Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Most Have Shopped but Many Have Not Dropped
I'm feeling much better now that we have plowed through most of the shopping today. Thankfully the shopping was mild and we happily found deep discounts as promised. Surprisingly there was no frenzy or rushing, not too many lines, no overwhelming bags of goods and breathing room; a boon to the shopper, a sad requiem for a retailer. As we looked beyond ourselves to observe the fellow shoppers and their purchases - there were many lookers but still no takers - juxtaposed with the retailers we think are on the "list" as it were; we tried to narrow down who will be the winners and losers in the postscript. More later.
In the meantime, my husband and I bought meager gifts for each other, hoping to capitalize on the upcoming bargains we know will be beckoning next week. We can wait because our joy will come from saving money in the post-holiday shopping phase, not what will be under the tree for us in 2 days. We both have nice non-extravagant lists that we hope to fulfill at just the right price.
All shopping aside though, we all should know by now that the holidays are primarily about reaching out to family, friends and neighbors and making a positive connection. These winter celebrations are truly about the humanity in all of us. Don't forget to find yours and do something with it.
In the meantime, my husband and I bought meager gifts for each other, hoping to capitalize on the upcoming bargains we know will be beckoning next week. We can wait because our joy will come from saving money in the post-holiday shopping phase, not what will be under the tree for us in 2 days. We both have nice non-extravagant lists that we hope to fulfill at just the right price.
All shopping aside though, we all should know by now that the holidays are primarily about reaching out to family, friends and neighbors and making a positive connection. These winter celebrations are truly about the humanity in all of us. Don't forget to find yours and do something with it.
Monday, December 22, 2008
False Positive: Trying to Evade Gloom and Doom
May I be so bold as to go down that road. The road that I am trying to steer away from, the road that has been trampled lately, the road of gloom and doom that appears to be enveloping me despite myself. Not that I have been seeming all that positive lately but in my mind I really was trying. After all, we have to elevate ourselves above the fray if we want to survive.
Today is Tuesday before Christmas and I still have no gifts; well I finally ran out tonight to get a few "school gifts" realizing that tomorrow was the last day of school for the year. I absolutely do not like waiting for the last minute to shop because I hate having to jockey for position and wait on endless lines during the holiday shopping season yet here I am. Now, I have no choice, I have to do it all tomorrow or else.
I wish I wasn't so plain-minded when it comes to shopping then I would have had it all done already. Unfortunately, if I don't have any money or I feel my cash stream is finite, like losing a job, I will not shop, I go into lock-down; I simply will not buy another thing - I am frozen. I haven't even been to the supermarket. I have tried to do the holiday shopping since I was laid off, I have gone to the mall and all the usual discount retailers and I haven't seen anything I want to buy; not one thing has moved me.
Now the financial news shows are raising the red flag, don't buy gift cards at retailers that may not make it past January 2009 for the disconcerting reality is that this is one of the most dismal shopping seasons in decades and many retailers simply will not make enough this holiday season to survive. How the heck is the average person supposed to know which retailers are not going to make it? I try to do a little internet research and I can find plenty of lists of those that have closed under-performing stores or have simply died in 2008. So far, I have not been the most successful finding a good clean list of those that are in jeopardy outside of my own observation...this seems like everyone. Consumer spending is nearly 70% of GDP so if we don't spend; it seems that the economy is doomed anyhow.
You turn on the news and it is nothing but gloom and doom; how many years has it been since we've seen this statistic, this performance, this cycle, and the finality that this downturn will last through next year for sure. Though every guru keeps repeating the mantra that people should prepare for the worst, the reality is that most people really do not have a rainy day fund - that was what credit cards and home equity lines of credit were for. Now that those sources are dried up, most of us do not have the funds we need to survive. Today, commercial builders are begging the government for help because their debt is coming due to the tune of $160,000,000,000.
The bailout road is now on black ice; just slipping and sliding with no clue; everyone is slipping and we have no clue where to turn. How do we know who will survive? Last night, my husband and I were discussing where to invest; now is the time to adjust our 401ks. They keep telling us bargains are to be had in this market and we should steer ourselves towards those. So, I was thinking about companies that may benefit from the proposed infrastructure investments; caterpillar came to mind, they will be providing equipment I said. This morning I woke up to find out I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Caterpillar announced today that it was cutting salaries of all senior management and preparing other cost cutting measures to aid in its survival through next year.
I don't have a crystal ball and neither does anyone else but things really, really, really do not look so good this time around. I am going to keep looking for that light at the end of the tunnel but this tunnel seems awfully long already.
Today is Tuesday before Christmas and I still have no gifts; well I finally ran out tonight to get a few "school gifts" realizing that tomorrow was the last day of school for the year. I absolutely do not like waiting for the last minute to shop because I hate having to jockey for position and wait on endless lines during the holiday shopping season yet here I am. Now, I have no choice, I have to do it all tomorrow or else.
I wish I wasn't so plain-minded when it comes to shopping then I would have had it all done already. Unfortunately, if I don't have any money or I feel my cash stream is finite, like losing a job, I will not shop, I go into lock-down; I simply will not buy another thing - I am frozen. I haven't even been to the supermarket. I have tried to do the holiday shopping since I was laid off, I have gone to the mall and all the usual discount retailers and I haven't seen anything I want to buy; not one thing has moved me.
Now the financial news shows are raising the red flag, don't buy gift cards at retailers that may not make it past January 2009 for the disconcerting reality is that this is one of the most dismal shopping seasons in decades and many retailers simply will not make enough this holiday season to survive. How the heck is the average person supposed to know which retailers are not going to make it? I try to do a little internet research and I can find plenty of lists of those that have closed under-performing stores or have simply died in 2008. So far, I have not been the most successful finding a good clean list of those that are in jeopardy outside of my own observation...this seems like everyone. Consumer spending is nearly 70% of GDP so if we don't spend; it seems that the economy is doomed anyhow.
