how are you coping in this financial crisis?

this is how i cope, headaches, worries, and lack of sleep. i am a single mom and i have four children. their dad is a irresponsible so after leaving him ( 7 years ago ) i am the one whosupported my kids without him. i also get help from my two sisters but because of the global crisis all over the world it really makes me worries on how to stay my children at school and how to feed them. i still believe in prayers.

I'm thankful that I still have my job and I work for a company that manufactures automotive parts - that makes it a little hard to believe for me at times. The company I work for is a Japanese company and I believe that is the biggest reason I am still working. They have told us repeatedly that they have no intentions of laying off full time people and they haven't yet. If things get much worse I know something's got to give. But, for now I am tremendously grateful for my employers and for the effort they have made to keep me working. I wouldn't be worried as much - and I don't really lose any sleep - if I wasn't in the debt I'm in. I have a house payment - that fortunately is very small - and a car payment, both of which are necessities but the thing that really hurts is the 4 credit cards that I got myself in debt over. I've gotten myself in debt over a credit card before and payed it off - and I will pay these off as well, but if I hadn't been so careless with them I wouldn't be in the tight spot I'm in. I've learned my lesson, for sure. When I do get myself out of debt I will never get myself into any unnecassary debt again. And I will save, save, save.

Lucky you to be able to get a job fast. I have heard many people in my country who are already out of a job and wonder what to do. Personal budget discipline is now ever more important and crucial.

Hi! A lot of people I know have been laid off their jobs. I truly feel sorry for them, and I pray that the school where I work as a teacher would not close down (as some of the private schools are in danger of closing down) because of the poor economy. What happens is that the parents would rather put their kids to public schools. I try my best to work well at my job right now. I am lucky to still have one, so I have nothing to complain about, even if the headmistress really make us do extra hours without pay. I am single so that's alright with me. With the situation now, I try to save and prevent myself from getting into debt (like credit card debt). I don't spend on material things and instead pay my bills and buy food. I also go to discount stores. I hope things will get better for everyone. Happy myLotting!

I was doing bad. Was without a job for a long time, but now things are looking up. Gas is no longer almost $6 a gallon. Its now only $1.70 a gallon. I have a job. I've almost completely paid off all my debt, and am working on getting back my perfect credit. But after what has happened here over the past 8 years with jobs, and the cost of everything going way up, I'm not taking any chances. I'm preparing myself, so that next time I won't get screwed so bad. Everyone should prepare, cause it could happen again. My next car is going to be electric, and I will be getting alternative energy for my home. And will be growing my own small garden, as well as finding more ways of making extra money, and saving.

I work in food service at a small college. The college has been hardest hit in the adult education area. Less people who were going back to school aren't right now. Regular enrollment wasn't really wasn't effect. Student work hours were cut and less students are being hired. Overtime is a no no right now! That has hurt my finances and so has getting no raise late last year! That really has hurt!so has the price of recycling aluminum cans! Price on cans dropped from 55 cents to 20 cents a pound! All this has hurt me! My job is secure and I work 6 days a week at the stable were I board my horse. I do this to work off my horses board.I work so much out there I do make alittle extra money and recently started cleaning another stall besides my horse's just to make alittle extra money! If gasolne prices would of stayed over $4.00 a gl I would of been screwed in the long run! As long as gas prices stay down I'll be fine in that area! Shopping at Walmart has also gotten more expense! I really can't cut back on what I buy! I just spend more at Walmart! I have been trying to make extra cash on line but so far I have made nothing! I havenot lost anything but I do stick money into those sites! This is what I do to survive the financial crisis!

I have been a stay at home mom for two years now. I know it is tough for my hubby to cope with work and all. So far, we have to cut down on unnecessary expenses, though we do spend a little on having breakfast out once in a while to cheer ourselves. Now, I'm actively looking for freelance writing opportunities to supplement his income. I'm also using my credit card less often.

i have always had to watch my spending. i have cut back more but don't have a big change like alot of people do. i quit taking the paper because they have gone up so much but u can get most ews on the tv, cable has gone up to. i'd rather have tv than the paper so imade the choice. i try to do all my errands at one time & that way i am not having to go out as often but i've been doing this a long time. had to quit work due to health reasons a few years back so i have learned to be even more frugal.

