Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: JVX84 on October 05, 2008, 03:05:25 PM
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With the financial crisis and the foreclosure deal, I'm wondering how people are doing. I suspect the demographics here are somewhat special. Historically, WWII sims have attracted an older audience with a decent wallet...but still.
My situation ain't too bad. Tried to quit my job because I wasn't happy, but got a 2nd, 3rd and 4th offer and decided to stay, fairly secure position and I'm adequately compensated. I live in a small apartment by myself but have three siblings I'm very close with, so I got an escape route if it all goes badly. Got about 15k worth of loans, that's it. Half of that is in a motorcycle I could sell if it came to that. No problem with the monthly payments.
Some of my friends have found themselves in dire straights. One has had a foreclosure, basically out on the street with wife and two kids. A couple are handling their payments but only barely. I feel as sorry for them now as they've felt for me for the last 10 years or so - with me living in small apartments without a family of my own, not buying anything that would require a loan (except the bike).
I guess the good part about having nothing...is that you have nothing to lose.
How are you guys set up to ride out the storm?
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I'm a nondestructive testing inspector. Good job security, pay is based on how much you know. Big shortage right now, so the wages are high.
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I own a mortgage company that has not closed a single loan in over 3 months. I am also a real estate investor who owns a number of homes but probably will be unable to sell any as buyers cannot get financing or are too scared of a collapsing market to step in and buy.
So..... it would appear I am royally screwed.
But then again, I own a number of guns and have plenty of ammo and it would appear that some of my neighbors are doing downright great so perhaps the question should be "How desperate do you think your likely to get" ?
;)
Fang
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Small business owner that has no leveraged inventory or employees.
I should do alright.. have stayed liquid and I'm still pretty agile for an old man.
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I'm cutting costs first. My lease vehicle is going away.. will have to eat $7k in debt for that as the lease term was not finished yet. Still, my credit union has given me the go-ahead to consolidate my $6k credit card debt and that $7k into one line of credit that has lower interest rate than my credit card. So instead of paying $600 a month for card+car I be paying barely $250. I'll be without a nice car but at the moment I just need a clunker to get me back and forth.
Also trying to help my parents out..they have 2 cars one of which is old and not very useful (2 door convertible) that next year pretty much loses all its value so I was trying to convince them to turn in the convertible for a truck and get rid of their SUV as the truck does the job of both vehicles.
I find myself in an interesting position though. Before all this happened I had started process to go to new zealand for a year under a work program. The job market there is very good for what I do and it may just turn out to be a good thing me moving there for this year, making a lot more money than I do now and hopefully saving up for the future and helping my parents out. If all goes well I may even stay as a resident in NZ (I really hope so!).
My savings on US banks will be switched to NZ banks and spread out in bonds and other currencies. Chances are the dollar will take a massive plunge in the next 6 months.
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The only way we will get squeezed is run away inflation. That is the tough question.
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Finally getting back to work, with a 60% pay cut :O, after eight months of being unemployed. I get the feeling during interviews that they're looking for someone young and dumb enough to control. My mortgage payment is very manageable, so that's nothing to worry about. Got some CC and personal loan debt. The only thing I'm worried about is keeping my truck that I just bought last September. Went for a shorter term and wound up with a car payment higher than my mortgage payment. Worse comes to worse, I'll tell em where it's parked. Overall I'm worse off than I was a year ago. But life is still good.
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How are you guys set up to ride out the storm?
