You know,,,, I read a few optimistic posts here. Makes me sit back and think actually how good we have it. Sure, business costs are increasing in double digit proportions, but I'm still making ends meet in a climbing economy. This post made me remember back quite a few years ago. Around 1985 or so. 1985, we had a similar event. Stainless steel prices soared due to nickel prices. Copper and other metals also increased. What happened shortly thereafter? An economic boom. Great times are coming. I feel it. Prices have been somewhat stagnant for the last 20 years with no appreciable increases (Except health insurance). Now, its time for the "economic correction". I think once we all adjust to the escalation of the markets, the employers will be able to afford to pay employees a little more. They will have to , to retain qualified help. You will see another situation like the late 80's early 90's, where people moved around from job to job based on higher wages/benefits. I sure hope I'm right !

No work and 3 months behind on car and house payments. Ebay and a few side jobs barely keeping me in grocerys and the utitlitys paid.
Nobody wants a 51 year old broken down mechanic, logger, roughneck. All the stuff I know how to do, my joints and bones are too worn out to do more than an hour or so at a time.
A messeage here, if you are young-get your butt to college and get an education.

Jesus, I'm sorry man.

Do you have any retirement?

K

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You are right!
See that report last week on people with MBA's. They could not buy a job the last three years and now the bidding wars have started. Opening offers of $90,000 plus sign on bonuses.
This means the big companies have been running the last year short of help, just to see what the economy was going to do and now the know its here to stay!
Looks good!

Barry, that's encouraging!! I think our whole economy is in a big correction as the technologys find an equalibrium. The people who are flexible and have a little foresight will come out on top. We have moved from a manufacturing base to an information and technologys base. The days of making good money in the blue collar jobs is kind of behind us. That was my down fall. When I was young in the early 70s it was easy to find good paying constrruction jobs and I quit college after a year. Then followed booms for a few more years and made a bunch of money. I was making more money than my school mates who had BAs and Doctorates and thought it would never end.
I always did ok until I moved to Texas 3 1/2 years ago to work for my brother. That deal petered out and it is tough to find something in an area where you don't have roots. I could go back to Alaska and be working when I got there but I would have to leave my daughter behind and only se her a couple times a year. She will be 12 in 3 more years and can go with who she wants. I hope I can get something going before then. I am working on some consignment fund raiser auction thing right now. I will be using ebay and I am working on my proposal for the people who have contacted me to do one for them.

I cant complain. 5 years ago I was just starting work after graduating college. I have to say that since I started my career I have had %25 raise in salary, but the raise in living cost seems to have eaten it up. Realestate and realestate taxes, insurance and gasoline are all seriously rising in my area. But, we doing good over all. If I could take more of Trees advice and use it things would be much better I think. We have way too many payments and do way too many wants. The society we live in just breeds that frame of mind. One day, I am afraid it will all com crashing down with our economy of borrowers.

Chris

Easy credit has always been a false stimulation for the economy. Home mortgages aside, could you imagine what would happen to our economy if there was no more credit and everyone had to pay off what they owe. If everyone just had to pay off their outstanding credit card balances before they could use them again it would send our whole economy into a tailspin. I think we are on a lot thinner ice than we realize.
The low prime interst rate is all that is keeping money moving around here. If it wasn't for low mortgage rates and new housing starts the construction industry would be really hurting. My brother is in the concrete business and hasn't had any real commercial work for a couple years and that was all he used to do. Now he mostly does house slabs just to have work.

Wiilowbilly-

Don't you paint cars or do bodywork??

Are you around Beaufort area?

Yep willowbilly, that is what I am talking about. I know my spending would slow down if I had to pay off my credit cards right now.

Chris

I am undecided, on my vote. I have carefully read every post, and evaluated my situation. None of the options seems to apply.

I have a house, enough vehicle insurance cards to play texas holdem, and too many hobbies.

I have a good job, but no chance of a raise, probably ever. Most of the time I have to look at the reward of a job well done, as enough. With 20 people looking to me, to keep their equipment rolling, I have to.

Lately, it seems, by the time I make time to do the things I enjoy, I'm too tired to enjoy it.

One thing is certain. I will never be rich, but I'm going to have one helluva an estate sale.