You turn on the news and it is nothing but gloom and doom; how many years has it been since we've seen this statistic, this performance, this cycle, and the finality that this downturn will last through next year for sure. Though every guru keeps repeating the mantra that people should prepare for the worst, the reality is that most people really do not have a rainy day fund - that was what credit cards and home equity lines of credit were for. Now that those sources are dried up, most of us do not have the funds we need to survive. Today, commercial builders are begging the government for help because their debt is coming due to the tune of $160,000,000,000.
The bailout road is now on black ice; just slipping and sliding with no clue; everyone is slipping and we have no clue where to turn. How do we know who will survive? Last night, my husband and I were discussing where to invest; now is the time to adjust our 401ks. They keep telling us bargains are to be had in this market and we should steer ourselves towards those. So, I was thinking about companies that may benefit from the proposed infrastructure investments; caterpillar came to mind, they will be providing equipment I said. This morning I woke up to find out I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Caterpillar announced today that it was cutting salaries of all senior management and preparing other cost cutting measures to aid in its survival through next year.
I don't have a crystal ball and neither does anyone else but things really, really, really do not look so good this time around. I am going to keep looking for that light at the end of the tunnel but this tunnel seems awfully long already.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
We May Desire but Do We Really Deserve!
Today I went to the mall figuring I would do some holiday shopping during the week to avoid the crowds. Surprisingly the mall was jam packed; holiday shopping SRO as usual despite all the news to the contrary that retail was down. So I focused in on the shoppers and I realized that they didn't have many bags and I had none. I was looking and searching and thinking but I was not satisfied with my choices. Fine choices all and some even at a decent value, I guess, but nothing that made me bite.
Why? I'm not sure, my holiday shopping budget is still intact, it was conservative to begin with, but perhaps, maybe too conservative. Really, my gift budget per person probably can be characterized as chintzy and maybe that is the reality for all of us. Therefore, why buy someone a cheap tchotchke that you know they may not like or simply might re-gift just to get them a gift?
The truth is that after the big shopping spree we have had for the last 8 years, no one really needs anything. Look around, the only complaint that I have really ever heard over the last few years is the need for more storage. No matter how large the homes we owned, we filled it with stuff. Most of us simply have too much stuff. Is there anyone out there who really needs a gift? Though I am willing to accept all ideas if someone has any because I haven't been able to come up with much so far.
I can tell you what I want - my desires are all for the house, a new master bathroom and kitchen, both of which are basically dead, 30 years old and counting. Ask me if I need af any of it, probably not, will I survive, absolutely! Nevertheless, we somehow have the 'desire and deserve' gene that doesn't disappear with a souring economy. If you work hard, you want a reward, the paycheck is part of it and you are grateful enough for it to pay the bills and secure your world but most of us find it hard to live or exist on an austerity budget, whatever the case we still need to treat ourselves to something.
They say charity begins at home and I certainly donate every single item that I no longer have use for. I am a sentimental soul so I save all items that are given to me; letters, gifts & items no matter how small, if you give it to me, I will keep it except household goods, clothing and all that - I will pass those on if I know another family can use them but that bear that one of my good friends gave to me during my freshman year of college, I have that and of course, every single thing that my children ever made for me. I wonder about securing all of it though, mother nature could take my house anytime.
Do any of us really need more stuff? As we try to pay down our debts and keep our financial selves above water, should we really be adding even more debt by still striving to give each other gifts? Probably not. Most of us barely remember what holiday gifts we received last year.
We have been fortunate in America thus far and our recent troubles are our own. If we do have some cash, we should be preserving it to make it through next year. All indications are that it will be 2010 before things turn around. What we need to remember to do is to give of ourselves. I am certainly going to try.
Why? I'm not sure, my holiday shopping budget is still intact, it was conservative to begin with, but perhaps, maybe too conservative. Really, my gift budget per person probably can be characterized as chintzy and maybe that is the reality for all of us. Therefore, why buy someone a cheap tchotchke that you know they may not like or simply might re-gift just to get them a gift?
The truth is that after the big shopping spree we have had for the last 8 years, no one really needs anything. Look around, the only complaint that I have really ever heard over the last few years is the need for more storage. No matter how large the homes we owned, we filled it with stuff. Most of us simply have too much stuff. Is there anyone out there who really needs a gift? Though I am willing to accept all ideas if someone has any because I haven't been able to come up with much so far.
I can tell you what I want - my desires are all for the house, a new master bathroom and kitchen, both of which are basically dead, 30 years old and counting. Ask me if I need af any of it, probably not, will I survive, absolutely! Nevertheless, we somehow have the 'desire and deserve' gene that doesn't disappear with a souring economy. If you work hard, you want a reward, the paycheck is part of it and you are grateful enough for it to pay the bills and secure your world but most of us find it hard to live or exist on an austerity budget, whatever the case we still need to treat ourselves to something.
They say charity begins at home and I certainly donate every single item that I no longer have use for. I am a sentimental soul so I save all items that are given to me; letters, gifts & items no matter how small, if you give it to me, I will keep it except household goods, clothing and all that - I will pass those on if I know another family can use them but that bear that one of my good friends gave to me during my freshman year of college, I have that and of course, every single thing that my children ever made for me. I wonder about securing all of it though, mother nature could take my house anytime.
Do any of us really need more stuff? As we try to pay down our debts and keep our financial selves above water, should we really be adding even more debt by still striving to give each other gifts? Probably not. Most of us barely remember what holiday gifts we received last year.
We have been fortunate in America thus far and our recent troubles are our own. If we do have some cash, we should be preserving it to make it through next year. All indications are that it will be 2010 before things turn around. What we need to remember to do is to give of ourselves. I am certainly going to try.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Audacity of Wall Street Bonuses
I just finished reading an article in today's New York Times reporting on Wall Street bonuses that having been tied to profits we now know were based on way too much risk, created a culture of greed so severe, they played Russian roulette with our money.
