my personal economic story..and why Obama will win.

[scheming daemons]

Some personal data here.

Between Sept 1, 2008 and Mar 9, 2009... just 6 months... the value of my 401k fell from $210,000 to $130,000.

My kid's college 529 fund (she was in 9th grade at the time) had dropped from $29,000 to $16,000.

The value of my home plummeted from about $250,000 to $180,000 and put me under water.

In just 6 months.

Years of building these accounts was wiped out by Bush's collapse.

Now, I realize that I was (and am) much better off than most, but I think I was a typical upper middle class person.

March 9, which happens to be my anniversary, is the day the stimulus passed.

Since that time....

My 401k has jumped back up and is over $300,000.

My kid's 529 got up to $49,000 and she is a freshman in college and I think we'll actually afford it.

I refinanced my home last month and it was appraised at $275,000.

My wife started a new job 8 months ago at 20% more than she was making before.


Things are DRASTICALLY better for me under Obama. And I believe they are better for millions of others as well.


I have been fortunate... but I saw how the Bush recession almost made me lose everything.

And 70% of the people advising Romney worked for Bush.

I can't afford another Republican Presidency.

And neither can America.

Thank you, Barack Obama. Godspeed.

[tk2kewl]

1. I hear you, brother!

Last edited Thu Oct 18, 2012, 03:40 PM - Edit history (1)

My experience is pretty similar, however...

I made the mistake of jumping on the credit bandwagon right before the collapse. I sold one of 2 houses I owned for 4x what I had paid for it in the early 90s and thought I would leverage the equity in my other house to build my family our dream home.

Right after we got the foundation in and were beginning the framing, our credit line was pulled and we almost bankrupted our little family trying to finish the project.

We had to move in before the house was finished and rent the other one out quick to stop the bleeding. The rent didn't cover the cost of carrying the other house and we were still bleeding big bucks every month.

We tried to sell the other house and couldn't even get any action - even with it priced $120,000 below what we paid for it in 2003.

Finally, over the last year, we have been able to do some refinancing and get higher rent on the other house. That, along with a loan from my 401K finally has us back on a solid footing. Phew!!

FYI...
the dream house got a HERS Rating of 38 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_energy_rating
super insulated, super energy efficient, geothermal heat, the works

If anyone is curious...
Construction pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/102536162170163114327/HouseConstruction
Finished pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/102536162170163114327/InsideTheFinishedProduct

[HipChick]

2. K&R!