How is the Economy Affecting You?

Aviation embedded software projects are usually funded in advance, so some contraction so far; but I anticipate more to come.

Have you heard of 'the housing bubble'. I think this is the 'everything bubble'.

When speculation runs amok eventually they run out of suckers.

engineering consulting firms are beginning to cut down their staffs. Just because a lot of prospective projects are being put on hold. Fortunately our company seems to hold their ground. We made some sacrifices of not getting hold of our salary increase just to make sure we will survive the crisis next year.

We are a Civil Eng. Company and have never had a layoff in the 20 years I've worked here.

However this will be the second time that we have reduced working hours to 30 hours a week.

I've just recently moved to a much more afforable house due to the fact that my wife was unemployed for the past 7 months. Just could not afford it on only my salary and with the reduced hours I knew where coming.

...and for those fortunate enough to have a job, many will not see a raise or bonus. For me a 5% raise doesn't look like much, but when it gets added up year over year (for the next 40yrs) with future raises added into that initial 5% I'm looking at $200,000 lost.

However on a good year I'd see 10-15% plus bonus.

". . . quit looking for work." We used to call that retirement. I wonder if these industry analysts counted all the folks in nursing homes to get the 12% number? Maybe there are a number of two income families where one was laid off, and just decided it makes better economic sense to stay home to take care of the kids and the house.

There are a lot of hidden costs when both parents work. We all know about the day care part, but then since both work, take-out and convenience foods play a much larger part of the dietary intake with financial as well as waistline impacts. Also you may need to figure in a second "workplace" wardrobe for the second income. Commuting costs, automobile expenses, maintenance. Spend more money for outside help maintaining the home (cleaning services, yard maintenance, minor home repairs). Also, don't forget the two-income tax penalty you will pay with higher combined salaries. All these things add up in an insidious manner. For the last 18 years, we have been a one-income family. I can say that with we have been able to be more frugal with careful planning and DIY mentality, without sacrificing quality of life, the kids have always had a parent at home, and we have positioned ourselves financially better than other comparable two-income families with similar jobs.

Now that the flock is beginning to leave the nest (one down, three to go), my wife is thinking of re-entering the workplace to help keep the mind active. Over the last eighteen years, she has kept current with technology, taken inexpensive classes at the local community college and will be able to slip right back into the workplace that she left with the birth of our first child.

It's a bit ironic that the very things all the "experts" are saying we should do now, our family has been doing from the start. I'm afraid I haven't been very good for the economy over the last twenty years, and I'm not likely to start helping now.

Cost of living has increased quite a bit over the past year, but with minimal impact on lifestyle). Still have more work than I can handle, can not find staff willing to work for the penance I am willing to pay. Wife just finished law school, so I may just think about taking some time off, if only the customers would stop calling.