I haven't been able to find a link, but they said on our morning news today that Michigan's unemployment rate went from 8.8% in October to 14.6 in November (seasonally adjusted). All I can say is ... isht.

There's something about being reminded that other people are worse off than you that actually can intensify routine crankiness. Yes, we should be appreciative of the things that we have absolutely, but it doesn't make your employer doing its typical morale destroying stuff any more fun. Feeling trapped by knowing that there's no place better to go doesn't improve the management you're getting.

I am very depressed about the economy. We are starting to feel it here in Austin. It sucks when I have to euthanize an animal that is treatable due to finances (this is not new but lately it has been much worse). I have paid for some of the treatments myself and saved a couple of animals but I can't keep doing this. Sometimes I send the animal home with minimal treatment but I am always thinking about how that pet is doing and wondering-are they suffering?? We had 2 full grown cats dumped at our south location, they were so frightened and cold (a tech took them in thank goodness). More and more people have to give up their pets, the shelters are full. People get mad at me when I can't take payments even though I explian to them I do not own the clinic, I have no control over pricing. I had one lady say to me: "well I guess only rich people can have animals" in a vey nasty voice. It makes me hate my job and is very stressful.
All I can say is try and plan for the worse and hope for the best.
ok I am going to jump off a cliff :) J/K (maybe)

Thankfully, I was laid off from my lab position that demanded I euthanize 300 mice over 2 days. That was painful because all those experiments that "could have been done". Scientists need to plan their experiments better!!!

My husband said that when he had to put down a few large animals because they were too sick, that it takes 2-3 days to get over it. It took me 2 weeks to be "fine" with it...

I feel for you!

Do y'all do the CareCredit thing? We recently got one of our cats a P.U. (for non-vet-folk, it's basically taking your anatomically male cat and buying him a $2,000 vagina so he [now it, I guess] can pass bladder stones). The surgery wasn't that expensive, but we had a few post-op complications which resulted in about 2-3 weeks of hospitalization.

There's a 10% financing fee and it's zero % for 1 year (which we'll easily pay off). It's a decent deal though, I guess.

It's time to get more heartworm medication for my dog. I can't afford it, but I can't afford to NOT get it and have him get sick. I need my doggie more than ever now! ARRRGGGHHH. And it is a weekly debate at the grocery store - get the cheap yucky food for him, and save a few dollars, or bite the bullet, get the good stuff, and try to keep him healthy. So far, I get the good stuff. (Not the old at the vet good stuff, but the grocery store good stuff.) I never thought I would be in this situation . . .sigh.

Am I depressed? No
Am I bummed out? Yup.

Due to the economy, my employer cut a total of 700 jobs this year and I am a victim of their quest to become profitable. Things that I never thought twice about buying and not even considered because the severance pay/package isn't that great and it will run out in mid February. My focus is on paying my mortgage, lease and utilities.

Others are taking it much worse than I. I'm keeping a positive attitude that I will have a job before February (ok, it doesn't hurt that I have a 2nd interview with a nearby company lined up for Tuesday), and I'm also not sitting in the house worrying about it. My focus is finding a job in a recession-proof industry.

My gym membership is paid through summer, so I am getting "my money's worth" right now. Christmas will be thin, but everyone understands including my nieces.

Our region is awaiting news on the auto industry, as well. Ford is the largest employer in my town and GM is the largest in my parent's city. That doesn't even count the number of ancillary businesses dependent upon the Big 3.

The UAW will hate me, but I think it's time for concessions. When sitting in my outplacement class last week, our coach, who is a labor-relations expert, outlined UAW wages plus benefits: it costs the companies over $70 per hour, per employee.:eek:

I live with a banker...I am constantly having conversations about the financial situation, and, yes, it is depressing!

We also were around for the early 80's and, in my opinion, this is much worse because the effects seem to be so far reaching. That said, I do feel the media perpetuates a lot of the doom and gloom. Our feeling is that the situation is very real and can easily go very wrong in a matter of days (if the local plant shuts down, people can't pay their bills, then default on loans, etc) and so that makes the future very hard to "bank" on.

We, as are almost everyone we know, pulling in our spending, erring on the side of caution, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best! Did I mention I will have two kids in college next year?! aagh!

YES! This is so true...I have a friend who does this ALL THE TIME. Anything, from "I'm tired," to "I haven't dated anyone in a while," to "This is going to be a tight month..." he always tells me that he has it worse. Grrrrr!

I agree that the UAW needs to make some concessions. I was floored when he said that they would not cut pay until the next contract. However, the $70/hr is misleading. That is taking all benefit/pension/payroll costs and dividing by the current number of workers. Older employees make $20-24/hr straight time. New employees make $14.98/hr. The older employees actual cost with benefits is about $43/hr. Few people actually know how much their employers are spending on their total package. Mine sends out a letter each year with the actual cost of our total benefits and pay. It's shocking how much the bennies cost. The $70/hr is inflated because of retiree pension and benefits. With fewer workers, that number goes up and up.

On the good news front, my next door neighbor who is losing her house because of her husband's death and her loss of seniority and full time status due to an extended medical leave (breast cancer) has found a house that she can afford to buy and is buying on land contract. I'm very sad that they will be moving because they are the best neighbors in the world, but I'm so relieved that she found a good place to live. Her laid off son (mechanical engineer) has found a job in Pittsburgh and her laid off daughter (single mom of two kids) started a job two weeks ago and found a condo to rent that she can afford. Her youngest son is graduating from college this month with a degree in advertising. He may not find a job in his major but he is currently working two other jobs (music store, teaching percussion and working with the school marching band teaching percussion) so he can cover his expenses for a while. Things seem to be falling in place for them. They are like my second family so it's a relief to me too.

It sounds a whole lot like the "There are starving kids in (insert country here)" line that parents always give...

Hmmmm

I'm thinking this might be worse than I thought it would be in the beginning.

Several months ago (August/Sept-ish) I figured it was going to get crappy for a little bit longer and all would be better once '09 rolled around...

but it's not really looking that way.

yes we have CC. I remember about 2 months ago on one Sunday all of my clients had to apply for CC (8 of them that day) and no one was approved!! That is when the credit market was tightened. It has been better lately. I had a client today get 4400 on CC thank goodness. Still probably about 50% get declined for CC and then what do you do??? My boss is very generous for the most part and will let us give some injections for free (we make clients sign a promise to pay but only about 1% actually end up paying). Luckily all my clients could pay today.

there is nothing wrong with grocery store food. Purina makes a good product. My cats love fancy feast and we feed that all the time to the patients at the clinic(it is sometimes the only food patients are willing to eat).
Yes- don't skimp on the HWPrevention. Heartworm treatment will easily run you 400-600$ if not more plus the risk of death.