----DU Member status poll----

[1corona4u]

Poll question: ----DU Member status poll----

With all the talk about the bailout, I am wondering where most DUer's stand, financially, employment wise, etc. I have tried to come up with the most options, so that it can be an anonymous poll, but I am trying to get a good bead on what drives the conversation here on the bailout. Please be honest, and pick the one that matches your situation the closest. If it's an "other", and you want to share, please do. I can't include every situation, but I did my best.

On Edit; since no one seems to be chosing the last option, I have edited to add "other". However, I specifically wanted to know if there are retired people who still have to work to make ends meet.

[helderheid]

1. You're missing "other"

[1corona4u]

6. I ran out of options...

that's why I said if it's an other, and you want to share, please do.

[helderheid]

12. Oops. I apparently didn't have enough coffee to read past the poll. Carry on. :)

[ChiciB1]

57. Own Home... Have IRA... But NOTHING Left Over At End Of Month!

Periodically we have to withdraw money from IRA! Hubby retired, I'm on Disability! I HATE going to the Grocery store!!

We pay our bills on time and only have ONE credit card that's ALWAYS paid, if not monthly, at least way over amount owed. Getting harder to pay off balance every month! I use the card because I get "points" which give me "some" extra help, like with GAS!!!

[YOY]

2. I'm not in there

Own home, stable employment, investments/savings slowly decreasing, and little money left over at month end slowly trickling to an end.

[helderheid]

Neither am I

Own home, husband has stable employment, no investments/very little savings, hardly any money, if any, left over at month end.

[KathieG]

52. Ditto

[MadinMo]

4. This is where I fit too.

[LynneSin]

5. I'm in that category

:cry:

[yellowdogintexas]

15. This would be me as well until I get a new job. I am getting Unemployment

currently, probably through December, which is keeping me from dipping into savings right now. I am using it to pay down the small amount of credit card debt I currently have. (we bit the bullet for replacement of two ancient appliances, and it is 0% thankfully; another smaller balance is for some travelling and I am earning frequent flyer miles on that card too.) And our mortage can't jump around it is a VA loan.

Compared to other downturns, we are way better than we were. At least Mr YDIT has a very nice job and health insurance. The kind of companies I usually end up with have cheaper better benefit plans so we end up reverting to that eventually.


I am just postponing any large expenditures (AGAIN) to build a reserve.

[KansDem]

40. Include me...

Own home, wife and I have somewhat stable employment (my job is slowly being "deskilled"), some retirement, no investments, slowly decreasing savings. Family of four with money essentially gone by third day after paydays.

[Mother Of Four]

46. Same here :(

We have about 80 dollars left at the end of the month, after groceries-gas-bills.

If something bad happenes we are toast.

[tomg]

50. That is where I am, but if

there is any area where things are increasing, it is the amount of time I will need to continue to work before retiring. Originally, I was out in seven more years ( at 65) , then it became 10 (at 68). Looking more like 12 now. One reason I want to go out early ( I love what I do - teach college) is that the longer I stay in, the less chance a younger person has of getting into the field, which is not only terrible for young academics ( most of us start relatively late on full-time gigs) but also bad for the field.

[JuniperLea]

58. That would be me too

Add to that zero equity remaining in my home after the bubble burst... my mortgage amount is larger than my home's value at this point.


Edited to say, my 401k and Ira are tanking. I've stopped contributing, except to guaranteed money accounts.

[SharonRB]

83. I'm pretty close to that

I'm working, but hubby hasn't worked in over 5 years.

[opiate69]

86. Ditto that..

well, sort of.. we own our home, but rent the lot space (trailer home).. steady and safe job, no savings/investment (except for a small 401k), barely get to the next paycheck.

[yourout]

3. Other....

Own home, stable employment, Minimal savings, and nothing left over at month end

[helderheid]

7. We're in the same boat.

[cdb]

8. Other:: Own home, UNstable employment,

have investments/savings that are tanking, and very little money left over at month end

[all.of.me]

56. Ditto

I'm in real estate. :rofl: Actually, not so funny.......

