Personal Reflections of Our Tumbling Economy

David · 03-24-2009, 12:25 AM

My wife and I (Taken in Germany)

Just married to my beautiful wife, 28 years old, both of us inspiring corporate ladder achievers with an attached mortgage, home equity line of credit, two car payments, dual school loans, credit cards and not to mention the regular expenses. Bringing home 100k and more a year; the American dream fulfilled and 401K 's for our retirement in 2030.

Why do we pursue higher education? Are we following what our parents and peers want us to be? Acquire knowledge? What exactly do we do with this new found knowledge once it's found? Are we seeking money, power and social status or are we seeking knowledge to better understand ourselves? What is it exactly that a classroom can teach us of life?

What is this paradox? We need income to survive and yet, the more we make, the less happier we become. Over the years we have achieved more than we ever hoped. Nice clothes, house, cars, gadgets and travel...yet we find there is something missing. We were unhappy and by unhappy, I mean feeling bad and wishing things were different. We both wished this but never knew what it was and never really talked about it with each other....the silent killer of our marriage and health, ever so slowly suffocating the both of us. I had heart palpations during the highest times of stress but I have a job to do and bills need to be paid. Is all of this stress needlessly self induced? Who doesn't want to move up the corporate ladder and get ahead in life? I'm sure we are all just as eager for a bigger pay check but are we also giving up the finer things in life?

After several attempts to startup our own business and fulfill this missing gap but never having the appropriate amount of time to dedicate towards it; we decided to take up the offer my dad presented to me and take over his business. I eagerly quite my job, put our house up for sale and we moved 400 miles south to Virginia. Finally, we have freedom of all our worries, our dreams to be fulfilled and live happily ever after...

2007 - 2009

The first year was a good year and the best the company has ever seen, pulling in 1.2 million gross. We both worked hard and continued life as we had done before.

January 2008
The house in Ohio has been on the market for over a year now. There is a nagging feeling that something is wrong with the economy but everything here seems fine and business is doing well. Dad still makes the major financial decisions and trust his lead but still....I'm worried.

March 2008
Trip to Europe! Yay!

July 2008
I have ceased all day trading. My strategy is not working and all the indicators don't make sense anymore. I'm getting worried, paying for two houses is putting a strain on our finances and eating into our savings.

September 2008
Work is slowing down. Had to lay off 2 more people this week. I am now seeing up to 20 companies bidding for the same jobs and to top it off a wind storm passed through Ohio and uprooted a tree onto our house. Dammit. It's as if the whole industry is shutting down. People that we do business with are closing their doors and hearing comments from owners saying they have never seen anything like it.

Da Tree Dat Fell When No One Was Around

November 2008
Besides fixing the house, we ignored the economy, work and decided to pay more attention to the hobbies we love. Maybe we wanted to hide from reality as to what was happening all around us. Denial has set in

William and Mary College Fencing Tournament.

Bull Pasture Gorge Camping and Caving Trip

December 2008
My concern for the business is now in panic mode. Fear of the unknown, doubt, financial downfall, the economy, regret for moving, blaming my self, anxiety, loss and depression sets in. We have no choice but to move back to Ohio and cut our expenses in half. My wife was just laid off and now have 3 months of savings to make the transition. Oh my god, what is going on? Everything we have worked for will be lost if we don't act soon.

We now have people walking off the streets and applying for jobs 3 or 4 times a week. We have no extra work for them and struggling to keep our own busy. I really wish I could hire them. These people want to work and there is nothing I can do.

January 2009

We have given our landlord at the rental house our 3 months move out notice. Telling my family we will be moving back was difficult and they took the news the hardest. At this point, me moving back cuts a large amount of over head from the business and gives them a fighting chance.

My wife has decided to move back while I make the transition out of the company. We took most of the furniture back to Ohio, leaving me with a bed, TV and some cooking ware. I shouldn't need much and the less I have in Virginia, the less I will need to take with me.

February 18th 2009

I head back to Ohio. While driving back, I keep thinking what may be in store for our future. The news keeps giving figures for unemployment, not to mention the doom and gloom along with it. Even with all of this happening, I now have a feeling of peace and serenity. Maybe I'm in shock.

March 21st 2009

My wife and I have been unemployed ever since we arrived in Ohio. Applying for jobs left and right but nothing and not even a call back. To top it off, people have stopped posting jobs and are becoming slim to none.

Even though we have been unemployed for a month now. We have a new understanding. The time we have spent together is something that money cannot buy. As we talk to each other about finding new jobs, we both have the same view point of not wanting a job that requires 60 hours of work a week and major stress. We don't want it anymore. It's not worth it. Nobody needs this kind of voluntary enslavement. It's time we did something that we both enjoy, be ourselves, allows time for each other and ourselves. This month has been the happiest we have been in a long time.

