how is the economy effecting you?

this was on another board and made me wonder.
for me personally not much effect but as a school board member it looks like it is leading to a big short fall in our budget. less teachers, bigger classes, cut programs, and more.time Will tell.

We got a really killer rate on a new BMW.

That's how.

i put some guys to work here in America building me a boat...hahhaha...had to do it...prez said lets get busy...i thought he meant Cheryl gets a new drift boat for valentines day...hahahah...

i am feeling quite a pinch, but am going to put my house up for sale...im not living in it, got married now we have two...gonna sell it and build a garage for my boats...im hoping a 3000 sf garage and later we will build a tiny house...hahahah....c

We lost some LEI money in our school district as well, but enrollment is up so it may be a wash.

Lost my bonus, which is about a 25% pay cut, and I'm having a better year than last year. I'm a bit cheesed off at some folks where I work. Sure would have been nice to have that money to do a few thinhgs around the new spread.

Cost of building materials and subs is lower, which makes building the house a bit cheaper than budgeted.

this economy has killed me... having to sell out... either whole or thru liquidation.
I'm done the Dream is gone... GOOD BYE CRUEL WORLD........BANG!!!!!

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Now that you mention it, when I had the gas line installed for the stove, the hack that did it sabotaged our water heater so that it wouldn't stay lit anymore. So, I hired a different outfit to replace the water heater and they showed up on time, bright and early the very next morning. And they only charged what was originally quoted over the phone the evening before.

I was pleasantly shocked.

i'm going to probably have to kiss my printing job good-bye along with days off during the week and perfect fishing hours(night shift). was lucky enough to get a transfer back in november when the old shop shut down, but i can't see it lasting too long.

my savings are to the point where right about now i should be looking at buying my first house, but the employment situation is too risky i think.

it's already happening for my dad, he's in the same line of work and just got a notice that he's going to be out of a job in 2 weeks. i feel pretty bad for him, being that it's all he's done since he was 19, and has 8 more years to go before he can retire.

odds are i'll have to take a 50% pay cut in a new line of work, and move back home with mom and dad, a journey press operator card doesn't get you jobs like it did years ago.

No raises for the next 2 years. They were only 4%, but thats better than nothing.

The UW probably won't see layoffs (if any) until September, as we're all centered around biennial spending, etc.

We're tightening up the belts now, but expect to feel the punch in the fall with severe budget cuts, etc.

As for the personal side, the wife and I have secure positions as the UW, so we'll hunker down and ride out the storm. We're not in debt, the vehicles are paid off, and I've survived 6 years of paying both daycare and a mortgage payment, so a few more years of it won't change anything.

Probably going to have to put that BOAT PURCHASE on hold, though.

The timber industry is grinding to a hault. Some logging crews are only running every other week, others working 4 day weeks, and they are all on a quota system putting a cap on what logs can be delivered and to where. I had 10 guys working for me last summer, now down to 4 and still missing some time. I can't quite hear the roar of the train yet, but there isn't any light showing at the end of the tunnel either...

P.S. When work comes in bursts, does it always show up when fishing conditions are prime ?

And do lay offs always coincide with high muddy water, or just before the big run gets here ?

I know, bitching about hanging with new rope.

Your Man made a good call there AuntyM, those 7.3 engines are great, and the newer style engines are junk...I should know, I sold my 7.3 and have went through two of the newer ones so far !

My business is about 50% tied to the housing markets, and at the end of January we laid off 4 people, which is about 50% of our production hands. I have never laid anyone off before, only fired them for cause. It really sucked. No bonus this year, but I had not been counting on it. The industrial markets are still plugging along.

Every proposal and bid I send out has competition and a lot of engineers are giving rock bottom estimates just to have some income. I have guys undercutting my bids over 50% and I thought that mine was a rock bottom price. Public sector work has slowed down as well, every RFP (request for proposal) has 50 interested firms on the list.

On the other side of things it does make it easier to get subs for my remodel project, and there is a lot of quality tradesmen out of work. I have a good union carpenter putting up siding and soffits on my house right now for $100 a day (no names please). If I could sell my current house, bank money is pretty cheap for first mortgages, so I am looking forward to that. I did have 3 showings of my house last week, so there was a blip in the upward direction for me there.