[nyc 4 Biden]

9. kick

[Billy Burnett]

10. Option 11: Where's my country?

[1corona4u]

11. Believe me, if there were an option 11-I would have used it.

But I didn't see a place to add more options...just 10

[Barack_America]

13. Rent. Would like to buy. But the foreclosure crisis is making the market too unstable.

I can't commit to spending the next 20 years in this city, so the unstable home values are forcing us to remain in our apartment. We can't buy until the market finds some sort of bottom so we can be reasonably certain any home we buy won't lose money over the next several years.

Meanwhile, the abundance of renters is driving rents up.

Just another side to the housing crisis.

The housing crisis affects everyone who has a HOME, not just people with a HOUSE.

[1corona4u]

17. This is true...

[LiberalEsto]

14. Other

Own home, husband has stable employment. I work sporadically as a marketing writer, but this year my income is about 1/10th of what it was a few years ago, and I've had no luck trying to sell my novel for 8 to 12 year olds.

After bills, every penny is going to pay our kids' student loans along with tuition, room and board for the younger daughter who is still in college. The older daughter just started a job after looking for months.

No savings, and husband's 401K of Fannie Mae stock (he worked there for many years) is now worthless.

[WeDidIt]

16. You should have dumped one of your choices and included an "other"

Because your poll is fatally flawed, I won't share my status or vote in your poll.

[1corona4u]

20. So be it then.

As I said, I tried my best to include the most options. It doesn't have to match 100%, just the closest match, as I said. There are only 10 options, and to suggest that I could include everyone's situation is not fair. It's not a scientiific poll. :eyes: I don't match any of them, but closely match #1. So I chose that one. If people just answer other, without an explaination, it does nothing to show where most people stand.

[1corona4u]

22. By the way, a simple "other" will suffice.

No one has to put their exact situation on the post. Unless they want to share.

[1corona4u]

25. I edited so you can choose other.

[mrih]

18. I'm a tad different

Own home, Wife and I both work, she makes the seats for the Ford Escape Hybrid, I operate a Pizza Franchise. I'm not it debt, don't use my credit cards for any more then $500 in total debt, absolutely worried about our investments though. My wife and I are able to save, but the medical bills for the most common of things can slam ya good.

Take for instance my daughters eyes. She had a bit of a cross eye when she was born, we have gotten 2 surgeries done on her eyes for her benefit, we of course have gotten great results and her eyes are doing much better, but DAMN just the cost of that common eye procedure surgery set us back. I mean, we don't mind having that bill and paying it. But it cuts into our total life savings if what we have saved is being drained to pay for a surgery that OTHERS on welfare get for free.

[RoadRage]

26. Welcome to DU from a fellow Husker..

I'm in Omaha. Glad to hear your daughters eye surgeries worked.. we have 2 little ones ourselves. ;)

[Robyn66]

19. Where I fit in

Own home stable job little savings no money at the end of the month

[OnionPatch]

21. Sort of number one, but..........

We own our home but have watched the value of it decline so much that it is now worth less than what we are paying for it. We still have jobs, but how long will that last if things continue to go downhill? If we lose our jobs, we can't pay for this house and we can't sell it either. We do have a 401K but it has lost value and our other savings could not pay the mortgage, etc. for longer than several months. So, yes, we are OK for now, but feel like we're standing on the edge of an abyss that we could easily fall into.

[1corona4u]

30. Did you buy during the "bubble"?

I bought just prior to it, and I still have equity. I think a lot of people bought during the bubble, and have taken a big hit. (not saying that's your situation, but it happend to a lot of people)

[OnionPatch]

45. We bought just at the beginning, so it's not too bad.

We actually have a wee bit of equity left because we made a good down-payment and have been paying for five years, but the current value of the home is less than the purchase price. We would definitely take a hit if we lost our jobs and had to sell now. We work at a large specialized software company and if we were laid off, we would not be able to find comparable work in this area, and we could not make the payments flipping burgers. We would be forced to move to find work.

[1corona4u]

49. I hear ya....

I have some equity, but I would not be able to sell if I tried. I am stuck here for at least 5 more years. And I so want to move. My neighborhood is on the decline, so that's a big concern for me. When I go to sell, what my house will actually be worth, considering the declining neighborhood. My community is beautiful, but the surrounding neighborhoods are crime riddled, and more and more people are letting their homes go down.

