Recession: How's Life?

[Goblin Cat 😸]

I was just curious about how life is going for some of the guys in the U.S.. We're dwindling on the borderline of going into a recession; and I know some of us have to be feeling the effects. If so, what's changed for you? I know for me, my family is indeed hitting a rough spot. It's getting a little scary here lately where I live.. Watching gas station after gas station close because they have run completely out of gas. Or completely raise the prices to as much as $4.75 a gallon. The news doesn't help because they emphasize the fact, causing a mild mass hysteria; lining people up at the pump. I know I've seen people filling up gas cans; and you can't help but think that they're crazy and that it isn't that bad.. But when the gas stations run out of gas, you begin to wonder.. And also curse that the crazy person who was filling up cans  because he has gas and you don't. Also prices for other things seem to be rising, but paychecks don't. It's really a strain.

For those of you not in the U.S., do you fear that if our country hits that mark that we will effect you? Some people think that the U.S. could cause a slow down arond the world.. Again.. This was just out of curiosity.

[Manual_automation]

i'm doing just fine, i see plenty of jobs in the market, there are homes for rent and resonable prices, food is expensive, but not so much so that you can't eat, gas is going up, but that's just a fact of life, supply and demand, things are more expensive when more people want them. the reality is that the only people extreemly affected by this are the people that bearly could make it in the first place, if you had a steady income before, you have a steady income now, however if you lived in a lower pay bracket before, you will have some problems, this does not mean that the economy is doomed it just means you should look for a better job (or look into public assistance untill you can adapt to the new financial reality)

[WingedZephyr]

Jobs are pretty hard to find around here right now. Gas is almost $4/gal but not yet. Income that would have been enough before isn't now. My parents seem to have been barely scraping by, and they got rid of a few monthly expenses (cable, high speed internet, things like that) in order to have some extra money.

[Wulf064]

Yea things are getting bad around here, jobs are a struggle and almost impossible for me to get and Like you said Gas stations running out... I hope for the best but try and prepare for the worst.

[Octavia]

Yea..pretty much the smae in Canada...gas prices actually dropped a little bit...it was $1.37 a litre...which is...darn o.o...$5.48 a gallon but it's gone down to like $1.20 which is like $4.80 as gallon...I'm in fear of getting Laid Off...but other then that it's pretty good...beer and alcohol still has the %125 tax on it...((wish they'd get rid of it)) I still find stuff in the US cheaper though than buying from home...

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Ah, we seem to be barely getting by.

[Somebody]

Its been rough on solo people like me trying to provide for family members who can't work themselves. I've struggled to get by on a week by week basic. Thank god I got a economy car but the prices still are hurting me badly. I'm always wondering what will happen if the economy gets worse off will I become homeless?

Right now its not so bad but one thing I know for sure, too much worse might be the breaking point for a lot of people. But to add insult to injury there will be a war. We all know its comming

[scarypuppy]

Life is alright in my little corner.

course I'm blessed sorta.

We're a farming community and so alot of farmers and field managers need people for odd jobs.

Doesnt stop my county from having the highest unemployment rate in .... was it the valley or the state..... meh, either way, people are getting by, but it is getting kinda hard.

I'm still waiting for a cell while my little cousins at age 10 have had one for 3 years.

Food is getting a bit high but so far its whats been obvious for the past years.

Gas is pretty much the same, as for the price raise, it happens every few years, only now its getting more attention, to me, because of the war in Iraq, its pretty easy to tack something ugly onto something inconvenient. Cept the oil companies keep raising the prices due to their perceptions of the market, as well as China, India and numerous other industrialized nations begin to call for more oil.

Good Luck to you all.

[¿ Jesse Pawman ?]

My family, not so well off. Mom had to get a second job to help with the increasing taxes and gas and bills and stuff. We're probably hundreds (maybe a few thousand) of dollars in debt right now.

[Smitty the Airship Pirate]

   Well, My corner of the country is not doing so well, the Autoliv factory is going to close down and is laying off 638 workers, most of the local factories have closed down except for Steel Dynamics which seems to continue to expand but that job is only if you want to risk the danger in working there.  All I can say is that my family is scraping by, as for a car, I don't have one currently but everything is near me so I use my bike.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

My family, not so well off. Mom had to get a second job to help with the increasing taxes and gas and bills and stuff. We're probably hundreds (maybe a few thousand) of dollars in debt right now.

Ah yes, I know how that is. Currently, neither of my parents are officially employed. My dad is a disable veteran, and he can't get a job. My mom has no job other than her art business, which is not doing so hot. We're getting by, but how is mystery to me. My mom tried to get a second job and could only work for a  week because it was too hard on her. She had to work Monday through Friday, then go sell art on the weekends.

She quit her second job, so now we're back to square one.

[Octavia]

right now I'm working on paying of a new motorcycle I bought...it's effeicent 80 MPG  or somewhere around there...my mom drives the bug to work ((74" VW Beetle)) and my dad drives a fairly good car...33-35MPG. but I"m currently possibly looking for a new job...seeming I could get Laid off at anytime...I'm thinking of working at the liquor store or the hospital on maintenance...(electrical etc..)) both offer $16+ an hour starting wage...


There's been a few factories close down where I am..one.. called Fleetwood..they've opened and closed a couple times..they make RV trailers and stuff...um..some plastic place... andother one called Trent Rubber...a few jobs lost there..

[Thaddeus Q. Wolfe]

Being a Wisconsin resident, I live in tax HELL. Especially here in Milwaukee.

I'm glad that with my income I don't make enough to fall under a tax bracket (way under poverty level) and live at home so i don't have any property taxes or anything. I see that the job market is falling around me, and am just glad that I can't be fired for a minimum of 72 more days, after that i don't know. I can barely afford gas, so i have to drive a moped, i smoke too so that lowers my gas account.

The only thing i have going for is my 2000 dollar account and my intelligence, wich seems to be fading.

[¿ Jesse Pawman ?]

This has been the slowest summer in retail at the music shop since it opened in 94. I'm only working two days at three hours a day.

[Thaddeus Q. Wolfe]

they only have me on three hour shifts at work, and we barely ever make a profit.