How have you been affected by this economic crisis?

[whiskeyjack]

Make no mistake we all got hit by this economic crisis, whether your a little boy living outta daddys pocket, a student, or even someone who works for a living some way or another we are getting hit by it.

Me personally my company is feeling it, i think. There arent as many contracts available or drawn up cause the price of minerals has dropped. The only thing really keeping things afloat is gold exploration which is just allowing the company to squeak by the winter till the snow begins to melt (but it has to fall first).

Me ive asked for my pay checks to pay me for 8 days instead of for 10, so i can stretch my money a little further into the winter....

But looking at things as a whole i think iam faring WAY better then most of the other people out there....

How is everyone else doing? Is it only the seniors with there rrsp's getting affected, or has everyone else been feeling a little sting?

[alexalonso]

my house has lost 25 percent of its value since I purchased it 15 months ago, so I have no equity and I am paying for a house that is not worth the loan I have. therefore I will not be able to build equity.

My income is 50% less than it was 2 years ago with less people spending money.

[MMRbkaRudog]

I think most people have.

[Kara Ben Nemsi]

my house has lost 25 percent of its value since I purchased it 15 months ago, so I have no equity and I am paying for a house that is not worth the loan I have. therefore I will not be able to build equity.

My income is 50% less than it was 2 years ago with less people spending money.

It's rough out there Alex. Lot's of layoffs coming and small businesses rolling up. Double digit unemployment eminent (which means immigration reform is finally going to move forward whether people like it or not so jobs can get freed up for citizens).

Watch what banks you have your money in as many banks are going under soon and there will be many bank mergers as well. If you are in some local independent bank or savings & loan: get out immediately.

There's some fallen angels out there in the stock market right now but one must be careful. Fallen angels, by definition, can burn you good. Might be better to look at who has money and good financials with acquisition plans and put your play money there. Eventually banks, organizations, and individuals are going to start trading, buying, and engaging in financial transactions again. Right now everyone's holding on to their money doing nothing... even the banks aren't loaning each other money. This lack of activity, the projected glut of failing profit and loss statements, debt, and failed consumer confidence are why you see the stock market tanking. There's money's out there though. It's just not in play. Few know where it's safe to put it so who can blame them.

Real money should be in cash, of course, for now though a slice in precious metals and don't be afraid to get your beak wet some with good companies who fit the profile I mentioned. Eventually we're going to see some very good real estate deals after the next release of bum paper hits the streets first quarter of 2009. Hard to believe there's another wave of bad paper coming but there is and it will make real estate tank further. Actually 4th quarter of 2009 might be a good time for all those veterans who never cashed in their VA home loan to finally buy (no one else is lending right?) one.

I believe if you are happy in your home and can afford to hang on to it you should. Inflation is occurring and that will erase some of the debt (along with some savings unfortunately for many) problem and when the economy comes out of the recession in a few years wages will begin to rise fast(they are flat now and for some time into the future) as a result. If you can hang in for the long haul your home will begin to build equity again.. eventually serious equity.

Again, cash flow is tight because money's not in play. But that will eventually change as the losers die off and the winners rise to the top and confidence comes back. It's a hard reset right now and all these bailouts aren't having the intended effect in the short term (they probably will long term though) BUT the bailouts are 100% for sure going to drive taxes UP so it's going to be awhile before you see things get better. At least gas prices are down... lol.

We are in for some tough times in the short to medium haul. If you get laid off, flattened, let go, etc... it might be a good time to get a degree/another degree in a field with career potential. Not real estate, IT, etc... but try the medical field... and I see government growing much bigger in the future after Obama gets elected so learn how to use the bureaucracy to good result. It will go a long way.

Rents will stay high unfortunately people. Follow your grandparents example (they survived a great depression remember) and save your money don't spend it.

Oh and now would be a good time to reevaluate what you have to offer your customers if you are in business for yourself and your marketing. Networking with past clients is key right now. Get your phone situation straight and then use it to reconnect with past clients.

Relationships are important right now. If you have good relationships you can leverage off to make your life better or keep you going, treat them right now.

Prisons going to be a drag for those of you players who don't play straight and get caught. The jails and prisons are going to become a dumping ground for a couple hundred thousand more poor indigent lost souls who got caught trying to survive. Conditions are going to get worse. I think this prison reform health care ruling will go into effect but the numbers of inmates are going to increase and crowding is going to get worse.