watching "Survivornam" tv series on DVD, for training: i introduced some ants, eatable roots ,voluntary starvation and other bugs in my diet,:about to go camping in for awhile,i'll be back after Armagedon
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I'm a firm believer in "If ya ain't got the cash, it ain't in your future".... I didn't require a mortgage for this home nor that last that I purchased.... I'm not "rich" by any means, I just know how to work with what I've got... :) On my very first home, I did get a mortgage, but made double and sometimes triple payments(if I could swing it) and paid it off in 10 years.. I kept that home as a rental (it's a double) and it's been a great source of income.... I understand the "American Dream" of living above one's means and being in debt up to their anus.... Gotta keep up with the Joneses!! It was easy to get caught up in all that when credit institutions were giving funds to people with a sub-standard credit rating, but making up for it with high interest rates... Now, those people are scratching their heads and defaulting on many types of loans all over the place along with wondering how it happened.... THEIR economic future is in dire straights.. But, I believe my experience living abroad has made it so I didn't fall into this trap.... Other countries don't live like us... There is a sense of "comfortable minimalism" and I have adopted this philosophy.. Trying to live above one's means by spending money they don't really have is a sure way of forging an unsafe financial future... When bad economic times come, this problem is magnified... I'm worried about the economy as a whole and worried where it will take the country, but I do not worry for myself or my family as there is a multiple tiered back-up plan just in case..... :rock
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I'm a cargo pilot, I make $3.3K/month after taxes. I owe $5K in CC bills, I rent $1250/month, I own my 3 cars and my bike. The killer is my chick that's back to school while working part time at wally. I pay the whole rent, all the house bills, $200/month her school, $350 her CC bills, her car insurance, her gas, her car is paid for since last jully. We have a 14 year old daughter, those things ain't cheap either :D
Job security is non existant since it's aviation. I do have seniority as well as a rare single pilot type rating, and a solid history of autonomy, and I'm the only training captain. All that makes me valuable to them. Bad side is that I'm type rated on an antique bucket that few companies still use in case of I have to find something else. I do have quite some experience with 1,500+h multi turbine PIC which might get me a ok job somewhere if I relocate, but I can't afford to relocate.
My chick will graduate end of the year, and should start pulling a $3-5K/month as a massage therapist. Till then, we have a pretty big Damocless sword above our familly's head. :uhoh
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Improving day by day. Still have a few odds and ends to clean up, nothing major. Few years ago I was loaded with debt and had two muchkins in college. Now wife an I make about 100k a year and no kids. So we get to play.
Cancun and Alaska last year.
Alaska this year.
Disney world and Alaska next year, maybe Ireland.
Ya sucks to be me. :cool:
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I'm not worried any more than I was last month.
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I just got a raise :D
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I'm doing well in spite of being in the bottom half of my pay scale. I'm single, kids are grown, and have a small house with a small mortgage. Even the gas bill is only $71 a month on budget.
I have credit card debt and student loans too. I've been following the Dave Ramsey plan and doing well. I will pay off 2 credit cards this month. So far this year I have paid off 2 credit cards and my jeep. By next year I should have all my cards paid off. I was tempted to get a new F150 recently because a dealership was offering them for $10,000 but I restrained myself thinking that if I wait I can save that much pretty fast.
What does the future hold? I don't know. I do know that I've been through really bad times before and pulled myself out. I once got sick with out medical insurance. I had a gangrene gallbladder. I ran up some huge bills while only staying in the hospital for 2 days and having 2 operations. My credit took a hit but I never filed bankruptcy. I did finally get everyone paid off. So I feel like I can handle a tough situation.
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A garden of vegetables and lettuce and spinach and malunggay (the Queen insists on malunggay) and bananna and apples... and a Thompson to keep the 'rodents' out.
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as long as I am employed my economic future is 100% bright. If I become unemployed then things will begin to suck immediately
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i'm gonna eat the cats first.
you don't want the cats to outlive you.
trust me.
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Fangio trade in the b'mer and the wife's mink you bought when your mortgage company was reaping in huge $ from the re-fi days.
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That`s sort of a trick question because, frankly, nobody knows.
It could quite possibly all come tumbling down in a heart beat.
Cash and securities could become worthless. What most people consider their safety buffer is a mirage.
You just got to play the cards that are dealt and enjoy life as much as possible.
"Could be`s" and "what if`s" have put many people in the ground.
A country boy can survive. ;)
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For me.
Could go either way.
In my line of work. when the economy is good. And houses are selling.
People are looking to fix up their new houses.
When the economy isnt good and houses arent selling.
People are looking to fix up their old houses.
The worst time for me is usually the uncertain period.
then people dont know what the hell they are doing.
This past year I've been seeing that uncertainty.
Rather then getting entire houses done. More people are only doing 1 or 2 rooms.
