| Author | Message | ||
     Wolfridgerider |
American's have fought their way back from tough economic times... So says Hillary. This is not a beat up Hillary thread. This is a how is your fight back from tough economic times going thread. In 2008 my wife and I lost about 2/3rds of our income. We have not even got back to the road that the ballpark is on. I don't even think we have seen signs for the ballpark. One thing we learned is how little we could live on. Now that we have seen a little up tick in the income area, we refuse to spend like we did before. Just about every purchase is talked about, pondered, slept on and most of the time... gets the thumbs down. I did purchase a plot of land to build a house that is about half the size of our current home. Only to find out that it would cost as much if not more than the house I'm in. I have 5.89 acres just south of C-Bus... just in case anyone needs some flat Ohio farm land. So how is you wallet? Mine? You could put a 5 in and I'd squeeze out 6 ones... | ||
| Oldog |
Treading water is how I describe mine, next to my house note my health insurance runs a close second. If I cook, take lunch, and minimal running, range trips, it works out. I tend to ignore the left, from my desk I would refute the " recovery" claim | ||
| Malott442 |
I got out of the Navy in 2005 thinking I was hot crap. A 1/4M education, great power plan experience, management for two years..... People would be fighting to hire me, right? Wrong! I eeked through 2005 as a diesel mechanic in Virginia Beach, unwilling to move or take a lower job in my desired career path. In 2006 I started slipping financially. I quit my job with no plan, and my hardships aggravated my best friend's struggles. He lost his house, the one I was living in. I had nowhere to go but back home to Florida. Work at end of year 2006 was slim pickings. I became a coyote, but a crappy one. Let's see.... I was 1. Bouncer 2. Drywaller 3. Carpenter 4. Electrician helper 5. Motorcycle mechanic 5. Junkyard dog. All jobs paid marginally, and I performed atrociously. I slipped and stumbled financially for 2 years until my situation saw me go from a 3/2 home to a single wide with no bathroom. Everything I owned was on bad credit, and I was at rock bottom. I can't attribute my initial step off the bottom to myself. I was at stuck there with no plan. I WAS the bottom. Every job I found dried up within months, if not weeks of getting it. I was disenfranchised, delirious, exhausted, and severely depressed. An aggravating factor to throw into the mix was that my father was going through a nervous breakdown. My wife, who was just a girlfriend that could have run away, and maybe should have- saw the potential behind the piece of crap scumbag facade I was... And started to show me the way. I applied for disability through the VA and went to college. The disability was approved, and the financial stability gained helped tremendously. We moved 4 times in three years, looking for opportunity. We found it in Alabama, albeit in an unexpected way. Her career was derailing, due to circumstances beyond her control. I was in nearing the end of the semester, so I hit the ground hard. Surprisingly, I quickly found a good job- completely on accident! Well, not in the sense that I was not trying. But I had never considered the field I had applied for. Turns out, it is growing quickly and allows for a lot of personal and professional growth.It has grown into a career, and I make more now than ever before in my life. I hit a stumble last year and questioned my decisions. Turns out, I was unhappy being too far away from home, and it was to the point of affecting me concerning my work performance. Through conversation and heavy thought, we made the decision to uproot an move where I felt opportunity lay. I quit my job. This time with a plan. A darn good one. An a job in place. Back home near my family ( but not too close, haha!) I didn't realize something back then that I embrace now firmly. You have to be flexible to truly survive. In my job, there are slow months, and there are grueling months. During my slow months, I go into coyote mode. I embrace the good meals, and never turn down scraps and unexpected forks in the road. I volunteer for the crappiest accounts and dirtiest jobs on purpose. Management sees they can count in my chips no matter the odds. If this career dwindles, or even becomes stale to my soul, bet that I will go coyote on that as well. I'm willing to move, and to work outside my comfort zone. My coyote actions have raised my credit from 414 to 790. My personal debt, not including a mortgage has dropped from 25k to just 6k. My house has not one, but 3 bathrooms with hot water. I have 6months put back in savings, and a 401k on track to allow a healthy retirement. I'm not trying to brag, not by an means. I have made many mistakes, failed at many things. My prior peers at work make almost triple what I make. But I hope someone out there struggling realizes that hope is not dead. You have it in you to find your way out of the hole, you just need to find the motivation. I leave this lengthy and over revealing post with a few words: There is no such thing as "you only live once".... You get to live everyday. It is never too late to start over and start doing right. When are you going to start to live? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
