Kaffy Mintcake

But to be fair, any job you can find might mean flipping burgers at MacDonald's. While there's nothing wrong with that, it wouldn't pay my mortgage ... 3 jobs like that wouldn't, and I wouldn't say we have overextended either. When you lose your job it's VERY scary. Been there, done that, not fun.

Bob

aye, once you've paid tax on the minimum wage job, you'd need almost three of them to cover childcare to break even.

Giantaxe

And that's without even considering the mess that is healthcare access in the US if you don't happen to get it through one's employment. These low wage jobs that many laid off folks are finding is their only option don't typically provide health benefits.

Michael

Not everyone is as financially responsible as you. About 50% of the Americans don't have an emergency fund, have high house payments, have pulled out all the equity from their home, built up credit card and auto loan debt, borrowed from their 401k plan, and live from paycheck to paycheck.

When they lose their job everything collapses. It is difficult to survive when you have debt obligations of $4,000 or more per month and no job.

However, even if you have an emergency fund, no debts other than a home mortgage, and didn't pull the equity out of your home, the current times can be very rough. I have a brother and sister in law that were both laid of within a week of each other about 6 months ago. They will probably be ok as long as the unemployment benefits and government subsidized cobra lasts but in about another 6 months, at least one of them will have to find a job.

Giantaxe

And that the essence of the problem. Little safety net and increasing numbers of Americans joining the ranks of the long term unemployed. Here's a graph showing the number who've been unemployed for more than 6 months in this and prior recessions:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pMscxxELHE...ver26Weeks.jpg

made of kent

I'm not working but Hubby is, in the UK sense of money we are worse off, but is spreads better here, childcare is the killer though, I am an RN and we briefly had some childcare over here in order for me to study, I have twins of 4 but even as an RN, we would struggle to pay, for it, and due to the system here instead of this year for school, its next September, which is better for them, I will admit. so I am at home saving $2000 a month on their care and enjoying every moment....well most...
I have always been a bit frugal, even when young, free and single, but as in I could afford a car or several girlie holidays, I chose the car and then on days off traveling to visit friends and family at home , we all make choices that suit us, I just don't like debt, but I have been there.
and those choices are driven by money, I too don't know how people get by here without health insurance, jobs, disability, I can't say I noticed a drop in taxes, when you take federal, State, shopping tax and health care into the mix, in fact I worked out we are paying slightly more here on one wage, than 2 in the UK?
what do I do, and people thinking, I dream of $2000 a month, I have never changed my tune on money, from the days when I earned $500 a month and hay ho I worked in Mcdonald's for 2 1/2 year in the UK when a student, but I had choices, I was a student not a lifer as we called the other staff.
but these are the things I do
the boys are 5 in Jan apart from coats I have never brought a single Item of clothing for them new, most was hand me downs form friends and family.
Now they are getting to 5, boys second hand is even off the menu as boys mash their clothes, and all my donators are in the UK
I wave the gift as in hubbies cousin will be getting my boys hand me downs, in a couple of weeks for his 3 year old and also some of the clothes are 6 months to 24 months, ladies and gents top tip, if you have shorts for a boy in those age groups keep them as they fit nicely when the grow up and are out of nappies, my aunt told me that one, she only 6 yrs older than me so not old, I kid myself
I freeze all left overs, use all buggered clothing as patches or new clothes, or goodwill (there is a limit to the amount of clothes you can recycle for twins!) I use the free papers as plant pots and have a veg garden.
I have many other ways to save money but!
I am bloody lucky, I saw navy wives swapping cereals, not allowed to use their housing land for gardening, couldn't get jobs either due to childcare costs or the fact employers don't want them as they could be off in instant, they swapped clothes, toys etc. they did what they could, but lack of storage, meant they couldn't bulk buy, and when moved on limited shipping, I have never seen poverty I like I saw in the Navy wives and truly I got to know them and no poor choices by them except the fact they where so very young, but being a wife was the only way to follow a boyfriend, America is so vast, and 2 told me their stories of marriage, and I laughed being English, and said that sound like a shot gun marriage....first time a misunderstanding, second, don't make that joke again!
One navy wife was on food stamps and Walmart charged her a administration fee!!!!
So I do not wish to be poor here, as these women got health care, but if they are struggling, hate to think want happens to those without options