[OnionPatch]

60. I want to move very much, too.

In fact, we have been planning for several years to move back east, nearer our family, right around now. But even if we could break even on the house, in this economy we'd be afraid to leave our stable jobs. Meanwhile, our entire family lives 2000 miles away and we never get to see them. My mom's pushing 80 and who knows how much longer she'll be around. Plane fare is rising to the point where it's hard to get home for a rare visit. Those "family-values Republicans" running everything for eight years have helped our family oh so much. :eyes: This economy is definitely hitting home for me, though I know a lot of others are so much worse off.

[1corona4u]

79. My sister's in the same boat...

she wants to move to Florida, to be with me, but she's been in her job for 15 years, and her company has been bought and sold many times in that 15 years.(BMG) But, she keeps hanging in there, and they have a house they would need to sell too. Their house is a pit though, and needs a lot of work, but they'd never get it back. Anyway, I would not push her to come here unless her and her husband had jobs, which at this point, seem unlikely. Add to that, that she is 52, and that's a big problem. We know there isn't suppose to be age discrimination, but there is.

But, as you said, there are a lot of people worse off than us, for sure. As evidenced by this poll.

[Demi_Babe]

23. other...Own home, stable employment, have investments/savings, NO money leftover

[Meshuga]

24. Other: Own home, stable employment (so far)...

my investments/savings are not doing so hot, and I have very little money left over at month end because the wife and I go to grad school.

The hit on investments (including stockmarket and house price) and savings make me very nervous. These are scary times. :-(

[H2O Man]

27. Other.

Own home; paid it off years ago. Retired. Some savings.

[Blue Diadem]

28. Other: Own home, stable job(not unless it closes too)

Survived two plant closings and a year of being unemployed, had to use savings. Re-trained, new job pays 1/3 less than former job. No extra money at end of month.

[southpaw]

29. Other

Mortgage (30 year fixed rate)

Steady job for now. But my wife is an accountant, and there always seem to be opportunities in accounting.

No significant savings.

No investments.

We have some money left at the end of the month, after the necessities are covered, but the left over is usually diverted to long-term home projects. If we were to need to sell our house in the shape it is in currently, we would not be able to get what we owe for it, so we feel that it is in our interests to upgrade the place, just in case.

[LibraLiz1973]

31. Own home, stable employment, 457k, no real money left at end of month

I clicked OTHER

:)

[slackmaster]

32. Own home, don't trust job to be stable, saving as much as possible, nothing left at end of month

I could improve my cash siutation by cutting back on savings, but I got wiped out in a divorce 10 years ago and am struggling to catch up.

Since I entered the work force in 1981, I have never had a job that I trusted to still be there six months in the future.

[mscuedawg]

76. This would be my "other"...

Who's job is stable? My husband works for Alltel being bought out by Verizon...of course, we learned this two months after signing the contract on our new build. We've so far moved three times b/c of corporate corruption (WorldCom and Adelphia) and now that we're in a large area...we're here. We've cleaned up his credit after his exwife put their marital home in foreclosure (the first year we were married, tyvm) and also defaulted on her whole share of the marital debt to bankruptcy.

It may have been the hard way...but we learned! : )

[trackfan]

33. Other: Own home, have stable employment - but no investments or savings

We've had the house 8 years. I've been at this job for 6 years. I am more broke at the end of each year.

[harun]

34. If one is making payments on their home they don't "own" it.

[1corona4u]

37. Don't be ridiculous.

:eyes:

[harun]

51. I think it would have been an important metric to add because if someone

actually "owns" their home then it is unlikely they are worried about the details of whacked out scam mortgages (because they don't have a mortgage).

If someone lives in a home that the bank "owns" and has a bad mortgage a predatory lender got them on less than up front information then their situation is very different.

It is a significant metric, hardly ridiculous.

Is the culture of debt in this country really so bad that people think when other people lend them money for something they own it outright? There is a reason they repossess things, it is because you don't "own" it and can no longer pay the person who does.

