How has this economy affected you directly?

[Ozz]

I guess for me, the retirement monies I have struggled to put away, the declining value of my Casa.
Many have had to keep working past their target date..Me...
I see the horrible unemplyment and closed business wherever we go, it's all quite obvious in each city.
let's don't let this get into a political discussion, don't want it to get squished like a bug before we discuss it. Strong feelings I know, but as the Mod's say, this is not the venue for political discussions.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Personally, retirement savings, the numbers are not the same. We are among the lucky, we still can make all the payments, was a time a few years ago, I had to wonder, was thankful Tana was paid for, cause we could live in her if necessary.

More importantly:

Seeing, as you do, many boarded up businesses, broken dreams. Lots of houses for sale, one after the other on any given street. Much pain and sadness represented by these homes and businesses. I see, I cry.

[bncinwv]

Retirement seems to be farther and farther into the future. Declining values in 401 will hopefully resurrect over the next couple of years. On the bright side, vacation went from the two weeks a year that I have had all my life to four weeks next year due to new company buyout. More camping time, hopeful for a couple of trips to the Northeast as well as out West in the next couple of years. Besides, woke up today to another bonus day so that means still blessed and can't complain!!
Bingo

[steves]

New philosophy.....spend it before you loose it!

[DQDick]

For us the economy and the loss of much of our retirement funds has a bright side. We took a serious look at full timing and are going to do it. Keeping the store open is an issue and selling our home is an ongoing problem, but we'll work it out and leave our daughter stuck running the store by this time next year one way or the other.

[NCFischers]

We've had a couple of rental houses for sale for two years and no buyers. Retirement took a big hit. Been wanting to retire but it's not in the near future.

[Ozz]

Jim, you were wondering how things shake out when turning over a business like ours, for the first month, the phone burned up with calls and much long-distance paper shuffling. I trained the guy for a year, he knew all my customers, they liked him. I had some attrition, but to be expected, overall it has been good, but he did miss this month's payment... Things slowed down for him, as they always do this time of year. The key is picking the right guy to take over, both skill level, and honesty-business sense. (It's good if they are financially secure as well..)
Overall, it's good to be stress free, and I wasn't getting any younger...

[TheCoachPotatoes]

Our first year longtiming, we stayed at RV parks, some were nicer than others. We wanted to travel and not stay put in one place. As you know, this can be very expensive. My hubby convinced me that we needed solar panels, so we could explore out west and live off the grid. Last year we managed very nicely. Lots of beautiful places in AZ, UT, CA, & NV managed by the Bureau of Land Mgt. We were able to go to some exciting places last year for very little money. We don't think of it as being cheap, as to us it is an adventure. The very best campgrounds are free and there are no check in or check out times. We also stay in National Park Campgrounds for a fraction of the normal cost. While on the road, headed for a destination, we often use Passport America, to get the best prices off the highway for an overnight. These are ways we have made RVing affordable for us. It may not be for everyone, but we really love it! We actually save money by going to the warmer climate in the winter. Cost a lot to heat your home in upstate NY. With the cost of diesel, we found it necessary to do something. We do not wish to give up our stick home, so this enables us to afford to maintain it. I think you just have to figure what works for you. For us, traveling and not staying put in one place is most desirable for us. So far, we are loving the adventure of it all!!

[HOOK]

Waiting and watching. We would like to sell our stick and downsize, but can't take the loss just now. Thankful for the many blessings we still have. Our apartments are rented and tenants have paid on time so far. Will trust that the same One will watch over this the same as He did the cancer. "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine". My heart goes out to those who have worked hard and still lost. PS I should add that our 3 sons are doing very well, the oldest is running his own business that was formerly mine, the 2nd is a Major in the Army about to make Lt. Col. in A'stan. The 3rd is a Major in the army and attending Naval Post Graduate in Monterey Calif. as he is Spec. Ops. As I see the trouble around I must say that we are a blessed family. I also feel compelled to say that I believe in Americans and expect to see us rise to the task at hand. Larry

[pineranch]

The reason we are doing what we do is because we woke up one morning and said "why in the hell are we leaving that money to the kids". I worked for 15 years after retiring from our Uncle, salting away all I could manage and still have my toys. Didn't need it nor was intending to use it so the 2 kids had it. Have educated both with masters and they have good jobs. End of tale. Living the dream in the RV lifestyle.
Mike

[tim43]

Seems the retirement income stays the same, but the cost of living keeps going up. The $50.00 bill has become the new $20.00 bill and it doesn't go as far as the old twenty did.

[RickW]

quote:Originally posted by pineranch

The reason we are doing what we do is because we woke up one morning and said "why in the hell are we leaving that money to the kids".
Mike

That is the discussion my sister and I had with our folks a few years back. We told them to spend it all. We are adults and are making our own retirement arrangements and felt our folks deserve to enjoy all the benefits of their hard work. Plus watching my uncles squabble over the few items in my grandparents estate that were not covered by their will was far from a pleasant experience. My wife had the same discussion with her folks. We keep repeating it to them. Hopefully they will spend it and enjoy retirement.

