what recession

[eliza61]

It's nice that some people are not feeling the effects of the poor economy but that does not mean there isn't a recession going on.

I agree with the PPs who said just because people are buying doesn't mean they have the actual money to spend. It's called buying on credit.

DH is a and they are closing stations all over the country. That happens during a recession. DH's dept had stopped the plans for a new station. Recession. When public servants are losing their jobs you know we are in trouble.

Big Kudos to your husband. I live outside of Philly and Mayor Nutter is trying to shave money off of the city's budget so he is closing 4 Fire houses & an engine/ladder company.
That is so scary, I can't imagine what those folks in the affected area will do if they have a fire and now have to wait longer for a response.

 

[rentayenta]

Big Kudos to your husband. I live outside of Philly and Mayor Nutter is trying to shave money off of the city's budget so he is closing 4 Fire houses & an engine/ladder company.
That is so scary, I can't imagine what those folks in the affected area will do if they have a fire and now have to wait longer for a response.

Fire always seems to be cut first. DH's city runs lean so he's not worried and he's pretty up the ladder, no pun intended so his job is safe but I feel so badly for those men and women who have risked life and limb for others only to lose their job.

 

[Bobbles]

I have decided to become a conservative because it seems that the conservatives that post here do not see any problems with the economy.

 

[monarchsfan16]

It definitely depends on where in the country you are. The malls are packed nearly everytime I drive by. Sales are lower than they were a year ago, but people are definitely still out buying, and have been all along. Lines in stores are/have been LONG. I went to a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert Wednesday night. It was sold out, and we found out that they had essentially sold out the show that afternoon too, which was only added to the schedule a few weeks ago. I went to a Rockapella concert a couple of weeks ago, that apparently benefitted the Housing Project, a company that builds homes for low income people. The company told us that for the first time in a long time they've collected enough money to build 41 new homes in this area, which means more jobs are just around the corner here (starting in January they said). Oh, and that concert was nearly sold out as well. Many hospitals here are expanding (more jobs), and there are several new big jobs coming into the area. We went to an upscale restaraunt for dinner last night and it was packed. My parents have said EVERY restaraunt they go to regularly (both very casual, and not so casual) is ALWAYS busy. Increases in foreclosures have slowed, and the unemployment rate has held steady (and is far below the national average)

So here, people are spending. People are definitely shopping sales more carefully, and spending less, but they're still spending. I'm fully aware of the fact that it's not like this everywhere, but here, things are reasonably ok for the time being.

 

[Belle1962]

We won't know for sure until the official figures come out but my
guess" is that BF sales were UP --but because more people are shopping DEALS to save $$$$$. I think by the time Christmas actually hits we will see more realistic numbers.

I (and my coworkers) have pretty decent job security---government workers. Every year we "adopt" two children from a local elementary school. This year--the woman who is collecting says she has less than $100.00 from an office of over 30 people. I have been shopping for the two boys from their lists for several weeks (because I do shop the sales) and have spent probably double what I would normally donate (I am a shop a holic--lucky kids). I am a bit disappointed in my coworkers but I do not know all of their family situations--maybe their husband has been/might be laid off or maybe they had unexpected bills. But those of use with some job security may need to 'step up" a bit more IMHO.

I am delaying the start of my long term care insurance and not upping my retirement contribution at this time.

Thankfully my renter seems to be working out so that is some extra $$$ coming in.

 

[anniet]

I opened up my 401k statement the other day.

Trust me, there's a recession!

 

[donaldduck352]

Trust me in Florida the only thing we have is tourism and consruction as our biggest sign of the economy,and both are heading down the drain!!

 

[TCPluto]

Exactly why it all depends on the location. In areas where more people have lost jobs, median incomes are lower, gas prices are higher.....it very much feels like a recession, whereas in other areas, it may not be so bad. I think thats the most important thing to remember, just because the area that one person lives in may have packed restaurants, doesn't mean that the entire country is fine and dandy.

Good point, except to say that Michigan leads the country in all things bad when it comes to the economy.

 

[arminnie]

I have decided to become a conservative because it seems that the conservatives that post here do not see any problems with the economy.

Well I think people who are conservative with their money (many of whom vote liberal) do end up with less problems when the economy goes down.

 

[fkj2]

I don't mean this the wrong way but I'm suffering from donation fatigue.

I turn on the radio and hear "Donate to the food bank." Same on the local news at night.

The Salvation Army bell ringers are outside the stores.

And the mail is laden with charities soliciting; St. Jude's, American Cancer Society, the Rescue Mission, Toys for Tots.

There's always a need at church: food baskets, winter coats for children, special offerings, poinsettias for Christmas, etc.

I know people need help but I'm trying to keep my own head above water and feel overwhelmed by it all. You help where you can but the requests are unending.

