Comments on: Your Take: What Are You Worried About Now?

By: ALAN

ALAN — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:15:08 +0000

Our main biz is down by a large chuck, so to help fill in teh blamk we took what had been a hobby and are making it into a money maker. We have done this for years, but never made any money off of it.
We host Conventions for Adults, but we do these in B and C Markets really cheap. People still want to get out and have fun, but are watching the cost a lot more, so we are filling that gap and bringing it all closer and cheaper to home for them. In the downturn we have found bargains on hotel rooms and meeting space and have used that to our positive side. We are working on 8 events right now and may add more.

By: Splendor

Splendor — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:27:14 +0000

I worry about friends and family, but my job has not been hurt by the economy. My employer has doubled the size of our business this year and I got a nice raise.

By: Chewbakka

Chewbakka — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:32:36 +0000

Other thoughts:
The stock market IMO, is propped up by positive talk and government. Look out for the next drop IMO, not to me negative, but our banking infrastructure is very weak. Think we have pains in the residential RE market? The next shoe to drop is commercial real estate. There is more to come. I second Michael’s thoughts in that we all need to have faith daily and be thankful for what we do have. Jim, your topics are very good and they do get to the heart of the changes we need to make in order to come through this downturn (Kudos to you). We need new ideas to feed to our leadership so we can all improve one step at a time.

By: Chewbakka

Chewbakka — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:23:41 +0000

I have been laid off since January and I am doing everything I can to find work at my level and below. I stay motivated by joining a Job Search Accountability Team so we can push and encourage each other. I am also networking like crazy and am on many on-line networking groups, so I get e-mails of job openings. My top worry is how long will this downturn last 2010 or beyond? Even before this recession, we have always been frugal and lived that way for years. Let’s say one day, we do recover, our culture will never be the same. I’m wondering what will be different and how will the world change, both here and abroad.

By: CuriousAG

CuriousAG — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:25:25 +0000

Yeah I know paid surveys don’t pay that good but try PineCone Research and Opinion Outpost. I just got approx. $20 this month only.

By: Paige

Paige — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:15:19 +0000

I am actually considering training for medical transcription, so I can work from home. If I decide against that, I know I will be going back to work next year once our daughter starts going to school. I never considered blogging, I don’t think I am an expert at anything, so I wouldn’t know what to blog about. I do participate in several online survey companies, but I am not making much at all doing that. I think I made $30 last year total. Thank you for the ideas, though. I am always open to new ideas.

By: barry

barry — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:13:40 +0000

my company has laid off 5,000+ people since February. to say that “worried me” would be a giant understatement.

but…it has also driven me to get my financial house in order, “gazelle style” to borrow from Ramsey.

so, while it wouldn’t be AS catastrophic as it would have last fall, loss of my job and/or the ability to replace my income ranks as my Top Worry.

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:08:51 +0000

I do worry about my husband’s job as he’s the single earner right now but he gets a lot of kudos emails so I doubt he’d be on the chopping block if they made cuts. They did cut a division entirely unrelated to his.

Anyway, my big focus is our 17,300 second mortgage. I want it gone. So I move anything over 10k from our liquid funds to paying it off. That way it feels like we don’t have any money. I’m thinking that by this winter we can have it paid off and start building a sizeable e-fund, at least 17k. I’m also about to have our second baby so while it’s not as expensive as the first, there are still a few things I want to splurge on- namely a nice new breastpump ($280) and a new baby monitor ($30).

I did look around at garage sales and couldn’t find a monitor that I liked for cheap, plus you wouldn’t believe the ppl that sell broken stuff w/o warning. I guess at this point in time I’m not willing to do “whatever it takes” to clear the debt when I’m pretty sure in six months it’ll be gone anyway.

By: ObliviousInvestor

ObliviousInvestor — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:54:07 +0000

Being self-employed in an industry that isn’t terribly affected by a recession (taxation), I haven’t been hit too hard.

My worry is for my friends. We’re only a few years out of school, and many of them have only recently found jobs in their fields. I hope they get to keep them!

Secondary worry: I worry that our generation will “learn” that the stock market is too risky.

By: StephaniePTY

StephaniePTY — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:49:17 +0000

I graduated in February, so my focus is still on trying to find a job.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:55:47 +0000

That’s the honest truth. My grandfather once said, you’re lucky if all of your problems can be solved with just money.

By: Julie Ali

Julie Ali — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:39:49 +0000

Hi Michael,
Loved that response. I was out for a small walk near my home. The Red Winged Blackbirds are singing their heads off at the marsh attempting to court their drab little wives, the Canada geese are stalking around looking grumpy, the chickadees are eating sunflowers provided by generous folks, the Least squirrel youngsters (this year’s crop) are hyperactive, a bundle of new batch Snowshoe hare are in mortal danger of being eaten by the local coyote. The sun is shining in Edmonton, Alberta.

Life is short. It has a habit of ending in like a dragonfly frozen in midflight. No amount of money, assets or insurance is going to make you safe from any damn life accident: it is just going to make it sort of more manageable.

I really feel for your family. Take care.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:29:56 +0000

I am tired of being scared. I have a decent job with a good income but nothing is permanent. I only have about 10 grand in the bank and 70 grand in student loans (better than the $300,000 that many of my colleagues have). I have been stressing for the last 6 months about building a security fund and can’t seem to get ahead with lot’s of extra expenses. But my 55 year old mother-in-law was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. And it hit my wife and I like a ton of bricks. Life is short and we never know what tomorrow will bring. It’s important to try and plan for the future, but I have spent most of my life ONLY planning for the future. It’s time to enjoy life. What ever tomorrow brings, I will deal with it at that time. Today I am going to enjoy this beautiful spring day with my wife and thank god that I have this day to be alive.

By: Jason H

Jason H — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:49:03 +0000

I am concerned that the response to the crisis will further exaserbate it, or at least make recovery harder. An example that hit me today. The GSEs (Freddie and Fannie) have imposed a new “condo fee” if you try to buy a condo with less than 25% down. Because condos were bought by investors and thereby deemed riskier, those of us trying to buy our first place are smacked with a 3/4 point fee at closing for the “privilage” of buying a condo. You can’t tell me that this kind of reaction won’t cause issues during and after recovery.

By: Rayle Shonie

Rayle Shonie — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:48:58 +0000

I don’t think anything should be taken for granted. Whether your job seems to be secure or not, have a plan for the worst case scenario. Who had expected things to be where they are today?

Right now, folks should save, if possible, while spending wisely. There are plenty of areas to look for savings. I know people who have cut down on eating out. But everyone has other regular expenditures that can be re-evaluated – For instance, change your cell phone plan or shop for lower car insurance rates.