New Jersey Baby Boomer

I promise to get a few interesting and fun posts on here soon, but everyone is talking about the economy, and how it is affecting businesses, small and large.  Small businesses are likely to struggle more than large businesses, more likely to fail. New Jersey has small business development centers in every county to help in a general way.

As for the financial aspect, remember, we are experiencing this first hand with our son who has been unemployed for going on 3 months as the small business he worked for tries to get back on their feet.  They are in need of funding to go on, and though I am not knowledgeable about how businesses go about this, I do know that there are websites that help small business owners acquire Working Capital.

If you are in, or considering starting, a small business, I hope you will find the links in this post helpful.

As I’ve shared in earlier posts, our family here in New Jersey is feeling the affects of the economic downturn in a personal way; not so much that we are devastated, but enough that we feel for those who are experiencing so much worse.  My son is unemployed right now, but he’s still single and living with us, so he doesn’t have the concern of how to feed a family or pay the next bill that many others are experiencing.  My husband has been unemployed, but now has a job that at least pays the bills and keeps us fed.  These small challenges are only a taste of what many are experiencing…I can only imagine what it must be like to be losing a home, not knowing where the next meal for your children will come from.

If we were in a position where we needed to explore benefits, the “red tape” involved in seeking them out in New Jersey, …

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I feel like doing a personal post today, no NJ history, or places to visit, or any of that, just some things that are happening in the lives of two Baby Boomers in NJ, my husband and I.

As you know if you read my blog(s), we live in a rural lake community. Because we have lived here for about 25 years, we had gained a nice bit of equity in our home. We have a mortgage still…would be nice to have that paid off, but the equity came in handy when we had a couple of emergencies and refinanced to cover the bills as well as reduce our interest.

Then when hubby joined the many who have lost their jobs at the age of 50something after working for a company for 30 years, and had to change jobs a few times in 4 years, we found that we had to dip into the equity of our home to make it by a few times.

Then to top it off, this year, the equity went down on our home along with every other home in the Nation. Yes, we still have a chunk left between what we owe and what we might get for our home if we sell it, but I’d say it’s been cut almost in half. That’s a tough pill to swallow if you’re hoping that the equity in your home was going to help you in your retirement one day. Or be something that you can leave your children.

The times are challenging ones, for sure, and there are no easy answers. They are times that can cause worry and fear, or can put us on our knees in prayer, hubby and I are doing the latter and counting of the promises that God has given us to provide all our NEEDS. Even though we live relatively simply, like many, we have our priorities a little off balance in some areas, bad habits developed when it seemed like the money would always be coming in at the same rate forever…ha! We bear some of the responsibility for where we find ourselves.

So here’s to the future, and hopes that things are going to improve, and faith to know that no matter what, we’ll be okay.

How are my readers doing with all the news we’re hearing on the economy lately? As I type this we have just finished hearing that there was quite a lot of controversy during the meetings in Washington DC today, and no agreement on what to do about the situation has been reached…in fact right now my husband is listening to the talking heads yell at each other about the situation on the news.

I was just talking to my neighbor who is a real estate agent here in NJ today, and she was telling me that the prices on houses are great for first time buyers, and interest rates low, but they are having trouble getting mortgages now.

For us, we don’t have a lot saved, so there won’t be a “run on the bank”, and we have a pretty good credit rating, but there are many people that are sincerely struggling and don’t know where to turn. I feel for these people. We have had two homes on our street go into foreclosure, one just sold for a fraction of it’s worth in an auction sale. Multiplying that my many MANY homes across the country, one can get a feel for how critical the real estate situation has become.

I don’t know a lot about the economy, or how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, so if you are interested in more information about the issues we are facing, want to view lists of auctions, and much more, be sure to visit the U.S. Department of Treasury.

There is also a site called CareOne that can help you if you are considering debt consolidation loans, and need counseling help to get out of debt. They will connect you with agencies that have high standards of customer care, and provide you with 24 hour access to your account information, 7 days a week. So far, we’re doing okay, but if you’re not, maybe careonecredit.com can help.

New Jersey can be somewhat expensive compared to living in other states around the country. Our taxes are relatively high, and perhaps higher because we chose to live in a rural part of the State where there are no big businesses to help with local taxes. And with “retirement” years ahead, if there will be such a thing for us, one is naturally concerned.

I just did an online quiz at Bills IQ to help me decide whether or not we are handling our finances well, and whether we need help with Debt consolidation, as we have a few bills and debts due to various life circumstances that seem to be common these days for many, including a period of time that my husband was unemployed…and another spell of that that will start in November if he doesn’t find a new job soon. Our grade after doing the quiz was a “B”, which isn’t terrible, but I know we could use some improvement, and BillsIQ seemed to provide some helpful solutions, including Debt help and resources for Debt relief. Maybe you’ll want to take the simple quiz they provide, it’s easy to do, and you’re provided with some options to decide what help might be best for you. You can chose one of these opportunities, or skip on to see your score. If you need the help, then check out the services they offer.

For now, I think we’re okay, but our wonderful Lord knows what the future holds, and we know He’ll show the way through the valleys.

Here’s an attempt at a little Haiku, which is a form of Japanese “poetry”, 3 lines – 1 with 5 syllables, the next with 7, then the third, 5 again. It often speaks of nature, seasons, etc.

Fall of life is here,
Know not what the future holds,
Bills IQ is near.