how has the economy affected you?

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by GMScud

I was working in the mortgage industry for a while. It was a real grind there at the end, and when I was laid off last August, I decided to go an entirely different route as far as employment. I still have licensure through the end of this year, so if things start to pick up I can always dabble with it part time.

Fortunately I don't have any personal "horror" stories, but my wallet certainly isn't what it once was. I left Gainesville, Florida and moved back home to DC about a year and a half ago to be closer to family and get a "real" job. Funny, I was actually making more down there running a sports bar than I am now.

Don't you watch CNN? Bars are recession proof. Everybody drinks when things start looking down.

In all honesty I am one of the few people not immediately affected by poor economic times. Now, when the gas prices were high I had to cut back on a couple of things, but the dramatic drop in prices brought everything back to normal.

Within the past year I have recieved a promotion with a significant pay increase. My wife started working again (at what I call a real job) back in August. Yesterday she recieved an offer letter from another company that more than doubled her previous salary. Despite the tough times things have just been getting better for us. Before the year is out we will be buying a home.

My success has not made me immune to the current economic situation though. In the past 18 months I have watched my pregnant sister and her husband file for bankruptcy. They had to move back home with my parents. My Brother turned in the deed to his house to the bank. He moved into an cheap apartment with his wife and kid. The rest of my family has had to pitch in to help my retired grandparents to make their bills and keep their home.

So yeah my wife and I are getting paid, but life isn't all peaches and cream. We still live modestly and try to help out our own whenever we can. It is hard to feel good about yourself when the people you care about are all struggling.