living well in a recession

"But I'm young, single and don't have the burden of property. This sounds really sad, but maybe we're like the carpetbaggers of the horrible economic situation."

okay, i recently entered into the realm of owning property, but sometimes i feel this way. we're young, have steady jobs, and the recession isn't affecting us that badly. should i feel wrong about this? i mean, sure, i'd feel wrong if i was profitting off of others' misfortunes, but i don't really feel like i am.

maybe it's perspective. i mean, we have debt. plenty of it. student loans, house, credit, auto, yeah, we're working it all. but, it also seems to be a very manageable level. would i like less of it? of course. but the debt we have isn't really hurting how we live.

perhaps if i was older or actually had a retirement fund set up. i imagine i'd be pissed if my "future" was dramatically reduced to half or a third of what i'd been able to stash away. but, like a jerk, i've got no retirement or stocks, so those fluctuations haven't bothered me.

don't read this wrong, we're not living high on the hog. money is tight at points. and i'm not saying that i don't feel bad for people that are losing jobs, homes, etc. i guess i just don't feel bad that people like me are doing alright.

what do you think? are we the nouveau carpet baggers? should we all be trying to make small steps into the stock market?

thanks for working for us, formerly

dear top guy @ the university,
thanks for the Xmas card, the 2009 pocket calendar, and the handwritten note thanking me for being adjunct faculty. i'll be honest, i'd give all three back for 1 class next semester. i know, the economy sucks right now, and everyone is tightening belts. full time faculty are having to take on heavier loads. other staff are having to teach classes if they're qualified & able. and, i understand that the cost of the three things you just sent me in the mail, including envelope & stamp < cost of me teaching a class. but damn i'd like to be teaching.

plus, it's pretty cool cache to say you teach @ a university, even if it's just adjunct.



don't worry fearless readers, i've got enough work @ my other job. you won't find me selling blog posts on the street corner.

congrats!

gas - around $3.50 a gallon
oil - over a $100 a barrel right now
gold - record high of over $1000 an ounce
and you can't buy jack


marriedtothesea.com

yep, that's right.