I know we have many differences of opinion on politics Alex but I respect you and may God bless you during this recession and give you the wisdom you need to make the right choices. Peace.

[StillNoScript]

Less hours at work, big time. And, I only work part time. But that's not what's killing me most. Cost of food is. Grocery bill is skyrocketing.

But, let's be real. The poor are getting the worst of it. While we have multi billion dollar bailouts on wall street, the only money being spent on Grape Street is for more police.

[Kara Ben Nemsi]

Less hours at work, big time. And, I only work part time. But that's not what's killing me most. Cost of food is. Grocery bill is skyrocketing.

But, let's be real. The poor are getting the worst of it. While we have multi billion dollar bailouts on wall street, the only money being spent on Grape Street is for more police.

No doubt. Watts is poor as dirt. Law enforcement is a sweet deal right now though. A high school degree and a 24 week academy and you're making rightous bucks. Average salary for an LAPD officer across the board right now is over $93k a year with a lifetime pension (upon retirement) and all sorts of perks. The government always has money for it's mercenaries it seems.

[coolmillion]

Simply, the rich can't sleep at night brcause the poor who are truly sufferring are awake at night

[EmperorPenguin]

Make no mistake we all got hit by this economic crisis, whether your a little boy living outta daddys pocket, a student, or even someone who works for a living some way or another we are getting hit by it.

Me personally my company is feeling it, i think. There arent as many contracts available or drawn up cause the price of minerals has dropped. The only thing really keeping things afloat is gold exploration which is just allowing the company to squeak by the winter till the snow begins to melt (but it has to fall first).

Me ive asked for my pay checks to pay me for 8 days instead of for 10, so i can stretch my money a little further into the winter....

But looking at things as a whole i think iam faring WAY better then most of the other people out there....

How is everyone else doing? Is it only the seniors with there rrsp's getting affected, or has everyone else been feeling a little sting?

At least in Canada the only people being affected is the seniors with RRSP's. I have my RRSP and I won't be using it for another 30+ years so I have no worries it will be just fine. My portfolio is great too so I'm in no crisis. As far as stock markets go, people need to just not panic and ride it out. Just the rumours of people panicking cause markets to drop so just ride it out and relax. Unless you're retiring tomorrow there's nothing to freak out over. Markets will go up and down over the course of years, you don't see people dancing in the streets when the markets are up, so why freak out when they're down? Then again I have a great financial advisor, great portfolio and my daughter isn't even 4 years old and she has more money stashed away in stocks and RRSP's then most average adults based simply on smart investing.

[Kara Ben Nemsi]

Make no mistake we all got hit by this economic crisis, whether your a little boy living outta daddys pocket, a student, or even someone who works for a living some way or another we are getting hit by it.

Me personally my company is feeling it, i think. There arent as many contracts available or drawn up cause the price of minerals has dropped. The only thing really keeping things afloat is gold exploration which is just allowing the company to squeak by the winter till the snow begins to melt (but it has to fall first).

Me ive asked for my pay checks to pay me for 8 days instead of for 10, so i can stretch my money a little further into the winter....

But looking at things as a whole i think iam faring WAY better then most of the other people out there....

How is everyone else doing? Is it only the seniors with there rrsp's getting affected, or has everyone else been feeling a little sting?

At least in Canada the only people being affected is the seniors with RRSP's. I have my RRSP and I won't be using it for another 30+ years so I have no worries it will be just fine. My portfolio is great too so I'm in no crisis. As far as stock markets go, people need to just not panic and ride it out. Just the rumours of people panicking cause markets to drop so just ride it out and relax. Unless you're retiring tomorrow there's nothing to freak out over. Markets will go up and down over the course of years, you don't see people dancing in the streets when the markets are up, so why freak out when they're down? Then again I have a great financial advisor, great portfolio and my daughter isn't even 4 years old and she has more money stashed away in stocks and RRSP's then most average adults based simply on smart investing.

Everyone take notice of this. Here's a guy that's making it work for him. Congratulations Penguin. Pay no mind to the jealous haters and stay on track. Raise those kids right. Good job. I like to hear about people making it work out.

[razbojnik]

my house has lost 25 percent of its value since I purchased it 15 months ago, so I have no equity and I am paying for a house that is not worth the loan I have. therefore I will not be able to build equity.

My income is 50% less than it was 2 years ago with less people spending money.

Alonso, I've been meaning to ask, what type of work do you do??

