How has the poor economy affected you?

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Personally, I've been laid off for 10 weeks and return to work tomorrow. Financially, I am sound...money has not become an issue while I've been out of work. However, I've become terribly listless while unemployed. And I gain weight as rapidly as I lose it(I've become nearly 300lbs...I carry it well)......however, if I gain any more weight then speculation about the existence of my penis will become pure conjecture on my behalf --- in this sense I am glad that I am returning to work as I will lose 20 lbs. in the first month back - without effort. I will also not drink as much alcohol or court as many one/few night stands. Idle hands are definitely the workshop of my personal demons.

Anyway, how has the poor economy affected you?

 

The poor economy has affected me with a dropped 401(k) match and a company-wide wage cut based on salary. Mine ended up being a 7.5% gouge.

As a result, I work two jobs, drink cheaper beer, and have become quite the penny pincher.

 

Not that much really, I'm a student so the economical cycles don't really affect me all that much. Finding work for summer was difficult though and I had to take some extra studies for the summer to make up for it. My savings have also decreased in value somewhat and my investments have halved in value from what they were a few years ago. When I graduate I hope we'll be approaching the top of the wave again.

 

Nothing really for me so far. My parents work at a small company that can easily absorb the downfall (in that it could grow, but rather just chose to stabilize itself) and so they are pretty much the same. My summer job was guaranteed to me and the only difference is tuition at my university increased the percentage raise from 7% to 14%. I thought this would be a problem, but then my grant increased by about 65%, so no trouble at all.

 

I have two jobs and receive money from the government for being a student, but I can barely make ends meet. So now whenever I see a wallet on the ground, I take the money from it and not even think twice. Prior to the economic situation I may have thought it was a not so nice thing to do, for a few seconds at least. The poor economy has just made me more self-interested and less caring than I already was.

 

Not really, I'm a student so...

 

Being the newest on the company (for two years now), I got put on part-time for the summer. I tried to look for odd jobs in my field to compensate, but there wasn't much available. I still don't know if I have a job in august...

 

I've actually noticed an improvement in my business as people are looking for more novel ways to attract customers!

On a personal note, It hasn't made a huge difference although my penis is dissapearing as well nunsbane

 

The economic downturn has been the best thing that has ever happened to me and my family. I have a government job, so it's pretty stable, and I got a 10% raise this year. The poor economy allowed me to get a sweet deal on my recent minivan purchase. Even better, with housing prices plummeting, it looks like my family will be able to move into a very nice neighborhood that would have been out of our price range just a couple years ago. We really cannot afford to move until next year when my wife returns to work, but even if prices rebound somewhat by then, they will be nowhere near where they were during the housing bubble.

The only place where I've taken a hit is my 401(k) account. However, I still have the employer match, so I'm sure the value of the account still exceeds what I have put into it, and the way I look at it, I'm now getting stocks at sale prices. I'm at least 30 years away from retirement anyway, so it's not like there isn't more than enough time for things to recover.

 

Braggart.

Both Mrs Bruno and I didn't get bonuses. I didn't get a raise for the first time because of the market. Our retirement accounts tanked (but are rebounding -- we're not at all concerned about those and believe they will come back long before we retire). But we budget for less than we make so our day to day life hasn't really been affected.

I was able to get a used truck for an incredible bargain and we have been able to get a lower rate on our home loan (the difference is going straight to principle).

 

Yep T2, the refinance was a beauty. The wife and I dropped almost $65,000 in interest by switching to 15 from 30 yrs and shaving points off of the rate. With little out of our pocket to boot!

But I have been told by my employer that raises will not happen, a real bummer since this is my 1st year with the company. Very disappointing. But with my wife working as a Physical Therapist, her job is pretty much stable and secure, so no hits on her end.

 

I'm stuck in a dead-end job, I haven't had a raise in almost 2 years, they (management) are trying everything in their power to screw us out of compensation while squeezing every last drop of work out of us...and I can't quit because there's literally *nothing* else out there...

 

Gonna be retrenched next year. The major hit in research funding has made it difficult to obtain research grants. At least I'm not a big spender, so I have some money saved up that should last me for abit.

 

+1 for the student population. But even I'm affected - stuff is more expensive so I have to be even more frugal than before. OTOH, sales are more frequent now, so I guess in some ways it's actually beneficial to me.

 

I'm hunkered down into two underpaying part time jobs trying to ride this out, living paycheck to paycheck. This caught up with me big-time last week, and I can only hope I recover before the next minor disaster.

 

Hasn't touched me in the slightest really, not only did both me and my girlfriend get pay rises at work we've managed to go on holiday 4 times this year as we have realised how cheap flights are now around Europe!

 

I used to be in the black ( Johnnie Walker Black that is ). Now I'm in the red ( Johnnie
Walker Red), it's their cheapest version. I used to drink Black with 1 ice cube, now its
Red with 2 ice cubes. I've had to make these big sacrifices, hope the economy picks up
soon.

 

It turned me into a newt!

 

Did you get better?

 

No, he's gonna work for Geico.

(P.S. yes i do get the MP reference)