I just read in the newspaper yesterday regarding the Levy Equalization funds for our school district. The superintendent said they would be laying off custodians, counselors, and teachers. My wife is a counselor, and probably the last one on the seniority list, so she is pretty freaked out right now. Nothing like having two mortgages and only one wage earner.

I haven't worked in almost 6 years. I was working part time and providing child care for my kids. My wife works full time. The money I made part time didn't have an effect on our way of living financially,so we said screw it and I quit.

My wife works in HR in the broadcasting business and they've been laying off a few. Mostly dead wood that probably should have went a long time ago. I don't think anyone is absolutely secure in this economy,but she is pretty safe. (knock on wood).

We don't owe a dime to anyone other than our mortgage. No CC bils,all the vehicles,both boats,all paid off.

The mortgage is such that even if something should happen,its not going to sink us. Having more than a years worth of mortage payments in the bank doesn't hurt either.

I could also call my dad and have a job tomorrow.

Well, I planned on meeting with the owner of the company I work for (A construction subcontractor) on my 1 year anniversary to discuss a raise...that has been put on hold since projections for 2009 are looking quite grim, there are just too many subcontractors buying work to stay busy.

Brutal for me but I have been fighting it now for almost 2 years as I am a real estate agent and mortgage banker...many have given up but i am going to keep at it and hope that 12 years of hard work pays dividends in the long-run...cheers

I'm with you Summerrun, same boat. Had to take a job with a regional bank that offered a salary. Now with rates low and a refi boom its been pretty good. I miss being self-employed but I an definitely not complaining to be working and to have a steady income, even if its about 60% of years past.

I took a 10% pay reduction LAST YEAR and lost most of my overtime, thanks for fvckin' asking! Seriously, that hurts, but mostly just cut into my fishing money, so we still have store bought food on the table. I'm glad to still have a job, but I can feel the lotto coming through for me really soon!

My GF and I work for gov't agencies and have some seniority, so should be pretty secure. Steady work is a lot to be thankful for. We're building a house and helping to keep some contractors employed. My plumber just asked for a quick draw this morning because his supply house has significantly reduced credit. My bank is real good; I fax a draw to them in the morning, and checks go to contractors that afternoon.

RR, I'm falling behind schedule. If your carpenter finishes your siding and soffits before I get mine hung on my garage, would you consider giving his name and number?

Since I've had 12 weeks of delays (Co. inspector & weather) the bank extended my construction loan 3 months before I have to begin paying interest and principle. We had hope to buy down the mortgage with a mutual fund I had that has lost 50% and my GF's condo that might be slow to sell, even at a lower price. So we'll end up with a larger mortgage than planned, but we might get an even lower interest rate. So we'll probably be OK, except during the overlap of two mortgage payments until the condo sells.

My youngest daughter finished grad school last May and was looking for work without much success until just before Christmas when she landed a job in her field. My GF's son-in-law was laid off last August (construction dependent business) and is still looking for work. I suppose having only one person out of work in the whole extended family picture isn't too bad in this economy.

We already paid for tickets and a place to stay in the Bahamas in late March, so I really have nothing to complain about.

Sg

I layed off 6 guys 4 months ago, and i guy retired so that reduced our manpower on the floor by 33%. I still have about half the guys on 4/8 hour days. I was getting 5 to 10 hours of overtime a week and that is gone now. Things are tight since my wife decided to retire 4 years ago at the grand old age of 53.

It is effecting too many people. Some speculated that it's just short term. They better wake up fast. It's here until we work out of it. Throwing money at it hasn't helped yet. So now we throw a lot more, genius idea! Money has been the problem in the first place. Too easy to come by. Money gets value when you have to work hard and earn it. This stimulas package does nothing more than weaken the economy as the dollar becomes worthless. Who needs to work if the government will bail you out. More money earmarked for welfare, unemployment and things that definatly don't get people back to work.

Wow, when ya gotta dress up the ol' man and send him out just to make ends meet....


