How has the recession affected your life

[exdetroiter]

I don't travel as much as I use to and I think long and hard before making purchases. My grocery bill has increased and I'm still getting the same amount of food.

[jams]

You can still afford food?

[bailey]

I know this thread will spiral into negative territory...but, my household is of the d.i.n.k. variety...with no plans of kids anytime soon. Both of our jobs are stable, however, raises and bonuses were non-existent this year. That aside, due to the down economy, we have actually been able to make several large purchases we had been putting off or saving for as the prices and terms of the purchases have become so favorable. A somewhat silver lining is that it is truly a buyer's market out there for a lot of stuff.

[Papasito]

How has the recession affected your life

Unemployed for over 2 months. Applied at over 150 companies.
When is our government going to stop pimping Insurance and start fixing our real problems?

[ndavies]

I lost my job in November. I had to move out of state after 6 months of searching locally. I accepted a job paying 20% less and having 1/2 the number of vacation and holiday days off a year. The rest of the benefits were about the same.

It however was not all bad. As an engineering contractor to Chrysler, I knew the job would disappear well before it happened. I had significantly reduced my expenditures before hand and was able to pay all my bills with unemployment while I was searching for the new job. I avoided dipping into my savings or taking on any additional debt. I ended up with a nice 6 month vacation. I spent most of the winter snowboarding. [[I even managed a few trips up north and out west.)

[Diehard]

Anything that breaks in our house either stays broken, gets duct-taped or goes away, but nothing is replaced. We have no dishwasher and use a clothesline instead of a dryer.
I wait for a sale at Salvation Army when I need "new" clothes.
We've taken no vacations for about a year and a half now [[last time was when my husband was still employed).
I planted a bunch of fruit and veggies in the garden and have been getting great free produce all summer. I think I would've done that regardless of the economy.
The latest need for car repairs fell under the if-the-breaks rule, so I take the bus to work.
We take a six-pack and some grillables to a friend's house a lot more often, instead of going out.
The more I think about it, it's pretty pathetic, and I still have a decent job.

[exdetroiter]

Unemployed for over 2 months. Applied at over 150 companies.
When is our government going to stop pimping Insurance and start fixing our real problems?

Sad to hear Papasito, but I will say our government has extended and increased the amount of unemployment. I don't know how they can create jobs. Maybe you should try applying in other states. I found the job market to be quite well in Texas, while the cost of living is lower [[you don't even have to pay state taxes).

[Detroitej72]

How has the recession affected your life?

1. Got laid off.

2. Have to listen to right wing clowns tell me "there are plenty of jobs out there, people are just too lazy to work".

[gazhekwe]

More of my fixed income is going to pay my portion of our health care premiums so my checks have gotten smaller in both of the last two years. I'm anticipating another drop next month. Luckily, my husband is still working at his dream job, and still doing OK. His office employs five people who have not had to take any cuts either. Cars and house are paid off, so that helps a ton.

[UFO]

well. I remain unemployed almost 2 years now. But you know what? I sure feel luckier than some people even though I am facing homelessness.

I feel luckier than these people.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539121,00.html


You want to save jobs Mr President? Stop listening to the San Fransisco idiot and the other morons in congress and help these people out.



%40 unemployment, food lines, 100,000's of acres of land going to waste to save a damn sardine.

[Grundyke]

Sad to hear Papasito, but I will say our government has extended and increased the amount of unemployment. I don't know how they can create jobs. Maybe you should try applying in other states. I found the job market to be quite well in Texas, while the cost of living is lower [[you don't even have to pay state taxes).

I think you meant to say you do not have to pay state income taxes. I agree though as I love Texas and have been considering moving back there. Spent half my life there already.

[ccbatson]

It got us all a huge debt thanks to government spending justified by the lie that spending would make things better, when any economist with a grasp on basic common sense principles would tell you the opposite was true.

[Detroitej72]

It got us all a huge debt thanks to government spending justified by the lie that spending would make things better, when any economist with a grasp on basic common sense principles would tell you the opposite was true.

So, it started back in Aug. of 2008, with the great Republican Gift to Wall Street?

[ccbatson]

Yep, and went rapidly downhill from there...accelerating at light speed with Obama. Remember that Paulson was no conservative.

