area like Atlanta full of "super commuters", gas prices really do impact your household. Atlanta is very spread out, and the more affordable areas are farther away from the city. For example: a three bedroom, two bath condo in a DECENT part of downtown/midtown Atlanta (where all the corporations are) would cost you an upwards of a half a million dollars, while the same square footage can be bought about 30-40 minutes away for just $165,000. So pretty much all middle class Americans in Atlanta, like myself live in the more affordable areas, and we commute to our jobs that are in downtown. This nearly 45 minute drive to and from work (with traffic) really makes you feel just how expensive gas is. Groceries are definitely expensive too. My fiance and I have always tried to stay smart about our grocery bill, but now, we're making the craziest compromises! Like...well, we don't really need jelly, we'll just eat peanut butter...or, we don't really need juice right? Water is better for you.

Also, I forgot to mention that we no longer like...go out. We haven't gone out to dinner or to the movies in a very long time. He's 25 and I'm 24 and we're still about 8 months away from having a child, so we should be out enjoying our youth right? Wrong...we can't afford to go out! I think the hike in gas prices and groceries has really put a damper on my social life!

[caseydbell]

I don't mean to sound to positive here, but, if we look at history, the economy (stock market) has done this many times before, it always recovers. if you have $ in the S.M. "fret not thyself" everything will be ok.

As faithmom6 said everything else is doing fine in normal circumstances, I personally believe the media is trying to scare everyone with the S.M. situation, but as I stated before, it has been down like this before, and it always goes back up and satys good.

[Mumof2]

I also think it has to do wih what part of the country you live here in the northeast, we're doing very well. My in-laws say where they live in Louisiana is doing well,I met someone from MI,and they said some states over in that area weren't doing as good as here.

[MrsH]

Here in Southwest Florida things are grim...and getting grimmer. Foreclosures are all over the place. My employer has layed so many people off that the people who DIDN'T get layed off are so overworked that we are all exhausted. We are not getting a cost of living increase, so as the price of food, gas and EVERYTHING is going up, our salaries are staying the same. I know of co-workers who are losing their homes to foreclosure. With everyone tightening their budgets, less people are donating to charities that help the people who need it. Crime and suicide rates have risen as the unemployment and foreclosure rate have gone up. I can honestly say that for the first time in my life, I'm HAPPY that I'm too poor to have any money in the stock market!

[Maebeary]

One word- GROCERIES

That's where I notice it the most.

I do see some eating out less. It seems that the wait is less at most restaurants and we usually go with a big group. I do feel for those on fixed incomes. It can't be easy. It is wonderful seeing gas prices down. I hope that lasts.

[HouseElf]

The cost of living is so high, between heating bills and groceries :-? add the prescription cost increase. Everything seems to have an added cost due to 'fuel surcharges'. I may be driving less, but I still have to pay the gas for most of my items to get to me? Crazy.

I think it is going to hurt.

[HolidayHoney]

One word- GROCERIES

You said it Jana, if the price didn't go up on certain items the quantity went down, for example a 50# bag of dog food has went up $4 in the last 5 months, and yesterday while shopping I saw the price had went back down by $2, however after a closer look the weight was 46#s instead of 50#s. I don't buy the most expensive brands either. ( sorry, this isn't people food, but it does bite into my budget)

[Twinkle]

I am identifying with Mrs. H. I'm also in SW Florida, and things are not good here. My part-time job at the hotel where I work has been cut back from 3-4 days a week to 2 days a week because the biz is just not there. I do live in a resort town so this can make the difference. Yes, a few people I work with have lost their homes to foreclosure. Our local paper, The Naples News, has 5 pages of foreclosures (and growing) listed with only 1/2 page of employment opportunities. Even with that, nobody is hiring in my town unless you work in security or healthcare, and then it's slim pickins. I agree with others here, grocery prices are rising but my income is decreasing. We no longer go out to eat on the pricey 5th Ave but rather look for a Cracker Barrell or Perkins...that is if we eat out at all. There are brand new homes and condos in our neighborhood that sit unoccupied and unable to sell. I've never seen anything like it before. So, to sum it all up, it could be the area in which you live as to how each is impacted.
It will be a very frugal Christmas this year for us.

