IMHO- I started to get nervous about the idea of a recession not too long ago- mainly because of all the talk with financial experts and the doom sayers. I do think that we are in a bit of a recession- the price of everything is going up- yet our paychecks are not, also with the job loses and so on. My pappy said it to me best by- a recession is when your neighbor loses your job a depression is when you lose your job .

Honestly- my DH builds houses for a living- they are quite busy and if it was not for the bad weather getting dark early (still )- he would be working overtime. My dh on occasion works with a realitor- the realitor said a lot of the housing market woes are due to the bank- for the most part they won't help you with a mortgage unless you have great credit (with some money down) and if you are decent to fair credit- they won't even talk about a mortgage UNLESS you put 20% down payment (I can vouch for this because we recently went through this).

I am nervous about it- but that is the nature of my being- I am always concerned with money issues! If dh should happen to lose his job- he will look for another job (possibly go to school) but until he would find steady work he would work side jobs and in my area- places are constantly hiring (a grocery store and such) and I would also take on a job. When we received our income tax return- we took care of a few debts and so on. I also recieved a good receipe book for cheap meals (hehe- my DH is buying my 101 things to make with Ramen Noodles - one thing we never get tired of!). We are in the process of moving and really only have the necessities on hand that we need and a few toys to occupy the girls- if things are really bad- I bet a lot of people will start going to more yard sales and I plan on doing one this year. So we do have a plan- if it happens I guess we will see!

I really hope this is just a scare tatic!

The economic indicators have been pointing toward a recession since last year. We had a inverted yield curve which normally exist prior to recessions.

I am debt free and store food as well as buy precious metals. I don't just think we are in a recession but are about to experence stagflation. It will be far worse than the '70's since we were a creditor nation back then and now we are the worlds biggest debtor nation. Look at it this way, if we do experence massive inflation like the '70's you will be able to pay off debt with cheaper dollars (that is if you keep you job).

I have posted this reply before, but I think it is something to think about...we are preparing for recession by learning how to do things ourselves...bake bread, sew, we have chickens, we have a clothesline, we have a garden, I am learning how to can my produce from the garden, etc.....when you are not SO dependent on grocery stores, oil, etc you feel somewhat empowered. The cost of wheat continues to go up, so I am buying 500 pounds of it ( I grind it myself with a grinder..really easy ) because it lasts FOREVER unground....(I think they found some in a pyramid that was 5,000 years old and it still sprouted! ) I am working on a rainwater harvesting system...we are still rationing water where I live.

I believe we are in a recession. I can not tell you how many bank owed houses I am seeing in my area. Hubby and I have always hated having debt. We have worked very hard to minimize our financial debt. We are also investing money for retirement and our child's education.

I believe we're headed toward a recession. We are in a fairly good position financially right now, but like so many others, that could change in the future. So while I'm not necessarily preparing for a/the recession, I am trying to make better money decisions; spending less, spending wisely, saving more, etc. One thing I have noticed is I'm seeing more and more people using cash now, myself included!

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~*~ Angie~*~
Wife to Brian
SAHM to Sarah & Andy 2/11/2000