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OT The Economy

B

Benji Smith

Member
I just wondered how the current situation with the economy has affected everyone. If you have had to cut back, what areas got cut.
 
Well,for me i was always smart on how I spent money. I never eat out (maybe 2 times a year)I don't have cable t.v.,I don't drink, wouldn't spend any more then what I make etc.. These days however kind of makes you wonder if you should do anything. Kind of scared to take a risk with any big spending. I always like to restore a tractor every few years,but don't think I will for a while if ever??
 
how has it affected me? well i am down to workin 4 days a week, instead of 5 normal an then my weekend runs, so my income has been affected to the affect of about 1500 a month, i am hoping that i can still pay my bills but i will not have anything left to put in savings or to play with, but then again it could be worse. i still have a job also, so i not complaining to much.
infact at our place of work some of the guys that have been with the company longer are tryin to get them to lay off some of the people that have not been there that long.
i put my input to my boss the other day an told him that i would rather work 4 days a week so someone else doesnt lose there job. i have only been with this company for a couply years an have enough people under me so it wouldnt get to me, but i remember what it was like to get laid off, an it sucked.
johndeeregene
 
Vacations have taken a rap for the last 4-5 years .Now we may go away for a weekend but no more month long trips to Colo.etc.Plans for a newer Truck were scrapped. Am refurbishing the one I have now. Co-pay for Medicine for us is a big obstacle.We both take a handful of Pills daily and I have 3 Shots daily plus a 2mg. Pill to control my Diabetes.I have PAD in my legs and have been in the Hospital 3 times since the first of Sept. for Angioarpathy Laser Treatments to unplug my Femoral Arteries in both Legs.Other than that things are pretty even right now. My sideline Buisness brings in extra income which is welcome with minumal effort on my part which is welcome,but some day it will have to go away,but so will I so not to worry.I'm a Carpenter Union Retiree,my wife is a USDA Retiree and we both receive Social Security and Medicare and pay into Federal Blue Cross/Blue Sheild Health Ins.Our advice for the young,Provide for your old age,it costs more than you can imagine to have a quality life after you can no longer function as you did when you were young.JC
 
I have also watched what I spent in comparison to what I brought home, but last week we were also cut back to 32 hours per week. Thats gonna hurt when your a single parent and a 3 year old. I work for the local CAT dealer as a field tech. and in the 13 years Ive been there it has never been this slow. I really hope things pick back up after the first of the year.
 
I'm an electrician. First time I've been laid off in over 12-14 years. Work has really slowed down here in N/E IL. I've got friends traveling to other states looking for work. Kurt
 
No real changes for us personally as a result of the economy, our jobs are secure. We basically cut down the driving/vacationing due to the high cost of fuel. We stay close to home when we do go out, haven't eaten out much in the last few months like we used to, either.

My father-in-law lost his job when Home Depot closed its store in Bismarck, ND. He hasn't been able to find another job yet, been off since June.
 
I feel sorry for the guys paying payments on equipment right now. People are not hiring them, but the payments are still due. Your hurt by people's machines sitting and not getting worked, therefore, they don't break.
 
I'm doing pretty good on my meager retirement but I made sure I could when i was young.
Could be better if those SOBs would stop stealing Xmas trees from my lot. why would someone with an almost new car steal a Xmas tree.
I bought a camera today to put up this should make them think when the flash goes off.
Walt
 

Got laid off after over 25 years with the company. It was a surprise, saw it coming for a couple of years, constant change in management, company direction and focus, and layoff's every six months. But got a very good severance package.

Wife got laid off last March.

Between severance, savings for emergency, having kept living expenses down, will be ok for awhile.

Of course we will not be helping turn the economy around by buying a new HD tv, new vehicle, or new electronic toys.
 
I have never had alot so I can survive with little. I have been fortunate enough to be healthy, and feel sorry for those less fortunate than me.

Often in life things happen for the not so good, and that's my story. My job has never been big pay, and it sure looks like rough times ahead. I'm a small time contractor, and I'm fortunate enough that I'm way behind on jobs promised for last season. Quite a few have backed off on projects, but repair work is usualy unpredictable, and needed regardless.

Our comunity is getting to be pretty much insurance free when it comes to health care, sad as sad can be. Most folks have no idea what can happen if a major health issue pops up. Many lay in bed at night thinking all is well as they have health insurance. That is probably just as sad.

Other than this computer / internet I do little at all for pleasure. Like I said, there are others far worse off than me.

North East Iowa
 
I guess Ross Perot was partly correct in his statement that passage of NAFTA would produce a "loud sucking sound" of jobs going South. He should have said "All over the world"
Too bad we didn't listen!!
 
Our area is fairing well except for us cowboys, coal oil and gas are king with some talk of actually mining uranium. I would think that Wagner Cat and Wyoming Machinery are still hiring. The oil companies are still planning to drill at the same rate as the past three years, along with gas plant expansion and a couple of more large pipeline projects. For the most part if you are willing and able to work you have a job.But before comming here for a job remember that housing is very tight with alot of people living in Rv's .
 