In 2008, a business I had spent 12 years cratered. I spent the next four years attempting to save that business. I was unsuccessful. I took a 60% reduction in compensation. In attempting to salvage my business, I incurred significant debt, got behind on house, car, etc. Sold my Uly to get out from under the loan. Worked for over a year to come to an arrangement with the mortgage company (Chase) to get caught up on my mortgage. Chase jerked me around for a year and a half dangling a settlement in front of me. Ultimately, though, they had other plans. I had equity in my home in a county where houses were still moving. Chase saw an opportunity to seize my home and pocket the equity while writing off the bad debt to the government and coming after me for the difference. They attempted to foreclose on my home. To keep my home, I had to file bankruptcy. It staved off Chase and gave me a plan to claw out of the black hole. In 2012, I finally put the nails in the coffin of my then 16 year old business and walk away. In 2012, I was given an opportunity to start a new life. I took a position doing IT project management with a friend of mine. I was terrified. I knew nothing about IT, but I had burned my ship behind me. There was nothing to go back to, nowhere to go but forward. I found that not only did I like doing IT project management, I had a knack for it. My previous experience actually provided me a unique perspective that helped me to be successful. It wasn't wasted effort. While it was painful, and I am still dealing with the financial implications of the last 7 years, I am thankful for the opportunity to reinvent myself. I've been more fortunate than most. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I got out of the Navy in 2005 thinking I was hot crap HA HA!!! been there done that! I got out of the Marine Corps in 1991 just after the 1st round in Iraq. I thought I would get a job in a heart beat. I ended up installing replacement windows and swinging a hammer for 7 bucks a hour. Support the troops!! (yeah, that bumper sticker means so much) sorry for the rant... | ||
| Torquehd |
I'm on the active duty side of the house, so my situation is a little different. E-6 with 6 years in (a few incentive pays on top of jump pay), one vehicle payment and a mortgage on a 30 year old double wide. Wife, one kid, one on the way. I'm generally miserly with my money and although my wife is a woman, she really tries not to spend unnecessarily. When I'm not deployed or on TDY earning per diem, I'm always dangerously close to living upside down. Just a vehicle repair, insurance copayment, or too many trips to the restaurant is enough to tip the scales. But, there are times like now, when I'm just recently back from a trip, when I have enough in the bank to re drywall and install pergo floors. I live in the PNW. It rains most of the year, but the sun also shines sometimes. Small victories. | ||
| Hootowl |
I don't know anyone in the military, enlisted anyway, who is 'making it'. Now, I admit, I know very few people in the military any longer; I got out in 2000 after 12 years. But while I was in, everyone I knew was living hand to mouth, and as you say, any surprise would put us in debt. When you can barely pay your bills, paying interest on a credit card is a never ending downward spiral. On a brighter note, I got out, (tried to save my marriage...didn't work) moved to Texas with no place to live, no job, and everything I owned in the back of my truck, and almost immediately got hired as contract labor on a Windows2000 deployment for an oilfield services company. Spent the next year traveling all over the South, South West, and the North East. A few days here, a few days there. Lots of over time. The money was good. That ended, and within six months, landed my current gig. I'm doing well, and can't complain. Texas was largely spared the effects of the housing bubble (and was adding jobs when other states were shedding them). Real estate here never did balloon like it did in places like Florida and Las Vegas. I paid $85,000 for my three bedroom two bath two car garage house. Not in the boonies either. I'm two miles from work, where I am a senior security analyst for a petrochemical major at their global headquarters. God Bless Texas!  | ||
| Reepicheep |
IT security wouldn't be a bad career path for a returning vet. It can suck the life out of you if you aren't careful, but it is all large logistical stuff, situational awareness, tactical and strategic blends, and people and process and politics overlaps. | ||
| Crusty |
American's have fought their way back from tough economic times... We have. The stock market is a couple of hundred points above where it was at just before the Meltdown. But... Inflation is high. Items are costing 20 to 30% more than they did in 2008. And jobs are paying less than they were back then. Last summer, I interviewed for a job at a company I temped at in 2010. They were offering $2.00 less per hour for the same position; which means that if I had gotten the job, my income would have bought me only 2/3 as much as it did five years ago. Then again, decades of exporting manufacturing to China and other cheap labor countries is going to come at a price. (Message edited by Crusty on April 14, 2015) | ||
| Reepicheep |
And given the national debt, every kid arrives at their 18th birthday only to find out that even though they weren't allowed to vote yet, the Federal Government spent enough of their money that they could have bought a house. It's flat out economic slavery, and a gross violation of human rights. | ||
| Reindog |
Waddaya talkin` about? It is only fair because others, especially illegal aliens who are soon to be given the vote, require and demand seizure of your wages for themselves. Conservatism is the ONLY answer to restore America's quickly fading greatness. When THAT bill comes due, it isn't going to be pretty for the thieves that steal from us. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I'm no expert, but it seems like unemployment numbers are down because people aren't on unemployment, they are working more than one part-time job, or took a job making way less than they were. I've been really lucky since 2008. I make more money that I did with more overtime than I can handle since we are having a hard time finding qualified people. My biggest complaint is that I only take home 60% of my check... | ||