Now that all of the money is lost and many Wall Street firms are bankrupt with the rest blatantly staving of death with large infusions of taxpayer dollars, the culture of greed still has not subsided. Though many firms have introduced more oversight with respect to the earning of future bonuses, most Wall Streeters will still see bonuses this year, smaller maybe, but still a bonus.
It took the Dow Industrials 76 years to hit 1000 in November 1972 and another 14 years to reach 2000 in January 1987. After that, it took another 4 years to reach 3000 and 4000 was reached 4 years later in February 1995. By May 1999, a mere 4 years later, the Dow had reached 11,000 and boy were we jumping. The sheer intensity of the rise certainly reset all of our mindsets. In the early 2000s, instant millionaires abounded, individual wealth on paper reach staggering proportions. Wall street bonuses catapulted into unheard-of millions. Everybody wanted to be rich. Since hindsight is 20/20 we can look back and draw our conclusions effortlessly.
If we are to sum up the data, the Dow retreated to less than 9000 in 2003 and after roaring to 14,000 in July 2007, is back to less than 9000 again. the last time it was less than 9000 was in early 1998. We are back to the levels not seen for a decade and what happened during that decade? The most amount of money that could be borrowed was borrowed and the most amount of money that could be spent was spent, all of this while the intrinsic value of the market was inflated due to the swirling fiscal excess.
We now have found out that all the money we spent should not have been spent and all the money that was borrowed definitely should not have been borrowed. Now we all have to suffer and pay the piper. So, why do all those Wall Streeters still get bonuses when no money has been made and especially when the taxpayer has granted most of those firms hundreds of billions to survive?
Now that all of the money is lost and many Wall Street firms are bankrupt with the rest blatantly staving of death with large infusions of taxpayer dollars, the culture of greed still has not subsided. Though many firms have introduced more oversight with respect to the earning of future bonuses, most Wall Streeters will still see bonuses this year, smaller maybe, but still a bonus.
It took the Dow Industrials 76 years to hit 1000 in November 1972 and another 14 years to reach 2000 in January 1987. After that, it took another 4 years to reach 3000 and 4000 was reached 4 years later in February 1995. By May 1999, a mere 4 years later, the Dow had reached 11,000 and boy were we jumping. The sheer intensity of the rise certainly reset all of our mindsets. In the early 2000s, instant millionaires abounded, individual wealth on paper reach staggering proportions. Wall street bonuses catapulted into unheard-of millions. Everybody wanted to be rich. Since hindsight is 20/20 we can look back and draw our conclusions effortlessly.
If we are to sum up the data, the Dow retreated to less than 9000 in 2003 and after roaring to 14,000 in July 2007, is back to less than 9000 again. the last time it was less than 9000 was in early 1998. We are back to the levels not seen for a decade and what happened during that decade? The most amount of money that could be borrowed was borrowed and the most amount of money that could be spent was spent, all of this while the intrinsic value of the market was inflated due to the swirling fiscal excess.
We now have found out that all the money we spent should not have been spent and all the money that was borrowed definitely should not have been borrowed. Now we all have to suffer and pay the piper. So, why do all those Wall Streeters still get bonuses when no money has been made and especially when the taxpayer has granted most of those firms hundreds of billions to survive?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
We Didn't Start The Fire But We Still Have to Pay
The financial situation of most of the middle class here on Long Island is always foremost on my mind. I still have the same question that I had when I started this blog, how is everyone surviving? I thought I would have some insight by now but it is still a mystery to me.
Now we add to the mix the $15,400,000,000 budget gap, attributed largely to a decline in tax revenue from Wall Street, in the New York State budget that requires serious action on the Governor's part. In response, he proposed today serious cuts in school aid and health services, layoffs of state workers, an increase in many ordinary NY State fees, new taxes on just about every bit of entertainment that exists in the state and a repeal of certain tax exemptions especially the star (property tax) rebate.
Some of the Governor's proposed solutions will be painful for all of us; we don't want to have to pay more to renew our licenses and registrations or pay more to download a song on the internet. Most importantly, any cuts in aid means that the local taxpayer has to pick up the tab. More fees and taxes is the last thing that any New Yorker wants to hear right now. However, this is where fiscal reality meets us and indeed it is very unpleasant. We may not have started the fire but we certainly didn't push for fire prevention either.
Interestingly enough, the magnitude of the layoffs is very small, 521 out of some 200,000 state workers. This is an almost negligible layoff, speaking from one who has lived to tell the tale. Indeed the rollbacks on some employee benefits will meet the ire of many especially when the career veterans have already been grand-fathered into much better benefits than the new hires. As every special interest starts screaming bloody murder from the mountaintops this week, we will see what kind of backbone state legislators have when they sit down to vote on all of this.
Now we add to the mix the $15,400,000,000 budget gap, attributed largely to a decline in tax revenue from Wall Street, in the New York State budget that requires serious action on the Governor's part. In response, he proposed today serious cuts in school aid and health services, layoffs of state workers, an increase in many ordinary NY State fees, new taxes on just about every bit of entertainment that exists in the state and a repeal of certain tax exemptions especially the star (property tax) rebate.
Some of the Governor's proposed solutions will be painful for all of us; we don't want to have to pay more to renew our licenses and registrations or pay more to download a song on the internet. Most importantly, any cuts in aid means that the local taxpayer has to pick up the tab. More fees and taxes is the last thing that any New Yorker wants to hear right now. However, this is where fiscal reality meets us and indeed it is very unpleasant. We may not have started the fire but we certainly didn't push for fire prevention either.
