Does this recession talk scare you?
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Topic: Does this recession talk scare you?
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Subject: Does this recession talk scare you?
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 9:40am
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There is SO much talk everywhere you go about the current world recession - does it make you a little scared?
Are you doing anything different because of it? I just read that 70,000 jobs world wide went over night - that is crazy! ------------- TTC 6 years IVF it is IVF/ICSI round one 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised BFN IVF/ICSI #2 = 22 eggs! 20 mature, 15 fertilised, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frosties BFN 2 Frosties still in freezer thank god |
Replies:
Posted By: Snappy
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 9:46am
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A little... Im supposed to be resigning after being on maternity leave, and its got me thinking I may never get another job again!
DH said last night that one of his friends at work lost $3k or something on his Superannuation fund because of the recession?! Oh well, more of an exuse to stay at home for a few more years 
------------- Mummy to two beauties... Formerly Kaiz. |
Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 9:54am
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Not really. My DH is in a good job that is important to our beef and venison exports and being a great worked in a medium sized organisation he's managed to get recognised by people above him. I work for a large company in the finance industry so I might be concerned if it weren't for the fact that my team does a specialised role that noone else in the company knows how to do which is necessary. Having said that no-one is indispensable but I go through life with the highly optimistic view that everything happens for a reason and whatever happens to our jobs is for the best. RE: superannuation funds, I'd only be concerned about that if I was close to retirement. The nature of unit linked investments is that they are volatile and tend to rise and fall but even out in the long run. IMO the best thing to do atm if you have a unit linked super or savings plan (and can afford it) is up your contribution, you'll buy more units at a lower price and when the unit prices increase you'll be sitting pretty. Now is not the time to opt out, if you can at all avoid it. -------------  
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Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:02am
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It struck home when some of DH's workmates were made redundant. We think we're in an OK position but it does get sobering. We haven't really cut back yet (hey, the Reserve Bank Governor said we need to spend money to stimulate the economy - I'm just doing my bit for the nation ) so could cut back if things got tighter. ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: Emily281
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:06am
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Not really. My DH and I are both in good jobs (although my DH is about to start a new one).
We have cut back on our spending, but only because we were spending way too much money on crap and not actually saving any money which we want to do ready for when I (hopefully) go on maternity leave and we are down to one income. That's a thought that does kind of scare me because I wonder how we'll cope on one income, but I try to remember that DH's income is more than some families and if they can do it so can we - we just have to stop buying so much stuff we don't need  ------------- TTC#1: Jan 07 Aug 08: Lap found and excised Stage 3 Endo Nov 08: 2nd lap clear - given OK to TTC after next AF |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:07am
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Its effected me, I got made redundant last year, and am only on a temporary contract. Thankfully DH works for the government so at least his job is secure, wont help if he gets transferred to Akl and I have to look for work again. Being out of work for a month and having DH to support me, was tough going, may have to re-think my plans to be SAHM. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: CuriousG
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:12am
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It does scare me a little purely because we are TTC and I am the major breadwinner in our house. This, coupled with the fact that they are looking to outsource our roles in the Infrastructure Team by the end of the year means I will probably also be made redundant.
We are simply tightening our belts, sticking to our budget and putting any extra cash torwards paying our CC off and into savings. I am kind of hoping we will be made redundant and I will get a pay out (which I am entitled too), plus my super scheme payout and an extra bonus that they have to pay if you do get the chop. We are prepared for the fact that we may have to live a very simple life for a while and that I may also have to go back to work part time in a job that doesn't pay much but helps us get by. I am just scared of not being able to pay the mortgage. That would be devastating. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:36am
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70,000 jobs sounds like a lot, but when you consider that is world wide it puts it into a little more persepctive. I'm not too bothered myself. Like Jo I work in the finance industry so I've got all the advice I need at my fingertips. I work for a small organisation with a very stable position, DH is a little more exposed being in sales/business development but I am sure he would have no trouble picking something up if he were to be made redundant. We can live comfortably off either of our salaries alone so are lucky in that respect.
Flissty is right that we need to keep spending money, that is what stimulates the economy. If we all keep our money in the bank because we are too scared to spend it that is what will cause the country to slip even further into recession. Money really does make the world go round
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Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:37am
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I am a little - DF's job is in an industry that is affected (civil construction) and they have cut their hours right back to 40hrs/week. He was doing around 8-12 hours a week overtime last year, on a regular basis.
