How many people here are in danger of losing there job?

[Chesire]

One thing I notice and maybe its a Colorado Springs thing. None of the retail or fast food stores it seems have help wanted signs in the window or on the their signs.  I always keep my eyes open in case I need to make a few hundred bucks quick for unplanned expenses.

[Lady L.]

My manager said that my job is recession-proof because people will always need knives. (I sell really high-quality knives). I have my doubts about that, since the knives are so expensive, but if people are PO aware, they'll prefer these knives over the junky ones in dollar stores, because they last forever.

Cutco?  LOL.  I sold knives when I was 18 yrs old the summer after my HS graduation.

Lots of my students sell Cutco. When I first started teaching, I made the mistake once of letting one of them do their presentation for me. I felt so bad for him I bought a pen knife--cheapest thing they had. 80 bucks, for a pen knife! Now, when they ask me, I say, "sorry--don't do cutco..."

You know, you don't have to buy or anything. . .sorry, got that sales pitch stuck in my head. LOL.

Suspect Zero, can I e-mail you?

[Chuck F. Ertoff]

What about internet?

I have some relatives nearby, maybe within 802.11 range, given the right equipment.  I'll have to see how all that shakes out... Hell, I may just opt to do without.

[pdxbiker]

I work in a hospital clinical laboratory. Since most hospitals in today's healthcare industry get most of their revenues from the government, job security for employees that produce income is quite high. There are always plenty of openings for nurses and at good pay. There is a catch, though. The hospital that I work at is undergoing a major facelift/addition. It is starting to look more like a fortress. The hospital's administration also puts a lot of effort into disaster drills. At the last drill, they said that no one would have to go home because the hospital would have the means to look after the employee's kids and pets. Looks like a Fedgetto in the making. I know for sure that I don't want to be working here WTSHTF.

[Chuck F. Ertoff]

This is pretty cool.  I'm saving money for some raw land (hopefully by the end of this year).  But I figured I'd need supplies and there will be no shelter so probably have to live in a tent or a yurt, or a modified shipping container.  Then I'd have to find a well or a pond or a lake nearby.  There probably won't be electricity until I get solar panels.  Also, the raw land won't have any or not much edible plants or food, so need to save money for a year or two of food as well while waiting for the plants to grow.

Let us know how it goes and how you get the raw land into shape as far as how long it takes you to get the garden set up and the house built or your shelter.  How many people are living with you on your raw land?  Are you living in a tent now or somewhere else?  It would be interesting to see the step by step outline of buying land and getting it to the point where you can live off it.  Are you in a really cold area?

Yep, all those things have to be addressed here too....starting almost from scratch.   I like that, though. 

My grandfather and father used to tend (but not own) this field decades ago-when there was a little bit of a living to be made in cotton and tobacco.  Surprisingly, it's not all that worn out or eroded.  It's only a stone's throw from the old family farm where a dozen or so relatives still live.  That's why I was willing to buy this place without an existing water source on it.  Less than 1/4 mile away I have access to 3 deep wells, one shallow well and two ponds.  I still plan on sinking at least a shallow well on my place and using a hand pump & a Berkey.  Electricity won't be one of my first priorities. 

I'm in east central Georgia, so summers are hot as hell and winters are mild though slightly unpredictable.   I'm living with relatives at the moment and probably will remain here through the summer.   By that time, I should have a pole barn up, and I'm going to park my already-converted school bus and a travel trailer under it for living quarters.   I like shipping containers for storage and workshop space, and I'd like to have a 20-footer right now.  But I used to work for a port authority so I say the hell with living in a can unless it's a "new" one (a one-tripper), and they're prohibitively expensive.   Once a container is old enough to be affordable, you just never know what kind of toxic crap has been in there (and shippers are really creative with the toxic stuff).

I'm in the middle of planting my mother's garden right now, so I haven't expended much energy on planning how to set up my place....the closing was only last week, anyhow.   The wheels they are a-turning, though.....  I like what they're doing (on far less land) at Path to Freedom.

I can get it to a certain point with accumulated savings and resources.  I think, though, that at some point I'll want to find some sort of outside part-time work--if for no other reason than to offset what I'm drawing down.  Having less money as a result of buying a tangible, productive asset like land and is one thing, but I hate to see balances just dribble away from everyday expenses, even if it is just digital representations of debt certificates that we're talking about.

[islandgirl]

I like shipping containers for storage and workshop space, and I'd like to have a 20-footer right now.  But I used to work for a port authority so I say the hell with living in a can unless it's a "new" one (a one-tripper), and they're prohibitively expensive.   Once a container is old enough to be affordable, you just never know what kind of toxic crap has been in there (and shippers are really creative with the toxic stuff).

Thanks Chuck, I never considered that part.  Damn, I guess I'll have to do the tent thing.  I need to think about it more carefully before I attempt it.  It does sound like you'll do ok, and I really wish you well.  You're really brave like some of the folks on this forum who go off and start homesteads from scratch.  Good luck.

[max_power]

My manager said that my job is recession-proof because people will always need knives. (I sell really high-quality knives). I have my doubts about that, since the knives are so expensive, but if people are PO aware, they'll prefer these knives over the junky ones in dollar stores, because they last forever.

Warning! Vector/Cutco is a pyramid/ponzi multlevel marketing scheme. Stay away from them and Amyway, Primerica, All mortgage companies, etc.

Cutco does have awesome knives though.

[rbrgs]

I did the tent thing, and it didn't stop raining for 6 weeks.  It was worth it, though--the money not spent on rent got a 8' X 16' cabin up by the second month.

[islandgirl]

I did the tent thing, and it didn't stop raining for 6 weeks.  It was worth it, though--the money not spent on rent got a 8' X 16' cabin up by the second month.

I don't mind the tent thing, just the hot shower part (ok, I might just settle for cold clean water in buckets).  Did you jump in a lake during those 6 weeks or not bathe at all?  We went camping once, and didn't bathe for 3 days. 

Lady L. I still have my cutco knives and they're still sharp.  I think my kit was $135 back then.  At least that's better than selling Kirby (overpriced vacuums), I hated lugging that thing around door to door.  LOL, my summer adventures at 18, sigh...the good old days of being chased by dogs and cats, and wild pigs. 

[rbrgs]

5 gal stainless steel pot and a big propane burner, pour water over head with sausepan.  Once I had 2 PV panels and a pump, I got a paloma (flow-thru propane water heater), this is much more efficient than the pot method.

A 55 gal drum full of water will get quite warm if it's in the sun all day.

[Chuck F. Ertoff]

There's also this: http://store.sundancesolar.com/sosh5ga.html

They work tolerably well. 

To go with: http://dervaesinstitute.org/photogallery/Solar/Solar%20Shower/slides/newsolarshower-1.html

Unemployment is no excuse for being nasty. 

[EastcoastJD]

Got a new job, though not as a practicing attorney, but that's a good thing.  I'll be working with a startup company that sells and installs commercial and residential solar power systems (both thermal and electric).  I'll be doing energy audits, sales, design, and perhaps some legal work as well.  Getting in at the ground floor.  Wish me luck!

[StrangeFire]

Ran into someone at lunch from another department in my University. She said they've lost a couple people in their dept and got the message that more cuts are coming. So far, though, from what I've seen, they are only firing folks who had bad performance reviews, anyway. I haven't heard of any really good, solid employees being let go. That may be coming, though.

[warwgn]

we are expanding at work, so I am plenty safe.

[Chesire]

Whats a job ?