Are you better off than 4 years ago?

[feh]

Yes, definitely. We were very fortunate though - we pulled a lot (maybe most) of our money out of the market right when it peaked in 2007 to buy a house. Then put a bunch back into the market when our previous house sold, a couple months after the market had bottomed.

[Cassius King]

Financially, I have less debt than I did. I have more investments, money saved than four years ago as well.
However, mentally and physically, this economy is starting to take it's toll. My company was bought out last summer, so there's all kinds of "thinning" out and change. The career shake up has hit me both emotionally and physically. The stress is hard to escape and I've gained 20 pounds in the past year. I feel like I'll be dead before things turn around. Think I need to ignore everything and let the cards fall where they may and just take care of myself. Tough to say, when I've got a family to take care of.
It's hard to stay positive when the economic outlook doesn't look to be improving anytime soon.

Time to have a beer and numb reality.

[DebbieL]

Good question. We are definitely better off, but that is only because we are not in the same jobs we had back then. I've continued my schooling (becoming accountant), and that has helped my earning potential. I earn about 150% of what I earned 4 years ago. DH (a chef) is now cooking at one of the oil sands camps in Alberta, so he's earning about 300% of what he was 4 years ago (they pay insane wages in the oil and gas industry here).

Cost of living is going up in leaps and bounds though. Groceries are through the roof, and gas is about $1.32 per litre here currently (just over $5/gallon). If we were earning at our old level, considering the price of everything else we would be much worse off than we were 4 years ago. We are very fortunate to be in much better positions.

[My English Castle]

Our retirement accounts are about where they were four years ago, not much higher despite our regular contributions. It's home values that are hurting us also.

[KTP]

Ask me in August when/if there is a technical default on US treasuries and the DOW is at 9000.

*right now* we are better off than 4 years ago.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by KTP

Ask me in August when/if there is a technical default on US treasuries and the DOW is at 9000.

*right now* we are better off than 4 years ago.

Are you expecting that the government will stop taking in revenues completely? Just because you do not raise your borrowing does not mean you cannot pay your prioritized bills.

All the government has to do is just stop spending more than it takes in. Personally, I hope we do default, that would force us back in line.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

.... Not to mention what is happening with college tuitions.

Ah, that's right -- I nearly forgot about this little fact. I'm a about 6 months into (slowly) working on a master's program, and in April my university raised the tuition fees by a whopping 30% per credit! ouch... Doesn't break the bank (only taking one class at a time), but looking at it from a numbers perspective, it's a little startling.

[KTP]

Originally Posted by maat55

Are you expecting that the government will stop taking in revenues completely? Just because you do not raise your borrowing does not mean you cannot pay your prioritized bills.

All the government has to do is just stop spending more than it takes in. Personally, I hope we do default, that would force us back in line.

No, but I would expect it to shake investor confidence in the US as a safe haven. It would only take a nudge to push the market into a freefall and get us back to something like DOW 9000.

I would be ok with that *if* this time the market would stay at that level for awhile and return to sanity. No 50 billion valuations for facebook, groupon ipo, lnkd pe of 1000+, a mexican fast food joint selling for pe 50, etc. etc. It would make investing so much easier if we dropped 3000 points and stayed there awhile.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by KTP

No, but I would expect it to shake investor confidence in the US as a safe haven. It would only take a nudge to push the market into a freefall and get us back to something like DOW 9000.

I would be ok with that *if* this time the market would stay at that level for awhile and return to sanity. No 50 billion valuations for facebook, groupon ipo, lnkd pe of 1000+, a mexican fast food joint selling for pe 50, etc. etc. It would make investing so much easier if we dropped 3000 points and stayed there awhile.

Personally, I was hoping it would move up slower than it did. Quick moves usually have corrections.

[asmom]

Absolutely. 4 years ago I was working at a job that was not very challenging and I was not being paid well. I was so anxious all the time that I was having heart palpitations. Today I am working in a position that is not only challenging but often frustrating and that's okay. It doesn't hurt that my income has increased by 75% so I have been able to pay off short-term and long-term debt much quicker than anticipated as well as ramp up my savings.

Also, my daughter will be starting college in a few weeks and I am excited for her as well as a little uncertain what life will be like without her.

[Little House]

In terms of being more financially savvy, yes I'm better off. However, I've seen my total income decrease over the past two years. So, in that case no. Yet, I'm still able to pay all of my bills and save a little money which I probably wouldn't have been able to do 4 years ago on a decreased income. So maybe it's a wash.

[rob62521]

Just a summary, it would appear that so far, most folks feel they are better off...I wonder if this would be a true indication of how the country is doing. Most folks who are SA fans are pretty careful with their money so I think it makes sense that many are better off. Very interesting!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by rob62521

Just a summary, it would appear that so far, most folks feel they are better off...I wonder if this would be a true indication of how the country is doing. Most folks who are SA fans are pretty careful with their money so I think it makes sense that many are better off. Very interesting!

If you listen to Dave Ramsey's show, one thing he loves focusing on is when callers who phone him to announce they are debt-free tell him that their income has gone up significantly over the past few years. Dave loves to say, "So you got a raise during a recession" or "You chose not to participate in the recession" or something along those lines.

I think you are hitting the same point. Folks who are careful with their money, live below their means and prepare for emergencies and for the future aren't as affected by bad times because they are ready for them.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

If you listen to Dave Ramsey's show, one thing he loves focusing on is when callers who phone him to announce they are debt-free tell him that their income has gone up significantly over the past few years. Dave loves to say, "So you got a raise during a recession" or "You chose not to participate in the recession" or something along those lines.

I think you are hitting the same point. Folks who are careful with their money, live below their means and prepare for emergencies and for the future aren't as affected by bad times because they are ready for them.

This is true, back in the recession of 2000 I was hit pretty hard. I did not have emergency funds and had several payments.


This go around, which has been worse, I have barely noticed. Even with my reduced earnings I am saving more than ever. This is why I do not credit any administration with prosperity, it is mostly in control of the individual.

[dawnwes]

YES!~

Well, sort of. We make less money per month (I am no longer working), but we are much smarter about how we spend it and have more saved.

We used to make more money when I worked too, but our outflow was more because we just spent what we made. We never had credit card debt (and we rationallized that since we didn't have cc debt we were ok) but we had student loans, a car loan, and didn't have a good emergency fund set up.

We now make less, but we have paid off all loans other than the house (and we switched from a 30 year to a 15), we have 6 months of emergency fund set up, have college accounts for the kids set up, replacement car fund set up, live far more frugally, etc....

We have always had retirement funds going, so I don't include those in any changes we have made.

Dawn

[crazyskunk82]

We're better off now than 4 years ago. Like others have said, it's not due to any government initiative or help from other people. We decided to start budgeting and paying off debt. 10,000 gone in less than a year, 25,000 to go!

We both also received raises at work in the past year!

Rise The Wiser - A blog about breaking free of debt and learning financial wisdom

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Absolutely without a doubt. My DH increased his salary nearly double, our retirement went from $2k to $250k (yep that's right), our home has gotten paid down another $60k, and we've had a baby. Our life has prospered in many ways and it's still getting better. Home values in our ares has gotten better to boot. Our neighbors sold for more than expected.