Are you enjoying this recession as much as I am?!?

[Terri]

I bet THAT made you sit up and look!!!! ;D

Yeah, I know. I look at the 401K as little as I can stand, usually with just one eye open, and I kick myself for not selling earlier. MUCH earlier!!!!!!!!

I used to read the paper every morning, but the news has been like watching a slow-motion train wreck so I eventually stopped taking the paper. There was nothing I could do to stop the road the country was on!

Then again, now that things have crunched, my skills get a little more respect, the conversation on these boards is more interesting, the government is making fewer horrible decisions, and I MIGHT start taking the paper again!

The truly HORRIBLE ads on the radio that say "We will loan you 125% of what your house is worth, even if you have bad credit" are all gone. My parents (the really smart guys) are predicting that the recession might be at its worst already.

I hope so. I REALLY hope so! Because, I am slightly disabled and it would be really, REALLY bad if DH lost his job. His job is PREOBABLEY safe until June, but then it might depend on the economy.

In the mean time, my skills are more badly needed, and I feel validated when I order seeds and such instead of just thinking "I am the only one who values this. DH just wants me to be happy, and the kids really prefer McDonalds".

For a change, other people value my skills, and no longer just assume that food magically appears on the table. Not on their tables, and not on mine.

[fancyfowl]

I think it could get worse for some people in some areas of the country. It hasnt seemed to hit this neck of the woods as bad as in some other areas. The msm does its darndest to make everyone think we need more government in our lives to help us, phooey.

I do believe you are right tho, those of us who have worked at getting by will do just fine. We have the skills to keep on keeping on, some just dont get the idea.

I will say my perennials & shrubs were moving slow this past season but the veggies did just fine. Will be growing more of everything in '09. The gun sellers seem to be enjoying a pretty nice upswing in sales and those who repair things and deal in used merchandise/parts might get a boost too.

[rivahmom]

I'm enjoying it. People are selling all kinds of things on the cheap right now just to stay afloat and I'm able to stock up. I do not believe we have seen the worst of it. The numbers for last quarter don't come out until the end of Jan or Feb. I think that is when the real panic is expected to hit Wall Street. The issue of the increased hyperinflation is also worrying many in foreign countries. Obama is going to be quite busy his first few years.

[EarthMama]

I bet THAT made you sit up and look!!!! ;D

....the government is making fewer horrible decisions

This last statement is truly what made me sit up and look!


::)

Lord have mercy.... with all these trillions of dollars in bailouts, approved by the government which is going to throw us into a full-fledged depression, I don't see how the government has made any less horrible decisions than they have in the last 2 months. I think even for them, the horrible decisions of the last couple months has been a record!!!

What started out as a $700 billion bailout has now ballooned into trillion$. Seemingly overnight too. First it was the banks and now it's the auto industry and what did I just read the other day... something about bailing out the folks who were hurt by that Madoff character, on Wall Street??!!

I may not mind this recession too much but... I'm hating the solutions to it already!!

solutions = more taxes out of my pocket

The folks in this country must enjoy bending over and grabbing their ankles. And if they don't, they'd better learn to enjoy it real quick!

:-X

[GoodDaughter]

well, yeah, the government at all levels is making one horrible mistake after another, and what is so baffling is that there appears to be no rhyme or reason for any of it... don't try to think about who the decisions are going to affect or even if they are going to work or not---hell, just throw it out there and see what it does. Thank goodness I don't live in New York, because as I was ranting the other day on another thread---I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO KEEP GIVING THE GOVERNMENT MORE AND MORE AND MORE!

I was talking to a friend today about all these 88 or so new taxes the people of New York are going to have to start paying. Taxes on soda, on their vehicle registration, movies, taxis, all sorts of services.... I wonder how much extra all those are going to cost the average New Yorker on a daily basis? We hear how people in New York take so many taxis, buy so much fast food and go to restaurants, movies... think about it, and then multiply that by say 5x for one work week, then x that by say 50 work weeks a year.... I could easily imagine it would run into the hundreds of dollars in added taxes for these people.

And we have the so-called president elect hatching one cockamamie scheme after another, all with conjured up 'money', appointing foxes to watch the henhouse... I'm telling y'all...what's good for New Yorkers is very quickly going to be seen as good for Californians, then Floridians, then Texans.... And I don't have it to give. Sorry Mr. President-elect, I ain't got it to give you.

Guess I'll go feral. Then see how much they collect off me.

Think the local gvmt. will take coon skins and eggs as payment? >:(

[leera]

I think the worst has yet to come........I live in MI......if the auto makers go under,so does the entire state......

But even if they get a bailout,I don't think it will fix anything.....they want the money so they can keep running,but WHY?

Why keep building cars and trucks that no one can afford to buy?

I understand how the whole thing works,but no matter what they do,if people don't buy the cars they build,it's not going to save the companies....

