Economy, Good or Bad

[ilovemk76]

Would it be too nosy of me to ask who you work for? I'm a news junkie and live in Alabama, and I've heard of several companies opening plants/relocating plants in Alabama, so I'm curious if yours is one of the ones that was announced recently.

BASF is building a new facility in Alabama that is opening in 2015.

Some time ago, she said she worked for DuPont.

 

[ilovemk76]

The economy can't be bad allover, take a look at the DCL board and the activity related to booking 2015 cruises. There are quotes on there for $20k and $30k for 12-15 night cruises.

ITA

I really liked the itinerary of the 11 night Norway cruise. For DH and I , it would have been ~9K just for the cruise in a veranda (based on what others posted). We would still need insurance, airfare, excursions, hotels, parking and so on. We did not book.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

In our part of the world, it's the dramatic healthcare cost increase that is killing our income. We were nailed with a 63% increase Jan 1 on a 6 month policy, we have been alerted of an additional 44% increase on July 1. Our deductible increased, out of pocket increased, and now our total cost will have more than doubled in 6 months.

My wife's employer announced 700 layoffs(in healthcare of all places), she was proactive and landed another job without much of an issue. I was laid off for 43 weeks, landed a job in November, and went back on temporary layoff from the new firm a month ago. I was able to land a more stable position in the past week.

I just saw gas had surged to 3.79 today, which puts an even bigger crunch on the pocketbook.

I disagree that the economy is better.

10 years ago, if you told me I'd eventually be paying more for health insurance than a car payment, I'd think you were nuts. A couple years ago, it surged right past my house payment. Now, between the premiums, the co-pays, the deductibles, and the co-insurance, I could potentially pay more than double my house payments for the year in healthcare expenses if one of us were to require any tests or procedures. Crazy.

 

[Karlzmom]

While anecdotal evidence is interesting, data say the economy has improved but could be doing better. Unemployment is way down. Wage growth remains slow. Employment growth is not where it needs to be. Some regions are fairing better than others. I'm glad I'm 37 and not 27. I was on my feet when the economy collapsed. Young people got clobbered and their dreams evaporated.

Unemployment being down is due in large part to persons who have stopped looking for work are not counted in the "unemployed" number - kind of perverse when you think about it.

 

[tvguy]

10 years ago, if you told me I'd eventually be paying more for health insurance than a car payment, I'd think you were nuts. A couple years ago, it surged right past my house payment. Now, between the premiums, the co-pays, the deductibles, and the co-insurance, I could potentially pay more than double my house payments for the year in healthcare expenses if one of us were to require any tests or procedures. Crazy.

That would be frightening. When we first bought our house 31 years ago, our house payment was exactly half our take home pay. I would have been over budget if my health insurance was greater than my house payment in those days.

 

[MillauFr]

The economy is booming is Seattle, but that is mostly due to the technology sector. I see lines out the door at the new employee center at Amazon.com. On the other hand old retailers like Sears are closing and laying people off. Construction is booming as they are building apartments and office buildings as I think I counted 10+ tower cranes on my ride to work last week.

My 16yo daughter expressed interest in the health care field which I definitely encouraged her to do so. She won't be outsourced and they are always looking for people.

 

[danygirl]

DS graduated with his BS in December and had a job in January. He said he learned in interviewing that the sequester delayed many contacts as did the gov shutdown and that he graduated just when many contracts were finally up and running.

I think the economy is stagnant. Those with good jobs don't feel it as much as those who are trying to get a foothold. We didn't have raises for 5 years while costs for everything escalated, so we are financially behind compared to 5 years ago and that seems unlikely to change any time soon. They still aren't matching my 401 and almost my entire pay raise went into higher parking fees.

For our family we made some real changes to keep even. I coupon like crazy, we stopped eating out, etc.

 

[crisi]

I sort of wonder how much of people's perception of the economy is colored by their experience.

I graduated from college in 1988. Most of my friends didn't get real jobs for YEARS - until the dot com boom gave us opportunities. My husband graduated the same year, when we got together in 1993 he was just starting his first full time career job out of college - it took him five years to find something and get on his feet. My own career was poorly paid clerical work for the first two years after college - for the first year it was temp work. My dishes still don't match and my furniture is still a hodgepodge - its habit from that period of working temp jobs and not really being sure you'll get another one after this one - why would you spend money on matching dishes? The late 1980s and early 1990s were not great.

But the mid to late 1990s, they were a boom time. For my husband and I it meant we saved a ton of money in a short period of time. And when the economy did its dot com bust/post 9/11 reset, we were in jobs that managed to have some stability and security at good salaries. I can't imagine what my expectations would be like had I graduated from college in 1996 instead of in 1988. Those were some crazy years. When I was working, one of the people who worked for me complained - in 2012 - about her 3% raise. You see, she still wanted the 10-15% raises she got in the 1990s - it had been more than a decade since those sorts of increases, but her expectation was still set at a 10%+ a year raise.

From 2002-2008 things were fairly normal - not great like the 90s, but they weren't bad like the late 80s. However, we now know that it was an illusion of a housing bubble and financial shenanigans, plus a post 9/11 increase in government spending for the war on terror - we SHOULD have reset much harder in 2002 than we did.

