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Joe Average Americans: What is your economic situation actually like?

R

RbSX

Diamond Member
Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of reading over the last few months regarding the state of the global economy, and the consensus that I've come up to is that most market and economic forecasts are actually finely crafted PR campaigns.

Since the economy up here in Canuckistan has actually started to slow down (finally), I'm curious as to what it is like for the every day American in the states right now relative to 5-6 years ago.

Are there really that many people unemployed? Has your standard of living decreased? Have you lost your job?

The reason I ask is that one of my friends is seeking to get a medium sized business loan, and she's really been struggling trying to get it, and I kinda curious if the economy is so bad that she won't receive it.
 
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you've come to the wrong place for questions about the average american.

ATOT is full of millionaires who date super models.
 
Basically you either have a job or you don't. If you still have a job the risk of losing it is far higher than before. The problem (now days) with losing a job is that there are so many people seeking employment at all levels of experience that your actual chances of getting the job are very, very low. I entered the workforce after college about two years ago but have the advantage of working in a niche field and being lucky to some extent.
 
I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6 foot 5 and I look damn good
I drive a Maserati
I'm a black-belt in karate
And I love a good glass of wine
It turns girls on that I’m mysterious
I tell them I don't want nothing serious
'Cause even on a slow day
I could have a three way
 
RbSX said:
Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of reading over the last few months regarding the state of the global economy, and the consensus that I've come up to is that most market and economic forecasts are actually finely crafted PR campaigns.

Since the economy up here in Canuckistan has actually started to slow down (finally), I'm curious as to what it is like for the every day American in the states right now relative to 5-6 years ago.

Are there really that many people unemployed? Has your standard of living decreased? Have you lost your job?

The reason I ask is that one of my friends is seeking to get a medium sized business loan, and she's really been struggling trying to get it, and I kinda curious if the economy is so bad that she won't receive it.
Click to expand...

guarenteed 6figure job till 2012 via contract.

Since i stopped playing video games, i actually go out of the house. (altho going out 5x/week gets kinda pricey even on a 6figure salary.)

but overall Life is good 😎
 
I was laid off in '08 and was fortunate enough to be hired elsewhere within a month. Other than that, I'm doing fine..I also don't live above my means. 😛

PhoKingGuy said:
I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6 foot 5 and I look damn good
I drive a Maserati
I'm a black-belt in karate
And I love a good glass of wine
It turns girls on that I’m mysterious
I tell them I don't want nothing serious
'Cause even on a slow day
I could have a three way
Click to expand...

...chat, with two women at one time...
 
jlee said:
I was laid off in '08 and was fortunate enough to be hired elsewhere within a month. Other than that, I'm doing fine..I also don't live above my means. 😛



...chat, with two women at one time...
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup:

Fellow country fan
 
I'm doing pretty good. Should have a nearly guaranteed job when I get back to Cali. Little worried about after I graduate school though, the after college market looks pretty bleak.
 
RbSX said:
Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of reading over the last few months regarding the state of the global economy, and the consensus that I've come up to is that most market and economic forecasts are actually finely crafted PR campaigns.
Click to expand...
That's been the case for decades, from what I've been able to find. At the least, it's been going on since the 70s, and may very well be older than that.

Are there really that many people unemployed? Has your standard of living decreased? Have you lost your job?
Click to expand...
Yes, somewhat, and yes. But, it also depends on where you live, and how much experience you have (older folks are taking the jobs us younger folk would normally have, including the low pay we'd normally deal with, FI, because they are surer bets for employers, and are competing with us younger people for the same jobs). Many people who were living well within their means in the booms (not everyone was picking up McMansions), are now stuck with rising costs, and less income, but also without options to make life too much cheaper, without that itself costing more than they have (a kind of Vimes boots problem).

The booms in the 90s and early 00s helped hide that the economy was, in real terms, already going south, and had been slowly moving that way for a long time; and most people are in ignorant bliss when things are going well for them at the moment. If other people don't want enough of what you offer to offset what you consume of theirs, you're screwed, because your real wealth (desire from others to want to be in your debt, pretty much) has been drying up--and that's where we are at.
 
RbSX said:
Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of reading over the last few months regarding the state of the global economy, and the consensus that I've come up to is that most market and economic forecasts are actually finely crafted PR campaigns.

Since the economy up here in Canuckistan has actually started to slow down (finally), I'm curious as to what it is like for the every day American in the states right now relative to 5-6 years ago.

Are there really that many people unemployed? Has your standard of living decreased? Have you lost your job?

The reason I ask is that one of my friends is seeking to get a medium sized business loan, and she's really been struggling trying to get it, and I kinda curious if the economy is so bad that she won't receive it.
Click to expand...

Bush said the economy is strong and Republicans say Obama is bad and has destroyed American economy.
 
Electrical engineering in canada is totally fucked. Entry level jobs are being bombed with hundreds of applicants. Jobs i have been interviewed for all had more than 20 people to interview.

I hope the USA is doing better than this.
 
We are doing well. I got laid off once and my wife twice. We have both been fortunate to to find jobs quickly and they have actually been pay raises.

I am waiting to hear soon from another place I interviewed at that will be a great opportunity for me. I have high hopes since they told me I made it to the final two

That said I have not been advancing in my career as fast as you could have 5-6 years ago. Also, we had an entry level Helpdesk position open up in January and had over 400 applicants within 3 days - which is probably not a good sign

A had a number of friends lose their job when I did (The company went out of business) and all the ones that were actively looking found new jobs withing 3-4 months if not sooner. It's a different story for my wife's school friends. She became a teacher and it is very very hard for graduates to find a teaching job and keep it for more than 1 year due to all the layoffs at schools
 
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switched to better paying job and nicer perks - '08
bought new car - '08
got promotion one year into the new job - '09
Bought 3rd house - '09

if you are good at what you do, by the grace of god, you can still make big in a downturn
 
Fine for the most part. It helps that before this all started I made getting out of debt a priority. I owe nothing to anyone in the form of credit or loans. I went to strictly cash based and saving money if I could not afford something vs borrowing money.
 
Wife and I both work for a university in a town that is based entirely on the university, so we are kind of isolated from everything economy-wise.

We are cutting back on some things though because we want to live off just my salary when we decide to have kids in a couple years, so we want to be ready for that.
 
dmcowen674 said:
Bush said the economy is strong and Republicans say Obama is bad and has destroyed American economy.
Click to expand...

Hey champ, what has Barry been saying recently... depends on the day right? They are *all* liars and cheats, and I can't wait until I get to vote against all incumbents again. Tell ya what, leave politics out of it and answer the damn question the OP presented.

OP: My neighbor was just laid off and he has been working very low pay since. I am in higher education and higher ed is near recession proof. People see a bad economy/get laid off and use the time to get a degree. Our numbers rose dramatically this past year so I am pretty solid.
 
I'm doing great, but that doesn't really mean much. It's either good or terrible.

I graduated and got a job 4 months ago, have saved almost 10k cash and 3k for retirement, starting to shop for a car in the spring which I will pay for with cash.
 
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Besides watching my 401k turn into 4.01K things are pretty much the same for the past couple of years. I have always maintained strict rules on how much I spend (ultra conservative) anyway and that has not changed at all.
 
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