The Economy

[Mr. Bloom]

As a banker, I have a particular interest in how people are feeling the effects of the economy. As the chinese curse goes..."may you live in interesting times"...and interesting times we have...

So, without political rants etc, please share your feelings about the current state of the economy. Are you:

- Concerned and changing behaviors
- Concerned but no big changes
- Neutral or unaffected
- Good but not great
- Great - never been better

Poll votes are not public...although posted comments are.

[Dogmama]

Mr. Silver - I can tell you are concerned. Your post was time stamped 2:25 AM!

I'm watching what I buy in the grocery store. Before, my mantra was, "Doesn't matter what it costs - I need/want it." Going to Costco more. Even downgraded vacation plans from a suite to a regular room (don't cry for me, I'm going to San Fran in August to escape Tucson heat) - we don't go often so I like to splurge - but not this year.

I retired a year ago, so my income is set. I also bought an SUV. Great timing, eh?

[Aggie_Ama]

Lets see property tax dropped (yippee) but mortgage company misfigured escrow and doesn't review until June (boo). Our house payment went up $150 to make sure we can cover tax and insurance in December. Garbage collection and electric went up due to cost of gas. Food is outrageous, luckily my in-laws raise cattle and we get a lot of free beef when we can go see them. We are getting to make the trip a lot less though and that hurts.

We have bought commuter bikes and are saving $40 a week on gas in the Dodge truck my husband drives. Also saving $10-15 on my little fuel efficient Dodge Caliber. We combine trips, walk, ride or just don't go sometimes. We are taking a vacation to Red River but staying in a budget hotel, not higher end.

My company will likely not be able to do raises but luckily DH's did and gave him a nice bonus even though their industry is starting to feel the pinch.

[Crankin]

Well, I wouldn't say that we are really negatively affected, but we have changed some things because we are concerned. First, my husband bought a Miatta to drive instead of his SUV. He always wanted a 2 seater car, so now he uses it all the time when the weather is good. We didn't sell the SUV, because we need it to haul bikes, canoe, and most importantly, get up our street in the winter. Yes, we are fortunate that we can afford to buy a 3d car. So far, the savings have been good. The Miatta got 31 mpg last fill up as opposed to about 16 for the SUV.
We are keeping our vacations local and short. Our "big" trip this year is a 4 day bike tour/camping trip from Concord to Northampton. We turned down an invite to do a tour in Canada with friends.
My husband rides his bike to work 2 days a week in the nice weather.
I am no longer working. I plan my shopping trips/errands more now, so I am not wasting gas. My car gets about 20 mpg, not horrible, but not great, either. But, it's a small luxury car that is 5 years old and only has 45,000 miles on it. I fill up about once every 10 days to 2 weeks.
I ride my hybrid bike to the gym, doctor appointments, some errands at least once a week. I also try to shop at local farm stands at this time of the year during these trips.
When I go back to school in the fall, I will drive to the commuter rail (5 miles), park in a free lot provided by the grocery store, and take the train to Cambridge. My classes are in the late afternoon and evening, so I don't want to ride my bike home in the dark.
These aren't huge things, but they are changes.

[short cut sally]

I would love to ride my bike to work but coming home after midnight is not my cup of tea after working 12 hour shift. My DH and I each have diesel trucks, do I need one? no but I love the security of being in a truck after having an accident in a car. I've limited my trips down town and how much I spend at the grocery store. I am contemplating buying a rack for my bike so I can pick up all the pop cans I see along the road to put towards next years cycling events and pick up a thing or two at the store-its on my order list so it will be soon. I am cutting down on some things, however, just bought a new pair of Sidi's. Somehow, cycling is an addiction that I can't give up on yet. I'm not sure where the economy is going, but I don't think it's for the better. I keep asking if there is going to be a depression, DH thinks I'm crazy. Hey, it could happen-couldn't it? DH has his own business, this will be the first year he hasn't bought a new piece of equipment, as much as he would like to, but he says he just wants to get ahead on all his payments because he thinks next year he might be helping me do housework. He's not turning any jobs down now for fear that next year will be slow d/t the economy. He does excavating/ponds/new house sites,etc

[DDH]

We haven't changed drastically, but I always try to incorporate all my running in one day and make one big circle. My husband has bought a motorcycle to commute and do errands with to save gas.
Everything has gone up, Our Electric bill is double (literally) than it was 2 years ago and most months I am using less electricity.
Groceries are outrages now, I mean I'm paying more for a gallon of milk than I do for Gasoline. We hunt so I don't buy a lot of meat anyway, but it doesn't seem to change what I have to write the check out for in the end.

I'm thinking of changing my investments to be all bonds and get everything out of the stock market for now. I've lost so much money in stocks it's pathetic, and I don't have anymore going into it, so I cannot continue to lose money. After a while there won't be anything left.

It has me concerned, but I haven't made significant changes, just little things here and there.

[Veronica]

We both work for economically unaffected employers. However, because Thom took six months off last year so we could travel through summer, we've become somewhat cost conscious. We want to build up that reserve so we can do it again. We're not doing any traveling this summer because I have a big event coming up in August that I'm training for.

We don't get bonuses in my line of work. With California's woes I'm not even sure we're going to get a COLA raise this year. Thom did just get a bonus for something he created and I expect he'll get a raise.

Thom started commuting by motorcycle a couple of years ago, more to save time than gas. I usually ride my bike to work. Although because of my hamstring issue and training for this tri I did drive more this spring than normal. My job is only 1.6 miles away by car though. I actually make it longer when I ride.

V.

[Mr. SR500]

My little business is really suffering, it's sort of off-season (winter months are my best), but sales are way off. Some is related to my current product mix, but I believe a large portion is the economy and people not spending money like they were 6 months ago.

