This economy is so crazy!

I do freelance work for film and tv, and with the current economy, it is very hard to find work. People in my industry are now taking jobs below them, making even more people compete for fewer jobs. Now I'm lucky to work once a month, been averaging once every other month.

i was planning to look for a new job (I am unhappy in my current position) when my husband was laid off. It was a pretty big blow to us. Now I need to stick with my job and wait for him to find something. It is difficult - and very stressful. Luckily we had been saving a lot, but we have had to cut back on extras (eating out, planned home improvements, trips, activities) in order to not cut into our savings.

My husband and I have two kids under the age of 3. I am a recent stay at home mom. Before our children my husband and I were living a very comfertable lifestyle. After having my 1st child I decided I wanted to have another. My husband and I sat down and talked about would be able to afford another child and would it be best if I were to stay home or return to work. Things were looking GREAT!! I was able to stay home with the kids and my husband would return home from working a 9-5 job. As the world turns and the economy falls more and more my husband was laid off from his job and forced to take whatever he could. The days of a comfertable lifestyle are long gone now. My husband works 1 full time job and 2 part time jobs. Even doing all of that we are still living paycheck to paycheck. I have played around with the idea of going back to work, but with babysitting fees I would not bring home enough to make a difference. All we can do is hope the government gets things together and doesn't forget about "the people".

My part-time work as a retiree used to pay for my "fun" activities. I enjoy dining out with friends, but since my hours have been cut by the business that employs me, I have not only cut back on the number of dinners out, but the upscale restaurants have been replaced by less expensive franchise places or local, informal eateries.

I lost my job in January, and there isn't much to choose from around where I live. Soon I will be drawig from my IRA to get by, and we all know that isn't worth what it used to be.

Luckily my wife and I are in two relatively recession proof careers, she is a nurse and I am a teacher; thus we haven't felt the effect of the downturn. Even with our current careers though, I have curbed my spending and used the last few months to pay down debts; just in case the downturn continues to worsen.

The economy has not impacted me because I am the manager at a produce store so I am in a high enough position where I dont hve to worry about losing my job. If I had a different job, I don't have enough money to support myself if I ever got laid off because of the economy.

I've been lucky to keep my job, because a lot of my coworkers have been laid off. It's definitely made me aware of my performance. However, I've been trying to find a second job and it seems impossible; businesses are closing right and left.

The slowdown has had an effect on my family because my husband works in construction in the Atlanta area. The housing market here, like many other places, is dead. The jobs used to come to him, now he has to go out and hunt them down.

I lost my 4% raise and 55% of my 2008 earned/2009 paid bonus.

I have lost my job and I have had to stop paying my bills so I can just eat, have a roof over my head and drive my car to interviews. Its been a rough year for alot of people. I am greatful for all I do have.

I worked for a building supply distributor in Ohio. The building slump late in 2007 cost me my job early in 2008. I'm burning up my retirement IRA with great penalty tax wise. Of course, my IRA is worth a lot less since the big downturn.

The current economic situation makes it difficult to find a job in my field. But, at least gas is more affordable for now.

I work for a real estate company and we have no sales past 3 months, hence there was no appraisal and no salaries on time.

Though I was astute enough to transfer most of my long-term savings from stocks into government securities before the "major" economic downturn came along, it still has had an effect on me and my family.
After my employer offered an "early out" retirement in 2006, I promised myself I would take advantage of the next opportunity (if one came along). Well, it did - but we had to make "irrevocable decisions" in November 2008 with the retirement being effective at the end of February 2009. Now I'm wondering if 1) I'll need to get a part time job; and 2) whether that will even be possible given the increased competition for jobs as a result of all the layoffs. We shall see.

I just graduated from school (and by just, I mean in May 10 months ago). The downturn has made it next to impossible for a new grad with limited experience to find a job.

It has not impact me. I found for those who still have their jobs, it's the best retail environment: everything is on sale - I am talking about deep discount. I go out shopping every weekend and pick up bargains at unbelievablely low price. Do I sound like a sale person? No.. it's the fact in every stores. I am having the best of my shopping life.

My work hours were cut back recently to one day a week. My spouse's employment seems to be safe for now as he recently got a promotion and a modest raise, but we find that living with basically one income really takes a lot of self discipline and imagination. Naturally we are paying a lot more attention to what we buy in the grocery, and have eliminated ALL of our impulse buying. In other words, when it comes to spending money...we have to ask...is it something we truly need or just want?

No I have not been impacted. I am doing just fine and so are all of my friends.

My job is probably safe, but they have cut back on my hours. I know I've been spending less on luxury things, and I rarely eat out or see movies anymore.

I've been looking for a better job, but there don't seem to be any.

My cleaning company went under and now I can't find a job working for someone else.

I use to work as a senior financial analyst for over 8 years and I've been out of work for over a year now. I cook at home a lot more to save money since I rarely go out to eat anymore. Given that I'm really looking and can't even get an interview, means I'll probably have to do something like retail.