How's Life in Your Town - Bad Economy, Loss of Jobs, Company Closings

Our country is struggling, our world is struggling, but I believe we can and will get through these difficult times together. Write to me today and tell me how life is in your state or country. Read the letters others are sending in, share with your friends so they can participate and contact me to join this discussion...

How is life in your corner of the world? Do you see things getting better or worse? How are your schools, local housing market, jobs? What about new companies, have they chosen your town to start a new location? Have company closings stopped? Do you have entire industries that are dieing or already gone? Closings are still happening here in Georgia (2011), but thankfully they do not seem as widespread as in the past several years. However, it takes 125,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with the current population growth. Most of the unemployed are unable to find a job and have been out of work for two years or more. My husband has been out of work since his company closed on June 1, 2010. He was a Regional Director for Auto Trader Magazines - job offers welcome!

After taking a short break let's continue posting some of our OWN economic updates, we don't have to Occupy Wall Street to let our voices be heard! They say unemployment is 9%, we say it's over 20%!!! We know it's bad. They can only do so much to help us. We're broke, our countries are broke. So, what are we going to do about it?

I live in Atlanta, started buying my little house ten years ago. Got my loan down to 3.75 last year. Will pay my house off by time I am 77 years old. I will probably stay at work until I am 68 or 69 if possible – 5 or 6 years from now. I take the bus to work (Marta) and have a free card from my employer and pay $13.00 a month for cell phone through work, which is a work and a personal phone. Continue reading here...

Atlanta, GA (Editor) - Hi Susan! It is so wonderful of you to share all the things you are doing to save money and live a frugal lifestyle. I am so very proud of you and want to thank you for reminding us that everything we do to save money, no matter how little it may seem, makes a difference!!!

North Pole, Alaska - Hi Michelle, My medical insurance with my job has tripled this year from $87.00 per pay period to $261.00. Our out-of-pocket has gone from $350.00 per family of 2 to $2,300.00 per family of 2. I am not sure if its worth, being double covered, but I am afraid not to have insurance with today's economy! Life in my town of North Pole, Alaska, is crazy. We have an oil refinery in town but our gasoline is still $4.18 per gal for regular gas and premium is $4.49 on average. It costs $65.00 to $85.00 to fill up our vehicles each week just to get to and from work. This is crazy! At least most every one still has jobs and are surviving. Electric charges are also really hurting a lot of us, as we have a Fuel Surcharge and its actually more than what my electric bill is. Example that it makes my bill large, last month it was $97.00 and the surcharge was $103.00 making the total $200.00. Do any of you have the surcharge thing out there??? - Sharon Corbett

Editor (Atlanta) - Sharon, gas prices are hurting so many people. Like the last few times this has happened during the past 5 years, in the U.S., it is again about $4.00 per gallon here also. I don't know how other countries who pay more survive it. Here we have people who quit their jobs, sell their cars, and so on, because they can't afford the gas to get to work. We do very little driving with my husband out of work so we are doing okay. It still makes you want to faint when you see the total price at the gas pump, no matter how long it's going to last in your tank. I featured a great list of ways to save on gas a few years ago and I'm posting it again this month, you can read it at How to Save Money on Gas - More Than 50 FREE Gas Saving Tips!

And yes, we have a surcharge on our electricity too! When my husband lost his job last summer we turned the a/c down to save money, and unplugged everything we could. It wasn't enough. The next month's bill came and I turned the a/c OFF! Over the winter, the house was very cold, but we got through it. Now summer is here again, and we have a fan in every room. We've cut our monthly bills down by about 70%, so the surcharges have come way down too. Yours in Alaska do seem really high!

Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) - Hi Michelle, here in Vancouver, BC, things aren't a lot different than most of your readers reports. Classroom overcrowding, politicians continual pay raises, higher gas prices - I paid 1.38 per litre yesterday. However, we are fortunate that our economy is relatively stable, although finding work is getting more and more difficult for most, and at least here in Vancouver, buying a house is impossible for most people with the average house price being $500,000+. A couple of years ago when things started going downhill, my husband "took matters into his own hands" and became self-employed. What a risk - but thank goodness he did! Through perseverance (and a little stubbornness) he has found plenty of work, and with your great budgeting tips we are actually pulling ourselves out of debt. Even our kids have learned how to "live with less" - which is saying a lot for teenagers! With 3 kids we have all come together and learned to appreciate what can't be bought... walks through the woods, home-grown vegetables, the beauty of digging the earth and watching the flowers bloom. Yes, times are tough and not likely to get easy any time soon, but friendship, family, and community has no price. - Richelle

Editor (Atlanta) - You are so right, Richelle! And I am so thankful we have been working on all of these life, business and financial matters together here at BetterBudgeting.com for over 10 years. Can you imagine if we were just now starting?

Vale, North Carolina - Things are still very stagnant in North Carolina as well. In the late ‘90’s there seemed to be a new house going up on every corner. Now the housing market is nearly non existent and I cannot remember the last time I saw a new home actually under construction. As nearly everyone else has mentioned, our school system has been hit hard and it looks as though all of the school funded Pre-K programs as well as all teacher assistants may be lost in this round of budget cuts. We have been very fortunate that my husband and I both still have our jobs as well as access to insurance. But, my agency has not even seen a cost of living raise in five years and our health insurance premiums have doubled and the co pays tripled in that time span. We are expecting to be told next week that the premiums will be going up AGAIN this fiscal year and our coverage will be decreased as well. Our family raises a large garden and I am able to can and freeze fruits and vegetables, which is a huge help. In addition to our regular jobs, my husband’s family and I raise beef cattle to sell and we always have at least one butchered each year which we divide between the three households. I cannot even imagine how awful our grocery bills would be if we didn’t have access to these things and I wonder how other families manage. My husband has always been particularly wise with money. We paid off our house several years ago and our only debt is on a home equity used to purchase more property to raise cattle on. Though I have had to do some major belt tightening to cover all the spiking healthcare costs (I am 46 with a 3 year old daughter and a 7 year old son) God continues to take care of our every need. Sometimes not in the manner that I expected or wanted, but we are provided for nonetheless. I am not financially able to give to many of the charities I at one time was able to provide support for, but now try to donate my time instead. Thank you for your helpful and encouraging newsletters and it is my prayer that things will look better for our country in the coming year. - Rachel Carpenter

Editor (Atlanta) - It sounds like you are way ahead of the game, Rachel, you just didn't know it! Even though healthcare is taking a huge bite out of your pay, you probably are doing much better than many, simply because you have healthcare and two jobs. Wow, can you believe that for the last several decades we have taken such important things for granted; thinking we could get them if we worked hard enough? Now, a much smaller portion of our families have these things, and the rest must find other ways to live. I am so excited that you also have your house mortgage paid off, and that you bought more land for cattle. AND you have a large garden... WONDERFUL!!!

NW Georgia - Michelle, I live in one county and work in the neighboring county. I have not had a raise in more than 3 yrs and my health insurance has gone up every year. It is so high now that for my family of 4 my insurance is barely less than my take home pay for 2 weeks. The road I live on has 14 houses on it, 4 are empty. I think 1 of them skipped out on their mortgage, 1 has been abandoned, 1 is in foreclosure, and 1 is for rent. Thank goodness my husband found a job after being unemployed for about 8 months and we car pool several days a week to save a little on gas. The schools in my town are getting much worse; less teachers and less quality teachers, bigger class size. It is just not a good situation all the way around for our schools or the kids in them. I am very thankful that I have a job and that my husband has a job, but I have 2 daughters one that will be leaving high school shortly and is not optimistic about finding a job or being able to afford to go to college, especially with what they are doing with the HOPE scholarship here in GA. The unemployment rate is still very high in our area. I would love to have a garden this year, we tried last year but it was way to dry--even my tomatoes didn't produce and I have never managed to kill tomatoes before. Anyway that is what it is like in my town. I really like your newsletter. - Anonymous

Editor (Atlanta) - Dear NW GA, living not far from you I understand completely. My biggest concern for you is the cost of health insurance being just a little less than your take home pay. We lost all of our insurance when my husbands company closed last year and he would take any job at any pay just so we can have insurance for our family again. It definitely makes you stop and think, if one has a job that is just enough to pay for (and have) insurance, how can they afford other essentials; like housing, food and transportation--to the job? - Michelle