[fnfredux]

You know, you GOTTA WONDER, WHERE ARE THEIR(GVT) BRAINS???
The whole problem is too easy credit...what is their 'SOLUTION"?
To make it easier and cheaper to get MORE credit.
Just what is going on?
I do believe this country is in much deeper trouble than the GVT is letting on, and they are exacerbating the problem by using INSANE economic models that they contrive to justify their ineptitude.
We are toast, especially those of us near retirement that THOUGHT they would FINALLY have it "easy" after a lifetime of doing things "the hard way" in order to accumulate a little nest egg.
A life of "thriftiness" and I'm about to be rewarded by a devalued dollar and a whole lot of new taxes.
Yeah, it really PAYS to do the right thing, it doesn't pay YOU, no, it pays the people (the majority) who did the WRONG thing.
I cannot wait to see the FEDs next move, maybe it will be below zero...we'll be charged for having funds that we could be SPENDING...
It will forever be etched in my memory... Bush's comment after 911, about all the "cash hoarders"... well now I guess they will TAKE it from us, the savers to give to the spenders...the new economy, piracy by the GVT.

NO I AM NOT ENJOYING THIS RECESSION... I have a very bad feeling about what comes next, too.

[Michael32170]

I agree, the worst is yet to come. But, it may not appear for 12 to 24 months away. When the new debt rules start taking thier toll on banks and people.

The banks are not lending money right now becasue they can't quantify the risks.

The eventual outcome of this is much higher interest rates for everyone to cove those who don't pay.

[Michael32170]

And, here is the catalyst:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYwf__n6Au_M&refer=home

They always try to make a successful system into a welfare program.

Obama Says Schapiro Will Reshape SEC Regulatory Framework
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By Hans Nichols and Jesse Westbrook

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama said his choice of brokerage regulator Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission will help reshape regulations to make sure they meet the demands of modern financial markets.

A top priority of his administration will be to “crack down on the culture of greed and scheming that’s led us to this day of reckoning,” Obama said this morning at a Chicago news conference where he also named Gary Gensler, a former U.S. Treasury undersecretary, to be chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and economic policy adviser Daniel Tarullo to fill an open seat on the Federal Reserve Board.

Shapiro is likely to promote an overhaul of the nation’s financial-market regulations, including a possible merger of the SEC with the CFTC, which has jurisdiction over $5 trillion in trades.

Schapiro, 53, will inherit an agency that’s become a flashpoint for criticism of the government’s failure to prevent the financial-market meltdown. The SEC is under fire for not halting the collapse of two of the nation’s biggest investment banks and missing a $50 billion fraud.

“It’s going to be a tough job,” said Donald Langevoort, a former SEC attorney who teaches securities regulation at Georgetown University in Washington. “She’s going to have to communicate that the commission can keep up with the industry and not be in the position it’s been in the last few years of apologizing for discovering problems long after they occurred.”

Gensler, 51, is an ex-partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who served as undersecretary for finance at Treasury during President Bill Clinton’s administration. He’ll take over a commission that has also come under heightened scrutiny from Congress. Lawmakers are pushing for greater regulation of the $31 trillion credit-default swaps market, financial instruments blamed in part for the credit crisis.

Both Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and current SEC Chairman Christopher Cox endorse combining the SEC and CFTC. Schapiro headed the CFTC in the Clinton administration, and her experience at both agencies may help her lead a merger if Congress backs the idea.

[RangerRick]

Terri, I hear they have changed the name of the 401K to the 201K because it is only worth half as much as last year.

My heart goes out to you. Fortunately I converted everything I had last February to Money Market. Sweetie thought I was crazy then but has reconsidered. Unfortunately I'm not making much but I'm looooosing alot less. Hang tough, the market will turn around but it's gona be an ugly ride.

Rick

[flatwater]

It has not hit me one way or the other yet because I work in a trade that probably isn't going to get touched buy it. And I have to smile (laugh } at my sister-in-law. I told her and her husband a year ago to pull her money out of the stock market for awhile but she thought I was crazy. She is high upkeep. I told my wife almost five years ago our economy couldn't hold up the way things were going. We pulled ours out of the market and will hang on to it for a wee bit more untill I see something positive and I mean real positive not false positive then I will re-invest. Isn't that how it works , buy low sell high ?
flatwater

[fnfredux]

It has not hit me one way or the other yet because I work in a trade that probably isn't going to get touched buy it. And I have to smile (laugh } at my sister-in-law. I told her and her husband a year ago to pull her money out of the stock market for awhile but she thought I was crazy. She is high upkeep. I told my wife almost five years ago our economy couldn't hold up the way things were going. We pulled ours out of the market and will hang on to it for a wee bit more untill I see something positive and I mean real positive not false positive then I will re-invest. Isn't that how it works , buy low sell high ?
flatwater

Thing is tho...with the treasury printing money the way it is...your cash will still be worth(less) soon. There is no escape for anyone, except that is those who HAVE no assest only debt, they WILL come out ahead.

[Terri]

A strong stock market would help a LOT, as it means fewer layoffs. I have never understood the connection, but there does seem to be one.

It is much easier to survive with a job than without one.