aes1

I could actually quote every one's post to reply to them. I am not unemployed, but perhaps I would be better off being so (can't be worse). I have no credit card debt because I refuse to give in to it. BUT I am a single, divorced female, still 4 years off social security age (early SS) and 7 years off Medicare age. I have no health insurance. I work 15 hours a week, for the county, doesn't give much more than minimum wage. First marriage left me with a 401 K (my husband's), nothing else. Due to moving over here, raising kids, his career, I was out of the job market for 15 years. So, going back to work, with no experience in the US, meant starting at minimum wage, even though I have a BA and post-grad from the UK many moons ago. The 401 K meant I had too much money to be eligible for any benefits at all. I struggled along for 10 years. Then I remarried, moved again (within US). 3 years later divorced again (I won't go into it). At the end of that I was left with a house, with huge mortgage, bought when market at its peak, now an albatross around my neck, with inheritance money I obtained during 2nd marriage, which my ex persuaded me to buy. He left me with zero money. So I am trying to sell the house (not happening in this market), will get no money back, meanwhile 401 K plummeted like everyone else's, and I am depleting what is left of my inheritance monthly to pay mortgage. Can't get full time job (and as one poster says, I would need 3 jobs to make enough), no one hiring of course.

You don't have to be unemployed to be struggling in the US. Just try being a divorced older female. I am scared and tired of trying to come up with viable solutions to my financial problems. I want to go back home asap. At least I won't have to worry about healthcare in the UK.

UrsTX

I agree, it is pretty upsetting to see people draining their assets and getting into debt. I give advice at a local legal clinic regarding bankruptcy and see it fairly often. Two things that contribute to people's decisions to do this:

1. Denial/hope about their financial situation. A lot of people think that the initial setback will not last long and that they'll be able to get back on an even keel pretty quickly. Some were streched thin even before the setback so they are used to trying to squeak by. They don't believe that they'll have to change their lifestyle dramatically and they hope that they will find financial stability next week/month. Then it doesn't get better, the economy tanks, their health gets even worse, etc., and all of the sudden the choices they made look horrible in hindsight. It's a gamble essentially and it's very difficult to look at your own life and assume that you'll fail.

2. Emotional attachment. A lot of people are emotionally attached to their homes, their neighbors, their cars, or their kid's schools. Sometimes there's a better solution to their financial trouble (sell the car, buy a clunker for cash, move from the home to an apartment) but the individual feels so strongly about their asset that they can't even begin to imagine this process and shift in lifestyle/location, they'd rather risk the debt or their own retirement.

I'm not saying that I'm any different by the way. It wouldn't take much for my own family to have trouble like this. The only things that I've done as a result of watching this type of trouble is ensure that we bought a house that has a payment that either one of our wages covers easily and we have both short and long-term disability insurance for my husband and myself. That way we can eliminate at least part of the risk of disability/illness putting us under.

Dan725

So I take it you've got no financial outgoings whatsoever?

As others have said, even someone who while working was extremely sensible and comfortable, doing everything right with no credit card debt and a small mortgage could quickly become broke. If the only job that person could find was flipping burgers, and that person has children in daycare....well, that's pretty much a non starter right there.

Even if you could find a low paying or part time job and make cutbacks, most people will need to use at least some of their savings. If the situation continued for a very long period, credit cards and retirement funds would follow. Granted, I'm talking extremes here - but these are pretty extreme times for a lot of people.

Giantaxe

Indeed. When you have over five million people who have been unemployed for more than six months (and that figure doesn't include discouraged workers who have dropped off the unemployed radar or those that are now hugely underemployed) you can see the scale of the problem - this really isn't limited to those that have been living on credit card debt and/or assumed that "house prices only go up".

AmerLisa

Of course we have outgoings and we're not perfect, we don't have a huge savings and of course if we were to lose our jobs....things would be very rough. We certainly could not live the way we are living now, it would mean huge cutbacks and sacrifices everywhere, that much I'm very sure of. But I also know there is no free handout. I don't know what else to say but that. I know I sure as heck would not use my credit cards to live off of....that's adding more problems on to more problems.

But I can see everyone's point on this thread.....

Bob

I like how if your even working 1hr a week your considered employed down here, so your off the unemployed numbers...

Tarkak9

here's one way -

Bob

And to clarify my point above - yes you can still make a claim for unemployment, though less than $130 gross a week to be able to claim, even working one hour means you aren't counted as unemployed when they do the unemployment figures...so expect the numbers to be a lot higher in reality.

It's not like in most places where you've got to work more than 20 hours to be considered employed.