To me, things don't look horrible now, but I think I still carry around my late 1980s expectations. I still remember my childhood, when my classmates were getting houses foreclosed on because factories were closing down. This economy has a sense of normalcy to it - which isn't to say its a positive normalcy, but it feels more normal to me than the late 90s ever did.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

That would be frightening. When we first bought our house 31 years ago, our house payment was exactly half our take home pay. I would have been over budget if my health insurance was greater than my house payment in those days.

It is and it's hurting the economy - both from the actual costs that are eating through what used to be "discretionary" money, but also the fear of the unknown. If my healthcare costs have risen this much, this fast, what's to stop them from continuing to rise at an even quicker pace? How can I feel good about spending money if I'm worried about my "fixed" costs rising? Simply put, I can't. And millions of others like me are being equally cautious.

 

[SEA333]

I sort of wonder how much of people's perception of the economy is colored by their experience.

I graduated from college in 1988. Most of my friends didn't get real jobs for YEARS - until the dot com boom gave us opportunities. My husband graduated the same year, when we got together in 1993 he was just starting his first full time career job out of college - it took him five years to find something and get on his feet. My own career was poorly paid clerical work for the first two years after college - for the first year it was temp work. My dishes still don't match and my furniture is still a hodgepodge - its habit from that period of working temp jobs and not really being sure you'll get another one after this one - why would you spend money on matching dishes? The late 1980s and early 1990s were not great.

But the mid to late 1990s, they were a boom time. For my husband and I it meant we saved a ton of money in a short period of time. And when the economy did its dot com bust/post 9/11 reset, we were in jobs that managed to have some stability and security at good salaries. I can't imagine what my expectations would be like had I graduated from college in 1996 instead of in 1988. Those were some crazy years. When I was working, one of the people who worked for me complained - in 2012 - about her 3% raise. You see, she still wanted the 10-15% raises she got in the 1990s - it had been more than a decade since those sorts of increases, but her expectation was still set at a 10%+ a year raise.

From 2002-2008 things were fairly normal - not great like the 90s, but they weren't bad like the late 80s. However, we now know that it was an illusion of a housing bubble and financial shenanigans, plus a post 9/11 increase in government spending for the war on terror - we SHOULD have reset much harder in 2002 than we did.

To me, things don't look horrible now, but I think I still carry around my late 1980s expectations. I still remember my childhood, when my classmates were getting houses foreclosed on because factories were closing down. This economy has a sense of normalcy to it - which isn't to say its a positive normalcy, but it feels more normal to me than the late 90s ever did.

I completely see where you are coming from. I graduated high school in 1994 and found a very good job while paying my way through community college (stemming from a fairly rough childhood...no parental help and very little guidance). Since that job at the time paid as much as I would make after getting my teaching degree along with $50K in student loan debt, I made the STUPID, STUPID decision to quit school and continue working for that company, in a job that I eventually grew to hate, in a field that had a very low ceiling for advancement past a $15-17.00/hr point. Yes, I know better NOW, but back then I was making pretty good money for the time, the economy was booming, I made more money than any of my "schmucky" college friends who were schlepping their poor way through school (ha!! If I knew then...!) and we bought our first house in our early 20's and built a brand new one 5 years later with a $30K profit from the first. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I wished we just would have stayed in that first house!! LOL

I have learned so much since then...and have since earned my BA in business and have a great career now, but it was the expectation at the time, in the mid-90's, that anything was possible for a little amount of hard work. I feel bad for the "Me's" out there that had to learn this the hard way...unfortunately my kids were all born in the tough times of the early 2000's and had to suffer (well, not really *suffer*, more like "1st-world suffer") because of my silly 18-21 year old mistakes. We are very careful with all of our financial decisions now and are teaching them that there are no shortcuts - they have to do it the "right way" because you never know what will happen in a few years.

I almost hope they come of age in a less-desirable economy because I think it will be easier for them than being a 22 year old graduate with all of the world for the taking, and losing it all 10 years later.

 

[Egdisney]

Our mortgage is not considered an expense according to the IRS. The only thing we can deduct is the repairs to the home, etc. I have talked to several tax professionals and unfortunately we don't have any other options. (We do deduct our mortgage interest though). Most people rent a home for more than their mortgage which is how it can be profitable but we are lucky just to be able to rent the home period. Thanks for the advice though.

But you should be able to claim a certain amount of depreciation on the property each year, and if you are paying a property manager, and home insurance, that is all deductible as well. Even if you turn a small profit, it is odd that someone with one rental property would pay much in taxes, especially when they still have a mortgage. I have one rental property for about the same reason as you do, and have read and researched until my eyes bled.

 

[eliza61]

I I have learned so much since then...and have since earned my BA in business and have a great career now, but it was the expectation at the time, in the mid-90's, that anything was possible for a little amount of hard work. I feel bad for the "Me's" out there that had to learn this the hard way...unfortunately my kids were all born in the tough times of the early 2000's and had to suffer (well, not really *suffer*, more like "1st-world suffer") because of my silly 18-21 year old mistakes. We are very careful with all of our financial decisions now and are teaching them that there are no shortcuts - they have to do it the "right way" because you never know what will happen in a few years.I almost hope they come of age in a less-desirable economy because I think it will be easier for them than being a 22 year old graduate with all of the world for the taking, and losing it all 10 years later.