[goodgd_yall]

75. I think you made a good point.

It should be another option: own home, paid off mortgage, blah, blah, blah

[nc4bo]

77. We actually do own our home - no mortgage but since we're selfemployed..

how the nation does, so do we. Still there's light and water bills to pay and even though our property tax is low in comparison to some others, not being able to pay our property taxes will cause us to lose are home too.

The only bright spot on the work front is customers will not be buying anything new so repairing equipment fabricated from steel will help us hang in there, I hope.

My husband can also look to his pension from Texaco. He's been pondering whether he should take a pay out or wait until he's of age. I honestly didn't know what to tell him. We sorta had a laugh (a nervous, scary laugh) that perhaps we should buy up soome gold :S

Such a mess we've got here.

[blondeatlast]

41. Nitpick too much? My guess is a resounding yes. nt

[blondeatlast]

35. Other: Own home, job iffy unless we move overseas which I'd rather not do, but;

quite a bit less left over at end of the month than we used to. Not on the brink but with a McCain presidency or a little other bad luck I don't even want to think about it.

[brer cat]

36. Other.

Retired, small mortgage remaining on home, having to work to supplement retirement income.

[1corona4u]

38. Thanks for answering that.

Since I live in Florida, it concerns me greatly that I see more and more seniors having to work. About 4 years ago, I began to see even more seniors out and working. I think it's sad, that people who worked their whole lives can't even sit back for a while and enjoy their retirement. It's just a sad statement. Thanks for sharing.

[DevonRex]

39. I'm in the first category BUT

it's still difficult. Our savings go into a retirement account so they're not liquid. And the little we have left over at the end of the month has been steadily decreasing, to the point that we no longer do things like go to the movies. So pretty soon we'll have to decrease the amount going into savings and that will impact how well we live after retirement. Short term we're okay but the long term outlook is definitely being affected.

In addition, the retirement account is obviously not growing like it had been since it's dependant on the market. We have had to restructure it to avoid risk, which means much less return.

We can't sell our house because we would lose money on it - money that we don't have, by the way. Luckily it will be paid off in about 7 years and we can hold out until then.

It's just maddening that at this time in our lives we're still worried. This is when we should have been able to breathe a sigh of relief and relax, because we've done all the right things for ourselves and for our sons. Instead we're living as we had when we first started out - no luxuries, no vacations. Heck, I don't even have my hair done anymore because that's the money I send to the Obama campaign every month. Even our diet is suffering because we can't afford to eat as well as we used to. I do everything I can to provide good nutrition within our budget, but the variety and quality of our meals have definitely changed.

Even so, we know that we are much better off than millions of people out there. This financial crisis is hitting some folks at exactly the wrong time - before they had a chance to start building their savings at all, or even before they had good, steady employment. Our sons are in that position and it breaks my heart.

[vanderBeth]

42. I'm unemployed and I guess renting but

I'm a student and am not collecting unemployment.

[msallied]

43. No longer own home...

Lost that earlier this year... long, nightmarish story. Let's just say it was on the market and we had three offers on the table, but we ended up having to go for a short sale, which we never got because apparently Countrywide lacked the personnel to process the paperwork. We're currently renting a house that had been on the market for almost a year before the owner gave up. That's happening a lot around here.

Husband is employed in a relatively stable tech market job that he's had for about 12 years. He appears to have good job security, but the position has been stagnant for years. No new growth in the company, no decent raises, promotions, etc. We're just sort of floating from paycheck to paycheck. I am a freelance writer from home, and will be so until my youngest is in school all day next year, after which I will get a part-time job to help pay the bills if for some reason the money from my work isn't coming in enough.

Luckily, our debt is low to non-existent, even if our credit is trashed from the foreclosure. No car payments, no credit cards. We have some stock options from hubby's company, but they aren't worth much at the moment. We sold thirty shares recently and it netted us about $600. That ought to tell ya something. lol We still have no money left over at the end of the month, however. Rent is astronomical. Gas too. And if hubby isn't getting overtime, we're really hurting.

[1corona4u]

44. Thanks to everyone for answering the personal questions.

I know none of us have the same exact situation, but this does give all of us some insight, and hopefully, some compassion for others as well.