| Sifo |
Great thread topic! I started my adult life in the late '70s during a failing economy. Getting my foot in the door of my chosen field was difficult, and really had to lower my expectations. You were expected to carry a lot of weight too. Companies were looking to be lean, and it fell on the workers. When we had a recovery, things got much better. Not quite as much stress, and better wages due to more competition for the quality workers. We made the most of it, living a very nice, but careful lifestyle, and investing all we could. There was a point though where I actually turned down a consulting gig at $98 per hour. Life was good. There was a real bubble burst in the IT field after Y2K. I was consulting at the time and jobs were getting scarce. 9-11-2001 really put the nail in it in our area. I found myself looking for work more than working. When I would finally get an interview, I always made it a point to ask how many resumes they received for the job. I was getting answers in the 400-600 range for a single job. It was clear that I was in the wrong place. Since then I've reinvented myself numerous times. I seemed to get into things right when they were taking a bad turn. I got to get some great insights into smaller businesses that I never had exposure to before though. You can learn a lot of things when you are directly working with the person who has their name on the building. This economy has tanked more small businesses than I could ever have imagined though. I kept expecting a recovery like we had in the '80s. It just never happened. During this period I took up driving a school bus. During my training period I was asked if I would be willing to do Special Ed. I was already starting to panic about a bus full of kids I would be responsible for, now they want to turn that into SE kids, but I try not to say no when challenged. Keep in mind, we never had kids of our own, so this was very new. Kids really kind of freaked me out back then. This actually turned out to be a pretty special period in my life. I really became aware of just how blessed I was in my life. All aspects of my life. It's amazing to see how some of these kids deal with challenges. Just as an example, a 2nd grader who lost her sight to a brain tumor and still had to do periodic exams to monitor the cancer. Her attitude was always amazing though, despite life dealing her a pretty bad hand. I could give other examples that would bring a tear to the eye of anyone who's not a cold blooded monster. While doing the school bus job, I've gotten into a few other opportunities that have fizzled. The bus has been the most stable thing I've seen for a long time, and that isn't all that stable. I no longer drive the SE bus. Kids no longer freak me out. I have a real appreciation for what I have in my life. I've seen children who deal with adversity better than 90% of adults. I do still wonder about one deal that got a way though. We were negotiating a consulting deal that would have been worth $30K per month to me. The down side would have been spending most of my time in Nigeria working for a big oil company. The entire project had the plug pulled on it though. Life has been an interesting ride. Remind me to tell you about it sometime...  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Unemployment numbers are down because we quit counting the unemployed. Workforce participation is at its lowest point since the 70's. Out of sight, out of mind. Keep in mind that we also have a record high participation in food stamps and other welfare programs. We also have record participation in disability. People have moved from temporary unemployment assistance to permanent wards of the state. Cloward-Piven at its best. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
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| Ft_bstrd |
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| Ft_bstrd |
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| Reindog |
Some would say that you are a Hater, FB. Thanks for the graphs which even a Liberal might be able to see the danger we are in. Maybe. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Any graph that shows a line going up and to the right equals GROWTH. ANY idiot with common core math skills knows that. Just take the numbers and make happy family groups, then perform 29 needless steps to arrive at the solution. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I will say this. I have never had more money in my savings account and my 401K has never been fatter. But I can't bring myself to buy big ticket items. But, I have never been this unhappy. When I stand back and look at my situation, I feel like I deserve a punch in the face. The thing I want to do most is pay off my house. I watched a segment from FOX business about turning your mortgage into a HELOC What do you financial peeps think? My bank said they would do it.... | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
First step to correcting a problem is to understand the problem. Either the graphs display the unintended consequences of failed economic policy or they demonstrate mission accomplished. | ||
| Reindog |
I am not an expert so proceed at your own risk. I have a HELOC on my house but the interest on the balance is not tax deductible. I live in Cali and my primary mortgage is paid off if that matters to this discussion. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Reindog, there are a number of instances where the interest on a HELOC is deductible. However, reading the rules makes my brain hurt. | ||
| Xb9er |