Leicester, England - Hi Michelle, I’ve followed your site for a few years now and I find it a valuable resource. The economy here in the U.K. is still not brilliant but I'd say its definitely better than most. We have a high unemployment rate among the 18 to 24 year olds here but the job’s market is slowly picking up. Unfortunately wages remain cripplingly low and the government has raised tax on consumer goods to 20% that covers everything except food, but of course petrol prices are incredibly high so supermarkets are forced to increase their prices so make up for it. Right now petrol here costs £1.30 a litre ( I'm not sure how that translates to dollars and gallons, sorry!) lots of people are selling their cars to try and save money but public transport is just as expensive. My monthly grocery bill has gone up from £180.00 for the month to over £240.00 even with the money saving tips I use from your site. My husband and I are really lucky in that, unlike a lot of people here, we’re not in huge amounts of debt through mortgages and loans, but even so things are still very tight and we’re watching every penny. Our Government has just released a copy of this years budget pledging to help families who are struggling but with the politicians still being allowed to claim large expenses on trivial every day items I don’t hold out much hope. It's a pretty gloomy out look here in the U.K. but like I said earlier I still think we’re doing quite well considering, it could be a lot worse. - Caroline C.

Editor (Atlanta) - Yes, Caroline, I try to always remember that too... no matter what life throws at us, it could be a lot worse. In the U.S. (USD), your groceries have gone from $254.00 a month to $339.00. Your cost for gas is $1.83 a litre, which would be $6.93 per gallon here. And we flip out when our gas prices increase between $3.00 - $4.00 a gallon. Some people even quit their jobs because they can't afford to get to work. - Michelle

New Milford, Connecticut - Things are really tight here. I've been trying to find a job (any job!) and there is just nothing out there. - Valerie M.

Editor (Atlanta) - The current unemployment rate in CT is 9.0, up from the historical low of 2.1 in October 2000. This is a huge increase for your area in a relatively short period of time. Have you considered applying for jobs in other states? My grandmother was born and raised in Clinton, many years ago. I have not visited your state yet but would like to. I am very sorry to hear that CT is struggling with unemployment, along with the rest of us. I do hope that you can find a job locally and stay with your family. If you can't find a new job, maybe you can create one! - Michelle

St. Louis, Missouri - Hi Michelle! Our economy is still struggling in the St. Louis area. I actually live right outside St. Louis, in a city called St. Charles. Our tax base is down, so of course schools and city departments are taking big hits. Our class sizes will increase. The library in our high school is flat out asking for money to update the books. Mostly because giving is down. It is hard to find donations for fundraising events. Loads of homes are still foreclosing. Many are just sitting vacant because of the huge glut. Unless you price your home LOW, you can expect it to be on the market for at least a year or more. The cost of food and gas constantly goes up. (Just like everywhere!) In our area, there are never double coupon events. Many don't double and if they do, only up to .35 cents. Plus, you can only use 3 coupons that are the same item. And only 15 coupons total. Ugh! One of the things I noticed that really bothered me, is that people that hire teens, have such a glut of mature workers wanting their menial minimum wage jobs, that no one will hire kids unless they are at least 18. 16-year-olds do not have a chance at an outside job and need to baby sit or mow lawns instead. Boeing is a big company in our area, and they have managed to keep the jobs alive. Same at the GM plant. And the hospitals are still thriving, despite many not being able to pay their medical bills. Stores and restaurants close, new ones open. It is revolving! But truthfully, on the whole, people are still spending. They are buying the foreclosed homes and buying new cars. It seems like the entertainment area is where they are cutting down. There are no lines for restaurants and the movie theaters are ghost towns. I myself am going to go back and finish my degree. You can not get a job without at least a bachelors and a masters is even better! Hopefully I can do the accelerated classes and be ready to get a job when the economy is digging out. That is my report from the Midwest! - Kathleen

