Is the Recession over in YOUR house?

[Pooh_Friend#1]

No, it is not over in our house. My DH is still unemployed and has been since April 2008, after a year of job searching, we figured the time spent is better for him to go to school and get a degree so when the economy picks up he will at least have that working for him. We have learned to save money by not using the AC, not going out to dinner, getting rid of the home phone, no cable, etc. This winter we will make sure to have lots of blankets, sweatshirts, and sweatpants hanging around the house to save on heating.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

It is not over in our house and I fear that we will lose our home very soon.

I don't dwell on it because we can't change it.

I have been laid off now for almost a year (NOV.) New Jersey's job market is in the you know what.

Unemployment is at an all time high and it is going to get worse.

OP I don't 'mean to take over your thread but for those that said it didn't affect them....How many are in the Military or work in the Medical field?

 

[wvjules]

It is not over in our house and I fear that we will lose our home very soon.

I don't dwell on it because we can't change it.

I have been laid off now for almost a year (NOV.) New Jersey's job market is in the you know what.

Unemployment is at an all time high and it is going to get worse.

OP I don't 'mean to take over your thread but for those that said it didn't affect them....How many are in the Military or work in the Medical field?

Not in the military but a contractor for the Army. I feel my job is very secure right now. A competing contractor is heavily recruiting me at the moment so if this current job goes south I am 90% sure I'll have another job quickly.

 

[luvmy3]

Yes, dh just gave me the go ahead to call for some estimates to do some major improvements on the house. A year ago he wasn't willing to take cash out of the bank just in case, but now he's okay with it, plus he wants the tax credits this year

 

[luvsJack]

It is not over in our house and I fear that we will lose our home very soon.

I don't dwell on it because we can't change it.

I have been laid off now for almost a year (NOV.) New Jersey's job market is in the you know what.

Unemployment is at an all time high and it is going to get worse.

OP I don't 'mean to take over your thread but for those that said it didn't affect them....How many are in the Military or work in the Medical field?

I am so sorry about your home. I hope that things start looking up for you very soon.

 

[MerMom60_94]

DH and I have felt minimal impact from this recession. We have had to cut back on some things like going out to dinner, but I think that has more to do with having a teenage daughter than anything with the economy. Teenagers can tend to be expensive - clothes cost more, more activities, toys cost more, etc. Keep in mind that he and I live life fairly simple to begin with. We have a small 2 bedroom house that will be paid off in a few short years. We don't drive fancy cars - nice but not upscale. We both have decent incomes but have never lived as lavishly as we could so the down economy hasn't cut into any of our necessities. We both grew up in the 70s and I think the economy was worse then but the American lifestyle was simpler and people were accustomed to living at a lower standard and doing without a lot of things that are considered essential now. I remember my father got laid off back when I was in high school and couldn't find a job so, after a couple of years, he went to college on the G.I. bill and got a degree. Then he got a job again after graduation. I feel bad for those of you who are faced with that situation now. It's a scary situation to be in. I hope things get better for you soon.

 

[stacy347]

Another MI resident here and a very emphatic NO to answer your question.
Things are very rough here and they will be for quite a long time to come. It was actually just announced a couple of days ago that yet another factory is shutting its doors (this one happens to be in our township).

I have a stable job but I'm in retail so don't make a fortune and DH was lucky to get a supervisor position in a manufacturing facility after his entire dept. shut down at Ford.
However, his supervisor position pays about 40% of what he made on a parts line at Ford and that is just the way it is around here.
The people who got these jobs are grateful to have them but our lives have changed drastically in the last couple of years.

My FIL is retired from Ford after 37 or 38 years and he worries everyday that they will lose benefits (they already have lost some). My mom is on disability
and can't ever hold a steady job again ~ she lives with her BF (she refuses to get married again but it sounds so funny to say my 60ish mom has a boyfriend, LOL) and he works construction. This would normally be his super busy time with the awesome weather we've been having and yet he hasn't had a single job this week and only sporadic ones before that.

It is scary to think that our parents may be in a bad way before we even get our kids off to college.

The only reason there is even a ticker in my signature is that my kids all voted to give up the traditional Christmas and get Disney tickets and we are getting a great rate for the hotel. Bless those kids because we all need the time away!

 

[MerMom60_94]

It is not over in our house and I fear that we will lose our home very soon.

I don't dwell on it because we can't change it.

I have been laid off now for almost a year (NOV.) New Jersey's job market is in the you know what.

Unemployment is at an all time high and it is going to get worse.

OP I don't 'mean to take over your thread but for those that said it didn't affect them....How many are in the Military or work in the Medical field?

Mickeyistheman, I am sorry to hear things aren't going well for you. In answer to your question, my DH is a firefighter and is senior man in his department. In fact, he is contemplating retiring in the next couple of years. I work in financial services. My company services mutual funds and I work on projects so even if people are selling rather than buying we have work to do, if that makes sense. Also, I still have a job because I work on projects such as fund closings, fund mergers and conversions, etc. that doesn't mean things won't change for me, but for now I have remained safe.

I hope things turn around for you soon.

 

[HM]

I voted no. But we've never been hit all that hard. Just some slight changes that will continue into next year at the very least.

 

[sbell111]

Other than some stock rebounds, we haven't seen any good news. Our expenses continue to rise and we haven't seen raises in two fiscal years. The next one isn't looking good, either.

