With the economy in the toilet, many folks have gotten a cruel wake up call.  Those workers who survived on luxuries such as overtime, bonuses, and generous merit increases are now struggling to pay their car notes, mortgages, and other numerous bills.  What I can’t understand is why people feel that they can determine what type of home they can afford based on their salary with overtime.  I’m all for individual accountability and I am amazed at how many people have fallen into this trap.  I’m a bit of a quasi social liberal (except when it comes to unions and handouts) but I’m not one out there blaming the lenders for people’s poor judgment and decision making.  Even before the economy took a nosedive, my husband and I made a conscious effort to buy a home back in 2004 that was far less than what mortgage lenders said we could afford.  We ran through every scenario including going from a dual-earner household to a one-earner household and put together our budget.  We never put together a budget and said, well if I get a new job and pay out my vacation time and then go to another company make 40k more a year, we can swing this.

Companies are now struggling to make their budgets and the first thing to go when business is not booming is unnecessary overtime.  The gravy train is over.  Now people are forced with the prospects of finding a second or third job, when finding even one job right now is a privilege.  Hopefully Americans will learn some tough lessons, similar to what the Baby Boomers learned in the 70s and 80s.  My message to those who blame their employer for cutting unnecessary overtime and implementing more efficient and lean processes, is to suck it up.  Honestly, if you’ve still got your job, you’re doing better than 13.2 million Americans. It’s not going away anytime soon and I’m sure you’ve learned a very important and difficult lesson in the process.

This is reason #4,232 that I plan to drive my paid off 2002 Jetta into the ground.  Figure out what you need, stop living in excess, and bring your own lunch.