Sara Clemence
Dealing with Debt: Mortgages
In this economy, things change fast. One day you have job, the next you don’t. Companies fold within days. Investments evaporate.
In a recent story about how to handle a layoff, we suggested that you take a look at your finances—particularly what you owe—so that you can start planning. But that actually holds true for everyone these days.
Most of us have some sort of debt. And even if you have a job, the bonus you normally rely on to pay off credit card bills has probably shrunk or vanished. Freelancers and consultants still have student loan obligations, even as their gigs are being cut. Many people are taking salary reductions, but continue to carry mortgages. And just how secure is your job, anyway?
Meanwhile, as credit markets shift at lightning speed, it’s not easy to find up-to-date information. So we’re doing it for you, compiling the most current advice on managing debt, starting with mortgages.
The Just-Laid-Off Checklist
I used to complain that my parents never taught me how to negotiate for a pay raise. Turns out, that wasn’t my only knowledge gap—nobody told me how to navigate a pay elimination. I’m not just talking about what to do with the severance papers and your 401 (k), but how to feel like the world hasn’t been turned inside-out. Here’s my hard-won advice for the first hours, days, and weeks after a layoff.
Call the most sympathetic person in your life. This may or may not be your mother. Save anyone who is prone to freakouts for later in the day—or year. (My grandfather thinks it’s my fault I got laid off, which is one reason I’ve been “too busy” to visit.) Call the person who is going to listen, commiserate, stroke your ego, and think no less of you if you cry. That last part goes double if you’re a dude.
Lemonade Maker: James Young, Digital Prospector
Profiles of people who are seeing opportunity in a pile of economic lemons.
James Young
East Hampton, N.Y.
Before recession: Commercial real estate broker
Now: Co-founder of Rosehip Partners, a Hamptons real estate business
In the Hamptons, one of the most privileged parts of the country, the real estate boom is firmly at an end. The number of sales was down 40 percent in 2008. Prices are being slashed on multi-million-dollar mansions. Lavish spec houses sit empty.
It would seem like the worst possible time to start a real estate company. But last summer, James Young and Joe Kazickas founded Rosehip Partners, an agency that covers the east end of Long Island, from West Hampton to Montauk. In September, as the recession was gathering speed, they unveiled their website, HamptonsRentals.com.
The Upside of the Dow’s Turn
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to a six-year low yesterday and has sunk lower today, which would seem to be bad news any way you cut it. Even smart equity bargain-hunters we know are staying away, saying they have no feel for where the bottom of the market is.
There are small (very small) advantages to a down index, though. Restaurants and bars around the country have tied their prices to the stock market as a recession marketing tool. You’ve probably stopped checking your 401(k) balance, but on days when you know it’s taken a dive, you can drown your sorrows in cheap food and drink. Caveat: Since most of these joints are trying to drum up business during off-hours, you might have to start as trading ends.
Plane Folly
This year, Stephen Schwarzman’s birthday was a much more modest affair than in 2007, when he cemented his position as poster child for hedge fund excess. His 60th birthday bash was said to have cost $3 million and included a performance by Rod Stewart.
Yesterday, we’re told, Blackstone Group employees were invited to a giant boardroom for a brief roast and some cake. But it wasn’t all humble pie. Huge flat-screens in the rooms displayed the birthday invitation—a map showing the many miles Schwarzman had traveled in the last year, complete with cute little pictures of private planes.
Simple Ticket Savings
Kiplinger’s just released a story on how to easily save $50 a day, or a total of $18,250 a year. It won’t change your life–several of the tips we’ve heard before (like buying energy-efficient light bulbs); many others don’t apply to urban dwellers who take a lot of public transportation and don’t eat at Cheesecake Factory.
But this one about event tickets was a pleasant surprise.
Productive Loafing: Puppy Love
Underemployed? Recessionwire offers ideas for making the most of your newfound free time.
A friend of mine has a lot of time on his hands these days—not because he’s been laid off, but because the company he founded is doing so well. He’s been taking cooking classes, doing yoga, and puppy-sitting. Not just any puppies; he’s helping care for dogs who are being trained as guides for the blind.
Screwed: 850 at BMW
A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.
BMW will shed 850 jobs at Mini plant in the U.K….Wal-Mart is closing a product return center in Macon, Ga., laying off about 400.
Recession Briefing 2.16
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Anna Wintour: “Value is In” (WSJ)
When the editor of Vogue rails against consumerism, the economy must be in a tailspin.
Job Losses Pose a Threat to Stability Worldwide (NY Times)
Worldwide job losses from the recession that started in the United States in December 2007 could hit a staggering 50 million by the end of 2009. High unemployment rates have led to protests in countries as varied as Latvia, Chile, Greece, Bulgaria and Iceland and contributed to strikes in Britain and France.
White House Dampens Stimulus Expectations (Reuters)
Aides warned Americans on Sunday not to expect instant miracles from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill he will sign this week, but said it would help eventually.
Stimulation for Everyone!
Late last night, the final draft of the $789 billion economic stimulus bill went up on the web for public review; it’s supposed to go to President Obama on Monday. The thing is more than 1,000 pages long, and it should be no surprise that’s there seems to be something in it for everyone. No matter whether you’re young, old, working, jobless, poor, comfortable, renting, buying, you’ll see some benefit too! Here are some of the highlights we’ve seen so far.
Special Sections