Lucky me, my country is not so affected by this global crisis. Everything is still the same, except some American products, their price is going down, Yeeeeii....

Hi the_dutchess and thank you for your discussion. Fortunately for us, we got married at what seems like just the right time. That will be a year ago in March. We both have very secure jobs, and we both make pretty good money. We share the financial responsibilities, which works very well for us. We shop for groceries, cook our food from scratch, and eat out very little. For now, the game plan is just to work as much as we can. Hopefully, we can ride it out. I hope this won't go on much past this year.

I feel sad reading some of the comments about people losing their jobs because of the recession. I'm pretty lucky I got my new job a while ago for a big company as an apprentice along with some others, they are training us up for the future business and putting a lot of time into us. I am lucky because the company is still going strong, I'm earning a good wage but I have cut back on things I don't need to buy and I'm trying to save as much money as possible. I hope the people who have lost their jobs through the recession find something soon.

Times have been tough and many a family has suffered from the unprecedented financial crisis. Everything looks to be going downhill and as much as the effects are far reaching and disastrous, I was assessing the whole situation the other day and believe it or not I discovered that not all things are negative...there are positives too, even if I managed to come up with only one! You know I just realized how resilient and ingenious human beings are, I have never appreciated this fact before. I now realize people have much more resolve and can accomplish much more than they set out to in their daily lives. when the slide really started a couple of months back, I remember thinking back then that people would not be able to cope, at least the predictions were that bad! A couple of months down the line, people are still hanging in there, and making the best out of what they have. Like others, I am also spending less and working on the internet to increase my savings. This crisis has also highlighted the importance of savings, even if its dimes at a time. As somebody remarked, it might happen again and if it does the pennies you might have stacked away might make a real difference.

I'm involved with various online programs to make money. All of them together put extra money into my pocket. Everybody else is trying to find a network marketing company online to make up for their loss of real world money. What they fail to realize is that the online world and the real world are one and the same. You can't expect the real world problems to not affect efforts to make money online via network marketing. So everybody ends up spending $47 on a new opportunity that will probably leave them in worse finacial straights than when they first embarked on their home business conquest. Just give me your money people and in return I'll give you some good old fashioned advice. If you need money, "don't start a new business online, look for a real world job."

we only spend on what we need like the basic stuffs and the things that are considered as a necessity.right now, my wife is selling her old clothes, shoes and bags that are only kept in the closet for years.she told me that because she has already gained weight (from size 2 to 6 hehe), it is better to sell and earn a lil money from it. she sells it to her friends and they want more from her stuff. plus, we visit second hand stores...if there are things that still looks promising, we purchase it.lately, we hardly buy brand new stuff or if ever, we wait until its prices go down and this happens during the sale period. aside from our 8-5pm ofc job, we try to look for other innovative ways of earning so could have bigger savings.just don't lose hope, cut your spending habits.

I try to maximize what I can like my internet connection in order to earn a little extra money. Before, I just use the internet to chat, email and surf. Nowadays, I look at sites that can bring me extra money, like here at mylot.

I am still hanging there trying to find a very high paying government job in this new administration, lol!

Waiting and studying when in the recession. My job is getting boring.And I have to endure the heavy workload. Also, I reduce my expence to get through the crisis.

well . just stay at home . using the internet to make money . and online shopping . cheaper than the shopping malls or the markets you know . so just stay at your home . paly the games . watch the films . make the money and enjoy your life . well . same here . we gonna do great . too

Hi, No-one understands..making two ends meet became really difficult..persuing hard..cutting own cost..thinking of leaving smoking(my only bad-habit)..so on.. =lahiri,Kolkata,India.

I am IN India,here all are ok,but sad about the people who lost their job all over the world.But happy that you got job quite easily.I wish all should get a alternative job ike you ,also I wish the situation should turn normal soon. but I always manage myself by taking money from my savings.My savings helped me in many such critical situations