I'm getting alot of smaller jobs.
As things stand now. I have a fallback plan where I can go and run a crew for a buddy of mine if I have to.
He's got plenty of workers but not enough bosses he trusts.
Course if things get real bad.
I'm screwed.
I'm still paying off my debt from the last big dip in the economy we had.
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As long as I keep my job I should be fine.
I belive where i am at will do better when the economy is doing worse.
I work for a company the outsources call center work. We keep our call centers in this country and can do it cheaper then inhouse.
Have some credit card debt i am working on paying off and have a car payment. other then that insurance is the biggest bill i have.
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As long as there is conflict in the world between nations or corporations I'm golden. Woooh ROTC and a degree in global security and intel, plus chinese as a language.
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I'll let you know sometime in the future.
shamus
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I work for a Real Estate Magazine Franchise. :uhoh
www.homesandland.com
We own 7 different publications. We have 5 Books in West Virginia, 1 in Virginia and our newest book is in North Carolina. Our "Boom" Magazines (Eastern Panhandle, WV and Shenandoah Valley, VA) were at 160+ pages each in 2005. They are both at 40+ and 30+ respectively now. Our Local Books are strong, but our largest book (Morgantown, WV) which we begin again tomorrow, Since the last months issue, we have dropped 16 pages. That's a pretty large one month drop, biggest one I have seen personally.
So my job forecast does not look to bright and to top it off I Got a Mortgage, Student Loans, and a little bit of CC debt.
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Born in the hole, live in the hole, die in the hole
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The worse the economy gets, the more money I make. Odd, but true.
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Doing alright,
Making more than most, reasonably secure job. No credit card debt, two vehicles - one leased, one owned outright and both are less than two years old.
We've been renting since we moved to the US 3.5 years ago and recently sold our last property back in Scotland. The money is sitting waiting to be used as a down-payment, but due to our relatively short period in the country, our credit is considered less than perfect so we'll have to wait until lending restrictions ease up a bit. That's despite us looking to borrow less than 2 times our combined income and with a 20% to 30% down-payment. My main worry is the amount of savings we have in the bank - if those go, I'll be royally screwed and FDIC insurance does not reassure me when the whole sector could crumble. On the other hand, if everyone move their money out the banks, its a self-fulfilling prophecy.
People I really feel sorry for are my parents who, on the verge of retirement, are watching their pensions evaporate.
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Well, I am paying the bills. Fairly secure job working at the college. I am the only PC/Software/Hardware/Network tech. May actually get moved up to Network Admin soon. As long as I can pay the rent, keep the lights on, and feed my family all is well.
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Ima Nurse.
Job security in spades.
Literally can work anywhere.
Shortage in the career field since it became a career field, and will continue for the foreseeable future.
(search Nurse openings anywhere)
Workin from LPN to BSN ..will double my take home minimum for approx 2yrs of part time college time.
Will be close to 50k this year, into 6 figures in a couple years after I specialize
..who knows, may even go for Nurse Anaesthetist (they start at 70/hr right outta school :)
Job satisfaction off the scale ..some days are golden.
Even a bad day .. I was there for someone who needed me to be there.
Any able bodied worried about 'what to do' ..
..I recommend Nursing.
Short school times, most bang for the buck.
Don't send resume's out to anywhere unless you want to work there,
..because they *will* call you.
(none of this 'send out 200 resume's and hope for a few calls' bidness)
Don't have to stay anywhere you don't like.
Opportunities abound.
Financially, 401k is tanking (what else is new)
..only have 2 cards, only use 'em for emergencies.
I build the limit up by usin 'em to buy gas now an then
..gotta work the system :)
Keep makin payments an they keep raising the limit on 'em.
Student loans almost done, and they're not much anyway..
(compared to the 13k for CAD Engineering, only 2k for LPN school,
..a bit more for the BSN program comin up)
Car payment (Vette) is worth every penny of the 250/mo
..hell of a lot of car for the money spent :)
Pure entertainment to drive :)
-Frank aka GE
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as long as I am employed my economic future is 100% bright. If I become unemployed then things will begin to suck immediately
that goes for the majority of us I'm sure