Not really, I have only ever done a couple of my own.
I'm not real sure where Beaufort is so I guess it isn't real close.
Thanks for the heads up tho.
I pretty much had to give up the repitive motion stuff years ago. If I push it and do too much, I can't sleep for a few nights because my arms hurt at night. Stuff like raking the yard is completly out. 5 minutes of that will about kill my arms. Or laying under a car reaching up. The last year I had my own shop back in the 90s, I couldn't hold a cup of coffee in one hand, and often couldn't hang onto a wrench for the first hour or so in the morning. I pretty much had to give up 4 wheelers, motorcycles and snowmobiles because my hands go numb and I can't hang on. At first it was mostly the left one so I rode one handed a lot for several years. Well this is even boring me, I sound like a hypocondriac. I still do a lot at home because I can stop whenever I want to or switch off and change jobs a lot. I just couldn't do it full time for someone else and have that luxery to stop and go home when I felt like it.

i'm still trying to figure out why we are even here.... living, working.... working to live.
i think human kind made a major mistake ever coming up with money...... having to work for money to feed yourself and your family.
we are all born with some sort of gift whatever it might be.
wouldn't you think that we could all live more fulfilled lives if we all worked together to live?......... some grow the food, some build the homes.. etc etc etc etc. everyone living off eachother; no one with more than the next person?
all equal.. all having a place in this world.. all doing what they love; what they were put on this earth to do.
no kings or queens, presidents or dictators... no government period.
everyone just living together.. working together to live.


i think i need some sleep....

It has never been about the money as much as enjoying day to day living.
Fiancially I am in the doldrums, probably the worst off I've been that I can ever remember, came within hours of getting my electricity and phone turned off last month and my phone rings 50 times a day from Wells Fargo. If I don't come up with a job pronto I will loose my truck and probably have to sell my house to keep from loosing it. Some days it is hard not to be depressed but I still trust God that there are better times ahead and besides I still live better than 90% of the people on this planet, I still have plenty to eat, my health, my daughter and there isn't someone trying to kill me for being a Christian. I'm still able to be a good father and be an encouragement to other people. It isn't about the money
Five years ago my Dad died just before he turned 76. About all he owned was his saddle, a 10 year old pickup a rifle and his clothes. We rented an auditorium for his funeral and several hundred people still had to stand outside, in December no less. How much better than that can you do in life?

I worked for Sara Lee also, They screwed me but good. Fired me for insubordination (no unemployment). I ran a shipping department and stood up and refused to ship out tainted product (you might recall the hot dog / lysteria incident.

The out of court settlement kind of put in a "no more hurt" situation. I then went into the field that I went to school for and have been blessed since. I live simple and give my excess to charity to help those less fortunate than me. I think that is the way it should be as all our money and all our possesions are not ours anyways...it was given to us to take care of and use wisely until we are gone and then it will all be someone elses responsibility.

I'm just starting down the path. My girlfriend and I live together in an apartment, struggling to make ends meet. We both graduated with college degrees (I have an electronics degree and her's is IT). I have a decent paying job for what I do, working in a small electronic manufacturing plant, but we can't afford to carry health insurance. ($50 a week plus 20% co-pay is BS if you ask me, United Heath Care sucks) Unfortunately my girlfriend had only gotten rejection letters from companies, and is working a barely higher than min wage job at a Tim Hortons, which is keeping us from being able to afford the heath coverage.

We would be a bit better off if I didn't have a 2004 F-150 to pay for, but I didn't have any credit established so I didn't qualify for any loans on used vehicles. My two cars were falling apart (I was down to starting my Rambler with jumper cables from the battery to the starter for a week and driving it to work with no mufflers for a month) and I am glad I have something that starts every morning and gets me to work. Besides, I'm paying less per month on my pickup than my pals are on thier used cars. (I am well aware that a new vehicle is a poor investment, but I am gettting my credit built up from practically no credit, for a better rate on a morgage later in life, which should be worth how much I am paying for this truck, and then some)

We're hanging in there and at least she is understanding as to why she doesn't have a ring and we're not engauged yet, I still have all the happy times associated with that to look forward to!

Great thread though, I loved reading everyone's replies!