Editor (Atlanta) - Oh I hope this is not a new trend, Kathleen, to limit coupons to 15 total? I would just have to buy 15 items and come back to do it again the next day (Hint, Hint!). I'm glad you mentioned donations and fundraising, this is a difficult issue everywhere. From what I see, giving for most non-profits continues to be down. For some, this means cutting back on their services, but they will be okay. For others, cutting back may not be an option and they may be in desperate need of help. And as much as we all love to help other countries or states when they have a natural disaster, that money must come from somewhere in our budgets and often it is from other areas of giving. This Sunday our church had a special giving request for the homeless in our area, everyone gave what they could. At the end of the service when baskets went around to help with the weekly church budget, they were just about empty. It's understandable that we do this, but really if you are going to give extra, it needs to be in addition to your regular donations, not instead of.

Needles, California - Here in my town, the city has combined all the schools into one campus which leaves three campuses not being used. The school board also let go 8 teacher aids as well as 7 teachers and combined classes so that there are at least 35 to 40 kids to a class. With less aides there are kids getting behind, especially those in need of special education. The school here is already on its third year being on probation for being below the standard. If they do not improve the scores they could be all replaced by the state but it doesn't seem to matter. They also have reduced classifieds so there are only three maintenance people, one bus driver, four custodians to clean, yet they are not able to get the things needed to be in a healthy and safe environment. They school board knew that the state was going to start cutting back several years ago, that it was going to get hard, but never tried to put money aside for back up. They have given the superintendent, who makes $195,000 a year, three raises since this all started happening. As a concerned parent I think that due to the financial situation with the budget the raises should of been put on hold. Right now gas prices are starting to get higher, went from $2.86 gal now its $3.28 a gal. I know by summer it will be back to 5.89 or more. Food prices have been getting higher, milk is $3.98 to $4.98 a gal. depending on which store you get it from. What makes it hard is that it used to take about $100 to feed a family of three for a month, it has averaged $300 now. I am so thankful that I am able to browse the internet to get the ideas on living on a dime from you site as well as others. It has helped a lot since I am a single parent trying to feed two boys that eat as much a two people for each. I hope things start to get better soon. It seemed like things were doing well but now the prices are starting to go up again. - Anonymous

Editor (Atlanta) - From all that I have read and heard over the last two years, I am pretty sure that public schools are struggling everywhere. Thousands of teachers jobs have been lost here and schools are being closed and consolidated to save money. In the city of Atlanta, the public schools are dealing with other issues as well and may be taken over by the state. - Michelle

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Moreno Valley, California - Hi Michelle. The economy is still slow, a few more businesses & even franchise locations have closed in recent months. Our mall is struggling financially & is only about 60% occupied. We have a vacant house on our street that has been vacant since at least Dec 2008. Maybe the bank forgot it owns it! People are driving longer distances to work. I have 2 family members living with us now, mostly due to lack of money management skills, but I'm hoping to get her signed up for the budgeting class. I sure hope the worst is behind us, but something tells me that those who have refinanced or received those federal loan programs may end up struggling to pay their mortgages in the next year or so. What's worse, if gas prices keep going up (I just paid $3.94 for regular unleaded), we're all going to be eating potatoes, rice and water. We've just started planting in our self-sustaining garden. Even though it will cost about $200 to get started, I can save hundreds more on unwasted fruits & veggies & watch beautiful birds feasting on the sunflowers & enjoying the nectar from other flowers. Maybe by trying to sustain ourselves, I'll be able to help God's creatures as well. They too are feeling the pinch. - Vikki C.

Editor (Atlanta) - Hi Vikki. About 40% of home sales last month were either foreclosures or short sales. It may be a great time for home buyers, but what a disastrous time for most home owners. Another neighborhood in Atlanta has a few thoughtful neighbors taking care of a foreclosed home (weeds, papers, etc.), in an effort to help it sell and keep the neighborhood nice. What a fantastic idea! I am not sure how our malls are doing, but that is good to know. My SIL has been living with us for almost 2 years to save money and her retail store just closed in February. We are confident she will find a job quickly since she is in retail, but there are so many people applying for jobs. My Uncle says we all need to start a garden, but our squirrels eat everything. I am so glad many are able to do it though, it's very wise in this economy. - Michelle

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Let me know what's happening in your town or state... Contact Michelle