I know, we've tried to save were we can. We traded my VW for a Honda Civic and more then doubled our mpg.

[Becky]

We both work for economically unaffected employers. However, because Thom took six months off last year so we could travel through summer, we've become somewhat cost conscious. We want to build up that reserve so we can do it again. We're not doing any traveling this summer because I have a big event coming up in August that I'm training for.

We don't get bonuses in my line of work. With California's woes I'm not even sure we're going to get a COLA raise this year.

Sounds like gub'mint to me DH and I are fortunate that, even though neither of us have seen a raise in 2 years, we're unlikely to get laid off. The worst that we'll hopefully weather job-wise is the current hiring freeze, which means heavier caseloads for everyone in the short-term.

We're commuting by bike as much as possible and we've both changed our driving habits a little. I've always done my best to combine errands into one big trip- a carryover from my days of living in a more rural area, I guess. I'm not looking forward to what heating season will bring, but at least we can still afford heating oil and I'm grateful for that.

[beccaB]

We've changed our driving habits as much as possible and tightened up the budget elsewhere. I'm getting to be a tightwad, and I'm concerned about always having to live like this. I don't earn a lot, and my husband isn't getting any overtime and no raises in the forseeable future. I have one kid in college, and we'll be trying to help her pay the interest on her student loans, and I'm concerned about that. I might have to lower my standards when it comes to beer! (Oh No-anything but that!)

[Geonz]

I'm giving a bit more to help the more folks having harder times... I had already sold the car and not because of hte economy; simply because my brother needed it and right now I don't need one here.
I'm also going to rent a car and do about twice as much traveling as most years, and in part because things seem uncertain so I may not be able to later. Driving 2000 miles will cost a *lot* more than it would have last year... but next year it could be simply out of sight. If not, fine
I stuck money (from selling the car) in CD's thinking interest rates didn't look like they were going up.
I've continued to pay that extra principal on the mortgage ... but not quite as much 'cause if I were to lose my job I'd need to be paying the regular payments.
Simply because of the way my lifestyle interacts with things, the most honest assessment of my personal economy is never been better... but I *know* that's not reflective of the rest of the world.

[Trek420]

The news is full off tips/tricks things to do to get by in the economy. I already do most of those things People saving the most by riding to work are your weekend warrior who thinks "I've already got the gear, why not bike to work" But I've been doing this for years in Spring/Summer so this is normal for my budget. Public transit? Fairly fuel efficient vehicle? Link/efficient errands? Chose a house near transit options? Doing it already.

I've applied to have my property taxes lowered, I feel bad about it because I know my county needs the revenue. Can someone tell them I'm pouring it back into the local economy with the remodel.

Speaking of remodel, when I set out to do this thang I looked forward to sell for almost double what I paid. I found a home well below market value which is lucky for me. The way things look now I might break even or even loose a little if I sold right when I'm done.

Anyone want a newly remodeled condo within 2 bikeable miles to BART/Amtrack?

[LBTC]

I promise I'll read the rest of the posts later...

We've been in money preserving mode since we uprooted ourselves 2 years ago. We're almost making the same income we were then, and our mortgage payment is a lot higher.

That said, while I think we all need to be careful with our resources in whichever way works best for us, I think the economic doomsayers really are a whole lot of hype. Everything from the price of gas to the price of food is where it is because of speculation. Really, it makes me kind of sick thinking about it, that greedy people are affecting so many people in a real way. My way of fighting back: Within reason, keep spending. Somebody has to keep the economy going.

As an aside - we purposely bought a house in a neighbourhood close enough for me to walk to work. DH ended up with a job a bit further away, but he rides his bike a few days a week. We do that mostly because we want to, not so much because of the "economy".

Of course, we are in Canada, where the economy is being affected by the US economy, but isn't in the same state.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[Thorn]

Changes? Not really. Like Trek, we've pretty much been doing the savings things all along. And, like, Geonz, making sure not to forget the people in need.

So, I still don't skimp on food (thank goodnes farmers market season is approaching) as I still believe that eating good food (healthy, not rich) is the most important priority on spending. I'm veggie, so short of giving up my organic produce (no way) or artisan cheeses (OK, maybe) there aren't a lot of savings to be made there.

But DH is now driving my car when I work at home because it gets better gas mileage. And, I now justify driving like a grandma at the speed limit because I can see that it boosts my gas mileage by about 5%.

However, bad timing for us, but perhaps good timing for the contractors, we've got a lot of work to do on the house. So, we're scheduling those tasks now. That means no money goes into savings (sorry Mr Silver the Banker) and, while the costs may be higher right now, I look at it as my little bit to keep the economy going.

[tulip]

I have a sweet little bungalow under contract, and my mortgage payment will be $400 less than my current rent! Still a few hoops to jump through to get to closing though, so I'm not counting my chicks yet. If all goes well, I'll be in there in August. It's a good time to be a buyer.

My work is going strong. I develop affordable housing for people with special needs, and that is always in demand. My side job is garden design, and that tends to fall off when folks don't have extra money to spend.

I work from home so I don't use my car too much, but I still don't like going to the pump.

I went to France in May and that was a tough economic pill to swallow. But I had a good time.

The past couple of years have been lower income for me by choice. I chose to work part-time after moving from DC to Richmond (much lower housing costs). I needed a rest. Now I'm back to full-time, but it's from home and flexible.

At the risk of riling up the masses here who have very resolute principles on the topic, my family owns farmland in Louisiana and the oil companies are going gangbusters to drill, drill, drill, and that could have economic benefits for us (we have the upper hand in demanding higher lease payments and royalties from they oil companies--I say that's okay.)