Now that's hard times.

hasn't affected us were both in heath care, the only thing i can complain about is we were about to sell our house in monroe and move back home to sequim. now we have to waite till our house value goes back up, we were bummed but hopefully it'll come around soon.

I'm just back from Ixtapa.I have gone there every year for many years. The town is DEAD. I have never seen it so empty. That's gotta hurt a lot of locals who work in the tourism industry. Usually every boat is chartered this time of year. But last week there were many tied to the pier all day .

There appeared to be fewer cruise ships as well. Most years there is one every other day. This year in two weeks I saw maybe four.

WF is one of the few remaining solid large banks. They didn't want to take the bailout money from the feds.

But, they DID take it, and this is just something you don't do when you took bailout money.

How the hell do you get a job that pays that kind of dough with such poor decision-making skills?

Doesn't seem to me like they are cancelling anything to save the money, but to be in better position to get more stolen money from Uncle Sugar.

i got laid off 1 1/2 months ago along with about 20 other employess at platypus marine in port angeles and before that didnt work a 40 hour week since sept.-oct. there just is no work here would move to find but wont leave my daughter behind so im stuck trying to figure what to do. . unemployment dont come close to paying the bills

Dang Dave, we just cancelled reservations to Zihuateneo (sp). I heard some bad things. We were there two years ago and had a blast. Thats too bad for them. We're going to spend our money in Alaska this year. May have to go visit the old Lodge at Clam Gulch. $220 for an offshore charter, OUCH!

I can't be thankful enough for my job. It allows the wife to stay at home with the kids so hopefully they don't turn out to be delinquents. 1 out of 2 cars paid off and socking money away for retirement and a little in savings. Got two boats paid for (but both together are only worth 5 grand). Just found out that my performance evaluation was good enough to warrant a 4% COLA so that helps too. But it is affecting me indirectly. I'd love to be able to sell my place for what I paid for it a couple of years ago and build in a different location but there is no way I'm selling for 40 G less than what I paid for it. That would be like losing all the equity I built up.

For me personally it is sad to see so many people falling on hard times. I mean good people. I think it is hard not to know someone who hasn't been seriously affected by this down economy. I feel for all of you out there who are struggling. I know people that will never be able to retire because they had to use their savings to survive after being laid off. I know people who go to work every day knowing that it could be their last.

To me this is like an epidemic of a serious disease. You may not have it, but you are moved by the people who do.

The really ugly part is that as money gets tight, our present local economic picture darkens. Hard to stay afloat for long without a product and buyers. Way too many used their house like a credit card, and with the present nanny government, there are too many pigs at the trough sucking the life out of an already sick public funding source (you and me) by creating imaginary crisis after imaginary crisis (with the appropriate fees, of course). Every agency has become an income stream to feed the machine.

Hang on, boys......she's gonna get rough.

I have not been directly affected yet.... things are getting close though. Fortunately I am running a project that is just coming out of the ground in SF, (You don't see too many tower cranes flying around here right now) the project will run 2 years or so. So I'm hoping to ride out the storm. I think I will, I have been working for my company for damn near 30 years, there are others who work here who wont however...Times are tough, hundreds if not thousands of Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, are out of work. It is grim. I suggest no one take their position for granted.

Wife was laid off. Bank took the bailout and then laid off her whole division. And looming layoffs at work for me but we will be alright. Why? Because we bought a house we could afford and carry no other debt. I should be rewarded not punished. I guess I will be in a way. If I get the axe I will salmon fish all summer not dress up in womens clothes.

It is showing in my business. Sales have now really begun to slow. I'm not losing deals to my competition. Deals just aren't happening. Folks are just not buying new equipment and are hanging on to what they have.
I've had several emails or voicemails from key contacts informing me they'd been laid off.
I'll just grind it out and make it through this. Both vehicles are paid off, no cc dedt and five plus year of mortgage payments in the bank.
Fishing is a great release from this stuff.

My auto repair biz suffered bad in 08. Lowest gross sales in my 25 years there, and these numbers are not adjusted for inflation.
Things are slightly improved with gas @ 2 bucks but still on the quiet side. Every thing is paid for just hangin on feeling a bit like a dinosaur.
My very poorly invested I R A is sadly shriveled and shrunk like my dick in very cold water. 15 years till I hit the social security jackpot .