Which interestingly enough is a very sad thing imo. I truly feel bad for the young adults.

I was reading another thread and it seems like if you are 21 and you don't have your proverbial "&^ together you are doomed.
I admit at 21 I was not thinking about retirement, in fact most of my college peers were simply concern about getting entry level jobs. Now I didn't have alot of debt because no one did back then but now if a kid gets a paper route he has to immediately set up a 401K or he has to worry about being destitute in their old age.

Remember the old story about some kid who could take a semester off and go around the country or backpack through another country?

As much as I try and teach my sons the "right" way part of me is sad that now you don't have the opportunity to "fall" down and learn from your mistakes.

I know 2 young ladies who are health care majors and hate it. their passions are else where (writing) but because the economy is so bad they simply want a major that will ensure they get a job. One is a nurse!! Man, how sad is it when your a learning to do some thing you KNOW you don't want to do simply to get a job.

And don't even get me started if your kid isn't 4.0 uber kid. What do we do with all the young adults who aren't STEM majors. Like one of my kids who is an aspie kid. What are their prospects? Now we got my son into a trade (he's a plumbing apprentice) after a dismal experience of trying to force him to go to college, which was a disaster but it's scary.

I've often wondered if dh and I were newlymarried now would we start a family?

 

[sarahk0204]

I sort of wonder how much of people's perception of the economy is colored by their experience.

I graduated from college in 1988. Most of my friends didn't get real jobs for YEARS - until the dot com boom gave us opportunities. My husband graduated the same year, when we got together in 1993 he was just starting his first full time career job out of college - it took him five years to find something and get on his feet. My own career was poorly paid clerical work for the first two years after college - for the first year it was temp work. My dishes still don't match and my furniture is still a hodgepodge - its habit from that period of working temp jobs and not really being sure you'll get another one after this one - why would you spend money on matching dishes? The late 1980s and early 1990s were not great.

But the mid to late 1990s, they were a boom time. For my husband and I it meant we saved a ton of money in a short period of time. And when the economy did its dot com bust/post 9/11 reset, we were in jobs that managed to have some stability and security at good salaries. I can't imagine what my expectations would be like had I graduated from college in 1996 instead of in 1988. Those were some crazy years. When I was working, one of the people who worked for me complained - in 2012 - about her 3% raise. You see, she still wanted the 10-15% raises she got in the 1990s - it had been more than a decade since those sorts of increases, but her expectation was still set at a 10%+ a year raise.

From 2002-2008 things were fairly normal - not great like the 90s, but they weren't bad like the late 80s. However, we now know that it was an illusion of a housing bubble and financial shenanigans, plus a post 9/11 increase in government spending for the war on terror - we SHOULD have reset much harder in 2002 than we did.

To me, things don't look horrible now, but I think I still carry around my late 1980s expectations. I still remember my childhood, when my classmates were getting houses foreclosed on because factories were closing down. This economy has a sense of normalcy to it - which isn't to say its a positive normalcy, but it feels more normal to me than the late 90s ever did.

I graduated from undergrad in 1992, so I know where you are coming from as well. My college was in a factory town that was just starting to recover when I graduated. I went straight to 4 years of professional school, but my friends with undergraduate degrees were managing stores in the mall.

In our area, when the housing bubble burst the pendulum swung too far the other direction. Our modest home that we bought in 1999 is worth about 10% less than what we paid for it 15 years ago. Since we bought before the prices really skyrocketed, it makes me both mad and scared that we will not get enough when we sell when we retire to live in Florida where we want to. We have probably close to 20 years before that happens, but there are no guarantees anymore that things will get better.

 

[OhMari]

I graduated from undergrad in 1992, so I know where you are coming from as well. My college was in a factory town that was just starting to recover when I graduated. I went straight to 4 years of professional school, but my friends with undergraduate degrees were managing stores in the mall.

In our area, when the housing bubble burst the pendulum swung too far the other direction. Our modest home that we bought in 1999 is worth about 10% less than what we paid for it 15 years ago. Since we bought before the prices really skyrocketed, it makes me both mad and scared that we will not get enough when we sell when we retire to live in Florida where we want to. We have probably close to 20 years before that happens, but there are no guarantees anymore that things will get better.

Now would be the time to buy in Florida. Our friend that used to play in a band at DtD and used to play at Universal at Margaritiville bought a $375,000 house for $150,000. But 2 months ago, they did not renew their contract and they will no longer be playing. They are a great cover band, but the bar wants to go in a different direction.

 

[sarahk0204]

Now would be the time to buy in Florida.

I know! DH and I talk all of the time about "if we had the money now…"

I have a friend in this area who did buy in the Kissimmee area a few months back. They still have kids at home, so it is a vacation/rental home right now, but will be the retirement home for her and her DH someday.

Oh well, DH and I might just have to work a little longer to get to FL. We won't give up yet!