Friday, February 27, 2009

This is not really about creativity or anything, but I am curious: Does this crappy economy directly affect you? If so, how?

14 comments:

Elizabeth said...

The recession has made me feel even more guilty for the debts I've accrued, the savings I haven't saved, and the wasteful ways I spend my discretionary income. So, while my income, bills, and other financial dealings have been static, the crappy economy has just been one giant buzzkill.

No wonder it's been called a "crisis of confidence."

Anonymous said...

I have no money for the tuition that is due in four days, my parents don't have the funds to help me out, and I've been trying (unsuccesfully) to get a loan for about a month. I don't know what I'm going to do on Tuesday. I don't even know if I'll be able to stay in school.

I've never been rich, but this economy has never made me feel so poor.

Patio Action Pearson said...

Nah. I'm good.

Seriously. Being in Boulder is like being in a bunker deep within a mountain. You sort of feel cut off/safe from everything.

Granted, we had 60 peoples (non-creatives) laid off a few weeks ago, but after a day or two of weirdness, everything's returned to normal.

Anonymous said...

I'm struggling. Mentally more than financially.

I just randomly met you yesterday in a coffee shop, but this was the basis of our brief conversation. This economy has kept me from attending the school of my dreams. I had been planning on going there since before I even started my undergrad. Now I'm forced into the marketplace when I feel I have so much more to learn. I've got a design job that pays me enough to survive, but it will never let me grow as a designer.

So this economy has messed with my head more than my wallet, but only because this economy is keeping me from something that I think will push me so much farther.

Dan said...

Patrick, you're lucky to be working. You're young; there's plenty of time to learn.

Dan said...

And just to answer my own question, I now own two homes with no prospects for buyers on the one I need to sell. I have lowered my price to a frightening level and, well, the buyers are non-existent. When we put it on the market — IN JULY — we were hopeful.

Today, I feel lucky to be working at a job I love; my wife, kids and I are healthy; and I have a home. But the economy has affected my life in a way I could not have predicted.

Unknown said...

My retirement accounts have been seriously wounded. I worked really, really hard to save starting early in my career, and to see that money lost is, well, unnerving isn't even the word.

Being mostly unemployed and job hunting in this market is.... unnerving isn't the word for that, either.

I'm (probably) upside-down in a home that I won't be able to sell if I do find a job and it's in another state.

But I'm fortunate.

I know people who are declaring bankruptcy and in fear of losing their homes. So maybe I have to take a job I hate, or go back to my old career. Or flip burgers, or sell baked goods at flea markets. I'll make it. I may have to let go of some dreams in the mean time, but dreams seem frivolous in times like these.

asher said...

i remember when i was graduating, there was the story of one talented art director that went 6 months before he landed a job. it was definitely the exception to the rule.

it's now been 8 months since i've graduated. and a number of my fellow graduates are still unable to find employment.

i feel like my book is decent, and i am willing to move to just about anywhere for work, but it just seems like there's nothing out there right now. and i don't know when there will be again.

:::Cornfed::: said...

Balser needs to give Ashley a shout-out on his next podcast too.

The Lolapalooza Show said...

Like many, I wasn't able to get a loan so I will have to leave the Creative Circus. These are my last two weeks at school and I may be moving as well. While it sucks, it has made me think about this country's economy more than ever and I realized that bitching about it does nothing. Actually doing something about it does everything. I believe that when you work hard, have passion and have integrity for what you do, you can eventually get through tough times. There's nothing you can do but keep going and be appreciative of what you have already.

asher said...

Cornfed needs to give Ashley a hug.

Jennie said...

Our economy affects advertising. Advertising affects me. For one, a depressed economy makes finding a job in advertising much more difficult. On the other hand, I have the opportunity to find small, unknown brands and breathe a constant, deep and creative breath on their sparks, to create a roaring fire once the economy picks up steam. I will find this opportunity and make it mine.

In doing this, I (and I will not be alone) will put money in the pockets of small business owners and revive the lifeblood of our country's monetary and employment problems.

We need optimism in times of pessimism.

Unknown said...

dan, i gotta be honest. i have no problem spending $100 dollars on renting a cotton candy machine for a photo shoot. i don't really have more than $200, but now we all know where $100 of it's going. and for those of you who would say this is not a solid investment, let's just think about where the rest of the atl was yesterday, when i was sloshing around in parking lots, with warm feet, in pink galoshes. that's right, they were galoshesless.the rest of the atl was without wellingtons. suckahs!

Unknown said...

i mean, really though, i am terrified. i am not getting any younger, and the means to be a sugarmama aren't getting to be any more attainable. . . . .and i have no idea how i am going to pay off thirty thousand in school loans. . . though i am pretty sure sock puppets will be involved. . .. sock puppets and an emissions inspection tent that looks like an Fing Moonbounce.