The charts on disability and food stamps are high because the population is much higher than it was in 1980 or whatever year you choose. Inflation rate, well we can chock that up to distribution of wealth and living in a global economy. REMEMBER, when inflation is high, so are interest rates (well they should be conversely correlated but not today) and this is the gov'ts way of controlling the economy to protect the people from economic failure. The sad part now is that employers have become comfortable with only hiring part-time employees and this will be a huge obstacle to overcome. It will however end when the economy is running strong (European economy is flat out in the suck right now which also effects us). The best thing I read so far is to be flexible. You have to find THE career, it will not find you. Relocation sucks but I know from experience it can be very fun and rewarding. Oh yeah, Hillary sucks. Let's just hope If she is elected (doubtful), Bill will be running the show. All things equal, he was a great president (other than NAFTA). You will never see an economy like we had back in the day due to outsourcing. The only way to be successful now is to be innovative. | ||
| Hootowl |
"You will never see an economy like we had back in the day " Bill's economic successes were the result of the dotcom bubble that burst in his last year in office. Any good economic decisions he made (welfare reform, for example...he vetoed it twice) were forced upon him by Newt Gingrich and the 104th Congress. If our current crop of congressional leaders had the balls that Newt had, Obama wouldn't be running rough shod over the Constitution. A monkey could have presided over the Internet explosion. All he had to do was not interfere. So I guess that's one difference between Bill and The O. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
The charts on disability and food stamps are high because the population is much higher than it was in 1980 or whatever year you choose. That's partially true, however, population growth alone doesn't explain the explosion in the number of people on these programs. The poor economy does. You will never see an economy like we had back in the day due to outsourcing. Wait until the robot/automation revolution kicks into high gear. Predictions run as high as 50% of the population will be jobless within 20 years and it goes downhill from there. http://robotenomics.com/2014/04/16/study-indicates-robots-could-replace-80-of-jobs/ (Message edited by ferris von bueller on April 14, 2015) | ||
| Xb9er |
We will need engineers to develop new and improved robots and techs to maintain them. entrepreneurs and innovators will come up with something that will revolutionize the economy and will need to employ folks to keep it rolling. The future can be scary or it came be exciting; only you can choose. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
True, until the robots can design and repair themselves. None of this will affect us older folk. We will all be dead before this future comes to fruition. For you younger folk, good luck | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The charts on disability and food stamps are high because the population is much higher than it was in 1980 or whatever year you choose. Let's take the nominal recipients out of the picture and run the same graph by percent of population.  Inflation rate, well we can chock that up to distribution of wealth and living in a global economy. REMEMBER, when inflation is high, so are interest rates (well they should be conversely correlated but not today) and this is the gov'ts way of controlling the economy to protect the people from economic failure. The inflation rate is partially controlled by FED monetary policy but the greater impact has come due to increase in dollars in circulation.  We are attempting to monetize our debt by printing money. It's a hidden tax. The sad part now is that employers have become comfortable with only hiring part-time employees and this will be a huge obstacle to overcome. It will however end when the economy is running strong (European economy is flat out in the suck right now which also effects us). Labor utilization is a function of demand. Employers hire workers for what work they need done. If their businesses are expanding, they aren't hiring new workers. Income rates are a direct function of demand for labor. Add to that the artificial disincentive to hire workers for more than 30 hours a week (Obamacare) and you will likely not see the hiring of full time workers rise until there is absolutely no other choice to do so. You will never see an economy like we had back in the day due to outsourcing. The only way to be successful now is to be innovative. I do not believe this statement to be true on face value. Outsourcing is a function of US business costs. When you factor in US worker productivity (the highest in the world), the difference in labor costs between US workers and Chinese workers is about 20%. Narrow that gap by creating incentives for hiring US workers and the outsourcing will stop. I believe that the US CAN regain financial growth like during the Reagan administration and better. The problem is that we must stop punishing success. I'm not picking on you but trying to demonstrate that there is more to the story that what you see. | ||
| Reindog |
Another factor that is hurting US workers concerns the repatriation of foreign profits. Obama (and others) want to double tax the offshore cash that US corporations have earned. The problem with this is that corporations are responsible to their shareholders so the money stays offshore. The unintended consequence of the tax hungry politicians is that this hurts US workers. My company, Broadcom, is an example of this misguided policy. We are no longer opening job reqs in Rancho Bernardo and we MUST hire offshore because that is where a huge chunk of Broadcom's cash resides. This is not an opinion; this is a fact. Obama (and others) needs to get off his ass and permit repatriation of money to allow the US economy to grow. Vote for Conservatives. Any other philosophy will continue to erode American greatness. |
