How financially secure do you feel in your own life?

[debbierlus]

Just wondering....

[debbierlus]

1. Wow. The first one is I am terrified

And, I am really sorry.

I am just holding on myself.

:(

[Faygo Kid]

2. Hang in there.

I've been there, very close to bankruptcy. Doing OK now, but will never take it for granted.

Just don't expect the worst. Keep hope alive, and keep working at it.

[sam sarrha]

4. pay check to paycheck=TERRIFIED

[Breeze54]

12. Unemployed and over 50 is even more terrifying. n/t

:(

[sam sarrha]

15. i'm 60, and only have one hand.. i will be having the reattachment amputated in Sept, get'n a hook

finally.. they really messed me up fuck'n with it, 3 surgery's-0ne was a horrific torturous abdominal skin graft, 12 hours of anesthesia.. i have lost my health.. 50% at least, serious mental impalement, i have PTSD flashbacks..simular to Turret's syndrome. therapy didn't have me exercise my arm during the first surgery recovery. i was very medicated, they only told me to keep it elevated.. i now have an encapsulation/adhesions, my left arm is hardly usable, joint is messed up, and constantly in a lot of pain if i move it..

i did get my job back.. for now, my wife will lose her's in a year or less. we have lost 4 good jobs to outsourcing since 2000, moved to 3 different time zones chasing jobs, every job pays less.

and i have Aspergers Syndrome, i don't do interviews well. i have an IQ of 164, a mechanical savant but i am functionally illiterate, 4-5th grade. i do have good verbal skills. i am the employee bosses dream of but wont hire. i worked for Boeing Space nd Communication, building flight control systems for the F22 nd Delta3 Rocket. i did 2.6 times more work than anyone else on our 22 person team, with a consistent ZERO ERRORS, perfect inspections,.. i have functional OCB and a fascination with the parts of things, i worked thru a microscope building micro circuit boards, 12 hours a day for 7 months once, and didn't take breaks except to pee and eat..worked there 3 years.

i plan on getting Dragon9 voice program, this one finger typing is a pain in the ass. hope it work's on games

[Breeze54]

18. "... I worked thru a microscope building micro circuit boards..."

I did that too! :hi: I was an SMT Repair Tech Specialist and QA/QC Inspector for many years but my vision (needed bifocals) started going and my patience was on it's way out too and then they brought in robotics to do the assembly and I continued with the inspections and repairs but then outsourcing of those type jobs started in earnest and so, I went back to college and earned my certificate as a Computer Support Specialist (18 months at night, after work, 4 nights a week from 6 pm to 10 pm) and found a job that didn't pay the going rate and then the Dot Com bubble burst and they fired the whole E-Commerce Dept. (over 80 people) in one day; everyone crying and walking out with their little boxes of belongings but I held onto my job in Tech Support, training new hires (12 at a time) I was responsible for, while still taking tech support calls, on all 10 call cues, (most people had 4 cues) plus setting up accounts for the CS dept. with management access that the regular CS people didn't have and needed help with but then they started hiring out-of-work engineers and pushing us techs aside. They gave my 4 day a week/10 hr day slot to a new guy, (PISSED ME OFF!) and as a single parent, it was very hard and almost impossible, as they pushed me into hours that went past the time the after-school day care closed. (9:30 PM ) GRR!! They'd make us bid on the hours we wanted to work all the time, like a lottery and they did it constantly! (GRR!) At the same time, I had two elderly sick parents to take care of and I was stressed out to the max!! Blood pressure through the roof and my Dr. advised I find another job or eliminate some stress in my life. Then they sold that part of the company and started moving some jobs 3,000 miles away. *cry* Of course, the outsourcing was hitting all companies by then. I drove through an office park, around that time, and huge companies like HP (Data General), Compaq (Digital Equipment Corp.) and many others that had had full parking lots, now had 'For Lease' signs out front. I ended up finding another job with a satellite co. but they closed a year later too and moved out of state last I heard and I think they got sold as well. So, I'm thinking of returning to college again. I have no money and I should have applied for financial aid in January. I don't want to end up as clerk in a store but if I have to, I will, for awhile. I'm lucky that I had some money saved. I just got health insurance and that was another issue but now there is a light at the end of that tunnel too. I will be moving forward either with school or a new job or both soon but I'm scared to death too. I hope your surgery is successful and you recuperate fast. I'm so sorry you're going through all that, Sam. :hug:

[CountAllVotes]

17. throw the word "sick" into that

and you have a toxic mix. Good luck not finding any job or help.

:(

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. How does "terrified' differ from "just getting by"? I think there is overlap in this poll.

[debbierlus]

6. I guess it is subjective - I used to be terrified by just getting by

But, I have been just getting by for so long, it is status quo. So, I am not terrified. I do the best I can and hope for the best.
I would be terrified if I lost my income, and I lost my house. That would be my level for full terror, but when I was younger, and I didn't have the life experience of the 'juggle', I was scared all the time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. I get it.

[elocs]

5. I don't know where I fit into the poll,

but I have very little money and can get by on making a very ridiculously small amount of money and still live, for me, quite comfortably. Even though I am currently unemployed I am confident I will get a job and I have learned to be satisfied with as much or as little as I have.

[debbierlus]

7. I put a other up :)

:)

I was just trying to get a gauge of what people here are going through...

And, good on you for your frugality. If you ever need more money, teach a class. It is needed.

[NeedleCast]

8. Americans define financial security in odd ways compared to the rest of the world

If you have a computer and an internet connection, you're not poor, at least not in a global sense.

[NightWatcher]

9. not terrified, but my business failed, have no money. I dont care too much either

[Bonhomme Richard]

10. When you work for yourself you are never financially secure.

It's a mindset.
Now, if someone wants to buy me out........
Might be different.

[NMDemDist2]

11. other

we have no debt, own our house and are rebuilding savings like mad.

both of us now have stable and good jobs but it was a tough and scary 6 years to get here.......

[tammywammy]

13. Financially secure

[Graybeard]

14. Thanks to my union job with living wages I was able to retire debt free.

I was a member of SEIU for forty years. The union negotiated contracts that allowed me to live well with health care and other benefits. My union pension, social security, personal savings over the years have allowed me to pay off my mortgage and keep credit card balance at zero. I hate to think what my situation would be without the union.

[Indenturedebtor]

19. I'm on the verge. I'm in Sales and I keep switching industries but they're all doing bad

I have lots of debt and we may well lose everything. I'm on the verge of losing my job.

But I really don't care. I've woken up from the American Dream and if they take my house and our cars I'll be relieved.