Not liking what 4 buck gas does to us I`m starting to study up on batteries and electric tranportation options.

Still need to go fishin.
Good luck to all.

Al

Well, day 2 of liquidation , and I find it interesting that folks who owed me money, but could'nt pay me are the first ones showing up to spend away.. Not only that, they
think I owe em a discount because they're buying in quantities, at half the price they would be paying elsewhere.. Whining, sniveling vultures..This economy is going to hit everyone, no matter how safe they think they are. Good luck to everyone..
Once I have sold as much as I can sell, I am hitting the road, starting over someplace else far far away.. as a free man I might add, divorce papers filed on Wednesday.
Won't be long now, and I will be posting from time to time from an undisclosed east coast location. (one devoid of cats, too) Good luck to everyone..

Good job! How much did you get for the wife? I hope it goes better for you elsewhere, it is so brutal everywhere right now. Good luck.

http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm

Destination states.

Good luck to you, man. I'd be bummed if Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Nebraska were on my radar, but it looks like they're bucking the trend in regards to unemployment rates.

Day 3..... Didn't get even close to half on investment in soon to be ex wife....figures
Today was just like yesterday, the locusts were out in force...sold lots of stock, but the excise taxes are gonna eat up lots of the profit.. Yea, I can hear you thinking, why isn't he just pocketing the cash???? It's really not that simple, when you know that they can and will catch up to you...I will be very lucky to break even.. Pathetic to think that a man can invest his retirement , and then have both state and federal
government screw him better than ex wife ever did. Sucks to be me. Oh well, once again I know I will be starting over again, and having learned what NOT to do will serve me well. As I said before, I wish all good luck, as I still feel that this roller coaster ain't gonna be over soon. We're all on the A ticket ride , and it wont be over till the gondola flies off the tracks and we all end up wet spots on the concrete below.
Gentlemen and Gentleladies, it's pucker time...

Day 4 of liquidation... still moving stock, although the vultures are
thinning now. Still have people coming through the door where the big "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE" sign is posted, asking to rent still.
Me thinks that a great majority of these folks cannot read. Must be
the area I'm in. Said to be second only to Granite Falls for meth
labs in the NE area of Snohomish Co., and judging from most of these people, I guess it must be true. Oh well getting out as soon as I can, and never looking back, although I will miss the fishing around these parts.
I'm going to have to learn new techniques, as most of my fishing time will be spent trying to land some Atlantic salmon, in their native waters.
I wonder how west coast techniques will work over there? Should be a great learning experience. I will be posting as the days progress, until such a time that I pack it in and head east..Hmmm Head East, remember them?
How appropriate... "Save my life I'm goin' down for the last time".....

Best of luck to everyone in these dark times...

Kona was dead as hell when I was there recently too.......we were one of only two boats to catch anything, and only one of FOUR that were booked that day. The skipper said he's never seen anything like it. Hotel rates were down by as much as 40% in some places.

Job-wise, I had to cut 10% of my workforce and close two locations. Brutal stuff in brutal times...............and the "survivors" don't exactly have it easy either. 2 people doing the work of 12? Not fun.

I think a Madoff public beheading would be a nice first step to ease tensions, enjoy some quality entertainment and increase feelings of general well-being among the victimized and constantly betrayed populace. Bank and Wall Street execs would be scheduled next, followed by a wide variety of corrupt politicians. Imagine the ratings!

I may have to stop boycotting the Friday overtime....

Three day weekends are my sanity....

& now with the Gas price gouging in full swing, fishing may be regulated to the internet....again

Best of luck everyone.

Mf

it seams to me that most of the people that have the jobs are happy to have them, and are working a little harder...some have been slacking for a long time, this is just a kick in the pants to some to get to work...some needed to a long time ago....c

People close to me have been laid off. Some of the people at work who took on more payments with the attitude of "I'll just work more overtime" are in a pinch. To see the glass as half full, my job is secure, home prices are coming down, and I've got a good down payment for when things line up.
Itoldyouso's are pending for aquantances who bought, then turned to talking trash about my decision not to, as well as for an agent or two.