Ever since my husband has been laid off it's been a return to simpler times,instead of going out to eat once a week - cooking at home,instead of vacationing -going to a nearby park, no more weekly trips to Walmart - period! It took some getting used to in the beginning but I have to say that I don't really miss much of the things listed above,especially going out to eat. I believe that even once the economy starts getting better we'll be making an effort towards the simpler way of things,except perhaps when it comes to vacations since we'd like to once again go to the Mountains one time a year.
What Recession? Every time we go out it so busy everywhere. Went to dinner last night in Raleigh and had to wait over an hour. So people sure are going out. So it really has not had a direct impact on us. Though we are more careful with our money, saving more, but that about it.
You are fortunate then! Since my dh was layed off it certainly has made us realize just how bad a situation this is. I bet I know of at least 20 people, (maybe more) personally that have either been layed off, their spouse has, their business is hurting/closed (several in business for themselves). But as you said, there are still lots of folks that are 'out/about' so I guess 'we're' still the minority? Met a (single) lady the other day, had worked at IBM 14 yrs, been layed off for a yr now, lost her house, most of her possessions, taking care of her mentally challenged brother, living part time in hotels, then in her truck sometimes......she just turned 62 so she can now file for her SS retirement benefits. When I see/hear about that type of situation, I can't feel sorry for myself.
Fortunate indeed! My husband talked to someone he used to work with the other day,the guy got laid off after working with the same company for over 30 years,his wife is not well and they are now without insurance. Someone I know receives foodstamps but because she receives them she can no longer can go to Project Access to receive lower cost Healthcare. I thought the recession might have been some sort of wake up call...:?
Thats why I preach so hard to my kids about getting all the education they can. Don't ever turn down an opportunity to learn something new. In todays world you need to have a trade or the education that others don't have to be successful. Simply having a high school education is not going to get you a job anymore. At least the kind of job that's going to allow you to life comfortably and enjoy the finer things in life.
Absolutely true, whatever the state of the economy. People will be well served by a good education in good times and bad.
I think one thing that hurt the country is the loss of our textile industry. The losses can be heard of in practically any small NC community and perhaps across the country, as well. Many communities grew on the prosperity of the local textile mills. I don't have the data to back it up, but I'd bet that a reason for the nation's economic woes and soaring unemployment rates are contributable (directly or indirectly) to the loss of textile jobs. Lots of blue collar folks have been given their walking papers so that the companies could simply relocate their factories to places where they could operate cheaper. It's affected unemployment rates, national, state and local economies, individuals' savings, healthcare, etc.
Oh, absolutely! A person needs more that hs diploma these days. But even those with multiple degrees are being hurt, as well as the blue collar workers. We have friends in the construction and real estate industries that are w/out work, heard the other day that areas such as dental asst (that used to be in such a demand) - that dentists aren't hiring like they were a few mths ago, engineering firms (land development - such was my dh) don't have much, if any work/clients, church ministries are suffering because contributions are down, schools & colleges are having to cut back. Got an email from my dd's college that they will be increasing classroom size (along w/ other changes) due to staff cutbacks, retail stores/restaurants are closing.....the list goes on. I hope for all our sakes that there is a turn-around soon! Even then it will take a long time for many to recover.
We were out shopping yesterday. Nearly every shopping area we went to it was almost hard to find a parking spot. We had to hike in from the back forty. It looked like Christmas craziness. Recession? Hopefully the recession has taught folks not to live beyond their means. Just because the bank says you qualify for a $200K mortgage doesn't mean you can make those payments and still feed your family.
I think that if everyone had to pay cash instead of with credit cards those parking lots at the shopping centers would have been a lot less full