[Chillywilly]

I don't mean to sound to positive here, but, if we look at history, the economy (stock market) has done this many times before, it always recovers. if you have $ in the S.M. "fret not thyself" everything will be ok.

As faithmom6 said everything else is doing fine in normal circumstances, I personally believe the media is trying to scare everyone with the S.M. situation, but as I stated before, it has been down like this before, and it always goes back up and satys good.


With all due respect. you state that the market has done this many times. If you check history the only time you have ever seen it this bad was the Great Depression. This is something that we have studied. I do believe that we will overcome this state. But it is going to take a while to get there.:cry:

[joyful]

Hubby and I budget anyway so we are use to doing without and we rarely go out to eat so we haven't notice much difference except in buying heating oil and we go through that agony every winter.
It's rare I go to the beauty shop and get my hair done and when I do it's just a cut.
I cut hubby's hair. We don't travel much. We don't replace any major appliance or furniture until it's broken. We did spruce up our house a little bit this summer, it had been badly neglected the past several years.
We don't go to see movies. It's rare I buy any new clothes. We don't have any pets, so there's no expense there. Once main reason we don't have a pet, we could not afford to take it to the vet. Plus we don't want the responsibility. We want to be free, LOL.
So the economy hasn't affected us much because we don't do anything to spend. LOL.
And the area we live in has been suppressed and depressed ever since we moved here.
We have always paid more for groceries than most places. We get no deals on our phone or cable (no cable).
So nothing much has changed or will change for us unless it affects hubby's job.

[trackrebel]

German news reports say, that many car company....even the big ones like Porsche are cutting back....they send their workers to forced holidays, cos the costs are too high.
People are hesistant to buy things and more and more people start saving up their money at home...like they used to.....something the State hates....cos then they can´t cut the tax...and it´s illegal actually in Germany....if I had money on the bank...I´d do the same.

Plus...suddenly many commercials of melting gold from old jewelry come on TV....."get up to 100€ for the old gold of your tooth"

I think...people that are living from their monthy income and don´t have much on the side, are not so much affected by it...but they are very scared

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Track Rebel,we have the gold commercial's here as well and the other day I saw where people are having gold parties where they bring their gold and someone who specializes in weighing gold and telling it's value attends .They get so much of a percentage ,but the people who attend also walk out with a nice chunk of change .Sadly though most of those they talked to said they were using the money to go out to eat,go to a movie ,go on vacation.I'd be afraid of some robber finding out and having all the jewelery stolen.

[pinkini]

trackrebel and ms speedy elf -

we are having a lot of those gold commercials and gold parties here too. wow.

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Too bad I don't have any gold to sell . :lol::sad:

[trackrebel]

I never heard of those gold-parties, tho...wow

I don´t have any gold either

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Like Jana Banana and a few of the others have said I most see it when buying groceries. The gas was way up ,but it is now around $2.85 where it was heading to $4.00. They say that people can't afford NEW car's ,but the funny thing is a lot of the USED car lot's are out of business around here .

We always buy that cheapest product's at the store. I have never had a problem buying second hand clothes.

Always big on conserving energy and water.

[trackrebel]

the only good thing for us in Germany is....the oil and gas prices fell.....if You fill up Your tank You can save up to 10Euros....the Liter price was 1,48Euro to 1,5Euros

now it´s around 1,25Euro to 1,28Euro....also Oil for heating is being bought like there is no tomorrow....people are afraid the prize will rise bigtime again...so they buy it like crazy

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Yeah they said that for those who use oil to heat with the price is going to go up this winter.

[Santa's Helper]

Hubby and I budget anyway so we are use to doing without and we rarely go out to eat so we haven't notice much difference except in buying heating oil and we go through that agony every winter.
It's rare I go to the beauty shop and get my hair done and when I do it's just a cut.
I cut hubby's hair. We don't travel much. We don't replace any major appliance or furniture until it's broken. We did spruce up our house a little bit this summer, it had been badly neglected the past several years.
We don't go to see movies. It's rare I buy any new clothes. We don't have any pets, so there's no expense there. Once main reason we don't have a pet, we could not afford to take it to the vet. Plus we don't want the responsibility. We want to be free, LOL.
So the economy hasn't affected us much because we don't do anything to spend. LOL.
And the area we live in has been suppressed and depressed ever since we moved here.
We have always paid more for groceries than most places. We get no deals on our phone or cable (no cable).
So nothing much has changed or will change for us unless it affects hubby's job.