[razbojnik]

Everyone take notice of this. Here's a guy that's making it work for him. Congratulations Penguin. Pay no mind to the jealous haters and stay on track. Raise those kids right. Good job. I like to hear about people making it work out.

I gotta concradulate him, too. It's rare a good person gets so many bad things done to him in life and is still able to make something of himself with obstacle after obstacle, problem after problem put forth.

My friend is one of these types of people. He gave me the best piece of advice anyone has ever given me. I used to be the type of person that would get angry over things that are supposed to make me angry, and usually these little things that aren't worth anything in value to me are the ones that I lost sleep over night after night because I bothered myself too much. With one sentence, he changed my life, my thinking, my whole mentality, gave me a boost of confidence I've never had and raised my self esteem almost back up to where it should be in the first place: I've faced alot of problems in life and the one thing you always have to do is stay motivated enough to keep going on, don't let the little things bother you and just live and enjoy your life.

Of course it's shorter than that, but you get what I mean.

Pengiun, it brings me happiness to find someone good making it work out for themselves. Good job, buddy.

[EmperorPenguin]

Make no mistake we all got hit by this economic crisis, whether your a little boy living outta daddys pocket, a student, or even someone who works for a living some way or another we are getting hit by it.

Me personally my company is feeling it, i think. There arent as many contracts available or drawn up cause the price of minerals has dropped. The only thing really keeping things afloat is gold exploration which is just allowing the company to squeak by the winter till the snow begins to melt (but it has to fall first).

Me ive asked for my pay checks to pay me for 8 days instead of for 10, so i can stretch my money a little further into the winter....

But looking at things as a whole i think iam faring WAY better then most of the other people out there....

How is everyone else doing? Is it only the seniors with there rrsp's getting affected, or has everyone else been feeling a little sting?

At least in Canada the only people being affected is the seniors with RRSP's. I have my RRSP and I won't be using it for another 30+ years so I have no worries it will be just fine. My portfolio is great too so I'm in no crisis. As far as stock markets go, people need to just not panic and ride it out. Just the rumours of people panicking cause markets to drop so just ride it out and relax. Unless you're retiring tomorrow there's nothing to freak out over. Markets will go up and down over the course of years, you don't see people dancing in the streets when the markets are up, so why freak out when they're down? Then again I have a great financial advisor, great portfolio and my daughter isn't even 4 years old and she has more money stashed away in stocks and RRSP's then most average adults based simply on smart investing.

Everyone take notice of this. Here's a guy that's making it work for him. Congratulations Penguin. Pay no mind to the jealous haters and stay on track. Raise those kids right. Good job. I like to hear about people making it work out.

Thanks for that. I think my last post didn't make it through so here's the long and the short of it. This "Crisis" had been made out to be more then it is. When you panic and sell your stocks, the markets go down (and smart people like me buy up your cheap stocks only to turn a profit in a few months) or you cash out your RRSP's ( I think the term is 401k in the States?) only to get kicked in the ass come tax season because you cashed out too early. Calm down and plan it out early. You younger kids, invest now in something small with a good financial advisor. You'd be amazed at what kind of money you'll be looking at come 60+. I know it's a long ways down the road but when you're 30 like me, you're going to be kicking yourself for not having planned earlier, trust me.

[SouljahGirl]

I think most people have.

Not me.. I'm so far up under the poverty line i don't even show up on the radar. It don't hurt me at all. As a matter fo fact, it might help me. I hear general motors stock is down to 5$ a share.. N'HAN.... can a Souljah get a loan

[razbojnik]

What about the crooks taking advantage over the economic crisis? There's alot of advantages to what's going on right now, and alot of people are using it to as much extent as possible. I'm stating the obvious.

We haven't been effected much, as in Canada, we're still driving more than a 100km each week, and my parents do lay low because of the gas prices. Our apartment is free, our basic cable is free, we only pay for phone and internet services, heating is free and it's pretty damn good you can walk around half naked you'll still sweat, water we have hot water as much as we want it's free, garbage is also free just take it out to the back and discard in the dumpster. You have working toilets that don't cost you a penny.

As for food, we still gobble down on that shit --- one dinner could feed a whole fucking starving African village. Yet my parents still find a way to buy luxury goods for an apartment in the ghetto(mind you, we live in Cataraqui, a 'hood' in Scarborough), they bought a new car, fuck god knows what my apartment will be full of next time I come over there....

