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$$$ Economy Watch $$$
‘Scary’ economic times call for brave solutions
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Clevelanders find ways to deal with the country’s financial crisis
By Douglas J. Guth
Senior Staff Reporter
When it comes to assessing today’s economy, perhaps billionaire investor Warren Buffett said it best and simplest: “The financial world is a mess,” he wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed piece.
Buffett expects more “scary headlines” to come as the federal government digs its way out of a crisis that has trickled down into the day-to-day lives of ordinary Americans. Four Jewish Clevelanders shared their experiences in this ever-evolving story:
Monica Silver is a single, 27-year employee of General Electric at Nela Park in East Cleveland. The self-described “PowerPoint queen” is art director for GE’s consumer GE’s consumer marketing and sales teams. As the economy worsened, Silver, 50, had her overtime cut, which means she must finish all she used to do in a 12-hour day in eight hours … or work for free.
Silver’s worries increase as the nation’s financial situation worsens. The South Euclid resident wonders what she will do if GE sells its lighting business, a possibility that had been in the news earlier this year. Silver has survived five downsizings in her nearly three decades with the company; she doesn’t know for sure if she will make it through a sixth.
Her uncertain employment future, and a 401(k) down to nearly half its value from two years ago, has led Silver to prepare for the worst. Every paycheck goes into her 401(k) and credit union accounts, she notes; the bare remainder she uses for everyday expenses.
That means filling her gas tank only halfway. It also means going out socially just once a month and organizing potluck dinners at friends’ homes the rest of the time.
“I think not just twice, but three or four times before I consider driving across town to visit friends that live more than a freeway exchange or two away,” Silver admits.
Silver earns a bit of extra money by renting out the second floor of a two-family home she owns. She makes as many of her own repairs on her home as she can.
Her life, she says, is becoming a constant refrain of, “Can I afford this?”
Rising food prices keep Silver away from Heinen’s and other higher-end grocery stores. Instead, she shops at Marc’s or Aldi’s, a chain that touts small, no-frills outlets and low prices. And instead of spending $100 on a pair of boots, she will buy footwear at perhaps one-third of that price at an outlet store.
Silver is confident the economy will turn around, but she’s not expecting any quick fix even after a new president is sworn into office. “I think we’ll weather the storm,” she predicts. “It’s just a matter of how many more shoes are going to drop.”
…
While gas prices have fallen to under $2 a gallon in some places, area residents are not necessarily returning to their old driving habits. Laurel Johnson, 30, started a carpool this summer with three co-workers from her Beachwood-based website and media design company.
A recruiting coordinator for the firm, Johnson also works as an actress. She moved to Lakewood last spring to be near the theater scene there. Johnson estimates that carpooling to Beachwood saves her about $100 in gas each month.
Johnson also cooks more at home. She packs leftovers for lunch or for dinners at after-work rehearsals. If Johnson goes out for a bite after rehearsals, “I try to order the bare minimum,” she says.
...
In response to escalating grocery and fuel costs, Elissa Berman’s family cut its food budget in half. Berman, 39, of South Euclid, scans the website couponmom.com to get information about what’s on sale and where.
Keeping kosher, adds Berman, has been especially difficult due to the rising price of kosher meat. “We still maintain kashrut, but we can’t go to the butcher as much.”
Stretching the food budget means eating less meat and cooking more pasta- or bean-based meals that can last for a couple of days. The family also has the occasional “breakfast for dinner” of pancakes and scrambled eggs.
Slashing the food budget so significantly has not been easy: “It’s not a perfect system,” Berman admits. “We do the best we can” from month to month.
A Jewish educator, Berman also works evenings as a therapist in private practice. Her husband Alan drives a truck for a flooring company and is currently searching for a second part-time job.
The financially tight times have trickled down to the Bermans’ 10-year-old twins, Elon and Eliana. The children, students at Gross Schechter Day School, now do their homework at Berman’s office instead of at their school’s pricey after-care program.
“Our kids understand the situation,” says Berman. “They are becoming frugal.”
The most difficult aspect of the Bermans’ new lifestyle is not being able to visit Alan’s two daughters from a previous marriage, contends Elissa. The family would usually drive once a month to Maryland where the girls live.
The expenses of the journey – gas, food and hotel room – have made the monthly excursion untenable. Elissa plans to drive to Maryland in a couple of weeks to bring her husband’s kids back to Cleveland for Thanksgiving.
“We struggle with that,” she admits. “The girls miss their dad and want him to come” to Maryland more often.
…
Wayne Mayer’s wife and two children are in Durham, N.C., while Mayer has a temporary position teaching biology at John Carroll University. Mayer, 38, is living at the University Heights home of his parents, Kathe and Jim Mayer, until his contract expires at the end of the school year.
