Nearly everyone I know is broke, this economy sucks!

Originally posted by dogstar23
reply to post by camaro68ss

 

OP, first, to address your owing money to the IRS for the first time. What that means is that either your income went up, or you changed your allowances. The only "tax increase" you've experienced is the end of the social security contribution break. Income tax rates remain at historic lows. Also, if you owe the IRS, you're doing it right. What that means is that they didn't collect the right amount from you throughout the year. They essentially loaned you money at 0% interest. People who get big refunds are the biggest losers in the tax game. They get a refund because they overpaid big brother throughout the year, and now they're getting THEIR money back which they loaned the gov at 0% interest.

Anyhow, you ask how are things on our homefront...I know a LOT of people - i've always been very social, and have a big family, as well as a big circle of friends. They range from lower middle class, to middle, upper-middle, and outright wealthy (millionaires, not billionaires.) I know one guy, my old boss' counterpart, who has been unemployed for awhile now. Good worker, but a bad interviewer, and a guy without much in the way of connections. Other than that, I would say my circle of say 500 closest friends, family, and associates,is fully employed.

Now, I know that is FAR from ordinary, and unemployment is still high, but I don't buy into the gloom and doom. There really is no good reason for it, despite what people who either don't understand how economies work, or are intentionally misleading others would like for you to believe. Some areas are worse off thsn others, and some demographic groups are taking the brunt of the hit (teenagers, for example, are at historic highs for unemployment.)

Our business is desperately seeking employees right now. An automotive repair business, we currently have 2 full-time master techs, 1 junior tech, a porter, and a service writer. We need 2-3 more techs, another junior tech, a second service writer, and 2 more porters. The problem i'm having is that it is extremely difficult to find high-quality employees in this industry. I'm looking for highly-skilled, highly motivated, smart individuals with strong work ethic. We pay significantly better than anyone in the area, as part of our philosophy, and we still can't find enough of what we're looking for.

My take on that is that there's jobs out there - the question is whether the right employees are available to hire. Our techs make $50-85k a year, and I simply haven't been able to find any more worthy of the job. I will not hire a lower quality employee. I won't hire a lesser guy even for half the money, as my business will suffer far more than the savings.

Never mind

Originally posted by Bhadhidar
I guess I could be doing better, but;


I have a degree.

I have no student loan debt due to scholarships and grants that were available when I was in college.

I have a job.

Thanks to (union-backed) seniority, I have very little to worry about when it comes to the possibility of being laid-off.

Thanks to privacy laws, my job can't be "out-sourced" out of the country, or to prison(slave) labor.

My retirement is (currently) guaranteed, and not subject to the whims of the stock market "casino".

In just over a year, thanks to the contract my union negotiated many years ago, my Medical Insurance premiums will be paid for the rest of my life. I will still have to cover the co-pays. (A massive heart attack years ago cost me $25.00 out of pocket, surgery included)

My car isn't new, or too fancy, but it's comfortable and reliable (which is more than I can say for the BMW I traded in when I bought the new car). It's not paid for, but it looks like it will out-last the car loan.

I bought my very first house last January. Got a 3.75% fixed rate, 30 year mortgage.
According to Zillow, my home has appreciated: it's now worth $6,000 more than it was worth when I bought it.

I live 2 miles from my office. Even if gas goes to $8 a gallon, it's still cheaper for me to drive to work than to ride the lite rail (the station for which is 2 blocks from my from door and, which would drop me off right in front of my office), and that's with my employer provided 80% discount on passes.


And then there's my friend, who works for a different firm, on the opposite side of our city: he just got a promotion to a positiont paying over $80,000 per year, and he just received a $9,000 bonus!

The dog!


Yeah, this economy really sucks.

NOT!

Tax payer back retirement system will do you no good if the economy dumps and the taxpayers wont be able to pay for your medical either.

thanks for the unions many of us (95%) who are not union are left to pay the retirement and medical of those in the unions (5%).

Union L***h!

I realize that the OP is 26 years old and feeling the crunch. I read a few pages and it seemed like most posters are around that age bracket. What gets me is that everythig I grew up with, al my examples and advice, is now meaningless. I'm 55 years old, have worked my whole life( which means my kids were latch-key as if anyone will remember that term. And I have had to sacrifice time with them in order to afford their freaking key!) and now they are talking about raising the retirement age to 70??? When you can't even get a job at 50??
Everything me and my husband have worked for is now down to a wire : if we can accomplish this project we will make it, but no one else built it. And we dance on the edges of nickles and dimes.

Originally posted by flexy123

Originally posted by ArtisticOne

I believe the Bible is truth.

but there will come a time when all hell breaks loose and there will be nothing anyone can do to prevent it.

Yep...Bible, the "Soap Opera" for the masses. So they believe the rich will ultimately all punished and the world will ultimately come to an end and peace, chocolate and candy canes will rain down. Gets the sheeple "under control" so they can endure the hardships and injustices of life better.

chocolate and candy canes?

