OT - How is the Recession affecting You?

[Luvsaugeri]

Other than my 401K tanking.....I haven't been affected too badly. No raise either but I'm not going to complain about that. I am an RN in Ohio. I do case management for Medicaid patients plus I have kept my hospital job working in the ICU at the hospital just in case. I hope between the 2 I can weather this storm.

[jrnychick]

I lost my job. So did everyone else I worked with, because our parent company (RR Donnelley) decided to close our division. Education publishing is really struggling right now. My last official day was April 1st, but I've been home for a month now. I am working on freelance projects, which I should start getting paid for after my last severence check. I just had a final interview for a new job yesterday that looks promising. I really liked my old job and worked with some great people, but everything isn't as gloomy as it could be. I'm trying to stay positive and build my freelance business back up in case I don't find another full-time job.

Hey Jrnychick, if ya don't mind me askin', where is your RR Donnelley? I live in central Ohio and ours is still up and running but I have heard there have been massive layoffs. I know of another Plant in Seymour, IN. Don't know whats going on there, but my uncle used to be the manager of that plant. Just wondering.

Things are OK here with us. Not great, but OK. My hubby works for a vocational school and they are not getting their scheduled raises, their insurance premiums are gonna go up, but he still has a job.

My job has stayed the same. We are just trying to watch what we spend

My thoughts are with you all that are having tough times.

I worked for Anthology, Inc. in Arlington Heights, IL. We were part of the deal that RRD got when they bought Von Hoffman. I think the big problem for us was that Anthology was a creative group that dealt primarily with education publishers. We did editorial, design, art, and composition. We didn't really fit into the RRD mold, and that made things difficult.

[Eric]

I lost about half of all my investments but my job is relatively steady, and although they are lower the last 2 quarters I'm still getting bonuses. I did get lucky in that I took out a good chunk of change out of my retirement to put down on a house at the end of 2007 - so I have a house to show for it at least. Just refied my mortgage down to 5, and my tenant is paying on time in our other house. I know I am not far from trouble though.

[Arkansas]

Learned long ago to enjoy the simple life. Makes weathering tough times much easier because you're already adjusted. Don't get me wrong. Enjoy wealth, don't deprive yourself...but get used to living off pennies, and save your dollars.

I'm not hurting today because I disciplined myself yesterday. Makes family money last much longer...and today's income go much further.

Curb frivolous spending.
Use credit cards sparingly.
Grow your own garden.
Live simply...to live wisely.


later~

[cscott]

Thanks to all for responding to my post. I'm sorry to hear that many of you are having a hard time with the current economy. Perhaps knowing that you are not alone provides some sort of comfort and peace of mind. I must confess, the reason that I decided to start this post was because I have spent many sleepless nights struggling with worries and ideas about how to make sure my company can survive this mess and continue to feed my family and the families of my employees. After feeling the burden of my own worries, I thought that sometimes a good way to forget your troubles is to listen to others and their situations. Again, thank you all for responding and sharing what is sometimes very personal details about your lives and your fears. For what it's worth, hearing your stories has helped me put things in perspective and I will be thinking about you and hoping for a good outcome for all of you. It was also pretty cool hearing about your lives beyond being Journey fans.

[ebake02]

I'm still stuck doing factory work for low pay which also means I'm still stuck living with my parents. I keep sending out resume's but I'm still not getting any bites. Grad school is looking a lot more attractive.

[Escape Artist]

I'm sorry to hear so many of you are having a tough time, amazing that on such a small board (relatively) there are so many struggling. Hang in there, I am trying to stay positive as well.