Interestingly enough, the magnitude of the layoffs is very small, 521 out of some 200,000 state workers. This is an almost negligible layoff, speaking from one who has lived to tell the tale. Indeed the rollbacks on some employee benefits will meet the ire of many especially when the career veterans have already been grand-fathered into much better benefits than the new hires. As every special interest starts screaming bloody murder from the mountaintops this week, we will see what kind of backbone state legislators have when they sit down to vote on all of this.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Can Get There From Here
Well I am feeling much better today, having worked through my 5 stages of grief since my layoff a week ago and having resolved to make lemonade out of lemons, I have chosen to push on with purpose.
Friday night was the company Holiday Party at a fancy catering hall that I was looking forward to attending, so in keeping with the tradition, many of us ex-employees having reserved that night out anyway staged our own Holiday Party. We had a great time. It was good to remember why we liked working with each other and how we had a nice group of people to add to our professional networking profiles on the web. LinkedIn, essentially a Facebook-type networking site for professionals, is the most well-known. It doesn't have all the Facebook goodies but I suppose it might not be appropriate to send widget plant gifts or other plug-ins to our business associates or why not? Perhaps there should be some humor in job-hunting which truly is a thankless job.
Job-hunting requires full-time effort; nothing less will produce meaningful results. However, those around you suddenly think you are free and somehow don't seem to recognize the time and effort required on a daily basis if you are serious about finding a new job: revising and revising the resume, targeting the resume by incorporating verbiage from the job offering. refining and improving your professional network, writing those dreaded cover letters and the sheer time-consuming act of simply searching all the job boards. These last 2 weeks of December are probably the worst time to be job-hunting due to the distraction of the holidays, a great & enjoyable distraction, but a distraction nevertheless when you want to hear something from a hiring company. So, while I do spend quite a bit of time on it, I do recognize that the turn of the year may bring better prospects.
My family started this year with the slogan "2008 will be great" and we all know how well that turned out. Now, we are looking forward to "2009 will be fine." Did I really write this in my holiday cards this year? While I focus on the holidays, I will try to take the best of the holiday spirit with me and forever be grateful for the opportunities I was granted this year. My goodness, don't I sound positive? We get bombarded with rhetoric, teaching, healing, books, medicine and other pearls of wisdom that we should remain positive no matter what. I suppose I'll give it another few weeks to find out if my feelings are truly "live" or "memorex."
Friday night was the company Holiday Party at a fancy catering hall that I was looking forward to attending, so in keeping with the tradition, many of us ex-employees having reserved that night out anyway staged our own Holiday Party. We had a great time. It was good to remember why we liked working with each other and how we had a nice group of people to add to our professional networking profiles on the web. LinkedIn, essentially a Facebook-type networking site for professionals, is the most well-known. It doesn't have all the Facebook goodies but I suppose it might not be appropriate to send widget plant gifts or other plug-ins to our business associates or why not? Perhaps there should be some humor in job-hunting which truly is a thankless job.
Job-hunting requires full-time effort; nothing less will produce meaningful results. However, those around you suddenly think you are free and somehow don't seem to recognize the time and effort required on a daily basis if you are serious about finding a new job: revising and revising the resume, targeting the resume by incorporating verbiage from the job offering. refining and improving your professional network, writing those dreaded cover letters and the sheer time-consuming act of simply searching all the job boards. These last 2 weeks of December are probably the worst time to be job-hunting due to the distraction of the holidays, a great & enjoyable distraction, but a distraction nevertheless when you want to hear something from a hiring company. So, while I do spend quite a bit of time on it, I do recognize that the turn of the year may bring better prospects.
My family started this year with the slogan "2008 will be great" and we all know how well that turned out. Now, we are looking forward to "2009 will be fine." Did I really write this in my holiday cards this year? While I focus on the holidays, I will try to take the best of the holiday spirit with me and forever be grateful for the opportunities I was granted this year. My goodness, don't I sound positive? We get bombarded with rhetoric, teaching, healing, books, medicine and other pearls of wisdom that we should remain positive no matter what. I suppose I'll give it another few weeks to find out if my feelings are truly "live" or "memorex."
Thursday, December 11, 2008
"God Put a Smile upon my Face"
Well, my husband will live too see another day at his job. The layoffs went down today as scheduled but thankfully, it was not his turn, today. We are now on a month by month employment watch. We are way too cynical by now to believe that any job in the private sector has a shred of job security.
There aren't any guarantees since no one knows what direction any company should go. Should it retrench to its core business units and tread water or continue promising new innovations that expand its market presence, position it for future growth and produces new revenue even though it requires a greater investment in operating costs? Retrenching could sacrifice the future but new innovations could sacrifice today's bottom line that has to remain positive to survive. Whatever the case, employment reductions have to take place and unfortunately will continue to take place if the economy does not turn around soon.
Does anyone see a better future in 2009? Right now things do not look good which is why it is imperative, more than ever, to quit the bailout mentality and let Capitalism fix itself; let the companies that are swifter, better positioned, agile and innovative take over the space left by the struggling behemoths. Why are we so afraid of letting the market decide the fate of a company? New companies will rise and grow to meet the challenges of a global economy thereby increasing employment opportunities for all. The government can augment job creation with new infrastructure projects and alternative energy initiatives.
We cannot forget the fundamentals of business; a company is only as strong as its balance sheet and we shouldn't get hoodwinked into scare tactics because it is a venerable brand, other exalted brands have come and gone. Business will survive and revive if we allow it to follow the natural life cycle of capitalism for there is always another company waiting in the wings to take over.
There aren't any guarantees since no one knows what direction any company should go. Should it retrench to its core business units and tread water or continue promising new innovations that expand its market presence, position it for future growth and produces new revenue even though it requires a greater investment in operating costs? Retrenching could sacrifice the future but new innovations could sacrifice today's bottom line that has to remain positive to survive. Whatever the case, employment reductions have to take place and unfortunately will continue to take place if the economy does not turn around soon.
