Question for Americans
 

Can you please explain to me what kind of influence to everyday life will have current economic situation (credit downgrade) for normal people,average americans?

Absolutely none in the immediate future. Aside from having a few CDs that used to get 5%+ interest and now get next to nothing I really haven't felt the squeeze.

last year i felt a little bit of the downturn, but i adapted and things are better this year than the last 2-3 years..

i dont know where all this suffering is i hear about.. other than foreclosures, i dont see a rise in homeless people or restaurants less crowded..



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for your every day guy - nothing.

my dad who works the city has seen a pay cut (taking incentive pay away that they got for having certain certificates that they really didnt even use and instead of investing his retirement plans alot of the employees made calls today to move all the investments to safe areas

I expect the interest rates on home loans to jump up a bit in the near future. This could stall home loan purchases for a while. Also, retirement portfolios may be dropping a bit once again.

a lot of people i know pulled all their money out of the market in the last month knowing that this would probably happen and after going through this shit a few years ago where they saw their portfolios lose 40-60% worth in a year..

some people seemed to have learned their lesson..



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I thought they would raise rates too. But S&P warned they might drop us to AA if interest rates go up and we dont cut spending like we said in the debt deal.

I haven't seen much change where I live.

When I shop, there are plenty of people in the stores.

I haven't seen an increase in "for sale/foreclosure" signs.

I can't say how people are funding their spending, credit/cash or both but for myself, if I want a service or product, its been cash only for years. So economically, the only difference I've seen are poor savings rates and less to save each month.

Smart folks! I kept my funds in as I have most of my funds to a balanced long term approach (being as I'm only 30). Ive been withholding contributions for 3 months though, as I too saw this coming, opting to place those funds into a "high yield" savings instead.

Also, I got the underwriter approval on my new home last week, with a rate lock, and an option to slide to a lower rate if one is available. IllTestYourGirls, that makes total sense. Right now, I think we'll be in a wait and see mode for at least the next couple weeks in regards to interest rates. A dip in home purchases would really put the brakes on the minor recovery we've seen in that market. :2 cents:

the streets will run red with your blood and the blood of your fellow tribesmen. the sky will grow black with the smoke of your burning towns. dick cheney will spontaneously combust, rise far into the sky and spread his flaming wings

Unemployment will not improve or will get worse. Demand for discretionary spending items will decline reducing consumption. Idle factories, less imports, less jobs ...

Less people spending less porn sales ...

Aren't interest rates really low right now any how?

since the first time i was made aware of the concept of "credit cards" i knew they were a scam. same with loans and ALL that "spend money you aint got" type of shit.
This will affect me in no way.
but most americans will be FUCKED.

It will have absolutely no effect on the average fat, stupid, Walmart shopping, Jerry Springer watching, Fox News worshiping turd. I doubt the dollar menu at McDonalds will be affected at all so there will be no outrage.

Was that the proper use of effect and affect?

Also, the current and future financial meltdown is the easiest play in the history of the world. Anyone with 2 brain cells saw this coming from a mile away. All you have to do is simply open your eyes. You have to be completely blind to think this country of emasculated dumbed down blobs of flesh will ever be able to compete globally. Half the country is so retarded they are cheering the mass murders in the Middle East because they believe that it will trigger WWIII and then Jesus will come back to "rapture" them. I am not joking it is almost half the population who believes this.

i have been reading about a 2 trillion error in their calculations.. you know if this warning involved their fixing their calculations when they think about the drop to AA?

Any idea what % of Americans have variable rate mortgages? Most people I know have fixed rate mortgages, being as many refinanced or purchased after the ARM fallout frenzy.

It's more of a psychological thing than anything. Worry when people no longer want to immigrate to the US. You know you've hit the beginning of the end then. So far, no chance of that happening. The US still continues to attract the world's best and brightest.

nothing.

:thumbsup

The 21% was my concern as well. Contemplated a partial withdrawl from my SEP yesterday, but the DOW climbed back up today. At the end of the day, I thankfully didn't take much of a ding. Staying with the long term balanced strategy and hoping to ride it out. If the US survives this rough patch, I think we may pull out alright a few years down the road.

In the words of Warren Buffet: Buy when everyone else is fearful and sell when everyone is greedy. This is the essence of successful investing. :thumbsup