03-24-2009, 12:25 AM	#1
David Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 398	Personal Reflections of Our Tumbling Economy My wife and I (Taken in Germany) Just married to my beautiful wife, 28 years old, both of us inspiring corporate ladder achievers with an attached mortgage, home equity line of credit, two car payments, dual school loans, credit cards and not to mention the regular expenses. Bringing home 100k and more a year; the American dream fulfilled and 401K 's for our retirement in 2030. Why do we pursue higher education? Are we following what our parents and peers want us to be? Acquire knowledge? What exactly do we do with this new found knowledge once it's found? Are we seeking money, power and social status or are we seeking knowledge to better understand ourselves? What is it exactly that a classroom can teach us of life? What is this paradox? We need income to survive and yet, the more we make, the less happier we become. Over the years we have achieved more than we ever hoped. Nice clothes, house, cars, gadgets and travel...yet we find there is something missing. We were unhappy and by unhappy, I mean feeling bad and wishing things were different. We both wished this but never knew what it was and never really talked about it with each other....the silent killer of our marriage and health, ever so slowly suffocating the both of us. I had heart palpations during the highest times of stress but I have a job to do and bills need to be paid. Is all of this stress needlessly self induced? Who doesn't want to move up the corporate ladder and get ahead in life? I'm sure we are all just as eager for a bigger pay check but are we also giving up the finer things in life? After several attempts to startup our own business and fulfill this missing gap but never having the appropriate amount of time to dedicate towards it; we decided to take up the offer my dad presented to me and take over his business. I eagerly quite my job, put our house up for sale and we moved 400 miles south to Virginia. Finally, we have freedom of all our worries, our dreams to be fulfilled and live happily ever after... 2007 - 2009 The first year was a good year and the best the company has ever seen, pulling in 1.2 million gross. We both worked hard and continued life as we had done before. January 2008 The house in Ohio has been on the market for over a year now. There is a nagging feeling that something is wrong with the economy but everything here seems fine and business is doing well. Dad still makes the major financial decisions and trust his lead but still....I'm worried. March 2008 Trip to Europe! Yay! July 2008 I have ceased all day trading. My strategy is not working and all the indicators don't make sense anymore. I'm getting worried, paying for two houses is putting a strain on our finances and eating into our savings. September 2008 Work is slowing down. Had to lay off 2 more people this week. I am now seeing up to 20 companies bidding for the same jobs and to top it off a wind storm passed through Ohio and uprooted a tree onto our house. Dammit. It's as if the whole industry is shutting down. People that we do business with are closing their doors and hearing comments from owners saying they have never seen anything like it. Da Tree Dat Fell When No One Was Around November 2008 Besides fixing the house, we ignored the economy, work and decided to pay more attention to the hobbies we love. Maybe we wanted to hide from reality as to what was happening all around us. Denial has set in William and Mary College Fencing Tournament. Bull Pasture Gorge Camping and Caving Trip December 2008 My concern for the business is now in panic mode. Fear of the unknown, doubt, financial downfall, the economy, regret for moving, blaming my self, anxiety, loss and depression sets in. We have no choice but to move back to Ohio and cut our expenses in half. My wife was just laid off and now have 3 months of savings to make the transition. Oh my god, what is going on? Everything we have worked for will be lost if we don't act soon. We now have people walking off the streets and applying for jobs 3 or 4 times a week. We have no extra work for them and struggling to keep our own busy. I really wish I could hire them. These people want to work and there is nothing I can do. January 2009 We have given our landlord at the rental house our 3 months move out notice. Telling my family we will be moving back was difficult and they took the news the hardest. At this point, me moving back cuts a large amount of over head from the business and gives them a fighting chance. My wife has decided to move back while I make the transition out of the company. We took most of the furniture back to Ohio, leaving me with a bed, TV and some cooking ware. I shouldn't need much and the less I have in Virginia, the less I will need to take with me. February 18th 2009 I head back to Ohio. While driving back, I keep thinking what may be in store for our future. The news keeps giving figures for unemployment, not to mention the doom and gloom along with it. Even with all of this happening, I now have a feeling of peace and serenity. Maybe I'm in shock. March 21st 2009 My wife and I have been unemployed ever since we arrived in Ohio. Applying for jobs left and right but nothing and not even a call back. To top it off, people have stopped posting jobs and are becoming slim to none. Even though we have been unemployed for a month now. We have a new understanding. The time we have spent together is something that money cannot buy. As we talk to each other about finding new jobs, we both have the same view point of not wanting a job that requires 60 hours of work a week and major stress. We don't want it anymore. It's not worth it. Nobody needs this kind of voluntary enslavement. It's time we did something that we both enjoy, be ourselves, allows time for each other and ourselves. This month has been the happiest we have been in a long time. Last edited by David; 03-24-2009 at 12:35 AM.