Does anyone see a better future in 2009? Right now things do not look good which is why it is imperative, more than ever, to quit the bailout mentality and let Capitalism fix itself; let the companies that are swifter, better positioned, agile and innovative take over the space left by the struggling behemoths. Why are we so afraid of letting the market decide the fate of a company? New companies will rise and grow to meet the challenges of a global economy thereby increasing employment opportunities for all. The government can augment job creation with new infrastructure projects and alternative energy initiatives.
We cannot forget the fundamentals of business; a company is only as strong as its balance sheet and we shouldn't get hoodwinked into scare tactics because it is a venerable brand, other exalted brands have come and gone. Business will survive and revive if we allow it to follow the natural life cycle of capitalism for there is always another company waiting in the wings to take over.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Some Ups but More Downs
Memorable phrase of the day: "Let me have $20 of regular, please" knowing that would fill my tank.
Gas is now $1.79 a gallon in my area. I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would see the day again when gas was less than $2 a gallon or that I would pay $2 a gallon for my latest delivery of home heating oil. I definitely have to recommend codfuel.com to any Long Islander who is looking for the best deal on oil delivery. Gone are the days of paying at least $0.80 a gallon extra for the privilege of having a full contract with an oil company that included "free" service calls. We are going to roll the dice on this one considering that we replaced the water heater and the boiler a few years ago.
Sometimes we get so accustomed to a particular level of comfort and service that it takes a bit more than the usual prodding to undergo a regular review of expenses to find savings in the budget. Thankfully, my husband and I are fairly conservative in our expenditure and even more since we are diligently attacking business debt. Mind you, I am not sure that I am going to look back and enjoy this particular factor of my life. I think I would like to live a little sometimes and not be so fanatical about every expense.
After having my job for a couple of months, we released the tight financial reins a little bit to begin the process of replacing some completely worn out, broken and/or missing items in the house. 5 years ago, we bought Ikea in the hope that 5 years hence, which is now, we would move up a step to purchasing more premium items that would take us through the college years. I know I referred to Ikea in a recent post, so you know we were back there realizing that we have to do budget-conscious replacements again and delay once more our desire to find more permanent furnishing solutions. I think I am simply out of touch now with the reality of the amounts of dollars required to do a decent room upgrade; the kind of dollars that I simply cannot afford to spend right now and not sure when.
In light of my layoff on Monday, I am so happy that we stuck to the rule that we only spent what we could afford; cash only, no credit. Granted, we were tempted to splurge on many occasions but we both managed to talk ourselves out of it as usual. This is an area that is never of issue with us, neither of us is ever willing to spend more than the other which I have to state once more is simply not the best way; always being prudent can put the damper on things much too often, I suspect. For instance, traveling is something that I truly love to do and in reality have done so little of it lately other than the typical interstate driving to visit friends and relatives. However, every time I get that crazy notion that I want to actually fly somewhere, something that I haven't done since 2002, I multiply that airfare by 4, consider the hotel and eating costs and talk myself right out of it.
Last weekend, I was optimistic about the future, I had all the ducks in a row; my job would allow us to forge ahead despite the obvious challenges. My husband was feeling a little more "doom and gloom," directly influenced by the financial and business news, which is understandable. I countered that we should have a positive outlook on things since after all we both have jobs. I actually started to consider saving for a trip next year. We decided that when we were comfortable with the dent that we made on the business debt, we were going to go somewhere to celebrate, break our usual mold and surrender our usual penny-pinching selves. Alas it is not to be, yet again. I lost my job first thing Monday morning and he got an email the same day that his company planned to lay off nearly 500 people tomorrow.
Some would say have faith, the Lord works in mysterious ways, or we all have to pay our spiritual dues or we are lucky to be in a better position than many or we are simply lucky just to be alive and be happily married with children, or that we are fortunate to have a house or that we should be just downright grateful for everything.
Ask me again tomorrow what I think about that. Right now, I am definitely having trouble seeing the bright side.
Gas is now $1.79 a gallon in my area. I never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would see the day again when gas was less than $2 a gallon or that I would pay $2 a gallon for my latest delivery of home heating oil. I definitely have to recommend codfuel.com to any Long Islander who is looking for the best deal on oil delivery. Gone are the days of paying at least $0.80 a gallon extra for the privilege of having a full contract with an oil company that included "free" service calls. We are going to roll the dice on this one considering that we replaced the water heater and the boiler a few years ago.
Sometimes we get so accustomed to a particular level of comfort and service that it takes a bit more than the usual prodding to undergo a regular review of expenses to find savings in the budget. Thankfully, my husband and I are fairly conservative in our expenditure and even more since we are diligently attacking business debt. Mind you, I am not sure that I am going to look back and enjoy this particular factor of my life. I think I would like to live a little sometimes and not be so fanatical about every expense.
After having my job for a couple of months, we released the tight financial reins a little bit to begin the process of replacing some completely worn out, broken and/or missing items in the house. 5 years ago, we bought Ikea in the hope that 5 years hence, which is now, we would move up a step to purchasing more premium items that would take us through the college years. I know I referred to Ikea in a recent post, so you know we were back there realizing that we have to do budget-conscious replacements again and delay once more our desire to find more permanent furnishing solutions. I think I am simply out of touch now with the reality of the amounts of dollars required to do a decent room upgrade; the kind of dollars that I simply cannot afford to spend right now and not sure when.
In light of my layoff on Monday, I am so happy that we stuck to the rule that we only spent what we could afford; cash only, no credit. Granted, we were tempted to splurge on many occasions but we both managed to talk ourselves out of it as usual. This is an area that is never of issue with us, neither of us is ever willing to spend more than the other which I have to state once more is simply not the best way; always being prudent can put the damper on things much too often, I suspect. For instance, traveling is something that I truly love to do and in reality have done so little of it lately other than the typical interstate driving to visit friends and relatives. However, every time I get that crazy notion that I want to actually fly somewhere, something that I haven't done since 2002, I multiply that airfare by 4, consider the hotel and eating costs and talk myself right out of it.
