Anyone else starting to freak about the economy?

**Luv2BeFrugal** · 07-13-2008, 09:23 PM

Ok...I don't know if I've reached my limit on the "gloom and doom" factor and it's really starting to have an effect on me... Or if "reality" is just setting in.

This whole thing with mortgages and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is freaking me out. Those are HUGE companies with a LOT of influence on our market...

Anyone want to share what they think will happen with tomorrow's news on the market and these 2 companies?

**suki** · 07-13-2008, 09:44 PM

I think the DOW is going to bottom out at around 10,000 or just under... but not sure when.

I think there will be more bank/credit issues and more runs on the banks.

I think that prices will continue to sky-rocket.

I predict we are in this cycle for about 2 years. It will get brighter at times, but I think it will take at least 2 years before we begin to cycle out of this economic mess.

**FrugalMomof3** · 07-13-2008, 10:08 PM

I think the prices of EVERYTHING will continue to skyrocket so be prepared now and start saving.

I also think that this will be like this for about a year or two more but then things will as we see it then, look better.

All we can do is live day by day and try to cut costs as much as we can, if this means doing without then it's something we have to do. We can't change the economy so might as well expect it and do what we can to make the best of it.

**Telephus44** · 07-13-2008, 10:17 PM

Tomorrow the Dow closes below 11,000. Eventually it will get to 8,000 or so, but it's not going to be a big one day drop - it will be a couple hundred points here, a couple hundred points there, and sooner or later it will just drift downward.

I think that the general economy will slump for the next 2-3 years at minimum. Housing won't be back for at least 5 years. Prices will stop falling, but only because inflation is going to take off big time - so in effect, they'll be the same dollar amount but still worth less and less.

I think that the Fed will end up with some kind of bailout for Fannie and Freddie. Then the government will take responsibility for the trillions of dollars of bad loans, and we can continue to run huge deficits for the next 10-20 years.

**fuzzybunny** · 07-13-2008, 10:27 PM

I am certainly paying attention but as to what will happen who knows? I think a lot depends on who the incoming president handles the situation. Many of the same elements are now present that contributed to the Great Depression, but there are also some vital differences.

I personally feel like we are on an edge right now and the outcome is up for grabs. Good decisions by our leaders may avert a more serious crisis. Bad decisions and who knows?

I do know that this feels an awful lot like the Regan recession I lived through as a kid and that was terrible enough on its own. I guess I would say to you what I said to my friend yesterday. We were talking about the situation and he was kinda of in a fatalist mindset... "There's nothing we can do, what's going to happen is going to happen, it's going to be bad"... and so on. We are Christian folk so if the idea reflects that.

Basically I told him:
Don't let fear rule you and don't try to carry a cross that isn't really here and may never even show up in the end. At the same time prudence is a virtue for a reason so don't act like nothing is happening. If you stick your head in the sand you'll be sorry. Do the sensible thing, pay your bills, stockpile a bit and save money and leave the rest to God. If nothing happens then you will be in a better place than you are now and if the "worst" happens you will know you did all you could with what God has given you to care for your family while you struggle through.

**Newsnerd68** · 07-13-2008, 10:46 PM

I am uber-worried about the situation. I'm a newspaper copy editor, so it's my job to read about all this and it's really depressing.
I can tell you that the Federal Reserve and Treasury announced steps tonight to shore up both Freddie and Fannie, so check your papers or click on CNN for details.
When I was a new reporter about 12 years ago, I interviewed a 90-something-year-old man about his business ( a men's clothing store he was turning over to his grandson) and he got to talking about living through the Depression. He said something that has stuck with me since. He said he would be afraid for young people today if they had to go throught the same thing. He said in those days, people knew how to make do, grow their own food, cook, sew, fix things, etc. and that they knew their neighbors and took care of them. He said people today have forgotten how to do those basic things. And that we don't know our neighbors any more.
For the most part, he was right, sadly.

**baxjul** · 07-13-2008, 10:52 PM

Yes, I'm worried about it. I've been socking away money in the savings account just for this purpose.

**hippytreehugger4ever** · 07-13-2008, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by Newsnerd68

I am uber-worried about the situation. I'm a newspaper copy editor, so it's my job to read about all this and it's really depressing.
I can tell you that the Federal Reserve and Treasury announced steps tonight to shore up both Freddie and Fannie, so check your papers or click on CNN for details.
When I was a new reporter about 12 years ago, I interviewed a 90-something-year-old man about his business ( a men's clothing store he was turning over to his grandson) and he got to talking about living through the Depression. He said something that has stuck with me since. He said he would be afraid for young people today if they had to go throught the same thing. He said in those days, people knew how to make do, grow their own food, cook, sew, fix things, etc. and that they knew their neighbors and took care of them. He said people today have forgotten how to do those basic things. And that we don't know our neighbors any more.
For the most part, he was right, sadly.

I'm worried for these same reasons too. People aren't nearly as self-sufficient as they were back during the 1920's and 30's, and that could be a key factor on how well people could handle another great depression if it were to ever happen.

**leezza** · 07-13-2008, 11:33 PM

I think that things are going to go into the crapper right after the olymics in China. Not sure what this whole thing will look like but I don't think it is gunna be pretty.......

YEESH......I sound like chicken little.

leezza

**magnolia** · 07-13-2008, 11:49 PM

I'm very anxious about the economy. I truly worry that we're going to have another depression. I've got nothing to back that up though! We have been trying to get rid of all our debt and I am trying really hard to stock up in case of hard times....

My husband is not a worrier, but I am. I worry enough for the both of us!

My dad lived through the depression and I have heard first hand how tough it was. When I was young, I got so tired of hearing depression stories (you know the ones... only two pairs of pants and two shirts to wear, one pair of holey shoes, "depression sandwiches", and walking 5 miles to school uphill in the snow...) It's funny, but I think he really remembered those times fondly.

**Bethany** · 07-13-2008, 11:51 PM

I just heard ten min ago that gas prices are going to climb higher over the next few weeks. Really, is there any end in sight? I think that the folks on this site will fair well, because we're open-minded to living a "different" lifestyle within our means. But for the most part, Americans will suffer.

**sdrjeolsen** · 07-13-2008, 11:55 PM

I think about it a lot, the state of things bothers me. I'm a bit anxious to se what the market does tomorrow as well. There was a front page story on the forclosures hitting 1M homes, churchs, retirement homes, etc. Just below that article was a story on the new Iphone and how people waited in lines for hours to get one. I don't get it. Are people that ignorant about the economy or am I just in a "sky is falling" mode lately?

**alarosalpn** · 07-13-2008, 11:59 PM

I don't know about the stock market or the 2 companies mentioned in the first post. But I do know that I am petrified of going into a depression. I can make some foods from scratch but certainly not enough to survive on nutrient wise. No money stockpile. I have a pretty good nonfood stock pile but only about a month or so supply of food.
There's way too many anxieties that I have about this issue to put down in writing. I could go on and on for hours!

**Samigirl** · 07-14-2008, 12:26 AM

I'm worried as well. The gas prices are killing us! DH does a lot of driving for his job, and we're paying $1000 a month for gas. On top of that, today I discovered my meat freezer had stopped working. Half of the meat I'd stockpiled was ruined. I had to throw it out. It made me sick to toss all that $ away.

I know in my heart of hearts, we'll be okay. We know how to scrimp, and we don't live above our means. But, it's a little unnerving to think about what life might be like in the years ahead.