[jberryhill]

47. Some employment is more "stable" than other employment

Self-employed, and employ two others.

[nc4bo]

48. Own home, small amount of savings, own a small welding business

enough money to eat well and pay the bills and the occasional splurge.

[demokatgurrl]

53. I, and my fellow DUers who selected option 1

are among the very fortunate in this country. I am actually surprised to see the percentage as high as it is. Of course, we don't reflect the general population

[JuniperLea]

59. I would remain ever-vigilant and tight fisted on my pursestrings...

This has only begun.

[grace0418]

54. Own home, unstable employment (that I hate), bills get paid every month, small

amount of savings, a shaky 401k, no debt except mortgage. Could be worse. And my husband's job is very stable, so that's a good thing.

[PermanentRevolution]

55. Other: Rent, Semi-Stable job, No Savings, Paycheck to paycheck

[FrenchieCat]

61. Other: Own Home, self employed who relies on a decent economy

to make a decent living to pay the mortgage.

[Motown_Johnny]

62. You don't seem to understand that many people with jobs who own their home no longer have financial

"back up"

[1corona4u]

65. Well, I don't know where you got that idea...

at all. I simply asked for input. It's up to you to deliver the details, if you choose to. I specifically said it would not include all situations, and to suggest that **I** don't understand anything is totally not the point of the poll.

Sorry but maybe you didn't read what I said in the OP.

[nolabels]

63. Maybe a poll about one job loss and a couple months away from being homeless?

My guess about 58% or so

[1corona4u]

66. Feel free to start your own poll.

[nolabels]

84. Okay, but only if promise to post on it one time

I hate starting threads nobody wants to think or hear about :scared:

[tomnjoy]

64. Other...

Own home (barely making mortgage payments), stable job BUT savings have dwindled to just about zero, no investments and with increasing expenses we have about $0 left over each month. If heating expenses (and everything else) increase as much as predicted this winter, our budget will be in the negative numbers.

[Secret_Society]

67. Other...Student

[quakerboy]

68. I has no home in this poll

Rent, stable job, Some savings, more student loans, wife is running toward the end of her unemployment benifits. You would think that with sending 3-6 applications/resume's per night since the 9th of January, she would have at least an interview out of it. But in 9 months, the only ones who have sent anything other than a "thanks for applying. you were one out of x(generaly over 100, often over 300) many applicants for this position, thank you anyway and we will(or will not) keep your application on file" are the temp agency's.

[1corona4u]

70. Hey, she's not alone...

I've been looking for a job for 2 years, and have had 4 BOGUS interviews....fortunately, I have a side business which keeps me floating though. But I need more income too. Most of the resumes I have sent out, when emailed, take 3-4 months for them to send me the "Dear John" letter...

[MadBadger]

69. Full time student

[TexasLady]

71. own home, rent a lot, unstable job, no savings n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

72. Own trailer, rent lot, on medicaid, in debt, own business, living paycheck to paycheck and

often come up short if business was bad that week.

[mvd]

73. Other

And I'm against this bailout, but Obama's plan at least has oversight. Congres should hold its ground.

[goodgd_yall]

74. The 4th one comes closest to my situation

But I have to say my "savings/investments" are paltry and my workplace has been doing layoffs on a regular basis these past several years. So, it's stable for now, but I'm not confident about having this job, which I've had for 10 years, for the next 2. I get reassurances, but the place has been doing a lot of "restructuring," so I'm not apt to lull myself into a false sense of security.

[jillan]

78. Other - own home, not working, have investments but too afraid to look at them.

[1corona4u]

82. LOL.....I haven't looked at mine either.

:-)

[Blue Belle]

80. OTHER...

Full-time student at 37. Renting. Trying to get a paid internship that will kick in and extra $300 per month. No money left from financial aid after paying bills. looking into taking out another loan.

[SharonRB]

81. #1 with some variations

Own home, stable employment (just me, not my hubby), have investments/savings (just my 401k, which has been dropping fast), and not much, if any, money left over at month.

[DemReadingDU]

85. Other

Own home, paid it off years ago. Retired. Spouse retired too, has a nice pension, for now.