Recession stories

As he nears the end of the line for his Man in a Van Project, Aaron Heideman of Grants Pass, Ore. has only begun to process the stories he gleaned from his cross-country recession odyssey. After losing jobs himself due to the sour economy-not once, but twice-the 29-year-old set out to chronicle the...

While watching the financial world basically go to all hell, I feel like a zebra running from a lion in the hopes that he'll snatch someone else in the herd. I've only been in the workforce for a couple years, and like me, most people my age probably dodged a few major bullets recently. I didn't...

My husband has a great job in a stable industry, but he's 63. Two years ago, we thought by this year he'd be officially retired -- doing a little consulting, but taking the winter off so we could spend the cold months somewhere warm. I have a home-based business that has always offered flexibility....

The U.S. economy is in meltdown mode. Or maybe it's more like a lockdown, since the credit markets are essentially frozen. Job losses are on the rise. The real estate bubble has burst. Home foreclosures continue to mount. Gas prices remain high. People are feeling wary and uncertain. About the only...

When it comes to dealing with the personal impact of economic forces, I'm a little out of touch. For most of the last ten years, I lived in the comforting, semi-socialistic embrace of academia, which means that I was able to pretend that ups and downs in the market didn't really matter to me. As an...

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession. One of my friends is in charge of marketing at a nearby mall, and works closely with their kids program. The program provides fun activities for children, during which parents can either put on a tiara or spend time shopping...

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession. My idea of a perfect coffee house is one that offers great java, free WiFi, comfortable chairs, electrical outlets, and not too many customers. I like a place that has enough traffic to stay in business, but not so much that...