Monday, September 29, 2008

What a Mess

I could sit here and blog about some mundane thing happening in my life: work, home, the cats, etc. but, the more I've been thinking about it, the more I realize I can't.

Our bank got bought out today. Pete and I have been keeping our eyes on Wachovia for quite a few months now. We've got two banks, one for our direct deposits and checking account for day to day living (i.e. bills) and the other (Wachovia) for our savings. It was announced today that Citigroup will be buying out Wachoiva's multi-billion dollar assets and bad debt. Great.  (see: Citigroup buys Wachovia bank assets for $2.2B)

On the heels of finding out about Wachovia, I just learned that the Dow closed the day down almost 800 points because the bailout talks/deal had failed.  I'm absolutely sick.

Needless to say, Pete and I are worried, very worried. We're taking care of our finances in ways that I never dreamt that we would. We're watching every dollar, both in and out. We've put away most of our credit cards and, if we don't have it in the checking account, we're not buying.  We're cutting back on groceries and have gotten ahead on our truck payment by two months. Next month we're squeezing out two mortgage payments. God only knows if we'll need those buffers or not but, it's giving us a smidgen of peace of mind.

Pete and I have been talking at great lengths about the state of the Union. Many people have their fingers in their ears and have their eyes closed. Many people say that the worst can't happen. Many people don't care, don't want to care, or don't have the means or wherewith all to care. But, we do, and we're battening down the hatches. I pray that our little ship is tight, sound, solidly built, and well maintained and can weather this storm of storms. The waves keep crashing.

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