Being ruled with a rod of Iron doesn't sound like chocolate and candy canes to me.

Not to mention the 7 years prior to that rule.

Originally posted by Hopechest
I'm doing just fine working and going to school. Pay rent and save money each month.

The key is to not live beyond your means, improve your skillset, and continually look for better jobs.

Does somebody really need a new car when they could take the bus, can you live without that cellphone, do you really need credit cards?

Originally posted by Hopechest
I'm doing just fine working and going to school. Pay rent and save money each month.

The key is to not live beyond your means, improve your skillset, and continually look for better jobs.

Does somebody really need a new car when they could take the bus, can you live without that cellphone, do you really need credit cards?

That is well said, Hopechest. The only disagreement is that alot of people need cellphones for their self-started businesses (me). But you don't need a cellphone with all the bells and whistles. An Iphone 5 coming out? Ridiculous!

Originally posted by ObjectZero
If you've not started a garden yet you might want to. The growing season is starting and you still have time to jump on to it. If you don't have land to plant container gardens work well as well.

You can but a 55gallon drum from some production plants for less then $10. Cut it in half and make you self two nice size 27.5 gallon planters.

I live in a condo so how do I do this? Not only that, but I don't have a green thumb (more like black-and-blue; I kill every plant I buy!) I wonder if the rules will permit us to grow tomatoes on the vine?

I do believe the middle class is going broke or at least not doing as good as in the past.

Some reasons but by no means the only ones...

Everyone that works part time can no longer work 30 hour weeks.

The cost of living keeps rising but are pay does not.

The economy does suck.

I've lost my job due to the company reorganizing after the election. Currently laid off and collecting unemployment.

The only ones I know that are doing well are the rich. Bankers tripled their profit here in GA.

Lost my job a year ago, lost my family two weeks ago,
it's all relative........... Thank you Capitalist pigs.

reply to post by camaro68ss


It's the same all around here where I live.

Lots of people are still on the "make do" plan since even before the housing bubble burst because things just keep getting more expensive while our wages stagnate.

My wife is getting aggravated with having to work harder than anyone else in the office just to secure a mediocre raise that doesn't even keep pace with inflation.

We were just doing some of our filing recently and I came across one of her retirement plan statements, it was ripped in half - saw that it had a -29.34% return for that particular quarter, answered my question on that one.

Just before the beginning of the year we got a letter from a storage facility where we keep some odds & ends, stating that their monthly rent was raised. Not even 3 months later we got another #ing letter stating it's been raised AGAIN, so we're just going to cull the contents and turn in our keys. The value of the stuff is no longer worth what we pay in rent.

Whenever we drive around town we see all these billboards up everywhere for new construction real estate, we hear on just about every MSM channel over and over again how the housing market is making a big comeback, yet I can't think of anyone I know who is buying these properties. So who is it that's buying up all this property, with credit being tighter than a frog's backside? There definitely seems to be a disconnect here somewhere.

At any rate, great topic OP, S+F, the sad thing is it's probably going to keep getting worse and worse.

You havnt seen anything yet.

Worse = Obamacare hits and everybody is forced to either buy 4k per person of health insurance or pay a
$2400 per year fine.

You have some money now, but just wait until the Govt starts raiding peoples bank accounts and garnishing wages.

reply to post by camaro68ss

First, Camaro congratulations to you & your wife.

I have read all these pages. I do feel it is different state to state. That person that was whining about making $12, stop whining you have a job. Yes, many people are not getting hired because they are over qualified. My husband was on a second interview but didn't get the job because a requirement of the jobs was to have a car that was year 2000 or younger. I laughed because we live frugal, denied ourselves new cars, he didn't get hired. We do without much and I have holes in my socks but my children are fed well, have a warm place to sleep and live but most important are my children are safe & happy.

I do notice most companies will not hire full time anymore. They don't want to pay the benefits. Here is my concern. Due to Obama care you will be required to have insurance. I haven't seen what level of coverage has been mandated. Companies are scaling back so they don't have to cover people, people will not have coverage so they will be fined. I wonder how the government is going to get the money from those that are fined? They will take any tax return, but will they also be garnishing wages or will they go after the golden goose egg and dip into IRA's and 401K's to collect the fines for not having health care. I know that may sound far fetched but that is too much money for the people to have and the gov't needs it for its social programs.

reply to post by Bhadhidar


So let me get this straight, you have it pretty good therefore everyone else must be crying about nothing right? I am well off myself but just taking a look at the fundamentals of a healthy economy you know things are not well.

As to the rest of your post.....LOL

Union backed security, I have seen many union factories get terminated due to the staff thinking they can do and say whatever they want....the factory just moved and fired everyone. But I am thinking you are likely in a public sector union, they appear to have their special brand of superiority complex. Your home and your interest rate. Interest rates will be going up eventually, which will eliminate any equity you have (good thing to, the cost of a home these days is over priced anyway due to low interest rates) So you live close to your work, who cares what the price of gas is right? Well, sure hope you know how to grow crops, because how do you think your food gets to the supermarket.

reply to post by Bhadhidar


That is really great for you. Just sad you think it's cool to gloat over people not enjoying your luck. I call it luck because you are counting on your contract to take care of you. If the corporation that you are contracted to you goes belly up and the unions falter...your contract will not be worth the paper it is written on. You are only a breath away from experiencing the hard times so many of these people are discussing.

I am not against unions, both of my older brothers retired from the coal mines and have full pension benefits...but even they both know that it is all based on a promise and promises can and are often broken. If the whole shooting match goes broke, who are you going to sue because you had a contract? Where will your settlement money come from?

Best of luck for you in the future, but remember...what goes around comes around and telling people that their suffering isn't real or that the economy is not terrible is bad karma...you should knock on wood that the wheels generally turns slow. You might get lucky and die of old age before you have to experience what so many others are...

reply to post by camaro68ss


A real sad state of affairs indeed.
I am not even from your country but don't feel isolated in your hardships, we here in South Africa are feeling the very same price hikes on everyday foods and household items.
Never mind the fuel price going up if converted close to 2dollars a liter.

The irony though it makes me seven shades of pissed off is the majority of working class people that don't seem to get a salary increase to keep up with the constant price hikes. Like the good old Pink Floyd states ''welcome my son, welcome to the machine''

Hopefully a world class revolution will leave a new slate for human development without the deprivation of our fundamental requirements to sustain some from of healthy existence in all aspects of our fragile and sensitive demeanor.
We humans need each other now more than ever, first thing that needs to burn is our egos and the narcissism that comes with it.

Just remember to enjoy the little things. Strength and luck fellow sentient being.
Good things

Originally posted by flexy123

Originally posted by Lil Drummerboy
Yeah,. it sucks being broke,.
Making big payments on my $40,000.00 truck home payments.. $1200. a month
Insurances
credit card payments
Cable bills
and grocery bills
And Im only left with a couple hundred bucks to burn by the weekend,..

I feel your pain

edit on 2-3-2013 by Lil Drummerboy because: (no reason given)

Yep, you are so "poor".

You have a $40,000 truck, you (obviously) have a home.
You have insurance
Credit Cards
CABLE EFFING TV
and you buy groceries
Leaves you with some change left over each month.

You are aware there are people who do NOT have a car, NO insurance, probably not even a home and no effing cable TV and might even have problems having enough to eat.

Cry me a river, seriously.

EDIT: OK, MY SARCASM METER FAILED....noticed it

edit on 2-3-2013 by flexy123 because: (no reason given)

Well,. that was exactly the response I was hoping for,.

Part of me can understand the woe is me whining that some of you are conveying,.
But then I think back to when I was younger like the majority of the posters in this thread
and remember how I could see my future as being broke if I didnt "Think Ahead" and get
better education to secure a financial success.

Yeah the economy seems rough,. but the only one to blame for the lack of funds in your
wallets is the lack of drive you had to not prepare for the future.

I was nearly always ahead of the curve,. watching the markets, news, and local economy
My first job was washing semi trucks,.good pay,. but it sucked,. I Knew then I wanted a
better job with more pay,. so I set out to learn and educate myself to fill my bank account.

35 years later,. and always learning to adapt to closing companies and a market that is
a sine wave of fluctuation,,. I do well for myself,. I could do better,.. but I am happy where
I am at. And, I made myself valuable to the needed industry I am in,. Could I loose my job?
Yes,.$hit happens,. however my education and variety of skill sets has ensured my ability
to obtain a job in many other fields.. a planned back up..

I see too many people that think working at a Blockbuster, Mc D's, a local car wash or some
business that "Seems" to pay well become satisfied with their income,. maybe their living at
home yet or blowing all their extra cash at a local bar or on video games,. that of which will
only leave them living paycheck to paycheck,. I have seen some who set out to educate
themselves with all good intent, in a field of which was already flooded with thousands of
like minded students. Only to find when they got out of collage, there was no jobs,.Hmm
that was a good sale by their Guidance counselor and collage rep..

The point here is,. If your not making enough money, you lost your job,. bad choices,.
Do something about it instead of blame others.. It is not Your employers responsibility
to keep you employed or give you more money,. You have to "EARN" it

I will say that I am against unions. They are in it for the union and not the employee. To many times I have heard someone say but the union was supposed to protect me. I buy bread from the outlet stores. Anyone ever heard of Hostess??? Well I got to know the clerk quite well at the Hostess Outlet store. She wasn't making squat, she wasn't in the union, she was at a retail location. Well guess what.. the union got into a greedy pissing match with the company and that poor lady lost her job and so did all those union employees also. I bet it wasn't a Merry Christmas for them.

Seeing the DOW Jones at 14k, is a little disconcerting. Like a big Jenga puzzle ready to fall.

reply to post by AuntB


So what you are saying is that you are siding with the corporations.

They were pissed because they were making millions instead of billions.

You are confused.

reply to post by Lil Drummerboy


It's good that you are able to keep up with the pace of this rediculous system of living.