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Fortunatly I was not able to get a job in the Phoenix area in 2008. This kept us in California working at a place that we love. I have now been working there for 16 years now. Lucky me. Timing was everything as home prices declined.
We were planning on moving to Arizona because we had bought into the idea that we would never be able to afford a home in California, or on the coast of California where we grew up. I watched the neighborhood I grew up in increase from a low of $150,000 back in 2000 to a high of $560,000 in 2007. I watched the values in the neighborhood we bought in shoot up to $700,000 and decline to $300,000. We bought our home for $310,000 in December of 2010.
We learned that things do improve though. Home prices in our neighborhood are now in the $400,000 range. Our home is valued at $409,000 right now.
As far as the economy. I have been working since I was a kid. I have had a job since I was 16. About the only thing we have watched decline is overtime hours. Our increases have been on the low side as well. This year it will be an across the board 2% increase.
I never thought I would be 5+ years unemployed after my last job, because I thought I had a good enough resume.
I'm very happy that housing prices crashed, because I didn't believe in an economy based on houses getting more expensive to the point many houses became unaffordable. I still hope houses remain cheap, because companies today are very cheap with salaries.
What I have learned about "The Current Economic Collapse" is that people who scream about economic collapses really have no idea what they are talking about. The doomsaying, and/or rapture ready crowd, have shown a series of increasingly delusional and fearful rants to the world after getting a litle fame "predicting the economic crisis" (pretty much saying the same thing they say every day).
All that crap "Just around the corner..." or "Wake up it's almost here..." or "Ignorant fools will get whats coming to them soon..." or "The economy is melting up..." for 5 years and counting where it hasn't happened. Hell, I know some one who has been saying this crap for over 30 and he is still living alone in a cabin having angry outbusts (now on Facebook with his new internet connection).
If I had listened to doomsayers I would be near broke myself with all their terrible advice, and likely be angry and fearful at the world by externalizing the blame for my situation. I would have missed the massive gains since the drop, and gotten out of positions that have increased to such a degree it has made me want to jump for joy. I would have left my family in dire straights instead of confortable and free if I listened to people who constantly predicted economic collapses.
I want to thank the people who constantly predict economic collapses of being an example of what not to do with my finances.
Thank you for being a warning to me of what not to do.
Just because a prior generation attained success by doing certain things and adhering to certain values doesn't mean that your generation will attain success the same way.
The gov idea that a significant number of citizens should buy homes was not an appropriate gov goal, especially with nothing down and no doc loans. Using home equity as a piggy bank is not a sustainable idea. People lied to get loans to buy homes yet people blame Wall Street who could not do this without liar loans
What I have learned about "The Current Economic Collapse" is that people who scream about economic collapses really have no idea what they are talking about. The doomsaying, and/or rapture ready crowd, have shown a series of increasingly delusional and fearful rants to the world after getting a litle fame "predicting the economic crisis" (pretty much saying the same thing they say every day).
All that crap "Just around the corner..." or "Wake up it's almost here..." or "Ignorant fools will get whats coming to them soon..." or "The economy is melting up..." for 5 years and counting where it hasn't happened. Hell, I know some one who has been saying this crap for over 30 and he is still living alone in a cabin having angry outbusts (now on Facebook with his new internet connection).
If I had listened to doomsayers I would be near broke myself with all their terrible advice, and likely be angry and fearful at the world by externalizing the blame for my situation. I would have missed the massive gains since the drop, and gotten out of positions that have increased to such a degree it has made me want to jump for joy. I would have left my family in dire straights instead of confortable and free if I listened to people who constantly predicted economic collapses.
I want to thank the people who constantly predict economic collapses of being an example of what not to do with my finances.
Thank you for being a warning to me of what not to do.
I'm not a chicken little who thinks society is going to collapse, but this country has severe structural economic problems.
Many of the boomers and near-retirees lost their jobs and can't get an equivalent position, if they can find a position at all. Household budgets were based around the prior salary, and with the decline, it's difficult to make ends meet. Others sold out their financial investments at the bottom (foolish, but it happens) in panic, while others withdrew to try to maintain a home, a lifestyle, whatever. Retirement plans took a real battering. House price declines in many areas leave borrows with severe negative equity and prohibit allmoving. All these previous factors will batter your credit score, which further compounds the misery.
The truly old and already retired were mostly okay as they were among the last to have defined benefit pensions. If their homes were paid for, they were able to weather any decline in investment income better than younger, working people.
Many of the young and capable like myself have been unable to get a decent start, even with what should have been reliable majors. If and when things pick up, there will be a younger generation ready to go and my generation's skills and abilities will have atrophied. This results in a deadweight loss for the economy - which is already occurring.
Some areas, like your Emerald City, have fared very well throughout the crisis and you've barely noticed. In the South, some rural areas and small towns are in a state of collapse with high unemployment. With unemployment on the rise, people don't have constructive outlets for their time and energy and have become desperate, turning otherwise decent people into addicts, drug dealers, and criminals. Mingo County, WV's sheriff was shot execution style in broad daylight at a restaurant earlier this year for opposing pills. The newspaper headlines in my little town of 50,000 the last two days have been four guys arrested for aggravated kidnapping a woman over drugs and another man beating his grandmother over pills. It's like this all the time now and the economic decline seems to have made it worse.
No, the world isn't coming to an end, but if you can't get a job or are stuck in a bad one, it's the end of YOUR world.
First of all, about the only ones who predicted an economic collapse are those who predict it every year. The "stopped clock" was finally correct. And also some of the "luckier than thou" who were able to keep their jobs, were cloistered in their offices, had no clue the situation, especially for employment, was so dire.
i have learned that the higher you are-- the farther you have to fall, dont mess up.
One will also learn about sink holes even at ground level. Never despair at what this financial system can do for you.
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