For me, I'm also a little concerned as there is talk that things may change at the end of the financial year, which may mean the end of our local offices. I would get a small redundancy payout but it would only cover 6 weeks of the mortgage. |
Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 11:09am
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yeah it is starting to affect us. my work imports a lot of products using the US dollar so that is now starting to affect us a lot, and a couple of us have had to cut our hrs back. DH job is pretty safe in the bank and he is really busy. Because of it we are probably looking at delaying at TTC #2 for a year as we want to wait and see what happens. ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 11:13am
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It scares me a little bit, one of my good friends who was in a very secure job has unfortunately lost her job, they have annouced they wernt doing as good as they thought - which is took everyone by complete surprise!
Thats the thing that sux is you think things are great but really you have no idea whats going on! Things like Mountain Buggy pretty much going under, empty shops in malls etc - it IS scary, and you think if you do have to find a new job then there is that many more people your going against to try and get it! We are just really tightning up and paying off any bills that we have. We upd our mortgage payments a couple of years ago to pay it off quickly while we are on 2 incomes which was good. And now petrols gone up 10c AGAIN damn it! ------------- TTC 6 years IVF it is IVF/ICSI round one 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised BFN IVF/ICSI #2 = 22 eggs! 20 mature, 15 fertilised, 1 fresh transfer and 2 frosties BFN 2 Frosties still in freezer thank god |
Posted By: MamaT
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 11:39am
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It hasn't really affected us too much. Although in saying that, we have been tightening the purse strings lately, mainly because FH is looking for a full time job and is currently only working 15 hours/week (he finished studying in Nov). So our income has declined and of course so too has our spending. But, it is not due to the economy. IMO the media tend to blow these things out of proportion a bit which makes people start to freak out. -------------  
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Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 11:52am
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Not really as both me and DH have pretty secure jobs.
It does mean that our decision to stay in NZ is temporarily out of our hands as Ireland has been hit a lot harder by the recession so it would be very difficult for us to move back. The good side of that is that no one asked us when we were moving back when we visited over Xmas. In fact most people said 'Stay where you are!'
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:00pm
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The main thing I found is DH's salary covers the mortgage, it was our living expenses like food, petrol, power and phone to cover also on 1 wage. Doesn't help that they all seem to have risen in the last 6 months. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: GuestGuest
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:03pm
| It worries me most when I listen to the radio as the media seem to hype it up a lot which really annoys me. |
Posted By: Danaj
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:20pm
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DH is a builder in the Army so his job is secure, but we've been very thank ful that he is not working Civy or we could be in trouble. Some of the guys at his work have lost 7k on their super funds but that could change quickly enough.
I hope it changes as we were hoping to buy a house next year and 20% compared to 10% deposit changes things alot. ------------- http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wyI1oWn/"> 
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Posted By: busyissy
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:29pm
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I guess what concerns me most about the recession is when I hear that some companies (big ones mostly that my DH and SIL work for) are preparing for a depression. That puts it in a whole new ball park. But I guess they have to prepare for a worse case scenario.
We have cut back where we can but have never been particulary wasteful or very big spenders. |
Posted By: Emily281
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:38pm
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At this point you wouldn't get a mortgage with 10% deposit. We met with our lending manager last weekend and he was saying that no one is doing loans for over 80%. Even though we were only extending ours by $10000 and we are both on good incomes and according to the bank we should have over $3000 left over at the end of each month, if the extra we wanted to borrow had taken us over the 80% limit we wouldn't have got the extension. ------------- TTC#1: Jan 07 Aug 08: Lap found and excised Stage 3 Endo Nov 08: 2nd lap clear - given OK to TTC after next AF |
Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:41pm
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It definitely makes me nervous. Especially at the moment we have 2 good jobs between us, but if we TTC then in reality thats going to become 1 job, which leaves us a lot more vulnerable if DH loses his job. Its hard, because we've put off TTC until we've got the house and the careers and now that TTC is next on our list, it looks like the economy is threatening to make us wait even longer.