Right now I am working 7 days a week, super busy cause we have to ship 2 machines before the Christmas break, however----1 one those machines is for General Motors and if they dont pay for it then the company I work for is liked put in tank and I will lose my job. Please say a prayer for me and the other 17 people that I work with. (really scary)
I have some money saved and the wife works and makes the same amount as me. I bought 2 new Chevys last year so I did my part to support the US car industry.
But....interest rates are low and so is gasoline and we are still a free country and Obammy might give me more of my money back after stealing some of it from me. I should get a large tax return, $3000 or so by March I hope.
 
Things are good here in Central MO. I listened to my dad's stories about the depression and took his advise to heart. Went to school, got married, took a full time off farm job, plus worked full time on the farm, in spite of a kidney transplant in 1991. We got the farms and home payed for by just flat out working our tails off. This is the best time ever to buy stuff at bargin prices. Bought the 50 acres to the south this summer and we are now buying 120 of row crop to the east. A recession is only a mental loss of confidence in the system. Look at what the media and the average joe would have you do, the do the opposite.

Gene
 
Things are good here in Central MO. I listened to my dad's stories about the depression and took his advise to heart. Went to school, got married, took a full time off farm job, plus worked full time on the farm, in spite of a kidney transplant in 1991. We got the farms and home payed for by just flat out working our tails off. This is the best time ever to buy stuff at bargin prices. Bought the 50 acres to the south this summer and we are now buying 120 of row crop to the east. A recession is only a mental loss of confidence in the system. Look at what the media and the average joe would have you do, the do the opposite.

Gene
 
Here in Michigan there has been a "giant sucking sound of jobs going away" for several years but this year has been the worst. I'm doing okay for now but our union just warned us friday that we can't expect to make 09 untouched. We just went 4 years with a pay freeze. My Bro in law is a big wig for a local hospital. He said they gave away $70 mil in free care to non payers last year. When the tax base is wiped out the whole state suffers. Mich is borrowing 300 mil to pay unemployment. The crack heads and gang bangers are running the inner cities. Ross Perot was also right when he said something like "the way to pay off the debt is put everyone to work so they're paying taxes". I have to laugh at the idiots on TV when they tell how to "cut back". i e use coupons, buy on sale, pay off credit cards, etc. I've been doing that for years! The best thing I did was bust my hump and pay off my house in 15 yrs-done in Sept! Unfortunately, or fortunately, this house is probably all I'll have.
 
Trim carpenter/cabinet builder here in Omaha, got laid off December 1st. No jobs listed to even apply for. First time in my 44 years-filed for unemployment. They require 2 apps per week. Not sure which 2 I am going to apply for this week, only one even close to my skills. Greg
 
i hope that it does not affect me. I went to walmart saturday-you would never know we were in an economic recession. People as thick as ticks on a coon hound-not sure they were buying or just there for the social experience.
 
Self-employed equipment mechanic. I just finished up the best job I've had in 6 months and that paid $1650. I'm positive I will gross the least this year since I started working. No vacation, insurance and tag both gone on my pick-up, health insurance had to be cut back, fixing to move tag and insurance off wifes Jeep on to something cheaper, every bit of scrap metal around shop was sold when price was up. No jobs around here to even consider, all my contractors are in the same shape as I am nothing to do. Christmas will be lean around my house.
 
So far, for me personally, things are still ok. I guess people will feed their horses regardless. With the drought here, and low hay supplies after last years drought I've been able to hold my price. Sales are brisk and the break in fuel prices has cut my overhead some on what hay Im bringing in. Custom work, skid loader, and dozer work has been scarce except for some government cost share jobs. But, all in all, I've stayed as busy as I want to. With that said, I've noticed that a lot of my accounts are slower to pay than usual, and Im carrying way more people's paper than I like, but the amount Im carrying is actually lower than normal.

I've cut back some, in a lot of areas. When fuel jumped I started driving the car more. Quit buying diesel 500 or a 1000 gallons at a time and bought it for the job when I got the bid. I'm going to cut back on holiday spending too, just to be safe, but all in all, things are pretty ok. I dont owe anybody for anything and generally operate with the philosophy, if I cant pay for it I dont need it.
 
Just paying the bills, trying not to incur any new ones. Hang on guys, it's gonna get rough.
 
Isn't that terrible? I have seen that too, guys want lower senority guys laid off so that the higher senority guys can get more OT. Sick Baastards.
 
They would've disappeared if NAFTA didn't get passed.

It's not a giant sucking sound like Perot said, it's the sound of jobs evaporating and being replaced by automation.

For nearly 30 years we've had 1% annual growth in U.S. industrial output while productivity has grown at 3% annually. Means you need to layoff 2% of your workers every year...do that for 30 years and you get a perception of collapsing manufacturing. In reality, we keep making more stuff with fewer people.
 
If your laws are like ours, you are just required to put in 2 applications per week. Not respond to 2 job listings, not apply for 2 jobs that you have a chance to be hired, just 2 applications. You can send in applications to companies you would like to work for, they might be hiring just from applications. They say only 1 in 10 jobs are advertised, so keep trying.
 