Picture this, your apartment looks simple, boring, like a dump when you leave on May 28th. You come back on September 20th to find it has transformed into a multimillion dollar flat. That's because I'm away, they don't have anything to buy except my mom spends thousands of dollars a year on her nails and my dad buys lottery tickets that usually come up with nothing. Honestly, as an amatur gambler, a 16 year old one at that, I can put 4 soccer matches, a 100 MKD($2.50) and come up with 2000 MKD, or 50 bucks, and do this twice a week, 2000 MKD is enough to buy 20 pizzas over here...or a bottle of Jack Daniels or Finlandia... Hell...50 bucks is enough for a night with a decent looking whore your age, AIDS and hopefully Herpes free.....

That was like 3 and a half...almost 4 months. I'm coming back next September if we don't go to Toronto with about 20 friends for the summer or something, that's about 15 months I won't be there.

I'm gone 1 month, they buy a new car. I'm gone 3 months...oh.

And on top of that, our legal annual income is at it's highest point. I both respect and loathe my dad for rather being a complete fucking moron and struggling to do honest work than easily hooking up with some mobsters in Toronto and going back to the habits of 1978 and 1979...he's too old for it anyhow.

My uncle changes buys a new car every year, the man makes $100,000 a year, lives in a huge house in Fairfax County, and works for aerospace research firms and agencies as well as military contractors: NASA, Mitre Corperation, Boeing and tons of others I keep forgetting their names. :/ The man is a fucking nerd, he spends hours on end choosing the right product, the man would've been perfect if he could overcome these flaws: Get a wife again, have kids, know how to treat and raise kids not just pop them in the mouth when they're annoying him or grab them and hold them in a bear hug while they struggle scream and cry until he makes them calm down by force, overcome his natural pedophile look, his snoring is fucking horrendus, his character needs to be a little bit less open in terms of things not to be open about and more when it comes to being social, he needs to stop getting girlfriends, fucking them and doing god knows what, because frankly I don't know how the fuck it's possible you'd think a nerd/geek like that is a fucking virgin but you thought wrong.....................

Over here in Macedonia....the economical outlook is: WORSE for the poor and BETTER for the rich. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Now my uncle(father's brother) makes a 100 Euros a month for a 4 person family, he knows all the right people for all the right things...but idk. I really don't know wtf. Maybe...maybe not. That might turn out to 80 Euros a month in 2 years if it keeps going down slowly and miserably at this rate...


Or maybe it will get better...with all the Bulgarians, Turks, Albanians, Romanians, Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, Greeks and god knows what else that pass through this town, hundreds of thousands of them each year, they fit so well within the local populace...they have our face, they talk our language, it's impossible to tell. A Macedonian might look foreign but a foreigner might look Macedonian. Wtf? They will make an investment, if they pass through with a briefcase full of cash, maybe a 100,000 Euros, 5,000 of those Euros will fly out onto the streets.........

5000(euros)x100(people)x10(years) = 5,000,000 Euro investment into the private citizens of Stip.















I want to point out to those who are interested in what goes on outside of the US, Alonzo, here there is NO average pay. There is NO GDP PER CAPITA. There is no 5-8 grand type of thing they have on Wikipedia...

It goes from piss poor, barefoot, living in a shack, begging for 5 MKD coins to buy some bread, like the Gypsies, to a 100 Euros a month for Macedonians working 16 hours a day 7 days a week in textile factories sewing clothing and making shoes, to tens of thousands of Euros a week for the big businessmen that own all those textile factories, grocery stores and even charitable foundations. You donate money to your own foundation, the money circulates back into your hands, or maybe you get 10x more back after 30 years of investment, expand your firm another 10x and retire, put your sons in charge.

Gas here is fucking expensive. 1-2 Euros a litre, so about 6-9 dollars a gallon. There's alot of diesel cars..............

18 year old girl and 22 year old guy, they were fucking in a diesel based car last night, they were drunk, they were in a closed garage, they turn on the car and forget to turn it off, the chemical(forgot the English name) slowly makes them fall unconcious and die. The 22 year old guy was a friend of my cousin's, my cousin came over today to fix up my DVD and his friend called about the funeral and shit....

Tbh, that's the way I wanna go if anything....but not at that age that's too young. :/ Fucking in a car naked, falling asleep on your girl and dying together. The worst way to go is probably getting your head cut off with a knife or something.