I'm pretty much in sync with you! My husband and I don't really notice anything at the moment. He's still employed and my work has been swamped for the past 1 1/2 years! We've had overtime forever now. Hopefully it will stay like that. We don't go out to eat or to movies much, maybe a date night every 2-3 months. We aren't deprived of anything but, we do try to save some money. I pay my gas bill all year and go into the winter with a credit so I don't have to pay a big gas bill until Feb. We don't turn our furnace on until Nov. We try to carpool with each other if we can (not that often) but, he's got a big truck so we have a smaller car for him to drive to work to save on gas. We don't let our gas tanks get below 1/2 tank so that it's not so hard on the wallet when we go to fill up. I do all of my errands on the way home from work so once I'm home on the weekends I'm usually in the house until I go to work again. There's no big spending and we don't have kids so we can get away with only spending $70 every week and a half on groceries. We do have a dog but, I wouldn't trade her for anything!!! I'll always find a way to care for her. I don't buy new clothes and neither does my husband except for the fact that he's lost so much weight that we were forced to buy new stuff!!! We go to a local girl for haircuts and it's pretty cheap. We don't have money in the stock market except for my ESOP at work. But, my company is private so the stock doesn't affect our stock as much as it does in the public stock. My husband has a retirement acct. at work but, I don't know what's going on with that. It will hurt my mom for retirement though. She's 62 and has lost a lot of money, she will try to work full time until she's atleast 70 and then she'll have to work part time. Other than that, it's not hit us........YET! Hopefully it won't and things will get better for everyone.

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

Oh and my boyfriend is a mechanic and their work is slow . I mean you'd think that people would want to keep their car's in working order to get the best gas mileage.

Also ,you see a lot of people with car's in their yard for sale. Sometimes one ,sometimes 2 in a yard.

[Santa's Helper]

Oh and my boyfriend is a mechanic and their work is slow . I mean you'd think that people would want to keep their car's in working order to get the best gas mileage.

Also ,you see a lot of people with car's in their yard for sale. Sometimes one ,sometimes 2 in a yard.

My car will be paid off in May and I plan on keeping it for a while. I need to keep it running good! It will be nice to not have a car payment. I see people trying to sell cars too, I've noticed that for about a year though. Mostly trucks or SUV's.

[trackrebel]

yeah...they swallow up tons of fuel

[George Broderick, Jr.]

And yet, yesterday, gas prices were as "low" as $2.89 in my area... :?

[pinkini]

chicago gas price down the street... lowest i've seen in a year...

$3.99 a gallon.

jana, i just got back from the grocery store. $100 even for 2 people for a week. and that does not include the box of veggies i got this morning from the farm... the veggies cost us $550 for 5 months of veggies (1 box a week).

prices are higher here than most of the country (USA) and our taxes are through the roof.

[MerrySilver]

What I've noticed, personally, is that there aren't nearly as many shoppers on a day to day basis than I used to see. My friend's mother and stepfather are selling their gorgeous, expensive house to get their money's worth so their retirement fund isn't threatened. Same friend's grandparents are selling their cottage that they've had for decades in northeast Ontario. :/

BUT gas has gone down drastically...it had been up to $1.36 a litre here but now is 99 cents a litre...lowest it's been in a long time.

[Pam]

So many people here in Ontario have lost their jobs that they cant afford the "luxury" of keeping their cars up and in tip top shape. My hubby is on strike (entering the 9th week) with a company he has woprked for for 30 years. There has never been a strike before now and the reason is because 2 years ago, an American company bought them and they are trying to cut their wages by 25%, eliminate their pensions, make them pay 50% of their benefits..basically if they had of signed the offered contract, they would have lost a minimum of $15,000 per year. The economy is bad here and there is no sign of it improving anytime soon. My advice to those who think they are safe and doing well is to save save save becasue, as more jobs go under, yours will likely be affected eventually too. God be with us all.

[SparkleNana]

Good advice, Pam. What the American company is trying to do to its employees in your country is terrible -- and many companies are doing that in America, also. Companies owned by Americans and also by people from other countries.

