Interesting trends

Some interesting trends I am noticing out there.

The first is a survey by the Canadian Payroll Assoc. who are telling us that 60 percent of people would be in “Financial Difficulties” if their paycheck was just one week late, as well as 40 percent of people have given up even trying to save any money for emergency or retirement.

The second thing I noticed was an advertisement from a Wealth Management Company that was hosting a seminar on “Protecting Your Wealth”. Not on growing your wealth or the newest hot stock tip, but on keeping what you have.

An article on unemployment* showed that as of late last year, the average duration of unemployment surpassed six months, the first time that has happened since 1948, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking that number.

For every job opening in the U.S., six people are actively looking for work. That systemic unemployment is going to be a fact of life in a lot of geographic areas as well as within some industries.

Most recessions end when consumers regain confidence in the economy and start spending again, but for the foreseeable future, U.S. consumer demand is unlikely to propel strong economic growth. As of November, one in seven mortgages was delinquent, up from one in 10 a year earlier. Heavy debt and large losses of wealth have forced consumers to curtail their spending and to delay if not forgo large purchases.

These trends really show that while the “Experts” are saying that the recession is over, on the streets of the country the recession is in a lot of ways far from over. There are some permanent changes to the way companies will hire employees, and the lose of wealth and retirement income has forced many people that were hoping to retire back into the workplace to compete for the available jobs.

Now is a good time to step back and take a good hard look at your financial situation and see where you stand. Can you survive if were to lose your job? Do you have skills that employers will want? Is your pantry full so you can eat while looking for work? How deep in debt are you? Are your credit cards already maxed out, are you currently using credit cards to meet day to day expenses? Is your car paid for?

Time to maybe make some changes in your lifestyle so you are better prepared to face a financial challenge. Can you trade down on your car and cut your payments in half? Can you walk to work and not need a car? Can you take public transit rather then have a car?

Each and everyone of us needs to reass where we are financially, and realise that your job may not be as secure as you think. Interest rates are not always going to be this low, are you prepared for a jump in the cost of your debt? Do you have a plan B or C or D so you can deal with life in the post recession still no jobs world?

This is not the time to panic, but it is the time to pay attention and decide what you can do now to help yourself later.

Cheap-0 Economics
*http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201003/jobless-america-future
This is an excellent read that goes into great detail about the impact of unemployment