40 of 44

Write now Article Tools

Economy woes are definitely causing a lot of commotion, and rightfully so. Even we poor stiffs who have little financial moxy get it. The thing that amazes me the most is the snowball effect. Right now I'd say we're gathering a lot of snow and speed, with many getting mowed down as it travels faster and faster along its path.

A couple of years ago the housing boom boosted housing values enormously. For the first time, it looked like some of us might actually make a profit if we sold our homes. Today, we might be hard pressed to sell at all. So much for our retirement nest egg that would have hatched when we downsized in the future. A big fear is foreclosure. How many payments do you have to miss before the mortgage company calls in the loan?

For the novice investor, 401k plans have been the perfect vehicle. With contributions from employers, we were certain retirement would be covered. Losing or gaining a few dollars a month made us feel like we were in the Wall Street game. We played at being financial barons with our tidy little sums. As the market dropped, we moved our funds around to safer accounts, only to see them diminished. Realizing there were no safe investments, we followed our guru's advice and decided to swallow hard and pitch in for the long haul. How long is long? If we go much longer, we'll be saying bye-bye retirement.

Employers are feeling the pinch of reduced credit, climbing debt, and slim sales. Having a job gives one such a secure feeling, or at least it used to. Now the popular topic at the water cooler is about coming layoffs. You know you're in trouble when they tell you to use up your vacation, and there are lots of hush-hush meetings with the bigwigs behind closed doors. Let's have a new rule that says employees get some notice.

If people don't start spending more of their money soon, we're all going to face economic ruin. For those of you holding on to your savings: spend, spend, spend! Many thanks go to the Federal government, and especially to Congress, for their bailout funds. The other day when I was in the bank, one of the tellers commented that we were lucky they wanted our money. Yeah? I thought it was the other way around.

In the meantime on the homefront, we're witnessing frantic groups of moms struggling to get their sale items at the grocery store. With purposely short supplies and thousands of coupons printed in the local paper, it's a wonder no one gets hurt. The savvy shopper attire now includes padding for increased protection

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about How the recent financial crisis has affected you negatively and the steps you are taking to correct the situation?
We want to hear your view. Write now!