I saw a program on the Great Depression -- and they said that the stock market crash of 1929 DID NOT START the Great Depression. That the Depression did not start until the 1930's. And that the worldwide taxpayer bailouts were designed to prevent another great depression from coming years after our recent stock market crash. Trouble is - some of the bailout plans were designed by the same people who led their companies into bankruptcy.

It is amazing to me that the millionaire masterminds of global business -- that they want to cut the wages and cut out the health care and pensions of their workers. (While their own benefits remain safe.) And the STILL expect the workers (taxpayers) to provide bailouts of billions of dollars.

OK, for those friends that I have offended -- I apologize. I treasure the people here for their loving hearts and beautiful spirits. I am sorry that this post upsets some of you.

God bless us all.

[Jeff Westover]

The simple rule of money isn't the same for government and business. In government, you get to pay without consequence. But when a business has to pay more it HAS to respond by cutting hours, wages, and benefits and raising prices. It is either do that, or go out of business.

Not all big business pays their CEOs big wages like those financial companies on Wall Street. In fact, the VAST MAJORITY of them don't. The companies I've worked for over the course of my career I had CEOs who made just barely more than some of the staff.

REAL businesses don't have the luxury of paying their people more. They are paying more for gas and other things just like we are. They are at a breaking point.

[Pam]

Just to make my situation clear...our guys are not asking for anything. They are only requesting status quo.

[auntieclaus]

I work at an Ad agency and things have slowed waaay down for us. However, nothing has touched our lives personally yet (thank GOD). As everyone had mentioned the cost of groceries has gone up, but I pretty good at planning meals that have leftovers.

[Jeff Westover]

Just to make my situation clear...our guys are not asking for anything. They are only requesting status quo.

Every situation is different. I've been in that situation too many times where the company you are working for is taken over by another. There's really only one thing you can do: leave. In fact, RUN. Nothing is going to go your way. And they do it on purpose.

It's not personal, it's business.

[MrsH]

I agree with Jeff on this one. I worked for a privately held company that was bought by a publicly held company. All through negotiations, the new owners were saying, "Everyone will keep their jobs...don't worry". About a month after the sale went through, they got rid of the entire accounting department was laid off. Then they got rid of most of our warehouse staff. Then they got rid of me...the office manager. Then...they got rid of the office. Then the sales people. Finally all of the New Jersey office was gone. Last I heard, the publicly held company went out of business. RUN...RUN like the wind.

[ChristmasLovers]

Our company is seeing bad times as well. I'm in tooling and machining and our biggest customers have either run out of work for us, or are on strike. We haven't had a decent project come in for a couple months now. Hopefully thins will turn around soon. If not, we'll all be looking for new jobs, if they even exist lol.

[Pam]

Every situation is different. I've been in that situation too many times where the company you are working for is taken over by another. There's really only one thing you can do: leave. In fact, RUN. Nothing is going to go your way. And they do it on purpose.

It's not personal, it's business.

Unfortunately, my husband is 4 years from retirement and would lose big time on his pension if he left on the assumption that things wouldnt be settled. We are crossing our fingers and praying. His company has been bought and sold many times over the last 35 years and never have they been treated like this. They have always been treated fairly and with respect. Never have they had a strike til this American company took over. This company took a thriving business and put it into bankruptcy.

[Head Elf]

Somedays I see the hurt the country is in and then the next it seems like nothing ever hit. I was in Vegas this weekend for my nephew's wedding and it seemed that all the "Strip" hotels were booked. Parking lots were full. Most of us know that the Las Vegas Strip is an expensive endeavor, but people were there partying like nothing was bothering them. I know for a fact that it was a $600 weekend for us, and we didn't do alot of the normal stuff in Vegas. We walked the strip and just watched people, boy some of those people are goofy looking. I saw some 70 year old dressed like a 20 year old, (short dress, 3" heels) and all I could say was OMG, WTH. But we knew that money was tight, so we entertained ourselves cheaply. I've got my Christmas Cards designed for next year so that went well.

[Jeff Westover]

Vegas has laid off more than 10,000 people. That big construction project you see there on the Strip is stalled -- can't get short term funding. Things are bad there. If you take a look around most tourists are from out of the country. You might have caught some special event while in town.

