this was on another board and made me wonder.
for me personally not much effect but as a school board member it looks like it is leading to a big short fall in our budget. less teachers, bigger classes, cut programs, and more.time Will tell.

We got a really killer rate on a new BMW.

That's how.

i put some guys to work here in America building me a boat...hahhaha...had to do it...prez said lets get busy...i thought he meant Cheryl gets a new drift boat for valentines day...hahahah...

i am feeling quite a pinch, but am going to put my house up for sale...im not living in it, got married now we have two...gonna sell it and build a garage for my boats...im hoping a 3000 sf garage and later we will build a tiny house...hahahah....c

We lost some LEI money in our school district as well, but enrollment is up so it may be a wash.

Lost my bonus, which is about a 25% pay cut, and I'm having a better year than last year. I'm a bit cheesed off at some folks where I work. Sure would have been nice to have that money to do a few thinhgs around the new spread.

Cost of building materials and subs is lower, which makes building the house a bit cheaper than budgeted.

this economy has killed me... having to sell out... either whole or thru liquidation.
I'm done the Dream is gone... GOOD BYE CRUEL WORLD........BANG!!!!!

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Now that you mention it, when I had the gas line installed for the stove, the hack that did it sabotaged our water heater so that it wouldn't stay lit anymore. So, I hired a different outfit to replace the water heater and they showed up on time, bright and early the very next morning. And they only charged what was originally quoted over the phone the evening before.

I was pleasantly shocked.

i'm going to probably have to kiss my printing job good-bye along with days off during the week and perfect fishing hours(night shift). was lucky enough to get a transfer back in november when the old shop shut down, but i can't see it lasting too long.

my savings are to the point where right about now i should be looking at buying my first house, but the employment situation is too risky i think.

it's already happening for my dad, he's in the same line of work and just got a notice that he's going to be out of a job in 2 weeks. i feel pretty bad for him, being that it's all he's done since he was 19, and has 8 more years to go before he can retire.

odds are i'll have to take a 50% pay cut in a new line of work, and move back home with mom and dad, a journey press operator card doesn't get you jobs like it did years ago.

No raises for the next 2 years. They were only 4%, but thats better than nothing.

The UW probably won't see layoffs (if any) until September, as we're all centered around biennial spending, etc.

We're tightening up the belts now, but expect to feel the punch in the fall with severe budget cuts, etc.

As for the personal side, the wife and I have secure positions as the UW, so we'll hunker down and ride out the storm. We're not in debt, the vehicles are paid off, and I've survived 6 years of paying both daycare and a mortgage payment, so a few more years of it won't change anything.

Probably going to have to put that BOAT PURCHASE on hold, though.

The timber industry is grinding to a hault. Some logging crews are only running every other week, others working 4 day weeks, and they are all on a quota system putting a cap on what logs can be delivered and to where. I had 10 guys working for me last summer, now down to 4 and still missing some time. I can't quite hear the roar of the train yet, but there isn't any light showing at the end of the tunnel either...

P.S. When work comes in bursts, does it always show up when fishing conditions are prime ?

And do lay offs always coincide with high muddy water, or just before the big run gets here ?

I know, bitching about hanging with new rope.

Your Man made a good call there AuntyM, those 7.3 engines are great, and the newer style engines are junk...I should know, I sold my 7.3 and have went through two of the newer ones so far !

My business is about 50% tied to the housing markets, and at the end of January we laid off 4 people, which is about 50% of our production hands. I have never laid anyone off before, only fired them for cause. It really sucked. No bonus this year, but I had not been counting on it. The industrial markets are still plugging along.

Every proposal and bid I send out has competition and a lot of engineers are giving rock bottom estimates just to have some income. I have guys undercutting my bids over 50% and I thought that mine was a rock bottom price. Public sector work has slowed down as well, every RFP (request for proposal) has 50 interested firms on the list.

On the other side of things it does make it easier to get subs for my remodel project, and there is a lot of quality tradesmen out of work. I have a good union carpenter putting up siding and soffits on my house right now for $100 a day (no names please). If I could sell my current house, bank money is pretty cheap for first mortgages, so I am looking forward to that. I did have 3 showings of my house last week, so there was a blip in the upward direction for me there.

