Monday, March 9, 2009

Dealing With Our Economic Stiuation



This week our Hostess is the fun loving sayre smiles and here is what she has to say...

I've heard on the news that we are facing our own "Depression" here in the states and foreign countries aren't immune from this either.

So here's your challenge:
What are you and your family doing to deal with the current economic situation on a personal level? Obama's got a plan for the nation, but how do you/will you deal with your own economic stress

The Great Depression took place from 1930 to 1939. During this time the prices of stock fell 40%. 9,000 banks went out of business and 9 million savings accounts were wiped out. 86,00 businesses failed, and wages were decreased by an average of 60%. The unemployment rate went from 9% all the way to 25%, about 15 million jobless people.

soup kitchen in Washington D.C. 1936

Does all this sound familiar? It is so close to what we are dealing with now in our country. They say history repeats itself every so many years. I am cautiously optimistic that the President can implement his plan. My husband and I feel very fortunate that this time in our life we can get through this rough patch. We saved our money and paid our house off and we have very little outstanding debt. Both of us have always worked hard and never lived beyond our means. Our pension and retirement plans have been put into a very conservative account. We give thanks everyday that we were able to retire and not have to worry about losing a job right now. I guess being raised in poor families, we learned at an early age to work hard and save our money. A good work ethic was instilled in us. I tell our grown kids to hold on to your hat..that this is just the beginning of a long hard time for us Americans. Sometimes, I don't think they can fully understand what is a head of them. We try to keep the faith and pray and give thanks for everyday we have. Thats all we can do at this point! It's a very scary time in our history.

Now go see what everyone else is saying...click here

12 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

You/your life and me/my life is nearly identical. We too are seniors with a retirement and have no worries...at least for now.

Happy Fun Monday

Living Life said...

I agree Mom. You are very blessed to have two lovely homes. BTW, thanks for your hospitality while we visited in GA. I had a wonderful time!

Sayre said...

I worry for the young adults we have now. They really don't know the meaning of being poor. Or what it's like to do without. My son looks at me blankly when I say we can't afford something - but he's going to be hearing that a lot more in the near future. While we're in a fairly good place now, there is no guarantee that we will stay there. These times are his training wheels.

Jeanna said...

Great photos, the Depression gave people character that is sorely missing. I guess you have to go without to appreciate what you have.

Jill said...

we're right on the crux of things at the moment, so your warning is of good use to my ears. we have a baby and want a house in the country, but we have to be careful to live within our means, as i dont work right now, and even if i did, i wouldnt make enough for child care expenses, so it wouldnt be worth it, so we're trying to figure out what to do in order to get our home so we can quit throwing money away in rent. but we also have to be aware of gas prices predictably going WAY back up and the cost of commuting from the country to the city, time will tell, but i'd rather be on the 'whew' side rather than the, 'oh no' side.

Hula Girl at Heart said...

You are wise to have planned so well. So many folks don't these days. It's a shame.

Faye said...

I'm in the senior/retired category as well, Janis. My attitude about retiring is a bit different from yours, but I know what you mean about being thankful. I too appreciate not having to worry about losing a job. Sometimes I think our generation could deal with it better because of the work ethic we learned right after the depression.

John Atkinson said...

Mama said not to live above your means. She also said if you have your health you have everything. We did things right in this family. Everything is paid for and monies tucked away for hard times. But all that didn't do but so good in the long battle against my wife's cancer. Insurance companies changed the rules in midstream. I pray for the President each day. He has a tough job! I also pray for good health. With that I can have a decent life. I wish I could thank Mama for teaching me good stuff.

m (the misanthrope) said...

Yes! I was just thinking that I read a similar story over at Hootin' Anni's. My dad is Irish by birth, and if you've ever read "Angela's Ashes" - my dad's childhood was only a little bit better than the one described in the book.

So, while my dad went on to do amazing things with his life, and while we kids never wanted for anything growing up, we were still raised modestly and learned to place value on life and achievements and experiences, and not on material possessions.

Happy FM to you! Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Hmm? Hmmm? *giggle* Looking forward to a post-road-trip post!

Anonymous said...

wow! I wish we could pay off our house, that is the only debt we have. Thanks for reminding me not to live beyond our means

ChrisB said...

It's good to hear that your retirement plans are safe. Sadly so many people I know have lost money recently, including myself, even when we thought we were making careful investments.

Thena said...

My son is a Senior in High School and is currently reading "Angela's Ashes", he tells me about it each morning on our ride to school. Sounds like a book that the younger generation needs to read. Jeanna said you have to do without to appreciate what you have. I would like to add you have to work for what you have to appreciate it. So many kids these days are given too much, without working for it.