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I lost my job of four years in July of 2008 and I've been unemployed since. Yes, I've been receiveing payments of $620 every two weeks, but it's killing me.

I just had a phone call to schedule an interview for this coming Tuesday and I'm pretty stoked. It starts out at a little over $8 an hour, but the pay goes up to around $9 after 30 days. My husband has been there about 6 months now and he's making nearly $10 an hour. Pay raises are quarterly. And it offers health insurrance, which currently I don't get because my husband (and I) are or will still be part time even though the job is 40hrs+.

Our recent trek into Ohio showed that things there are the same. It's a real problem. Small stores are closing and even major chains are suffering or just closing their doors.

Locally things are horrible. 2-3/5 shops are empty. Homes are lost or abandoned and it's starting to get bad for everyone. My local bank is closing 2 branches and I'm afraid that soon I'll loose my account.

I'm sure that it will be hard if I take the job, since I'll be making less weekly than on unemployment. But I also recognize that the economy may not recover enough for me to go back to my old job in the time I have remaining on unemployment. 5 months. So I'm aiming to aquire a job, that when topped out stops at $20 and has benefits such as dental, vision and health. It's not what I want, but it's less than 3 miles down the road and I know I can't loose it because of the economy.

How many of you are in the same boat? Where are you from and what is it looking like there? How are you coping?

I travel a lot and every where stores are closing and people are flying out of jobs quickly. What I have noticed is that more of small towns are the ones being affected the most. Also towns with no point of interest. The this is that if you don't live in a big city or if you don't live in a city with a major point of interest that would basically have some type of Importing business or something that helps with transporting here in the U.S or to other countries. right now one of the ways that you can really have a secure job is if you work with the government or law enforcement. Also if you were to be in the military. Other than that everything is basically going through hell.

So far, things in Washington State aren't at critical levels, but we're starting to see the downturn. Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks... all looking at major layoffs which will send everything else spiraling down further. The state is looking at billions of dollars in cuts, so state workers are also likely to lose jobs or have their hours cut, again putting less dollars out there. On top of that, the program cuts are likely to affect those most desperately in need.

On the other hand, at least I'm not in California. That state's just about bankrupt. Sadly, some of this can be tied to years and years of good old-fashion greed. gonk

I'm hoping things will start turning around in the economy soon. But it's a global problem, and sooner or later, the governments are going to have to learn to get along with each other to help their people out.

Wishing you all the best and hang in there. *Lily hugs* heart

I'm in Michigan as well, but I'm fairing a lot better than many people. I have a full time job right now at a substitute teaching contracting business as an office worker. My boyfriend also has a full time job at Gordon's Food Service as a stoker of sorts. A few people I know however have lost there jobs to lay offs. It's sad around here, but we're all trying our best to keep what we have.

You know, this trend has been a particularly acute problem for the past two or three years, ever since the housing-mortgaging bubble started and then burst.

My sister's husband has been warning me to invest in treasury bonds because, well, it's my country. On the other hand, he's also been saying things will get worse before they get better.

Have things hit rock bottom? No. Will they?

Well, let me put it this way:
I just spent 5 years clawing my way out of debt.
At first, I spent too much and I got in trouble.
Then, I didn't spend ANYTHING, and that didn't help.
After a while, I found a balance... I made careful choices about what I wanted and I made a lot of sacrifices. I lost a lot of jobs and I found out who my true friends were...

Maybe our country is in the same situation. We made some pretty bad financial mistakes (I think Obama's stimulus package is another one) and now we've shut down. We just, each of us, individually, have to figure out what we want and what we don't want and spend what little money we have left to support the things we care about.

Hopefully, then, as a country, we can collectively move out of our parents' basements.

Exactly what I was talking about.

My wife and I had to move in with my mother-in-law for a bit when we first got into debt, thank goodness we had her to rely upon. We wouldn't have had a roof over our heads, otherwise.

In fact, things got so bad, even that didn't work and I had to leave the state, find a job a long ways away and work until the wife could come join me again! (Our marriage still lasted 3 more years after that.)

So... yeah, things are bad. They've BEEN bad for a long time, we're just sorta paying for it, now.

Here in Texas things seem to be more stable (at least in comparison) but we have the Barlett Shale here (Huge natural gas deposit) and thats keeping us afloat, especially in the DFW area.

Its in no way 100% better, but it does seem to have been buffered. Some banks have closed (mostly those bought out by other banks) and some major chain stores have closed stores, but everything else seems pretty much the same.

Y'all could move to Texas, we're not as backwater/redneck/idiotic as tv makes us seem. (haha that could be our state's new motto)

LOL - believe me, if I could find a job for me and my hubby and a place for all of us to live, I would move to Texas in a HEARTBEAT! I've lived in NY all my life and I'm getting FED UP with the NY winters.... I want OUT of the cold! But i guess everywhere, it's something..... 4laugh