Are you better off generally than you were this time last year?

got paid about 50% of what I made last year.

Heck, no I am still locking for a permanent job, not temporary work or part time job.

Mister 2, how about your nation's military?

They hire full-time don't they?

A gallon of gas is down below two bucks a gallon - gallon - not a liter,and may go lower if it hits 25 bucks a barrel in 2009. Who can say?

I'm not an economic genius but I think my Euro and Japanese socialist genious friends have somethin' to do with it. For all their socialist programs they've taxed themselves back into bikes and sturdy footwear.

Thanks, guys.

Personally much better off. Last Year, Iraq. This year, Singapore with same pay and better job security in gas and oil production inductry.

They told me that I am to old. To bad that I am not an american for join the army, the 42 age limit is neat in recession.

USA Ronin, what you describe is certainly happening, but I suspect the subprime loans problem set off the whole chain reaction, to savings insecurity, loan refusals, loss of jobs, drop in commuting by car, fall in gas sales, drop in gas prices...

Thanks guys.

Thank you for your kind response, Mr. Manda.

PS Personally, it depends how you cut the cake. My savings have taken a drop of 42% against the JPY... that's more than the 10,000 USD that the good lady from California put in her cracker box.

Investments and loans are risky, sometimes you eat the bear and other times the bear eats you. When you have to borrow to pay off loans then the bear is already about to take a nice big bite. Another reason was the massive credit card debt, some people never figured all that free money would dry up and the credit collector would come calling. All in all you can't expect others to pay up for your mistakes.

Much better. Creamed the markets at about 60% with our fund. Just picked up a fourth home.

I'd have to say I am much better off. Moved back to the states to an area where the cost of living is almost half of what it is in the Kanto area and took a job for double the pay and with a boss who appreciates my talents and values my advice. I even live in a city with a large concentration of Japanese so the kids can keep up their language skills and my wife has a social network to interact with. My stress level is even lower.

Hell...the Vikings even won the NFC North. Aside from shochu, what more could I want?

Taka

I own my own business and depend on tourism how do you think I'm doing? Compared with last year which was a blockbuster this year has been dismal in the final 2 quarters. At least my wife and I delayed some major purchases and stuck some money away so it's not like the wolves are at the door.

two tales of Minnesotas it seems.

I will have payed off all debts in Jan 2009. No credit card debt, no loans. All my extra money will Goto the banks to help bail them out. Then I am hoping the interest rates rise (surely along with the taxes) Will start looking at stocks again.

Me, too! I made more this year than last year.

Bought my house early last year (2008) for a not bad price & finished buying all the materials I will need to totally refurbish it before July. With little going out any reduction on in come is not at all painful. It could have been very different.

Much better - this time last year I was working for a tyrant of a boss. This past summer he got axed and I was given his job. Heh.

Much better off. We are creaming the markets with our fund, up over 60% on the year. I bled RBC dry before leaving and took a lot of its cash into my hedge fund. They are simply clueless about where their money went. Their FX people were losing money every month like you could not imagine, still betting on a weaker yen. That firm would be better off if we could have hired more educated people, especially in the FX division, which has been populated with fake tough guy morons for about a decade now.