[Jeff Westover]

Unfortunately, my husband is 4 years from retirement and would lose big time on his pension if he left on the assumption that things wouldnt be settled. We are crossing our fingers and praying. His company has been bought and sold many times over the last 35 years and never have they been treated like this. They have always been treated fairly and with respect. Never have they had a strike til this American company took over. This company took a thriving business and put it into bankruptcy.

My heart goes out to you, Pam. That's as tough as it gets. Give your hubby a pat on the back from us and let him know we're praying for you.

[Lorn--xx]

I am being made redundant due to the company i work for closing!!! due to lack of money!!!! ....... How RUBBISH! & food and things are more expensive! not going to be best xmas for me if i dont find a job soon!!

[kelly ann]

I am being made redundant due to the company i work for closing!!! due to lack of money!!!! ....... How RUBBISH! & food and things are more expensive! not going to be best xmas for me if i dont find a job soon!!


good luck with finding a new job!!!

[trackrebel]

yup....good luck on the jobsearch...it´s a bad situation right now

[Santa's Helper]

Yes, good luck with the job search. My brother is still looking for a job. He's a mental health counselor and just got licensed and still can't get hired!

[trackrebel]

I´m sure he will find something!!! tell him to keep his head up!

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

I too hope that he finds a job.

[Pam]

My heart goes out to you, Pam. That's as tough as it gets. Give your hubby a pat on the back from us and let him know we're praying for you.

Aww, thanks...you're a dear to care....we'll hang in!

[Sunshine73]

I think things have been getting bad for a while and they're likely to get worse before they get better.

What I've seen...the wages in my area have stagnated, businesses have laid off their workers...my Brother in law is currently laid off, my DH was laid off at the beginning of the year. Thankfully, my DH was able to secure other employment but it's a temp to perm job so we've got our fingers crossed that this economy won't prevent them from taking him on permanently come January like they're supposed to. At the same time, the cost of living has increased exponentially.

People who were semi-comfortable are feeling the pinch, people who were living paycheck to paycheck are floundering. The church where I work has a food pantry. Five years ago we thought we were busy if we served 20 families a month. Now we serve in excess of 20 families each day the food pantry is open. Most of the new people we're serving are people who wouldn't have required the assistance of a food pantry five years ago but due to rising costs they can no longer make ends meet.

There are houses for sale everywhere around here and no one is buying. People are being foreclosed on and having their utilities shut off because they can't afford to pay. Again, there are staggering numbers of people who would, five years ago, would not have been having these issues.

Personally...as I said, my DH was laid off earlier this year and although he has another job it's not a secure job and he doesn't yet have benefits like health insurance so we pray that there is no medical emergency in our immediate future. It would wipe us out completely and then some.

Because DH couldn't find employment locally, he found a job in a nearby town which requires a 30 minute commute each way. The additional expense of fuel and the ever rising costs of food and other necessities has certainly curbed our spending. We don't go out to eat as often and are always looking for inexpensive meal ideas. Our 401K has tanked big time. :(

Fortunately, we never really had a lot of money so it's not like a huge crash for us...just a bit more tightening of the belt, but I fear there's going to come a time when we won't be able to find another notch to tighten.

[Pam]

Hang in there Sunshine...we're all in this big mess together {{{hugs}}}

[ReineV]

My mom had been trying to sell her house for a few months. I told her it was a bad idea. She's a 65 year old woman and owns her own business. Luckily, her business (pre school) is recession proof...because working parents will always need a place to take their kids....unless they ALL get laid off! But I advised her to stay where she is and when the housing market rebounded, she could pull equity from her home to do some extensive renovations to make her house up to par. You can't sell or buy anything major in this credit climate. Banks are refusing to give loans to anyone who has a credit score of anything lower than a 770!

[kerst]

I think things have been getting bad for a while and they're likely to get worse before they get better.




I have to agree with you I'm afraid. Right now it's "only" wall street and the banks who are being hit hard but it will work like a domino effect. More and more business will have trouble finding financing and as prices go up and business slows down more and more companies will get into trouble and have to lay employees off. And then WE, employees/workers will feel the crisis.

So like it's been said before: be careful, save if you can, don't go into debt and pray we'll all come out unharmed.

To those who are looking for work or having trouble paying their mortgage: don't lose faith, don't give up, hang in there .. We're all in this together.

The whole world is suffering from this crisis !!

And thank goodness the Bush-term is almost up !!!