how is the recession affecting you?
i've been reading all these articles about couples who can't split because of the recession, or loving families forced to live far apart and communicate via skype just to make ends meet, or divorcing couples who fight over who has to keep the house that is worth less than the loans to finance it.
how has this recession impacted your life so far?
i know personally that it forces me to make more pragmatic choices than i am used to. i have to wonder if my job will be cut because even here in japan, people are feeling the crunch and my boss is a bit of a scrooge. i feel obliged to stick with this position on a far-flung island working long hours for a bully of a boss because of the recession. it changes my attitude, it makes me grateful for simple things like bags of rice and tea. i am working on a degree that part of me is repelled by so that i can be more sure of stable employment wherever i am.
so, what about you? has there been a significant change in your world due to the plummeting economy?
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There are like NOOOO jobs to be had since we've moved back to our hometown. DH has been looking for 2 months now, and he's only had one promising lead.
I've had three call backs, so I'm pretty lucky in that respect. But none of them pay well. My car is dead. My BF is moving out here in April and that'll help a little, but he has some issues from his past that'll make finding work in this area difficult. We're just going to be some poor ass people. And I live in a Right to Work state (it should be called Right to Fire Yo Ass For Any Reason state) and that scares me. There are no job guarantees here.
Children, old people, vagabonds laugh easily and heartily: they have nothing to lose and hope for little.
Children, old people, vagabonds laugh easily and heartily: they have nothing to lose and hope for little.
its actualy been great for me! My husband was working as a sub contractor and was getting such little work this was definetly the kick in the ass he needed! Now hes a full time student, and I decided that his laons weren't enough to live on, so I went back to school full time, and now I am actualy beginning the road to be a certified dance teacher, as in classical ballet. Teaching kids in the future obviously in a studio ran by me, but being able to take four dance classes a week *to start* and having all this positive energy around us that we might as well be that chiropractor and be run that dance studio ( I mean, we are tapped into it so intead of it being a reality, its a tangible reachable in our face process) has really made my self esteem soar and connected me back to myself.
I think I have it alot easier than most people though, because for years I have always had to survive on what fate brought to me. Working 100 percent commistion jobs, relying on whoever sees an add on Craigs List, having to be extremly resourceful, knowing how to really stretch money so far it squeaks.
To me, I am so suprised at how risky most folks have treated their finances and I have always been aghast as the sense of entitlement that I see. I have never in my life purchased a article of clothing more than twenty dollars, and drive thousand dollars cars, and last night my husband trimmed my hair, which he has been doing for years so to me, there is always been a recession so I am still just pluggin' along.
Only much better now!
quite honestly. My man was laid off in December. It's only been a month... We're ok for now. But. For how long? How bad is it going to get before he gets a new job? I'm starting my search this week too. But. We have this disabled kid, I'm terrified at the thought of putting him in daycare/danger. For him changes often bring about misbehavior with causes anger and resentment in caregivers. Particularly as he gets older and seems like there's nothing wrong with him, people think he's just being a brat.
We are very fortunate, we do have a little time to sort this out. We already live below our means and have since... always. But there's always that fear when you're living off the reserves, you know? The reason we have the reserves is for times like these.
But hopefully only temporarily while my DH is in law school and I'm starting a business (in Real Estate). So I guess in that respect the timing is good for us. We wouldn't been poor anyway, so at least everyone else is too.
It has taught me a VERY important lesson. I am NEVER going to live beyond my means again. Never. We were making a lot of money before DD was born, and spending all of it, plus some. And why? So we could eat out? So we could go to shows and buy expensive clothes?
In the next 2-3 I expect that we will be making significantly more money. But, we're not moving to a bigger house and we're not buying a new car until we can pay for it in cash. And we're going to save. I also have a goal of buying an investment property for my DD's college money and future children. I figure if I buy something with a 15 year mortgage, I can sell just as she turns 18. That would mean that i would have to buy in the next 2 years, which is probably not realistic, but you get the idea anyway.
Halloween, one week after DD's first birthday... we were optimistic, too optimistic and were a little irresponsible with his severance package. Thankfully he's wicked good at what he does, after two weeks of fun and three weeks of pure terror he got two job offers. He took one, is now being groomed for a promotion that if he gets will actually see us making a bit more than we were - he also has an interview this afternoon for another job.
But it really helps that we've become very good at being broke - though we always have more to learn. It has also made me feel good about what looked like financial failure a year or two ago. We are a cash family, we lost nothing in the markets, we don't have a mortgage, we don't have expensive hobbies or lots of "toys", our debt load is reasonably small and last year I finished paying off one of my two student loans.
And, if all else fails, we'll move to the east cost somewheres and get a tiny patch of land to live off of. We've been researching self-sufficiency for years and it is not so daunting that we couldn't do it if we had to. I am happy we will likely have another year or two here, though, since I have yet to actually grow a viable vegetable garden.
basically because we were young and poor with kids, and learned how to live on very little. We don't spend a lot on non-essentials. But definitely feeling the pinch. The recession is affecting me by causing me to hold on to my job, because we really can't afford for me to just work at my bookstore now. Have to pay essential bills, get caught up on bills, and so forth.
family earthprint
Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness. ~Seneca
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