cut-backs?

[91frppgt]

so has anyone here cutback due to the economy? each day i keep hearing about more layoffs, and bussiness's closing down. i've cut back somewhat, but i need to more. The bussiness I work for has alot to do with the housing industry, works slowed down substancially and overtimes been cut. whats everyones take on this?

 

[piss&vinegar]

Our company has pushed back reviews and raises 3 months. Also, they made us purchase 6 days of vacation but thankfully we get to take those days off.

 

[sharkbite]

Not me. I work for de gubbernment. Housing industry does suck though. My wife and I are 1/3 owners of her family's construction company. They went from doing 10-15 high-end, custom homes per year, to none. They're now completely in the commercial sector. New construction, build-outs, re-models, etc... Commercial stuff is doing pretty well in our area.

 

[gump]

I've cut back way before the economy started to decline. I'm very conservative with my money + very "green" if you will concerning saving gas, energy, etc..

 

[ImMACHnU03]

I was laid off November 7th and I have yet to find a job. So save as much money as possible and cut back where you can. Those unemployment checks just don't cut it.

 

[sharkbite]

I unknowingly prepared for the economic decline a couple of years ago when the wife and I got on our Dave Ramsey kick. Sold the GTO and Vette and paid cash for a couple of beaters, paid off all the CC debt, and built our savings up. Made the gas price hike a little easier to handle.

 

[Gallows]

New home construction is down around here but everything else is business as usual.

 

[Co-brat]

I am in the logging industry and all the saw mills have quit buying a good amount of wood so even if we want to work we cant sometimes because the supply is there just not the demand. The mills have laid off half their workforce and are now only producing a 1/4 of what they normally do. This is also due to decline of construction and economy.

 

[Juruense]

Personally I have severely cut back my family's expenses. My sons are not allowed to go to the grocery store with the wife which saves an amazing amount on junk food and crap not being begged for and bought. We do not have cable any more. I carpool with a coworker. Instead of dropping $20 every weekend at Blockbuster we got $9 Netflix account and stream movies to xbox. Hardly even buy tequila any more Its all quite painful...

 

[SID297]

I've cut back way before the economy started to decline. I'm very conservative with my money + very "green" if you will concerning saving gas, energy, etc..

I'm pretty much the same way, very conservative. I just switched to CFL bulbs and saw a reduction in my electricity bill, only to have them get a 15% rate increase the next month. I drive a 9 year old Jeep with 170,000 miles on it that I paid for years ago (though I did just buy a lift for it that replaces every worn out piece in the suspension). My largest expense, other than rent, every month is my grocery bill. I'll have the L, a small mortgage, and my furniture paid off this year. I'm about as lean as I can get.

 

[Jroc]

I just got put on 32 hours last week which is pretty crappy. Hopefully the job gets some more work in soon or I would think they'll have to start laying off people.

 

[My Cobra]

I work with the public saftey and local govs. Installing radios and other equip. in their cars. Like cop cars and trucks. A lot of them have cut their budgets to almost nothing. So our work has slowed but people still need the stuff. Even the casino we work with has seen a drop. Its bad when people are not even going to the casinos.

 

[Stroszek]

We supply chassis' (travel trailer and fifth-wheel) to the RV industry and I've reduced staff by around 40% (50-60 employees) through attrition and layoffs in recent months. I'm only able to keep the remaining employees busy about 32-38 hours and only 3 weeks out of the month and I know it's rough on them but at the same time, I think we're very fortunate.

At the same time we've gained market share due to the fact that our key customers are among the strongest in the industry and have made some strategic moves that will benefit us all long term. I have to remain optimistic. The industry has shown a fair amount of resiliency in the past.

 

[AkGirl]

I havent really cut back on anything. The economy is still good here in Alaska. We arent affected as much like the lower 48.

 

[91frppgt]

well sounds like i need to cut back more. no more going out to eat everyday at work, car parts, and other misc. stuff will have to come to a end. hopefully things will pick up, i was just looking to move out to. being 22, living at home, finished school having a paid off car with no bills is as good as it gets now! maybe the smart thing for me to do is stay at home for a while and save up more $$$.

 

[91frppgt]

We supply chassis' (travel trailer and fifth-wheel) to the RV industry and I've reduced staff by around 40% (50-60 employees) through attrition and layoffs in recent months. I'm only able to keep the remaining employees busy about 32-38 hours and only 3 weeks out of the month and I know it's rough on them but at the same time, I think we're very fortunate.

At the same time we've gained market share due to the fact that our key customers are among the strongest in the industry and have made some strategic moves that will benefit us all long term. I have to remain optimistic. The industry has shown a fair amount of resiliency in the past.

ouch, i hate to hear about all those people getting laid off...but you got to do whats best for the company. when did you see the hit? late of 2008?

 

[SVT4ME]

I've started to cut back on purchases which doesn't help the economy one bit. The problem is I work for the local government and cost containment has started. So I have been saving alot of my money but I've never been much of a big spender.

 

[Stroszek]

ouch, i hate to hear about all those people getting laid off...but you got to do whats best for the company. when did you see the hit? late of 2008?

We hadn't hired any new people since April or may and eventually had to lay off in August. Most of them are on piece rate and it got to the point where they were better off collecting unemployment anyway. Same with the remainder. We try to go like hell and get ahead so that they can get a few decent paychecks in between weeks off on unemployment. I'm confident things will improve a bit in the spring. Not too many people are out looking at RVs this time of year.

 

[91frppgt]

We hadn't hired any new people since April or may and eventually had to lay off in August. Most of them are on piece rate and it got to the point where they were better off collecting unemployment anyway. Same with the remainder. We try to go like hell and get ahead so that they can get a few decent paychecks in between weeks off on unemployment. I'm confident things will improve a bit in the spring. Not too many people are out looking at RVs this time of year.

best of luck to ya! hopefully when obama gets in office, this economy can turn around for the better...oke:

 

[darkhorse276]

My hours got cut months ago. I'm part time so I got hit pretty bad. I went from 48 hours to as low as 10. Now I'm back at 24, which really doesn't cut it when trying to pay for school.