Poll | 05/04/2009 12:00 am

Have you benefited from this recession in any way?

Read more about: Cars, Money, Real Estate, Recession, Shopping

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It sounds cliche, but these challenging times have forced us to not think about what we want, but about what we need.

By WowedbywowOwow NYC on 05/04/2009 8:14 am

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Thanks to the stimuls plan and the money allocated for school equipment, my employer is looking at a big boost in sales. Since prices in our area where not inflated in the first place, they have not fallen, and with the interest rates being so low now it is a fantastic time to refinance. The interest we are saving is paying for our new roof. Of course, as the Great Depression demonstrated, sitting back and doing nothing is the WRONG course for our government to take, and while I didn’t think much of the TARP plan, this plan that put money into our education system, and that will rebuild our roads and bridges and schools is a good one and just where the money should go. I have never been an extravagant spender, so what this has meant for me is that I carry on as I pretty much always have and nobody thinks I’m a cheapskate anymore!

By Gramma J on 05/04/2009 9:09 am

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Oops! "were", not "where"! See what happens when your fingers are faster than your eyes?

By Gramma J on 05/04/2009 9:10 am

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This recession is kicking my butt.

I am making less money now than I did in 1992 before I had advanced degrees. I am completely broke. I have no Health Insurance and when I got deathly ill two weeks ago I did not get paid because I did not go to work and still had to pay for my Hospital stay out of my own pocket.

I managed to, almost to the penny, make it on this months rent but I am unable to pay my car loan, or utilities.

Things have gone from grim to deadly.

By Rebecca G on 05/04/2009 9:19 am

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Rebecca, I worry about my kids or step-kids being in your shoes. So far, none of them are, but we have a big old house with empty bedrooms and when times got bad for our kids, depending on the circumstances, we have let them move back in with us until they could get back on their feet. Not for free, they had to cover the cost of them being there, but it’s a lot less than keeping up with your own place. So far everybody is holding their own, but we keep in constant contact because you never know when something will go wrong. I sure hope things turn around for you soon. I know that my daughter has picked up a second, part time job cleaning at an apartment complex to make ends meet. Maybe something like that will turn up for you too. I hope something does, and soon.

By Gramma J on 05/04/2009 11:07 am

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Frugality is in my DNA. I am rich in everything I need and what I need does not include "stuff." I cannot, and would never try, to compare my circumstances to those who have lost so much in this recession. There are hundreds of truly desperate people. But on a purely basic level I have found that many people don’t have the slightest clue how to manage their money, have over spent on everything from clothes to food to trips, etc. Why is it that some who had so little, spent as though they had so much? Our culture promotes largesse. Maybe that will change, but I wonder.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 05/04/2009 10:23 am

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You are rich in everything you need because you’ve earned payment in that currency.

The answer to your question, "Why is it that some who had so little, spent as though they had so much?" is two words, "Easy credit."

You must remember, growing up, how you and your parents had to save for what you wanted and couldn’t buy it until you had ALL the money to pay for it. I saved for an entire year to buy a radio, for example. How many kids that we know could do or would even think of doing that? I had an old cigar box with a slot in the top and whenever I got a few coins, in they went. Times have changed!

By Sam Mirando on 05/04/2009 11:02 am

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Phyllis

I agree that most people don’t know how to handle their money, and the ridiculous thing is there are so many classes and free seminars to teach people how to do it. I had to learn how to manage my money early on. Wasn’t always good at it, but quickly learned. Owning a business sometimes there is feast and other times not so much feast, so have to manage the moolah.

Your question is very poignant and I think the availability and peddling of credit is one of the worst curses to hit our society. People used to save up to buy something, now they just go charge it. If they couldn’t save enough for new, they bought second hand. Now everything has to be new, and when it goes out of fashion throw it out and buy new. Seems to me that these times are putting the brakes on that and I think it will transform and change our country for the better.

We have to create industry and jobs and the government can’t do that, but they can create an environment for business to move forward. It has to happen, too many people need jobs.

By Frannie Em on 05/05/2009 9:22 pm

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I have managed to find some linings in these clouds. Even though I am no longer employed, I find myself worrying about people who are in worse financial shape than I am. My sister has no idea how she is going to make it. Yesterday at church, they were taking donations for their food pantry. There must be so many people who have to go food pantries these days.

My husband lost a very large sum of money from his 401k, but we’re OK. We’re not able to splurge, but a lot of the stuff that we were buying, we didn’t need anyway.

By Kristy B on 05/04/2009 10:28 am

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I’ve been living on the edge for almost a year since being layed off. I’m making less than I did 2 years ago, my 401K is about 50% less than 2 years ago.

I’m taking money out of my savings account each month to pay all the bills. On May 30th my contract job will end or the company will be purchased. If the company is purchased most likely they will keep me on.

I’m alone, scared, trying to reinvent myself for my next job. If there is a next job.

By Barbara Taylor on 05/04/2009 10:29 am

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Barbara

I hope it works out for you.

By Frannie Em on 05/05/2009 9:24 pm

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Thanks Frannie

Hope all is well with you. Any new voice over jobs?

By Barbara Taylor on 05/05/2009 11:14 pm

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I have benefited on only one count: the price of the house of my dreams is falling, and soon may be affordable.

By Tinka Parker on 05/04/2009 11:05 am

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I lost everything you could lose (house, cars, husband) when I became disabled. I really only mourn the lose of the house and cars. But I am grateful for my disability check every month. I spent 20 years in an industry that has been hit hard and I would surely be looking for work and relocating at an age over 50, had I not become disabled. So I guess my silver lining is that everyone is catching up with me as far as the material things in life, I’m just ahead of the game this time, as I have nothing to lose and I’m thankful that I have the cash to pay my rent every month, in a city that I love. I do feel for everyone out there going through this time in the job market. My daughter went to her counselor to cry about how bad she felt that with this economy we are actually doing a tiny bit better than her friends’ parents. We’re not, they haven’t lost everything yet, but they’re going through the first pains of coming to terms with not being able to make it. Can you spell "bankruptcy"?

By zpup wondering toker on 05/04/2009 11:40 am

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I think John Kenneth Galbraith wrote a novel about this—benefiting from a recession— in The Tenured Professor. A good read.

Maybe the decrease in gasoline prices has helped me a little. That and one can find great sales if you have the money to buy. Even though I was predicting that there would be some sort of housing collapse a few years ago, I had no idea it would be this bad, that it would infect the banks and stifle the whole economy.

By Elizabeth Bennett on 05/04/2009 12:07 pm