[IronManCash10]

i havnt been affected. and when i go out and look around it doesnt seem like much have changed. i think shits gettin way overblown. there are millions of jobs out there still. people are still doin things. theres always ways to make money. my credit cards havnt gotten cut off. i actually just got another credit card offer so Im sure banks are still lending. especially smaller banks. if you take out a loan you cant afford, then your house will be forclosed on when you dont pay it. are any of you dumb f*cks surprised by this. lol. and if you make an investment in these loans, then you will lose money on that investment. but i guess theres dumbasses all across the board. so if you trust these dumbasses to handle your money, thats a risk you take. i dont know why people are surprised by that either. This is the free market. People are just way spoiled in this country. What you think you can just put all your money in an envelope sit back do nothing and its going to keep going up 20% a year like magic? lol. these motherfuckers kill me

[MiChuhSuh]

This is more of a California state deficit thing, but my old school is feeling it hard right now, they're a Cal State that depends on funding 100%, and they already had a big budget deficit. They were panicking when I left, it was terrible. Student jobs, custodial positions, even assistant professors being cut, it was crazy. That's why I transferred to a bigger school because this place doesn't depend on government funding that much. But it's really bad right now for schools that do.

As for the bigger picture, it's harder to get good internships and jobs in industry right now (Computer Science, Engineering, etc), even companies that stated they were going to keep up hiring have gone back on their word and are even downsizing.

[MiChuhSuh]

Oh yeah and the people who were working for all California schools (UC, CSU, JC/CC) are getting f*cked over right now because they're getting less than minimum waged and then getting reimbursed later, it's pretty f*cked up what they did.

[IronManCash10]

Ive heard that california is about to run out of money. I'm actually about to move back there in a few months. Whats goin on over there? I dont think theyll let all state workers get laid off. Theyll probably need at least the police department. Theyll probably get a loan or something. Ive read from a few sources there are people that think that once the United States goes bankrupt, sections of the country might break off and form their own countries. What do you guys think of this

[whiskeyjack]

the mineral exploration field is going through a slash and burn phase right now lol

i think ill be going to school this september to do my masters

[Lonewolf]

Somewhere I read or listened to, that you only need 5% of the world population to sustain and keep things going for the "entire" world. The reason why we have 3rd world, second and top dogs is just a front. They keep people working in Bangladesh, Honduras and the Congo paying a dollar or two a day just to kee shit from breaking down into True Chaos.. This so-called "economic crisis" just another ploy to start bringing Americans in-line with the rest of the world.. Americans been livin' it up good since WWII and through the Cold War era because this was the only place with the technological and manufacturing and capitol to with which could "export" and sustain all those devastated by the last World Conflict and its aftermath. But in this day and age, with a New Wolrd Order, with Technology available to all those from wherever they from. The U.S. can no longer stay at top, so they bringing everyone down to the "world level" of dependant mothafockas living off little.. A $50 dollar an hour GMC/FORD or CHRYSLER Union Worker with Top Benefits and Pension, is being brought down to the level of a $17 an hour dude working for Toyota or Honda with a sharp cut in benefits and maybe a 401K package.. The BIG capitalist world corps are using the excuse of an economic crisis in order to lay off, dismiss, bring down thousands upon thousands of well-payed and better-payed positions in order to set-up and re-hire at a much lower pay rate and little or no benefits.

[whiskeyjack]

Dont be Fooled

[sunnytoh]

After going through this thread and reading everyone points , I would like to add my two cents:-

Even if some one is saying that one is not affected by Economic crisis ,he/she is affected. Afterall , all these Bailouts are either Tax payer money or Debt /Treasury bonds that govt is raising. So, if Tax payer money is used to restore the misdeeds of Big bankers then yes , all Tax payers are impacted. Although , some people may not realize it , but look all around - a whole year is lost - no raise in most of the asset class other than Precious metals.

There is already a fear of double dip depression . How long can Treasury bonds be sold? US trade deficit is already at a record high. Dubai and Greece are in trouble. Thousands of Jobs are gone and even though Govt. may claim that Jobs are rising , no one is checking whether a $50 hour job is now getting paid at $30 /hour . Its difficult to maintain same standard. So, yes i am affected and i will like to see tough actions by govt. to prevent this crisis to happen again in future.

[Sentenza]

Personally im not affected. I dont have any savings, i dont own property or anything like that. Currently im basically living day by day financially, so any economical crisis doesnt scare me unless it gets completely out of control.