I just read in the newspaper yesterday regarding the Levy Equalization funds for our school district. The superintendent said they would be laying off custodians, counselors, and teachers. My wife is a counselor, and probably the last one on the seniority list, so she is pretty freaked out right now. Nothing like having two mortgages and only one wage earner.

I haven't worked in almost 6 years. I was working part time and providing child care for my kids. My wife works full time. The money I made part time didn't have an effect on our way of living financially,so we said screw it and I quit.

My wife works in HR in the broadcasting business and they've been laying off a few. Mostly dead wood that probably should have went a long time ago. I don't think anyone is absolutely secure in this economy,but she is pretty safe. (knock on wood).

We don't owe a dime to anyone other than our mortgage. No CC bils,all the vehicles,both boats,all paid off.

The mortgage is such that even if something should happen,its not going to sink us. Having more than a years worth of mortage payments in the bank doesn't hurt either.

I could also call my dad and have a job tomorrow.

Well, I planned on meeting with the owner of the company I work for (A construction subcontractor) on my 1 year anniversary to discuss a raise...that has been put on hold since projections for 2009 are looking quite grim, there are just too many subcontractors buying work to stay busy.

Brutal for me but I have been fighting it now for almost 2 years as I am a real estate agent and mortgage banker...many have given up but i am going to keep at it and hope that 12 years of hard work pays dividends in the long-run...cheers

I'm with you Summerrun, same boat. Had to take a job with a regional bank that offered a salary. Now with rates low and a refi boom its been pretty good. I miss being self-employed but I an definitely not complaining to be working and to have a steady income, even if its about 60% of years past.

I took a 10% pay reduction LAST YEAR and lost most of my overtime, thanks for fvckin' asking! Seriously, that hurts, but mostly just cut into my fishing money, so we still have store bought food on the table. I'm glad to still have a job, but I can feel the lotto coming through for me really soon!

My GF and I work for gov't agencies and have some seniority, so should be pretty secure. Steady work is a lot to be thankful for. We're building a house and helping to keep some contractors employed. My plumber just asked for a quick draw this morning because his supply house has significantly reduced credit. My bank is real good; I fax a draw to them in the morning, and checks go to contractors that afternoon.

RR, I'm falling behind schedule. If your carpenter finishes your siding and soffits before I get mine hung on my garage, would you consider giving his name and number?

Since I've had 12 weeks of delays (Co. inspector & weather) the bank extended my construction loan 3 months before I have to begin paying interest and principle. We had hope to buy down the mortgage with a mutual fund I had that has lost 50% and my GF's condo that might be slow to sell, even at a lower price. So we'll end up with a larger mortgage than planned, but we might get an even lower interest rate. So we'll probably be OK, except during the overlap of two mortgage payments until the condo sells.

My youngest daughter finished grad school last May and was looking for work without much success until just before Christmas when she landed a job in her field. My GF's son-in-law was laid off last August (construction dependent business) and is still looking for work. I suppose having only one person out of work in the whole extended family picture isn't too bad in this economy.

We already paid for tickets and a place to stay in the Bahamas in late March, so I really have nothing to complain about.

Sg

I layed off 6 guys 4 months ago, and i guy retired so that reduced our manpower on the floor by 33%. I still have about half the guys on 4/8 hour days. I was getting 5 to 10 hours of overtime a week and that is gone now. Things are tight since my wife decided to retire 4 years ago at the grand old age of 53.

It is effecting too many people. Some speculated that it's just short term. They better wake up fast. It's here until we work out of it. Throwing money at it hasn't helped yet. So now we throw a lot more, genius idea! Money has been the problem in the first place. Too easy to come by. Money gets value when you have to work hard and earn it. This stimulas package does nothing more than weaken the economy as the dollar becomes worthless. Who needs to work if the government will bail you out. More money earmarked for welfare, unemployment and things that definatly don't get people back to work.