Bracing My Marriage for a Depressionby Courtney Mroch | More from this Blogger 07 Oct 2008 04:21 PM
Needless to say the number of banks going under, some of which have financed projects Wayne's worked on in the past, alarmed me. But yesterday I grew even more concerned. Causes for Concern It started when Today interviewed Jim Cramer of Mad Money fame. He said something about selling 20 percent of your stocks. Cash out and keep it on hand. I forget if it was Ann Curry or Matt Lauer who was interviewing him, but they were quite shocked by his bold statement. Then later that night on his show, he took it a step farther and advised selling enough to get you through the next five years. Especially if you're expecting any major expenditures, like paying for college tuition, buying a new vehicle, or retiring. He was genuinely concerned that the market is going to continue to decline and he was trying to offer suggestions to help people weather the financial storm that's a brewin'. All of this sort of frazzled me, but it literally hit home when Wayne informed me that thanks to all the hits the stock market's taken recently, our retirement portfolio has lost 40 percent. Gone. Vanished. Erased just like that. That freaked me out royal. I didn't sleep easy at all last night. Fearing a Depression Yes, losing money is scary. Especially money I know won't be easily replenished. And the real threat that Wayne might lose his job and the comfortable life we now live may have to change doesn't sit well. But we've lost money before. (Never this much, but we have done it.) He's been laid off before. We survived. (In fact, that summer was one of the best of our lives.) But what's really freaking me out is I don't know what's coming. I don't know how much worse it's going to get before it gets better. I'm convinced it eventually will get better, but will it be in 2009, 2010, or are we looking at years of rocky financial roads ahead? I don't know, and it's the unknown that's most frightening. However, afraid as I may be, I'm not going to turn tail and duck under the covers quivering. I plan to confront this fear head on. I plan to make all this benefit my marriage. How do I plan to accomplish that? I'm not entirely sure yet, but as they say: where there's a will, there's a way! Courtney Mroch also writes in Pets and Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here. Related Articles Recession Benefitting Your Marriage: Quality Time Together Recession Proof Your Marriage: Dinner Photo credit: Learn more about Courtney Mroch  Courtney Mroch is a wife, a proud pet parent, and a writer. She's been with her husband, high school sweetheart Wayne Pryor, over 20 years, married 11 of those. She's "mom" to Mr. Meow, a.k. Relevantmarriage tags User Comments  Jade Walker (964) 08 Oct 2008 06:46 AMI understand your concerns, Courtney, and I'm sure there are many other couples who are feeling the same way. Since money problems often destroy marriages, perhaps you could make some suggestions on how to strengthen one's relationship during tough economic times.  Courtney Mroch (9169) 08 Oct 2008 12:04 PMWe are once again simpatico, my kindred spirit. Your suggestion is exactly where I'm planning to head with all this. It's both cool and spooky we're on the same wavelength, you know that? Samual (11722) 08 Oct 2008 12:34 PMMy brother and his wife own a restaurant, so there wages are determined by the disposable incomes of others, so they are going through a tough time at the moment as are there staff. Courtney Mroch (9169) 08 Oct 2008 02:55 PMAre things getting bad on your side of the pond too, Samual? (I mean, from the sounds of this comment they are, but I was just wondering if your country's economy is the focus like ours is over here.) Community Tags depression, finances, marriage, money, the economy Discuss this article
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