Last weekend, I was optimistic about the future, I had all the ducks in a row; my job would allow us to forge ahead despite the obvious challenges. My husband was feeling a little more "doom and gloom," directly influenced by the financial and business news, which is understandable. I countered that we should have a positive outlook on things since after all we both have jobs. I actually started to consider saving for a trip next year. We decided that when we were comfortable with the dent that we made on the business debt, we were going to go somewhere to celebrate, break our usual mold and surrender our usual penny-pinching selves. Alas it is not to be, yet again. I lost my job first thing Monday morning and he got an email the same day that his company planned to lay off nearly 500 people tomorrow.
Some would say have faith, the Lord works in mysterious ways, or we all have to pay our spiritual dues or we are lucky to be in a better position than many or we are simply lucky just to be alive and be happily married with children, or that we are fortunate to have a house or that we should be just downright grateful for everything.
Ask me again tomorrow what I think about that. Right now, I am definitely having trouble seeing the bright side.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
What The Heck
Is it better to be good or be lucky? Sometimes I think it is better to be lucky, no matter what, these people land on their feet, keep making money and inspire jealousy as overpriced hacks. Sometimes I think it is better to be good, integrity and all that, giving us true meaning in our lives; whether rewarded or not, the absolute value of good transcends all. Ultimately it is better to be lucky and good, the benefits of being the best coupled with the rewards of being so lucky. May the best part of this be bestowed on many of us as we navigate our journey through this minefield of financial uncertainty.
Tonight's Nightline broadcast threw out the loaded question of whether Wall Street executives deserve bonuses this year. It got me to thinking:
The term "billion" is thrown around so regularly now that I am led to believe that Americans really do not want to comprehend what that numerical amount really means because true comprehension would require the reality of riots in the streets.
Spell out $1 billion dollars in zeros and it is $1,000,000,000 or $1000 million dollars. $35 billion in bonuses is $35,000 million ($35,000,000,000) dollars in bonuses handed out last year to the lucky few simply because they worked in the financial sector where people use money to make money. Most of us simply cannot comprehend that amount of money, we just accept the monetary terms in shorthand without the zeros.
It has been reported that the stock market lost almost $$3,000,000,000,000 this year in value and the government and quasi-government agencies - the Congress, the Treasury, the FDIC and the Federal Reserve - have injected almost as much into the seized financial markets to keep the whole system alive.
I lost my job yesterday due to the financial mess created by these Wall Street executives. To utter the word bonus should be an insult to the intelligence of the ordinary person. How could anyone receive a bonus for losing so much money and by extent undermining the economy? This couldn't possibly be the intent of the bonus system or of capitalism itself.
Tonight's Nightline broadcast threw out the loaded question of whether Wall Street executives deserve bonuses this year. It got me to thinking:
The term "billion" is thrown around so regularly now that I am led to believe that Americans really do not want to comprehend what that numerical amount really means because true comprehension would require the reality of riots in the streets.
Spell out $1 billion dollars in zeros and it is $1,000,000,000 or $1000 million dollars. $35 billion in bonuses is $35,000 million ($35,000,000,000) dollars in bonuses handed out last year to the lucky few simply because they worked in the financial sector where people use money to make money. Most of us simply cannot comprehend that amount of money, we just accept the monetary terms in shorthand without the zeros.
It has been reported that the stock market lost almost $$3,000,000,000,000 this year in value and the government and quasi-government agencies - the Congress, the Treasury, the FDIC and the Federal Reserve - have injected almost as much into the seized financial markets to keep the whole system alive.
I lost my job yesterday due to the financial mess created by these Wall Street executives. To utter the word bonus should be an insult to the intelligence of the ordinary person. How could anyone receive a bonus for losing so much money and by extent undermining the economy? This couldn't possibly be the intent of the bonus system or of capitalism itself.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Laid Off
Today I was laid off, all of my speculation and weariness rewarded with the sinking stone of finality stemming from a demise of very awkward precision. With the stroke of a pen and a decision, controversial yet understandable from the viewpoint of the maker, my entire department was excised from the company; eliminated with no prior notice nor whiff of rumor. How did we miss that?
There is no prior notice of upheaval if there is no picking and choosing to be made; everybody goes and nobody knows. I suppose it is easier that way, McCain-style as it were, lacking finesse as reported during the debates. McCain was going to take a "hatchet to the federal budget" but Obama was going to "wield a scalpel" expertly removing the tumor of governmental budgetary waste like a surgeon.
Over the last month and a half, layoffs have taken center stage. So devastating an animal, so despondent a beast. This morning on the way to work on-time for a change, after utilizing the barter arrangement with our neighbors down the street for the occasional morning school bus duty (our school bus comes at 8:45 or so making me 5-10 minutes late to work on those days when my husband does not work from home) I turned up NPR, as usual, for the morning news.
I only listen to NPR/public radio in the car, news or classical music is all I need and my children will refer to this when they are grown as "one of mom's quirky habits." I have plenty, of which I am very proud, since many of them actually help my kids to get smarter, despite themselves; they may beg to differ. Anyhow, there was news of Dow Chemical's 11% workforce reduction, 5000 full-time and 6000 contractor positions plus the shuttering of 20 plants, that made me realize I had both hands on the steering wheel and I was thanking my lucky stars that I still had a job...until I arrived and found out some 15 minutes later that I no longer had a job.
I hate the whole stealth HR thing: swooping in, accompanying you to an office or conference room, rattling some prepared speech about severance - yadda yadda - the turning in of your badge, being accompanied back to your desk for your things and you are gone. No time to say goodbye, no time to clear the cookies from your workstation and definitely no time to go to the toilet. Though they are sorry and sad and it is not a performance issue, and in my case the severance was generous for my short tenure, you still are summarily dismissed like a leper.