 

[4forMe]

No, the recession is not over in our house. DH is a small business owner. Last year, his income was down 12% from the previous year. We are guessing this year it will be down at least 20% from last year. He has had to cut his staff's hours. He is home more often as well. Our expenses continue to go up as we have all 4 kids in various sports. We have had to cut back on other things.

His business will not improve until the unemployment rate goes down. From what I read yesterday in the newspaper, it may take four years for the unemployment rate to go back to 5%. They are estimating unemployment will hit over 10% by the end of this year.

 

[kiddo76]

We are fortunate in that we haven't been affected by the recession. We have always lived below our means and our income is steadily increasing.

Same here. Last July my job changed from part time (30 hours) to full time. Then in August I was able to negotiate a substantial wage increase when I had another job offer. In March when our union contract was signed, we had a 3.5% increase retro to July 08. Then we just had another 3.5% in July 09. So since last summer my income has increased by almost 75%.

DH works for Dept. of Defense with a very secure job. We primarily live off of his salary and sock mine into savings. The only adjustments we've really made is DH now carpools with a few guys. He started when gas prices skyrocketed but he's continued to do it because he enjoys it, it saves us money, and it's better for the environment.

Since we are financially secure and have always been savers, we've been able to take advantage of some great deals lately, such as a new car, a new TV, and now a trip to Disney.

So we have not been personally affected by the recession and not because we are living in a bubble, but because we've always lived modestly and are fortunate enough to have very stable jobs. I feel very thankful and blessed for our good fortune and hope things turn around soon for everyone.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

luckily, never really hit us (area has not been as hard hit as others, and DH does DoD related work, we live within our means all along). We have been extra careful with spending though just to be safe, while still trying to spend to keep economy going and help - like frequenting local restaurants and businesses.

we have taken advantage of some deals as far as entertainment, got a great price on Cirque/Allegria ($25!!!) the other day (wouldn't have gone otherwise) and just got a great offer to see the Lippanzaner (sp?) Stallions. These are extras we wouldn't go for without the great offers. This way we can still do fun things with DD without feeling guilty.

we hope it is truly over soon for everyone!

 

[FINFAN]

to all...unfortunately it looks like the "no's" out number the "yes" 2 to 1..sad2: perhaps the criteria the Government uses should be tweaked a bit. Hang in there everyone, I would like to thank you for voting and for the civil and polite posts.

 

[brios86]

I work in Family Services with Medicaid, Food Stamps, TANF, etc... so with the recession we are actually busy like crazy. I was hired in March with about 20 other people and we are hiring another 20ish this month.

 

[Silent1CB]

Yes & no. While our income was never in jeopardy, our willingness to spend as we once did has been greatly curtailed. Its been only things we need and things we should do like home improvement & maintanence. We've been doing our part stimulating the economy that way, but with the increase in prices of everything, our pay just isn't going as far as it used to so that is hurting too. Once the projects are over, it will be back to replenishing the savings instead of spending it.

Thankful for no longer having debt, just would really like our savings and investments to come back to where they once were.

No spurges this year like trips except for $9 airline tickets to Baltimore that we are doing as a daytrip. Not even staying over.

 

[Aisling]

Not in the military but a contractor for the Army. I feel my job is very secure right now. A competing contractor is heavily recruiting me at the moment so if this current job goes south I am 90% sure I'll have another job quickly.

My DH is a CAD-CAM designer for a metalurgy plant that has the Navy as it's no.1 customer. He's been with this company right out of engineering college, 28 years, and he's the senior designer. Because of this, I never had to work, but I did (in the medical field) but quit 3 years ago to be a SAHM. We've been very lucky that business is booming, but with military changes the govt wants to do, i.e. cutback, I pray it doesn't affect the Navy contracts which have kept this business so prosperous for so long. It's starting to scare me. We may be late-starting being hit by the recession.

 

[crazelion]

I am blessed to have 2 jobs right now. I am teacher and concession stand manager.

Yes I am have so money problems right now but I am not drowning either.

My answer is no.

My goal is go free vacation in 2010 with many reward programs. Already cash in for free tickets for US from mycokerewards.com .

 

[Carly_Roach]

Checking in from the great state of Michigan. We have been in recession for YEARS now, and it is nowhere near over. You know it is bad when even hospitals are laying off employees.

Not to mention fire stations shutting down, police officers being laid off and state workers next on the chopping block.

Michigan isn't in a recession: we're in a Depression. We have a constant 15% (reported) unemployment rate and closer to 20-25% (unreported) unemployment rate. People just fall off the roles. They're not employed, they're just not counted since they're not receiving a check.

But, on the bright side, we've had to learn the hard way what's truly important in life: food, clothing, shelter. Everything else like health care, leisure activities, and credit cards is pure luxury. Once you've learned to live without those things, the need for them fades away. It's harder for the media to scare people who've already been through their worst nightmare which is probably why the Swine Flu thing hasn't gotten much traction up here.

 

[eliza61]

Not by a long shot.
East coast is typically very slow to recover. We are very blessed that we did not suffer any job loss but my retirement savings is down 33%. since I'm 50ish no way will I recover that, my kids college funds took a catastrophic hit and my value of my house is waay down.
No one I know who lost their job has found a new one any where near the old salaries. A few have take walmart level jobs just to have a bit of cash and they can't move because the houses have sat on the market for almost a year now. Very sad

Philly just escaped what they had been calling a "doomsday" budget. They were 1 day away from laying off 800 police and firemen plus 1000's of city workers. They got permission from the state at the 9th hour to raise the sales tax 1%