Its so awful when you hear how badly this is affecting everyone. It is getting more difficult to have the same lifestyle we are accustomed to as everything is just so expensive now. I hope things improve soon for everyone...especially on the job front.x

re - disco joe magic, really no how your feeling my hubby usually works away and to have him at home 24/7 arrrrh, its killing me, a quick story but had bad w/end then a guy reversed into my works van on monday, while i was driving, well that poor guy got everything i felt, think i could be heard in a 3 mile radious lmao. the whole st came to a complete standstill as i was going mad, felt awful later on but must admit felt so much better, gailx

hi just a quick update my hubby has now managed to get a job it might only be for 8wks, but its better than him under ny feet lol, who no's it might lead to more, gailx

We haven't been hit too hard by the economic situation...yet. My husband's position has been put on the chopping block and he's been given UP TO 2 months to show some profit for his department, or it'll be chopped (my husband's department consists of himself, with help from a few others in the company periodically). It's the UP TO part of that statement that makes things so hard. Every Monday we go in to work wondering if he'll be told to go home and not come back. And to make things even more stressful, my husband is in Canada on a work permit. If he gets laid off, he has to go back to the States, where there aren't really any jobs for him either. He's started looking for other jobs, on top of doing his regular job, just in case, and he's been looking both in Canada and the States. There just isn't much out there in the way of jobs for Wildlife Biologists right now.

We've started making plans though, and preparing for a few dozen of the what if's that are looming over us. We've cut back our budget as much as possible. No more eating out or ordering in! We've cancelled a few plans for some of the more distant competitions, and we've had to nix our daughter's plan to go to a dance camp this summer. We just don't have the money for it. But classes go on as usual, and we're still doing most of the competitions we had originally planned to do this year. Of course, that may change if/when my husband is laid off.

In the meantime, we're doing our best to keep positive and stay strong as a family. We've been through worse times than this, and we will survive this one as well. Thankfully our daughter is almost 12 now, and is capable of understanding some of the economics of the situation. I feel very much for those of you with younger children who just aren't capable of understanding the situation. It will get better though...just don't give up!

A close relative of ours just lost his job today. He's got three children to feed. Also, my brother just found out that he may be losing his job in the next few weeks.

We're feeling it. My husband had to postpone a major surgery for himself so we can keep our heads above water. We just can't afford for him to be off work. This seems to be a tough time for everyone out there.

Well the axe fell yesterday...sort of. They haven't laid him off, but they've given him a 50% pay cut, and cut him back to two days a week, instead of five. It would have been better if they'd just laid him off! On a work permit, he can't even go out and get a second part time job to help cover the bills. Ah well, we'll do the best we can and hopefully work will pick up and they'll be able to have him back to full time work in a few weeks rather than a few months. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!