As economy tumbles, retirees scramble to cope

[RamboLiberal]

The temperature in Lea Wait's home has been falling along with stock prices.

Wait, 61, invested the early retirement buyout she took from AT&T Corp. in 1998. As stocks gyrated this winter and the heating bill at her Maine home climbed to $600 a month, she made new investments: Thermal underwear and a wood stove that burns "BioBricks" made of condensed sawdust and wood chips.

"You try to do some planning," she said. "Then the stock market goes down and oil goes up. Fingers crossed that it will be an early spring."

Rising food and fuel prices, falling interest rates and screeching declines in worldwide stock markets have Wait and thousands of other retirees paring spending to levels some haven't seen in decades, forgoing dinners out, cutting back on groceries and canceling plans to visit grandchildren.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22829374/