I've just spent 6 months in America, where the recession is much more advanced than here, and its horrifying to see how bad it can get. So many people who thought they had secure jobs are finding not only have they lost their jobs, but they aren't able to find new ones. You might be a vital part of your company, but if no-one needs your company anymore, then there goes your job. Of course, NZ isn't in such a bad situation as the US, but it still makes me nervous. If it does get really bad, then waiting it out before TTC would make sense... but I wanna TTC now ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Emily281
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 12:44pm
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Hi T-Rex -we're kinda in the same position as you. My DH is starting a new job next month so his job will be less secure than it is now (although I can't see the company he's going to work for going under) and I'm worried that he's going to want to put TTC on hold but we did the same as you waiting until we had a house and everything and we've been TTC for 2 years now so while it might make sense to wait 6-12 months there's no way I'm going to! ------------- TTC#1: Jan 07 Aug 08: Lap found and excised Stage 3 Endo Nov 08: 2nd lap clear - given OK to TTC after next AF |
Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 1:11pm
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Not really, if Ben lost his job it wouldn't be the end of the world (it would suck a lot tho) hes just a genral labourer and they always seem to need more of them. We have survived on very little money so I'm not too concerned. If we had a morgage and loans I'd be a bit more concerned.
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Posted By: flakesitchyfeet
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 4:09pm
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When you look just at our wee immediate family, I'm incredibly lucky. DH has job security, and according to budgets I shouldn't have to go back to work any time soon. We also have just had an 100% loan approved - under special (lucky) circumstances, and for less then $200,000, but still the current interest rates are certainly a bonus.
It guts me when I see what it's doing to friends and family though. I would happily save for a house deposit etc if it meant I could take away from others fear. -------------  http://lilypie.com"> |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 6:04pm
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While I think the media hypes it up a bit like others have said (as they do with everything), I also think its a stark reality and people need to realise the good times are over and now is the time to plan ahead for the next 5 years, no just next week.
For us, DH is in the army so has job security, but I work at a law firm and the only reason I haven't been made redundant so far is because my mum is my boss and has kept me under the radar. Now I only work 10hrs/wk and get paid nothing compared to what I would if I was teaching, but its great hours and an easy job while I'm bringing up the kids. I am starting to get really worried about what will happen to us if I do get made redundant (which I've basically been told will happen within the year) as I was studying before I had kids so haven't been in the workforce for a continual period of time and don't qualify for the bailout redundancy package.
I've also seen the figures that have been released to business leaders recently for projected growth over the next 5 years and that alone has scared me enough Other factors including our aging population (which in 20 years will mean we have more people retired than working = no superannuation if we keep at the current rate) is all adding pressure to the economy and the government. Something's gotta give, and just like 70ish years ago, it will, and soon. At least we live in a day and age though that we will bounce back quicker. None of this poverty for 20 years crap, we'll be fine in 5 if you believe all the world leaders.
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Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 6:28pm
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Not really - there's nothing we can do anyway. We're on one income and we're already careful with what we spend.
It's made me glad that I chose to be a SAHM though since chances are I'd be made redundant at some point in the near future anyway. The thing that's stressing me out at the moment is it's looking increasingly likely that we're going to have to find a new home and there's no way in hell we can afford to buy so we're going to have to find a slum to inhabit. -------------  
 
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Posted By: monkey33
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 9:57pm
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It hasn't worried ourselves too much as we are on two incomes with no children just yet - but not 100% sure on the future.
DH is pretty sure that he is safe as he works in finance IT - they look after two big banks in Auckland and there are only two of them in the Auckland office. In saying that though, they could do it remotely from their main office in Melbourne but DH tells me it is not likely. My job is safe as far as I am aware (but stranger things have happened!) Being in the hotel industry, we are certainly feeling the pinch due to the drop in tourism numbers however no-one in the hotel has been made redundant yet. We have had people who have left the hotel over the last few months and some have not been replaced so we are pretty lean now which is good. We are in the process of doing a 'worst case scenario' so that we can have an action plan of what to do if we drop to a certain occupancy/revenue - hopefully we don't get to that stage and hopefully cutting my job is not on the list 
The scary thing is 4 of my best friends have been redundant (all different industries), my MIL also just recently too. And another of my friends is 99% sure she won't get paid this week as her company is about to go under. Good things have come out of it for some of my friends who have lost their job though - one got a payrise of $20k going to another company doing something similar and one got a $7k payout from her workplace as they stuffed everything up with her redundancy
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Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 27 January 2009 at 10:01pm
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It sucks when you get made redundant due to companies going belly up. I've had it happen to me 3 times but each time I've gone on to better things so it can be a blessing in disguise. -------------
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