 

[IDoDis]

I just picked my mom up from the airport two hours ago. It was dead. My mom said it was dead when she left on the day before Thanksgiving. She said there were only 10 people in front her in the security line. She travels a few times a year and goes to my sister's house every other year for Thanksgiving. She said two years ago, she had to wait over 30 minutes to get through security.

 

[Colleen27]

Also forgot to mention that I got a call from my sister (who lives in Florida - as does my brother) and she told me that my brother had just bought a new house.. I was pretty shocked because I had talked to him less than a month ago and he said nothing about moving or even looking..

So why did he suddenly buy a new house? Because the price had dropped to half of the original value and was just too darn good of a deal to pass up.. Luckily he has the funds to take advantage of a situation like that, but it's just another indicator that people are becoming desperate when they will sell their houses at such a huge loss..

We're in his situation as well. We've been looking for about a month and pending successful well & septic inspections, we've found a "winner". Three years ago, the house sold for 181K. The current asking price is 60K. Forget Black Friday - that's a bargain too good to pass up!

 

[photobob]

Recession? Maybe we should ask the ten percent of our main office who lost their jobs two weeks ago, a company over 100 years old that had never had a layoff before. Or maybe take a gander at my 401k that dropped 12% of it's value in one quarter.

I think lower gas prices, if they will stay down, certainly couldn't hurt. We are a nation of spenders and we just aren't spending like we were. If gas prices stay down we should have more to spend and that is what the economy needs.

 

[anniet]

I don't mean this the wrong way but I'm suffering from donation fatigue.

I turn on the radio and hear "Donate to the food bank." Same on the local news at night.

The Salvation Army bell ringers are outside the stores.

And the mail is laden with charities soliciting; St. Jude's, American Cancer Society, the Rescue Mission, Toys for Tots.

There's always a need at church: food baskets, winter coats for children, special offerings, poinsettias for Christmas, etc.

I know people need help but I'm trying to keep my own head above water and feel overwhelmed by it all. You help where you can but the requests are unending.

I get at least one of those daily too. Since I don't have the extra money to give I did some volunteer work for The Food Bank. They don't need just money and things, often they need volunteers too.

I just count my blessings that I'm not on the receiving end of one of those charities.

 

[arminnie]

The Salvation Army bell ringers are outside the stores.
......

You help where you can but the requests are unending.

After going thru some really bad times I am fortunate to at least be okay at present. So a few years ago I promised myself that during the Christmas season I would always give something to the Salvation Army ringers whenever I passed one.

But the other day I went in one door with a ringer and exited out another door - and there was another ringer. Which was the 3rd I'd passed in about 20 minutes as there was also one at the store next door.

 

[Planogirl]

Texas is supposed to be one those states that is doing better than many others so I can't really say that I know what people are going through. However I do trust actual hard stats before I trust people lined up to buy Wii's.

I was curious when I went to our mall on Black Friday. Lots of people in the mall and in certain stores but in many stores you could have fired a cannon through the place and not hit anyone. Is this a scientific sampling? Of course not but just as good as assuming that the economy is fine because of the Wii lines.

 

[mlynn]

I know around me people are being hit hard. Any body I talked to say the same thing. Christmas is going to be tight this year. It is only going to get worse. I'm trying to find a job. Have been since Sept. There are no jobs.My husband had his over time cut in half. Now I had to take my dd4 down to 3 days in preschool and do hooked on Phonics with her the other 2 days.Just couldn't pay 145 a week. 105 is still a little hard but she needs to go.

 

[ead79]

In my area it seems to be a bit of a mixed bag. There are tons of homes for sale, and many of them seem to have been on the market for a really long time. Some companies are laying people off, but thankfully no one I know has been laid off in this area. As far as Christmas shopping goes, I'm sure that some folks are definitely cutting back. Maybe they used to spend $200 per child and are cutting back to $100 per child. We save up for our Christmas budget each month during the year, so ours is staying the same for now.

 

[MushyMushy]

We went out to eat yesterday around dinner time. We walked right in to Olive Garden, which we have never done before. Olive Garden has always had at least an hour wait, with people standing outside no matter what the weather.

The only really crowded store I saw over the weekend was Barnes & Noble. BUT, we didn't have to wait in line to check out, so maybe people were just browsing.

Definitely feeling the pinch in my neck of the woods.

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

I know around me people are being hit hard. Any body I talked to say the same thing. Christmas is going to be tight this year. It is only going to get worse. I'm trying to find a job. Have been since Sept. There are no jobs.My husband had his over time cut in half. Now I had to take my dd4 down to 3 days in preschool and do hooked on Phonics with her the other 2 days.Just couldn't pay 145 a week. 105 is still a little hard but she needs to go.

I feel your pain.
I have been out of work since July on medical. My DH lost his job the day after we found out I have breast cancer. So things here are crazy.
My company has done 3 rounds of lay offs in the last 6 weeks. Not sure if I will have a job to go back to.