For months and nay even years now, the media and the leadership in Congress (Democrat controlled I might add) has been telling us about the coming/present recession and about how bad our lives are. While I know plenty of people losing their jobs, when I look at my own disposition, compared to previous years, I'm doing better now than ever before. Some of it involves divine intervention, but in many ways I'm better off at almost 30 than at any other time in my life. I just miss my naivete.
In 2005, just before the housing bubble burst, I sold my home for 85% more than I paid for it. I sold because I lost my job and couldn't afford the mortgage and went into a rental arrangement instead, which I continue to this day. The money I made paid off all of my debts and put money in my pocket. Although the next two years were rocky in terms of employment, I eventually landed this nice job, allowing me to save almost 50% of what I earn gross.
True, my 401K and my mutual funds lost some of their value compared to what I invested, but I still have plenty of money socked away in regular banks. True, WaMu went away, but my money there just moved to Chase. I have zero debt and a positive net worth. I'm in my career field doing something I love where there's opportunity for advancement and promotion and where my boss told me I'm one of their MVPs. How many people my age can really say that?
Ironically and irritatingly, the people leveling accusations about the economic plight in which we find ourselves also did quite well during the Bush Administration. Despite the past few years, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Jeremiah Wright, Jesse Jackson, ad infinitum are all better off in total than they were in 2006, thanks to their positions of power that funneled wealth into their coffers at our expense.
They know they can't win this election unless you think you're suffering.
I may not be where I want to be or where I thought I'd be at my age, but I am better off now than I was when Bush originally took office. What really started hurting was the 2006 midterm election when Democrats took control of Congress and gas spiked from $2.40/gal to as high as $4.50 in my area and the stock market fell from 14000 to 8600. Yeah, that indicates strength in economic policy, assuming you had foresight to shortsell everything.
Throughout all my trial periods, my friends marvelled at my ability to talk about how what should be will be when the time is right. I firmly believe things happen for good reason, so if you lost your job, your house, some stock, or anything else, take stock in what you still have and try to learn from the events. Some people only learn by sad experience. Success consists not so much in never falling but in rising each time you fall.
We are not, contrary to popular belief, in as dire a circumstance as people think. Unlike the dubious Carter Administration, we are not under oil embargoes, dealing with 20% unemployment or beholden to 12% interest rates and 9% inflation rates. Yes, 7% unemployment seems bad, but interest rates are still near record lows and the dollar is on the rise (up to 0.74 Euros as of Friday). Gas is on the decline (although I can't understand why I paid $3.19/gal last week if wholesale gas is $1.65/gal), and both stocks and homes are cheap once again like they were before. Never forget that during the Clinton Administration we went through similar straights with the Dot.com bust. Even the fatalities in war today are better than the ones under Clinton. At least we're winning this time, not like Somalia, Bosnia, and the like. Your pension and your home may be worth less, but unless you're looking to retire before 2012, you'll be okay, oh and you can thank the Democrats and Fanny May for devaluing your assets.
If you care about your fiscal future, vote for the people who promise to let you keep more of your money by lowering your taxes. At least then, you'll have some to stick away in that mattress. Godspeed and all my best. It will get better.
In 2005, just before the housing bubble burst, I sold my home for 85% more than I paid for it. I sold because I lost my job and couldn't afford the mortgage and went into a rental arrangement instead, which I continue to this day. The money I made paid off all of my debts and put money in my pocket. Although the next two years were rocky in terms of employment, I eventually landed this nice job, allowing me to save almost 50% of what I earn gross.
True, my 401K and my mutual funds lost some of their value compared to what I invested, but I still have plenty of money socked away in regular banks. True, WaMu went away, but my money there just moved to Chase. I have zero debt and a positive net worth. I'm in my career field doing something I love where there's opportunity for advancement and promotion and where my boss told me I'm one of their MVPs. How many people my age can really say that?
Ironically and irritatingly, the people leveling accusations about the economic plight in which we find ourselves also did quite well during the Bush Administration. Despite the past few years, Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Jeremiah Wright, Jesse Jackson, ad infinitum are all better off in total than they were in 2006, thanks to their positions of power that funneled wealth into their coffers at our expense.
They know they can't win this election unless you think you're suffering.
I may not be where I want to be or where I thought I'd be at my age, but I am better off now than I was when Bush originally took office. What really started hurting was the 2006 midterm election when Democrats took control of Congress and gas spiked from $2.40/gal to as high as $4.50 in my area and the stock market fell from 14000 to 8600. Yeah, that indicates strength in economic policy, assuming you had foresight to shortsell everything.
Throughout all my trial periods, my friends marvelled at my ability to talk about how what should be will be when the time is right. I firmly believe things happen for good reason, so if you lost your job, your house, some stock, or anything else, take stock in what you still have and try to learn from the events. Some people only learn by sad experience. Success consists not so much in never falling but in rising each time you fall.
We are not, contrary to popular belief, in as dire a circumstance as people think. Unlike the dubious Carter Administration, we are not under oil embargoes, dealing with 20% unemployment or beholden to 12% interest rates and 9% inflation rates. Yes, 7% unemployment seems bad, but interest rates are still near record lows and the dollar is on the rise (up to 0.74 Euros as of Friday). Gas is on the decline (although I can't understand why I paid $3.19/gal last week if wholesale gas is $1.65/gal), and both stocks and homes are cheap once again like they were before. Never forget that during the Clinton Administration we went through similar straights with the Dot.com bust. Even the fatalities in war today are better than the ones under Clinton. At least we're winning this time, not like Somalia, Bosnia, and the like. Your pension and your home may be worth less, but unless you're looking to retire before 2012, you'll be okay, oh and you can thank the Democrats and Fanny May for devaluing your assets.
If you care about your fiscal future, vote for the people who promise to let you keep more of your money by lowering your taxes. At least then, you'll have some to stick away in that mattress. Godspeed and all my best. It will get better.
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