[Detroitej72]

Remember that Paulson was no conservative.

But he was[[is) a good Republican, as far as the party is today.

[ccbatson]

Look again, the party is revitalizing as less moderate and more conservative...he, and others like him, are rapidly becoming old news [[thankfully).

[Detroitej72]

Now they are just becoming more radical and racist with lier's like Palin saying that the Dems would kill her baby under their health care plan.

[ccbatson]

She [[Palin) is correct again...witness Holdren [[Czar of something) an advocate of population control with contributions to published works endorsing involuntary and even clandestine sterilizations and abortions.

[Detroitej72]

She [[Palin) is correct again...witness Holdren [[Czar of something) an advocate of population control with contributions to published works endorsing involuntary and even clandestine sterilizations and abortions.

Spoken like someone who has never taken the time to actually read the president's proposal, but instead relies on Republican sound bites and Fox News lies.

[ccbatson]

She [[Palin) is referring to the inevitable and escalating government rationing implicit in Obamacare. The framework for said rationing is the collection of patient data via central EMRs so that "need" and "efficacy" and "cost effectiveness" can be used to deny treatment to those deemed less productive/or less potentially productive...such as the disabled and elderly.

[wolverine]

Basically was unemployed 4 months after graduation. Managed to snag a good job out of state with the help of a friend. So many wasted paper resumes sent out before that. Still nervous though, it really doesn't take much to go back to nothing.

[ZRX Doug]

Spoken like someone who has never taken the time to actually read the president's proposal, but instead relies on Republican sound bites and Fox News lies.

What proposal? Obama keeps handing out talking points of his dreamy healthcare plan, but that's all they are..no real plan exists at this point other than those created by idiots like Max Baucus, which have yet to be [[thank God!) agreed upon by anyone.

Obama sounds like a guy telling his children all about the new home he's building for them, describing the central air and other nifty doo-dads it'll have..never admitting that not only is he not an architect, but that the friggin' blueprints aren't even started yet, and there's no money to finance the project.

Back on topic..the recession has pretty much cut my customer list in half..my bikes have all remained parked for the past year 'cuz groceries & other silly stuff like that seemed more important than motorcycle insurance..the usual little cutbacks in everything else..I still shoot every week, but the shotguns have been parked and the elderly Mosin-Nagant rifles have replaced 'em, as ammo is so much cheaper.
Found out last winter that turning the heat down to just above freezing and using a small ceramic space heater in whatever room I'm in saves a lot of bucks on heating..

[carolcb]

Husband lost job of 23 years in December of 2007. His parents are 87 and 86 so I guess it is a blessing in disguise. Still have three kids in college, so some of our credit cards are higher than I would like, but thankful that youngest got Pell grants. I still have a good job with good benefits but working for a wage that I made back in 1986! I am not making this up. But our health benefit cost is worth it [[$32.00 twice a month that covers the four of us). We received no increase of any kind last year since it is government. Youngest kid is also getting 1/2 off tuition at state school. But we have canned beans, made salsa, made relish, ate corn and beans fresh all summer. I refuse to be afraid, went through this kind of fear before when I made a lot more - and I thought, I will be damned if these people will make me fear for my family. If we have to, heck, we can start a family commune! My mother is 93, and so I know things could be much much worse than this. I am not complaining, just stating facts. I still have faith in Obama and his choices and have faith that things will continue to improve. Oh and my two youngest have ditched cars and are now riding bicycles. My car insurance just went down $160.00 a month because of that and the fact they are in school.

[oladub]

I realize that there are many reasons why it is impossible to move including family situations and spouse's job, but for some people such as recent grads or singles, this has always been a logical thing to do. Has anyone considered, for instance, moving to Bismarck? It must be easier for some people to find a job where the unemployment rate is 3.6% than 15.2%.

One of my best friends from high school/college made the move from Harper Woods to North Dakota and seems to be doing quite well. I can't speak for Bismarck but it just about shined as seen through the winds of a Greyhound. Of course, you would also have to put up with a low crime rate.

[ZRX Doug]

Man, it took me the better part of twenty years to finally OWN this house and to set it up the way I like it..moving is not an option. Too many heavy car & cycle parts & tools for a U-Haul anyway..I'd have to rent a gravel train or something..