My grandparents were newlyweds when the Great Depression hit. As luck would have it, they owned an employment agency. Needless to say, they didn't stay in business very long when the bottom fell out of the economy.
The current financial downturn has unfolded at an excruciatingly slow pace for my family, akin to having a limb sawed off with a butter knife. We watched college and retirement savings melt more rapidly than the Arctic ice shelf. We worried as oil prices rose to outrageous heights, only to recede and grant us an uneasy reprieve.
We fretted about job loss, especially since Rhode Island has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Yesterday my husband was told he has to take a 20% pay cut effective immediately. If that's the worst of it, we'll manage, but it's quite possible his company will close its doors in the months ahead.
Let's see. We'll have two kids in college at the same time for the next 5 years. Our annual health insurance premiums will be higher than what I earn at my current part time job. In a healthier economy, we'd be able to find other jobs, but not here, not now.
The days of easy borrowing and obese bonuses are over. Too bad we didn't experience their fleeting pleasures. On the bright side, we still have health insurance and we're healthy. I'll keep that in mind as I take a hatchet to our budget.
Final Arrangements
10 years ago
2 comments:
Nothing like blood cancer to put financial hardship and a crappy economy in perspective. We're ready for the Millrose Games.
As for retirement savings melting away, it has me totally upset too, but I'm trying to follow the advice I hear a lot: Don't look! You're not going to retire for a while and by then hopefully the situation will have improved. Sounds like you're doing a good job of keeping everything in perspective in light of your good health.
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