Survey on the Economy

[kandrathe]

I was just wondering how the current economic upheaval in the world is affecting other loungers. Since I asked the question, it is only fair that I go first. I'm not usually so very open about my life, but here it goes.

For me, it has delayed my plans to change my career. My wife was planning on returning to the work world after an eight year hiatus to raise our children from babies to young men. Her need to nurture has been diminishing as the boys become more independent as they have matured. So, our plan was to have me back down from my corporate quixotic madness, and embrace some new passions (such as my bronze work) and merely dabble in the corporate world as needed to help pay the bills. With my spare time, I would invest myself into helping my 7 and 9 year old boys grow up as solid citizens, and men.

However, my wife has tried hard to become employed for over a year now. She has a BS in math/stats, and an MBA in marketing with 15 years of experience working with fortune 50 firms, and excellent references. The last eight years being out of the loop doesn't help, so she's spent money to get tooled in the current technology. Even so, the jobs are few, and the list of potential candidates is huge. It appears that many companies don't need much marketing in a down economy.

And, I've found for myself, whereas before if I advertised myself available I would have to beat off offers that same day with a stick, my latest assignment took over four months to find and it actually just dropped into my lap. I've lowered my rates, and have considered positions I never would have taken 5 years ago. For the last 3 months of 2008, and the first few months of 2009, I was so certain and confident that my wife was going to get employed. But, starting in April, it became clear we needed for me to go jump in and find another full time multi year project to work on. Whew, I found a job last week. My earning rate based on the market demand is down by 20%, but I feel privileged to have work at all. At least I can now pay 80% of my bills. :)

In terms of my family, we've struggled this last year, because of my past earning rate, the government considers me "rich", but with zero income, its hard to figure out how to pay the bills and put food on the table. Our savings lasted awhile, but no one has enough of a cushion to last for over a year.

My family has not qualified for health insurance, even though Minnesota has universal coverage. It seems that due to my prior income in 2008, and the rush of applicants into the system I was deprioritized, but finally this last month my sons were put onto the Minnesota care plan. So much for a safety net (which is the part I support) helping people who are in transitions from hitting bottom.

We've only made it thus far by being lucky that no one got hurt, and we've been willing to sell off almost everything in the household, and I've hired myself out around town for cash doing anything I am able to do from computer repair, to horse training, to welding, and metal working. I've made enough to at least keep the lights on, and food on the table. We've had to tap our retirement savings to make the house payments and we've been making minimum payments on all our other bills. It sounds gloomy, but that's not where we are emotionally. I keep telling my wife, "We can do this struggling part sad or angry, or we can go into it with the gratitude that we've had the skills and opportunities we've had for the past 20 years with out struggling."

I'm still a person who believe you make your own luck, and I don't want to be a leech depending on the taxpayers if I can at all help it. And if I have to hit the safety net (which as I said was not there), I'm going to make sure its a short stay.