I've heard it said by "experts" giving advice to carmakers they need to get rid of their legacy (retired workers) expense, which is the biggest difference between the newer foreign competition and the Big 3. It's something that GM for instance has 450,000 retirees to support and less than 100,000 active. Talk about being "upside down"! I wonder what the "experts" suggest- "dump" the oldsters? It's a shot across the bow of what's coming with baby boomers coming of (old) age and the social security trust(less) fund.
 
In this rural ag-based part of southern MN, things are going full bore, house builders are booked up solid, ag ecconomy is doing really well, land prices are about double anything I ever saw in my life, kinda hard to find any bargins on anything at all, lot of money out there to spend. The town I live by has 13,000 people 40 years ago, it has less than 14,000 population today. Many, many houses have gone up in that time, and this past 3 years several large housing divisions of 5-25 houses have gone up. An odd stable community that needs more houses for the same total population.....

We figure the end of 2009 it will catch up to us. Enough manufaturing here so layoffs will hit (overtime & temp workers are all about gone....), and the 2009 ag ecconomy looks like it will be upside down so could be pretty lean next year.

Right now, this moment, is about the best ecconomy I have ever seen. I know what is coming as we are not immune, we will get the same in 12 months or so, but today - my gosh, happy days!

Things were very grim here in the '80s when the rest of the country was in it's greed & luxury mode, so it's ok if we can get our time to enjoy too. Much of what the govt is doing to try to help the rest of the country, pretty much wrecks what is working for us - so, we know what is coming.....

--->Paul
 
I'm at a crossroad. The small interior contracting company I work for has a serious debt/cash flow problem. We get paid every two weeks and as of Saturday he's three pay periods behind. I probably have good cause to quit, but am I better of drawing unemployment or having a job and not getting paid on a regular basis? He's trying a couple of joint ventures to help with the money end. If I quit, I doubt I'll ever get my back pay, unless he has a legal obligation. I can retire next fall so that figures in too. I hate being held hostage and not being able to buy the stuff I want--$10.00 is two days to work--not to mention having to take money out of my savings to pay the bills. I guess it could be worse--at least I have savings.

Larry in Michigan

 
Hmmmm, Kinda sounds like what we are all in for with our government-run Social Security. We gotta run our own future, the government screws up 99% of everything they touch. Wayne
 
Got a notice and payment book for my house/farm payment for next yr. and it will be about $80 bucks cheaper than 2008 . Now if I can keep making a few bucks so I can pay it . That extra 80 bucks will come in handy .
 
Part owner of a moving business here in Dallas - business has been slowing down all year - 15-20% since 2007. Had our annual meeting with our CPA last Friday - he said all the businesses he handles think 2009 will be worse and it will be 2010 before the turn-around starts. We have taken pay cuts, evenly divided the hours the movers get, parking trucks if they need major repairs, etc. - but we are still paying our bills on time!
 
When you mentioned that you can retire next fall, the solution became clear. Have him lay you off, and ride the rockin' chair until you can retire. Why work for no money, and have to use out of savings to get by? Might as well get unemployment, mainly so you can leave savings alone. When you say "small interior contracting company", I assume you work on house interiors for new construction and remodeling. Not a very bright outlook for that trade for a year or so.
 
Work for an auto supplier, wife is a nurse. Like others, especially in Michigan, wife and I still employed but don't feel "secure", so we're now carpooling to work, brown-bagging lunches, no expensive restaurants, no discretionary spending (clothes, tools, household items), only necessities. Actually able to put several hundred or so a month extra into savings. Bad times are here and going to get worse.

As others have said, it's psychological now. Everyone is hunkering down and it will take a boost in consumer confidence plus a turnaround in the fundamentals of the economy before things turn around. Expect 5-10 yrs before the "good times roll" again.
 
Termination June 15 this year. Worked for large home furnishing maker, market drop was estimated 10-12% december last year- the 1st quarter drop was more like 20-25% so the 80 jobs cut announced in December 2007 was upped a bit. Terminate senior person and replace partly with lower pay new hire made sense, especially with medical problems -cancer treatments, etc- for senior person. Savings, unemployment, possible pull early retirement from retirement funds should get me through a year or 2. Checking for someplace that wants experienced large mainframe operator and willing to take 60 year old cancer survivor for a couple years. That is a kicker for some jobs applied for. RN
 
I've had a small (one man) company for years, installing & repairing high-end pool and spa equipment on a couple of very wealthy island enclaves. And when I write 'wealthy', I mean that very thing. These are among the places the president comes to fund-raise. The sultan of Brunei has a house there. My last customer just built a tour bus for Tom Cruise, and three months ago I repaired a swim spa for one of Joe Montana's houses. (I think. I sometimes mix up the celebs.)

Last month was my worst billing month ever. By far. For the first time I've had some of these people tell me to hold off doing repair work, leaving some of their equipment actually sit to corrode. Previously these folk wouldn't let their equipment be down for 6 days. Now I've got several who have let their stuff sit non-working for 6 weeks. I've never seen this from these people.

Fortunately for me, I've been trying to move to a sort of rural semi-retirement for a while. I won't starve, and I shouldn't loose any of my possessions. But it sure don't look good for small business folk. Nobody's bailing us out.

Then again, what do I know?
 
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