Thankfully, a little loitering in the parking lot revealed the wicked truth, that it was all of us, not some of us, and some went home sadly, alone. I chose to go to the diner with some of my compatriots to commiserate and it was good. I hadn't had time for my usual coffee and oatmeal as I was motivated to dash out some emails before my morning meeting ritual began. Some coffee and a bagel was all I could stomach though; that same old wretched feeling of loss, perhaps abandonment, confounding me even though I felt armed with enough intellectual preparation.
A colleague of mine said, "maybe the Lord was telling her to stay home with her children" and how she was sad to have to let go her babysitter. It dawned on me that I was in the same boat having to release my afternoon care-giver, the person who had made my 9-5 so bearable, so seamless. We concluded that for every mother that was laid off, there was a caregiver who also lost a job and that is a sad reality of all of this mess, collateral damage as it were and an important point that is usually lost in the reporting shuffle.
Alas, I really liked this job, all of the pieces were right. May I find another soon enough that I might not sweat, at least not too long to sow seeds of regret.
There is no prior notice of upheaval if there is no picking and choosing to be made; everybody goes and nobody knows. I suppose it is easier that way, McCain-style as it were, lacking finesse as reported during the debates. McCain was going to take a "hatchet to the federal budget" but Obama was going to "wield a scalpel" expertly removing the tumor of governmental budgetary waste like a surgeon.
Over the last month and a half, layoffs have taken center stage. So devastating an animal, so despondent a beast. This morning on the way to work on-time for a change, after utilizing the barter arrangement with our neighbors down the street for the occasional morning school bus duty (our school bus comes at 8:45 or so making me 5-10 minutes late to work on those days when my husband does not work from home) I turned up NPR, as usual, for the morning news.
I only listen to NPR/public radio in the car, news or classical music is all I need and my children will refer to this when they are grown as "one of mom's quirky habits." I have plenty, of which I am very proud, since many of them actually help my kids to get smarter, despite themselves; they may beg to differ. Anyhow, there was news of Dow Chemical's 11% workforce reduction, 5000 full-time and 6000 contractor positions plus the shuttering of 20 plants, that made me realize I had both hands on the steering wheel and I was thanking my lucky stars that I still had a job...until I arrived and found out some 15 minutes later that I no longer had a job.
I hate the whole stealth HR thing: swooping in, accompanying you to an office or conference room, rattling some prepared speech about severance - yadda yadda - the turning in of your badge, being accompanied back to your desk for your things and you are gone. No time to say goodbye, no time to clear the cookies from your workstation and definitely no time to go to the toilet. Though they are sorry and sad and it is not a performance issue, and in my case the severance was generous for my short tenure, you still are summarily dismissed like a leper.
Thankfully, a little loitering in the parking lot revealed the wicked truth, that it was all of us, not some of us, and some went home sadly, alone. I chose to go to the diner with some of my compatriots to commiserate and it was good. I hadn't had time for my usual coffee and oatmeal as I was motivated to dash out some emails before my morning meeting ritual began. Some coffee and a bagel was all I could stomach though; that same old wretched feeling of loss, perhaps abandonment, confounding me even though I felt armed with enough intellectual preparation.
A colleague of mine said, "maybe the Lord was telling her to stay home with her children" and how she was sad to have to let go her babysitter. It dawned on me that I was in the same boat having to release my afternoon care-giver, the person who had made my 9-5 so bearable, so seamless. We concluded that for every mother that was laid off, there was a caregiver who also lost a job and that is a sad reality of all of this mess, collateral damage as it were and an important point that is usually lost in the reporting shuffle.
Alas, I really liked this job, all of the pieces were right. May I find another soon enough that I might not sweat, at least not too long to sow seeds of regret.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Communication
I have a choice, I can talk to my friends in person or I can write this thing which proves I am alive. I am always in a constant deficit when it comes to communication, I think about my friends and relatives a lot more than actually contacting them but I always hope that the extent of our relationship allows that we still know each other intimately the second that we do actually connect and for the most part this is true. I often excuse myself from the nitty gritty confident in the knowledge that I love them dearly and will give them my time whenever necessary; not enough for some - but plenty for many.
I enter this topic in a roundabout way as I review this year's Thanksgiving holidays. The actual Thanksgiving dinner was a lovely affair involving our parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. Our "2nd Thanksgiving" meal started out as a mere invitation to dinner to greet relatives from abroad; my father's sister was in town and my brother and his wife ended up throwing what amounted to a 2nd Thanksgiving banquet on Saturday. I thought I had sealed the deal with my 20 person spread but they had nearly 30, all of them relatives, including many first cousins, on my father's side.
It was fascinating to me to meet so many blood relatives that I barely knew, some I had never met. I thought about the meaning of family, which to me is my mom and my siblings, the people I grew up with. My family is multi-national and we simply have all not been in the same countries at the same time to forge meaningful relationships. My brother grew up to seek more of his extended family, him and his wife much more in tune with that particular round table. I am never sure if his enthusiasm for family connection means that he should automatically include me, give out my phone number and bring me into a "family fold."
My older brother enjoyed the gathering most of all which was surprising since he has pretty steadfastly held onto his protectorate, his state within which very few relatives reside. This is understandable since we grew up as immigrants in a country where we had virtually no relatives to speak of so making these types of connections was extremely limited, separated by oceans and by extension, unfamiliarity, in a previous era with expensive long distance phone calls, no email, no cell phones, no world wide web and no advanced telecommunications as we know them today.