As for priniting more money, I have seen what inflation does to this country. It is easier if you already have a home. Much, MUCH easier! The relative cost of the home will be going down, which helps to offset the costs of food and clothing rising. The people who HURT during inflationary times, are those who rent or who are on fixed incomes.

[gump]

I think a lot of people are in somewhat of an optimism trap. We are conditioned to think a recession won't last because we have not had a long one in quite some time.

The stock market has settled somewhat in terms of volatility but that doesn't mean we are going to march back to previous levels.

I try to think of a catalyst that could get us back on track and I can't think of one. Unemployment continues to climb and will keep going higher (my mega corp led by the dummies has decided to let people go at the beg of the yr). I think it will reach 9-10%.

The emerging economies have crashed and can't keep us rolling along.

Consumers are deleveraging. The govt passed some credit card relief to prevent abusive practices but it doesn't kick in till 2010.

Home values are down big. There is a huge % of people that upside down in their "investment". 60 minutes profiled Whitney Tilson and he showed how the Alt-A loans are about to be the next wave in the real estate debacle. So more people will lose their homes.

Real wages have not climbed in years and with this year, companies are struggling to maintain costs so large raises are unlikely.

Our future obligations are out of this world - medicare, SS, Iraq War and now bailout USA. When we need our govt most, they fail. These bailout deals are a joke and the people at AIG have shown us so.

Interest rates are super low and the printing of money makes me fear this wave of inflation should take place in the near future.

I am just trying to pay off all of my obligations and trying to get my expenses as low as possible. That way I should be fine either way or if this is somehow not that bad.

My guess is that we are starting to think the worst is over but things change once we fail to turn the corner next year or the next year or...........

[madmac]

I feel 2009 will be a real bad year and one we will not soon forget. The stock market is about to plung once more and unemployment will probably exceed 10%. State county and city jobs will be cut and many are already looking at a 10% reduction in wages. I read Calif. was considering two days a month off without pay for it's employees on top of a 10% paycut. Someone mentioned New York folks eat out a lot but that trend is changing as well. The wife and I planned on a newer car this coming summer but not now. It's a no win situation with money. 401 is a dead horse and stashing money in the mattress is probably not much more sound than some of the investments out there. A family would be smart to invest in food and other everyday items that will surely go up in price than to save a few dollars every payday that will depreciate sometime in the next couple of years. Get out of debt, stock up and pull in your horns. Have a small stash of money for emergencies but foremost buy things you know you will use and really need in the coming year. I look at it this way. If it gets better or never really gets much worst I have a lot of stuff I won't need to buy anytime soon. Obama can't fix this. We are on the edge of finacial ruin. One thing all the big money folks agree on. Their is no light at the end of the tunnel. The ones singing a different song are in denial.

[madmac]

Just to give you some insite as to how bad things really are here is a story of one city. I am sure many others have the same problem.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28327490/

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Forum Members,

You may be seeing less of me because of the economic downturn, since I'll be doing all I can to scrimp and save and get at least a rental piece of rural property to homestead on, as well as scaring up extra work, and purging my apartment of junk to make my move even easier. But as long as I have access to the 'Net, I'll always check in sometime.

[madmac]

Good luck to you. Hope the move works out in your favor as well. Times are hard and I am sure many of us will be cutting back were we can. Keep in touch.

[tumbleing_dice]

Starting with 911 the eeek con oh ME has bit hard.Pre 911 I built custom furniture
post 911 in nw Ohio I did house repairs and remodeling that was a first economy to go
My cabin on lake Cumberland near Somerset was in a boom area the plug pulled midstream.
Now SC is the third worst for unemployment in the country?
Happy face mart is to give pink slips to us hired for the holidays any day now?
I put out over fifty applications to get one third of what I was making in the summer?
It is frozen here as to hiring simply frozen
Now I own the cabin but it isnt winterized?
My next Move?

[Terri]

Tumbling Dice, if you are LIVING in the cabin I would suggest that you insulate! The HECK with the inside sheathing: you can live without a ceiling! There are food pantries, and sprouts can be made out of lentils for stir-fries, but Ohio is COOOLD!

If you do NOT live in the cabin, then it is a future project, just like my 5 acres in the next county. I put some flower bulbs in this summer, but I WANT water and a bridge across the creek!

Maybe later!

Oh, yes!

Nurseries hire before spring, and you have sales experience. They LIKE the ability to deal with customers! *For that matter, can you drive a truck? My husbands uncle got on as a relief driver: he only worked when the regular driver was ill. In the spring, nurseries make a lot of deliveries!

And, don't forget to put fliers on the grocery bulletin board. Some people do well with that, and some people do not! Personally, there are many minor-ish repairs that I am putting off until the new budget for DH's work is made and approved! I would hate to fix the place up and THEN have him get laid off!

But, come July....!!!!! ;D ;D

A pity you live in Ohio instead of Kansas!

[bassntrout]

This may be the "kick in the ass" this country needed, but probably not, some people never learn . . .

The good news is we are about 12-14 months in-- most recessions last about 24 months, so the end should be in sight . . .