[mhs4771]

Stashed as much as I could while working, 30% plus the last few years. Everything we own is paid for, so this year instead of winterizing the Monty, we'll winterize the stick house and point the Monty to the South. Would be nice if Diesel came down in price, but we'll just eat in the Monty more. We do use coupons and watch for good sales, so far we're doing fine.

[KathyandDave]

Just turned 55. Looking forward to Freedom 77!

[BB_TX]

Doing better than many, I suppose. Retired in March, 2008 as the market was sliding. 401k (rolled into an IRA) lost quite a bit, gained it back plus some, and now has lost a chunk again. But is all in relatively conservative funds and has held better than many.
We own a small business that has continued to do well thru the ups and downs. Had planned to sell it back in 2008 when I retired (from a different company). Glad we did not now as we would have put the money into a fund that would have lost much of the value. Plan to keep it for a while now until the ecomomy settles out. Wife still runs it, although added help lets her work only about 3-4 days a week.
Otherwise we are ok with the house paid for, my truck almost paid for, and not too many other debts. Plan to start drawing on SSA in Dec when I turn 66.
Our life style (we have certainly never been extravagent) has not really changed much.
Not my plan to try to maximize how much we leave behind. But at the same time, I do not want one of us to be left hanging on in ill health with no resources left to care for us. Would not want to hang that burden on the kids or grandkids. And prefer not to be left at the mercy of the welfare state. Ideally, our last dollar would be used to put us below ground. But you just can't play it that close.

[Recumbent]

We worked our two jobs for the past 35 and 26 years, and we bought a farm and worked nights and weekends and did not take vacations for the past 15 years while making many, many mortgage payments, but have it paid for and now and leased out. Postponed retirement by 18 months due to the most recent downturn. Got to age 62 & 64 and could see daylight so we both have just retired this past June and August.

[luvmywestie]

We also see everything going up and our "paycheck" staying the same. We have cut back even more than we had before, cheaper Cable, not eating out much, etc., but I can't say that we are suffering. It is scary to see what has happened to our 401K, but I have finally stopped obsessing over the Dow daily. What can we do about it? Sell when it is down?

Where we see the most suffering is in our kids. They keep trying to get ahead and Murphy seems to hit just when they think they are making headway. Our middle son has been laid off twice and has run out of resources. He was talking about tapping into his 401K and I talked him out of it. He is in the process of moving back in with us temporarily to get back on his feet. He is working again, but making much less than he was, hopefully it won't take him too long to catch up and be back on his own again. In a way it is a good time for us since we are planning to leave anyway and now he can take care of the stick house while we are gone. Still, it is humiliating for him, and frankly, not so great for us either. We have gotten used to just being the 2 of us and our 2 dogs. But shhhh...they don't know they are dogs- don't tell them!

Good question Ozz, sometimes it feels like we are the only ones going through this recession just being out and about town, but it doesn't take a lot to see, or hear, that we are all in this together.

[washley1]

After 30 years in the drug business I hung up my suits in Dec of 08. Our original plan to sell the sticks in FLA and move to the mountains, then use the Big Sky for winters in the Sunshine State went away with the housing market crash. Besides the 401 rolled over to an IRA, I do have a nice pension, something that the younger kids at my old company no longer have, so for now we are OK. We lost several friends way too early over the last 5 years, and my thoughts are now that life is all too short to sit around waiting to die. We may not get as far as I'd like, but we will keep trying, and hope the market bounces back before we are too old or too sick to continue our travels. If the day comes I need to work again to survive, I'll do it. Getting out of pharmaceuticals when I did was the right thing to do, as that industry is in big trouble. I firmly believe that I'll live longer now that I'm out of the corporate pressure cooker. We have rolled the dice, and we'll play whatever numbers come up. Best of luck to us all!! (WOW!! I said all that with no mention of politics! I must be slipping!)

[Champ_49]

We sold everything and moved into the rig and said where ever we go this is home and we will always be home. This is the choice we took and like everyone else sometimes things get tight out here on the road. But they also got tight our whole life, so its just another day for us. But we are doing what we love and want to do. If you need to make adjustments along the way you just do so. Maybe a few less trips to dine out, maybe stay in a CG longer to get the deals etc. We love the lifestyle and will do it as long as we can afford to and our health keeps us going. I thank the lord everyday when I wake up to another day of whats around that next corner. What a life!!!!!

Dave

[richfaa]

We are retired Feds so we do have a income.No COL's for a long time so our income has not increased but everything else has so we do have to adjust to less spendable income.We do work at Disney during the winter and that helps pay for our winter stay. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have a income and be able to pretty much maintain out lifestyle.