In my old world, we were supposed to write letters, seal them and send them and communicate all that was of value and for most, it did not always work out smoothly and that was ok; we didn't have any immediate ways to imagine at the time. The urgency of cell phone communication, email, instant messaging and texting sometimes sets me back a little, wondering what there is that is so important to say that it can't wait. And true to form when you are privy to these types of messages, the value sometimes is of so little importance that what could be said could have easily waited for a landline or even a letter.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The News That Surrounds Me
With all of the news that surrounds most of us, it is easy to understand why Americans are 6 in 10 against the bailout of the auto companies. It is hard to emphasize with the UAW when the realities of your own situation pale in comparison to their privileged world:
There are rumors that my husband's company is ready to do a significant layoff next week. It is a large company but it has significant debt that creates an almost permanent negative impact on the books; there are always quarterly losses prompting quarterly layoffs over the last few years. The rumors are usually true since the layoffs have become more regular now, the corporate culture is one of uncertainty, about people holding onto their jobs for a paycheck until they are the next to go; no one expects a week without upheaval. There is no union preventing people from being laid-off at-will or exacting the promise of a paycheck even if the work dries up. Most employees now work at their own risk, the propects of a similar job for similar pay are slim since the industry has been suffering a downturn since 2001 from which it has never really recovered.
The other major aspect is that management has changed little, with the layoffs coming bottom up, not top down. Unfortunately, this scenario gets compounded by the fact that management usually has the most management experience even if they have done a terrible job. If you listen to the logic of most companies, they have to preserve bonuses and other perks to keep their managers from absconding; how can they run without experienced managers? Unfortunately, many of these managers may be the very same people who ran the company into the ground in the first place. It is clear that my husband's company has been badly run for some time but those people are not getting rid of themselves anytime soon.
My husband is grateful that he has a job and receiving a decent paycheck for his hard work and so am I. Hopefully he will survive the next round but we still could tighten our belts even further and save even more money just in case. I double-checked with my benefits representative that if he loses his job and we lose our health benefits that I qualify to sign us all up for the health benefit at my job; I am currently waiving mine since both of our plans cost about the same and there is no reason to upset the cart, for now.
Since I have only been at my job for 3 months, I simply have no comfort zone at all. I don't think I will ever settle in since the job trimmings continue despite the assurance after the layoffs last month that we were the crew going forward, in fact the executive who told us that is no longer with the company having been terminated last week.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Obama This, Obama That
Well, it wasn't going to be too long before I weighed in on the Obama Cabinet picks. Hate Them. Well, not all of them, just too many familiar faces. Familiarity breeds contempt doesn't it?
I could re-trench the commentary, too many Clintonites, too many Senators including the Pres. and Vice Pres., too many Democrats, too many Governors, and what's with the keeping of Bush's lapdog Defense Secretary Robert Gates? Or that Hilary Clinton for Secretary of State? Talk about keeping your enemies close enough to ship them out of the country whenever you like. There's the riffs on change we need, apparently Obama's advisors are telling him, you're all the change you're going to get away with buddy, you better pick some people who actually know what to do. So now we have barely any change at all.
I'm trying to avoid all of this speculation and punditry, it is like commentary at a sporting event except it is drowning out the game and making Obama seem less than exciting. He is behaving so Presidentially, he is no longer at ease or as engaging. I want my old pre-elected Obama back.
Actually, following the play by play is usually not my style. There is only one event that I want to witness and that's the inauguration. All of this fill the void brouhaha is what it is, noise.
The government runs for itself, by the people who protect it, and for those who are a part of it. Representation is almost dead, like chivalry, it is nice in theory but can only be partially executed. You can hold the door open for the girl, she passes through, she thanks you but tells you to stay the hell out of her way next time, she can really do it herself or elect the President for the people, he can only present change but if the people are not truly willing, he cannot fully execute it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
"R" Word Comes Out of the Closet
Today, the National Bureau of Economic Research finally played the "R" Card. Not only is the U.S. economy in a Recession but it has been so since last December. What? The Think Tank of Think Tanks finally deigns to call a spade a spade almost a year into the card game. How long was it going to take before the experts recognized the Commerce Department's sleight of hand as it issued false positive GDP data all year long (only to revise the numbers long after the fact and when we stopped looking.) There was barely an eyebrow raising last week when they released their revised data.
All of us little people have known the truth for as long as it has taken for the experts to parse the numbers. With major banks crashing, major industries crashing, 30 U.S. States deeply in the red, retailers going belly-up, the stock market at an all time low and Wall Street firms in disarray, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve having spent trillions trying to shore up the financial markets and so on, we needed to wait til December 1 to find out the truth. We have been drowning in so much negative data that we have plum forgotten the stimulus package we the people received last Spring, the first of many handouts that was supposed to save the economy.
Of course this "new" bad news sent the markets down nearly 700 points for no reason whatsoever. No surprise here, just another round of end of the world scenarios to get our knickers in a twist over. Tomorrow, the slightest smidgen of good news can provoke a rally in the other direction. Meaningless.
Yes, we have been in a Recession for quite some time. If this is news to you, then you must be too rich to notice and in that case, I want to be your friend.
All of us little people have known the truth for as long as it has taken for the experts to parse the numbers. With major banks crashing, major industries crashing, 30 U.S. States deeply in the red, retailers going belly-up, the stock market at an all time low and Wall Street firms in disarray, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve having spent trillions trying to shore up the financial markets and so on, we needed to wait til December 1 to find out the truth. We have been drowning in so much negative data that we have plum forgotten the stimulus package we the people received last Spring, the first of many handouts that was supposed to save the economy.
Of course this "new" bad news sent the markets down nearly 700 points for no reason whatsoever. No surprise here, just another round of end of the world scenarios to get our knickers in a twist over. Tomorrow, the slightest smidgen of good news can provoke a rally in the other direction. Meaningless.
Yes, we have been in a Recession for quite some time. If this is news to you, then you must be too rich to notice and in that case, I want to be your friend.
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