The Work It, Mom! Blog
with Nataly
Hi, I am Nataly and I am the co-founder of Work It, Mom!
I write the daily Work It, Mom! Blog where I talk about issues affecting working moms, goings on in our Work It, Mom! community, new site features, updates,and contests. I also share my own juggle between work and family and love to see members jump in with comments. Come and visit often!
Nataly's profile on Work It, Mom!
My grandparents called me the other day to ask what they should do with the bit of money they have in the bank. At first I wasn’t sure what they were asking, but then my grandma clarified that because I am a financial whiz (really? I guess all those years I spent in the mysterious-to-them world of venture capital somehow means that I know how to weather the current financial storm) she wants my opinion about whether they should pull their savings out and keep them home.
I calmly explained that their deposits are protected by the government, up to $100,000, and that they shouldn’t worry. After I hung up the phone I was pretty proud of myself for not letting on about how FREAKED OUT I AM ABOUT THE ECONOMY.
There, I said it. The fake financial whiz that I am, the current slump/slowdown/recession/Wall Street implosion is causing me serious heart burn. We recently bought a new house, with a nicely-sized mortgage, and our monthly budget is tight as is, while I pursue my entrepreneurial dream (read: not making lots of money). Seeing our investments lose value, daily, and trying to figure out whether the investors in my entrepreneurial dream will be too affected by their falling portfolios to keep supporting us is extremely stressful and at times, seriously interferes with my mood. I do try to remind myself that we’re young, we can weather this storm, our investment portfolios will be fine in the long run, and somehow we’ll figure this out, but this perspective is tough to maintain.
I know I am not alone. A lot of our conversations with friends have circled around to jobs (how secure everyone’s is and what is the back up plan), mortgages (those friends with adjustable rates are nervous), investments, and other related, and quite depressing, topics. A post over at The Juggle that I read this morning talks about different ways the economic wows are affecting people. And you can’t turn on news without hearing about the economy and interviews with people who are stressed by it.
Are you more stressed because of the poor economy and general financial chaos? Has your family been affected? Have you found a way to not let all the bad news affect you?
Subscribe to blog via RSS
I’m so freaked out about the economy. I couldn’t believe my eyeballs on Monday when I looked at the New York times and saw 1) that Lehman was filing for bankruptcy, 2) the BofA was acquiring Merrill Lynch, and 3) that AIG was teetering. And since then, AIG has had a government bailout. In inelegant prose, WTF???
Mary | September 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Our retirement investments are on the safe side, and are for the long term, so we are trying not to worry.
Trying is the key word.
Angella | September 18th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Not really. The fundamentals of my personal economy are sound. Read: no debt, paid-off house, savings in money market, modest lifestyle.
SKL | September 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
By the way, our economy is far from “poor.” Research what things were like in 1979. That was the “poorest” our country has been in my lifetime. But even that is nothing compared to what most of the world deals with every day. 6% unemployment? Give me a break. This generation is thoroughly spoiled, in my humble opinion.
SKL | September 18th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Oh thank you God!
I was sure I was the only person thinking like this.
I’m truly scared.
To the point where I was giving my 8-yr-old a lecture on what “credit crisis” means at 7:30am today (while he was brushing his teeth poor kid).
Like Angella, I think my investments are OK, and I know that panic selling is a bad thing, so I’m trying to stay calm.
And re-mortgage my house to a fixed-rate loan.
MichelleD | September 18th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I work in the real estate industry as an assistant, so it makes it hard not to freak out daily - as I see all of the foreclosures coming in and everything that goes on, just on that side of it. When I saw that some of the largest companies were requiring federal help that is when I really freaked out the most though! We’re just working hard to pay off as much of our debt as we can at this point to position ourselves as best we can!
Stacie | September 18th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I’m freaked out and pissed. I just wrote a long blog post about this and I’m feeling a little bit better. I’m really worried that my kids are going to be paying for this for years.
Kate | September 18th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
i dont know, SLK - i agree with you! (crazy, i know!) But long term, this is not that big a deal. Why are we looking at everything in terms of hours/days instead of years/decades?
The biggest takeaway from my Finance 101 class in college was a graph that showed, over 30 years (i think, less than a life time, more than a couple of years anyway!) the overall trend of the market was UP!
The key is to know how to inviest in companies that have long term revenue streams and a record of being able to manage their money during downturns.
I am somewhat young still and i see this as a great opportunity to start buying some stocks i could otherwise not afford that i know will certainly make it through. Will it go up and down again? count on it! will the general trend be up in 10-20 or more years? count on that too!
anyway - that’s my little slice of happy for today
kate | September 18th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
heh i meant to say that chart included the great depression crash.
kate | September 18th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I am not worried - for several reasons.
a) I am 38 years old and have *several* years before retirement.
b) My only debt is my (large) mortgage
c) I have money in savings and 401k - which I’m now stuffing due to the fire sale
d) I don’t need “stuff” and/or continuously new amount of new stuff to make me happy.
e) When I lost my job last year and was unemployed for 8 months (due to an injury that wasn’t my fault), everything worked out - and it will again.
f) 5-10 years from now, I won’t remember what the fuss was about.
This is a *great* country and we’ve been through worse. We need to vote out all of the power-seeking, bomb-throwing, nation-dividing politicians (from the left and the right), so those of us who are interested in what is best for these not-so-united states can get back to business.
Melissa | September 19th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Nataly, I don’t think you should worry too much with regards to your entrepreneurial venture.
Work It Mom will grow in good times and bad. Perhaps even more in bad times. A lay off is an opportunity to start your own business, do something different, pursue a different career, and you provide tips for all this.
Vera Babayeva | September 19th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Aside from the entrepreneurial dream part (I’m corporately employed plus have a small home-based fabric business), we’re in about the same spot as you - new house, new mortgage, investments down, etc. I can’t always do it, but I have to make myself not stress too much about the economy otherwise it will make me crazy. I’m feeling the need to tighten the purse strings more, but my husband doesn’t always feel the same way.
Jamie AZ | September 19th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I do worry a bit, but at the same time, I don`t have any money invested and no debts. We are building our house, but that can always be put on hold. The only thing that I do stress about is the fact that we don`t have much in the way of savings and all my money currently comes from American businesses!
Genesis | September 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Well, we’re feeling the crunch. I don’t want to dwell on this and I’m sure we’ll get thru this like everything else.
I’ve been a babysitter for 4 years and this year is the hardest. I noticed parents are having relatives babysit to save money. No one wants an outside babysitter. So that means my business is going down.
I am now looking for an actual job outside the home, which hopefully I can get soon. Most parents are working 2 or more jobs each just to keep up.
Yvonne | September 19th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Yes, I am very nervous. I keep wondering what is coming next…credit card companies? deposit banks? There are money market accounts now making a negative rate of return — very scary.
While some of the comments here discuss the 30-year trend upwards of the market, we shouldn’t forget how long it takes an average family to dig out of a loss of value. When your 401K has declined in value by 15%, you have to dig yourself out of that.
My husband and I are both out of work right now. We received nice severance packages, so I’m feeling secure for some time. But, we’re spreading some of our assets into investments I never would have considered before — bank CD’s and T-bills.
Meanwhile, I’m biting my nails to see what shoe will drop next. While I can’t fret about it, I can be prepared and constantly evaluate my own investments, spending, and financial behavior.
Sara | September 21st, 2008 at 12:46 am
[...] women, two of whom took out calculators to figure out their share of the bill. Times are tough and many of us are freaked out about the economy, and yes, about saving those few extra [...]
Group work lunch: How do you split the bill? - Work It, Mom! Blog - Work It, Mom! | September 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm