How has the recession effected you?

[USMCtanker]

I handle insurance claims. I cover Southern Cali, basically. My own fuel costs are like $540.00 a month, plus the wifes gas hog truck is probably another $300.00 going to Palm Springs every weekend. That's $840.00 in gas costs alone. Now figure in the fact that less people are driving so less accident occur, then take into account I still need to travel the same distances for less assignments so I am deep DEEP in the S-house when it comes to fuel.
I'm glad we have retarded drivers here.

lol ouch ya when i was staioned in 29 palms i drove to see my wifeand family in the OC every weekend and its a pain.

 

[cichlaguapote]

I really feel like the rise in gas prices is the biggest reason people are feeling the pinch. But, try explaining to someone from another country why your life sucks and wait for them to laugh at you. People in this country have way too many excesses. The average couple doesnt need a 3,500 sq. ft. home on a cul-de-sac with custom $100,000 kitchen cabinets, that stuff makes me sick. Then there are the Ford Excursion/Expedition, Chevy Suburban and Hummer owners that are complaining about gas prices when the soccer mom needs to drive little Timmy to LaCrosse practice.

If you are living above your means in a house you shouldnt be able to afford or if you finance all your toys, you deserve to be slapped in the face with a little reality.

It goes further than financing and living beyond your means. There are people who live with very little, work basic jobs/not much saved, and only have basic goods who are feeling the slap in the face every week. BTW I drive a car that gets 30mpg and gas prices suck. So it's not the hummer driver's complaining.

No one is saying their life personally sucks because of this. They're saying the economy sucks right now and makes it harder.

Everyone wants to bring up how some people in other countrys don't have much.. well not my problem.. that's your goverment/citizens of that countrys problem. Doesn't mean I should accept what's dealt by goverment/big business just because other people elsewhere go without.. I won't.. And I'll go Mad Max before I do..

 

[xxt2goodxx]

i'm still spending the same just eating differently... i know how to make 9 different types of Ramen

 

[Opiate]

i have to admit hat petrol is the only thing destroyin me atm!! over $100 a week easy

 

[chesterthehero]

i do commercial hvac.. new construction is always slow this time of year but this year is really slow.. thankfully i made the switch to the service side so thats always pretty steady.. company truck and a gas card to go with has kept my 38mpg honda parked out back for a year.. my gfs 33mpg kia can still be filled for under $40 and that keeps her covered for almost 2 weeks..
we saw this whole thing coming from a few years ago so ive tried my hardest to land a good job and hold onto it.. my gf does not have the best job but the security is there.. shes going back to school in the fall on the VAs dime to finnish her degree so more money should start coming in....
we also searched searched for 7 months for a house we could afford in a location we wanted (to rent).. so theres only one bathroom and the backyard is a dirt lot but we love our landlords and should be able to stay here for a few more years if need be..
thankfully we are shutins who enjoy simple things so a $50-$70 dollar night out once a month is prettymuch the only thing we spend money on.. the nice grocery store gets expencive every spring/earlysummer so we rock the crappy supermarket for a few months... but food is food and we are both good cooks so thats not really an issue...

after 3 years together.. neither of us had a hobbie... we had a 5gallon set up on the counter just cuz it filled the space well.. this worked well till we found our "perfect" lil rental house.. then we realized our 1" pleco looked really big in our 6month old 10gallon... so shortly after we moved in we got him a nice lil 29gallon from petco... then we discovered that we were spending more time watching the fish than watching tv... lastweek we gained a 55gallon.. so other than our basic bills... the only extra is fish.... ....... .....



so uhhh... the recession has effected me by highlighting that my "we should not be stupid with money" idea was right... which saddly means i cant go stupid with my newfound hobbie....

 

[barley pop]

if we are in such a recession why do i still have to wait 1.5 hours for every resturante in town ????

why is it every time i am at the mall their are hunderds of other people still spending money ????


i am sure it may be slow for some of you construction guys but, if the damn drive by media would STFU people would not be all freaked out about this so called recession.

they just did a study not long ago (a couple of months) where like 80% of people thought that the economy was bad but when ask about their personal lives and economy it went down to somewhere around 40%

everybody thinks it is bad for someone else.

 

[Louie]

People need to spend money for that to happen. The down turn has done nothing... kept the house next to from selling... but that will happen within the next few months...

In my area the house on my left and across the street are for sale . I had planned to put my house on the market and return to Long Island as this place isnt for me but since EVERY house in this community is an exact clone for what the houses are being sold now is 50k less than I bought mine last yr thus stuck here awhile.
If I could actually afford to take the loss I would

 

[Louie]

exactly
i do new construction,wait,let me fix that,i "did" new construction till this happened.
now i do remodels and side jobs

hope it picks up this summer

The construction in Miami is still moving. I am in Doral lots stuff .houses, buildings being built. ALL are owned by foreign corporations who are taking advantage of cheaper land now but either way they employ .

 

[Louie]

Theres a recession? Where?

I see stupid people with housing problems.

I see stupid people with credit card problems.

I see LOTS of people with big home, expensive cars, new toys, all of which they can't afford.

Yet I don't see too much of a recession, aside from the news peoples predictions. FOX had a guest on saying how the only recession was in the news.

There are people who are suffering cant find jobs or low paying no health care jobs.
Your right there are some who live way out of their means. The couple who live next to me both brand new Lexus Suvs -new yacht and everything else yet back forclosed on their house they didnt make the payments. I actually stuck with my Cooper to save gas though would like an SUV but will wait.
That is TYPICAL in Doral/Miami but when I lived in NY I didnt see that silly BS way of thinking.
The disparity between have and have nots has skyrocketed in last few yrs. I have no sympathy for those that live to impress their neighbors but I do for those just trying to get by and there numbers have grown.
I was in VA hospital in Miami couple months back just for therpay for hurt leg and folks I spoke to in the waiting room mostly blue collar hard working honest guys are having real hard time .

 

[M|L]

This recession period will be much more severe than any previous economic downturns in the last few decades. Unless you study economics or finance, you might not actually grasp the very fundamental reasons why this started and just how much effort it will take before things start brightening up.

Fortunately, I was informed of this worsening crisis months before many people actually believed a recession would hit the economy and I took the necessary steps to keep my investment returns from vaporing. I had advised some to convert some of their money into gold when it was still trading at approximately $600 a share. Imagine that (gold is currently trading at $914 a share and hit an all time high of over $1,000).

I advise some to convert their dollar to stronger currencies such as the Euro, and I still do. The US government is printing money to supply the market, but all this money is not backed by anything. Foreign governments are selling off their dollar holdings into other currencies, sending even more dollars back into the US. That means billions upon billions of money but worth much less. In fact, one USD is probably worth less than .80 cents of its money. You don't have to be a genius to know how that will turn out.