Mayer initially returned to Cleveland to help take care of his ill father. However, the faltering economy has made it difficult for him to find a more permanent job.
Weary of shuttling back and forth from Cleveland to Durham, Mayer hopes to find a position with a large non-governmental organization (NGO) or university since his background is in forestry and conservation biology with a focus on sustainable development.
Recently, Mayer turned down a position at a small nonprofit in Denver because housing costs there are double what he is paying in Durham. Ideally, he would like to find a job in Durham or Cleveland, but geography is not a constraint.
“I’m mindful of the ‘economy of scale,’” Mayer explains. “Would a salary that does well (in Cleveland) do well in California or Florida?”
The latter consideration is especially important if Mayer found a job and had to sell his Durham home, probably at a loss.
“It would be nice to be near my parents, but I won’t hold myself to that, given the current economic situation,” he says.
dguth@cjn.org
Buffett expects more “scary headlines” to come as the federal government digs its way out of a crisis that has trickled down into the day-to-day lives of ordinary Americans. Four Jewish Clevelanders shared their experiences in this ever-evolving story:
Monica Silver is a single, 27-year employee of General Electric at Nela Park in East Cleveland. The self-described “PowerPoint queen” is art director for GE’s consumer GE’s consumer marketing and sales teams. As the economy worsened, Silver, 50, had her overtime cut, which means she must finish all she used to do in a 12-hour day in eight hours … or work for free.
Silver’s worries increase as the nation’s financial situation worsens. The South Euclid resident wonders what she will do if GE sells its lighting business, a possibility that had been in the news earlier this year. Silver has survived five downsizings in her nearly three decades with the company; she doesn’t know for sure if she will make it through a sixth.
Her uncertain employment future, and a 401(k) down to nearly half its value from two years ago, has led Silver to prepare for the worst. Every paycheck goes into her 401(k) and credit union accounts, she notes; the bare remainder she uses for everyday expenses.
That means filling her gas tank only halfway. It also means going out socially just once a month and organizing potluck dinners at friends’ homes the rest of the time.
“I think not just twice, but three or four times before I consider driving across town to visit friends that live more than a freeway exchange or two away,” Silver admits.
Silver earns a bit of extra money by renting out the second floor of a two-family home she owns. She makes as many of her own repairs on her home as she can.
Her life, she says, is becoming a constant refrain of, “Can I afford this?”
Rising food prices keep Silver away from Heinen’s and other higher-end grocery stores. Instead, she shops at Marc’s or Aldi’s, a chain that touts small, no-frills outlets and low prices. And instead of spending $100 on a pair of boots, she will buy footwear at perhaps one-third of that price at an outlet store.
“I think not just twice, but three or four times, before I consider driving across town.”
Monica Silver, South Euclid
The “scary thing” about her situation, notes Silver, is that she knows she’s “one of the lucky ones out there in this economy.” She has acquaintances whose homes are in foreclosure or who are otherwise struggling to get by.Monica Silver, South Euclid
Silver is confident the economy will turn around, but she’s not expecting any quick fix even after a new president is sworn into office. “I think we’ll weather the storm,” she predicts. “It’s just a matter of how many more shoes are going to drop.”
…
While gas prices have fallen to under $2 a gallon in some places, area residents are not necessarily returning to their old driving habits. Laurel Johnson, 30, started a carpool this summer with three co-workers from her Beachwood-based website and media design company.
A recruiting coordinator for the firm, Johnson also works as an actress. She moved to Lakewood last spring to be near the theater scene there. Johnson estimates that carpooling to Beachwood saves her about $100 in gas each month.
Johnson also cooks more at home. She packs leftovers for lunch or for dinners at after-work rehearsals. If Johnson goes out for a bite after rehearsals, “I try to order the bare minimum,” she says.
...
In response to escalating grocery and fuel costs, Elissa Berman’s family cut its food budget in half. Berman, 39, of South Euclid, scans the website couponmom.com to get information about what’s on sale and where.
Keeping kosher, adds Berman, has been especially difficult due to the rising price of kosher meat. “We still maintain kashrut, but we can’t go to the butcher as much.”
Stretching the food budget means eating less meat and cooking more pasta- or bean-based meals that can last for a couple of days. The family also has the occasional “breakfast for dinner” of pancakes and scrambled eggs.
Slashing the food budget so significantly has not been easy: “It’s not a perfect system,” Berman admits. “We do the best we can” from month to month.
A Jewish educator, Berman also works evenings as a therapist in private practice. Her husband Alan drives a truck for a flooring company and is currently searching for a second part-time job.
The financially tight times have trickled down to the Bermans’ 10-year-old twins, Elon and Eliana. The children, students at Gross Schechter Day School, now do their homework at Berman’s office instead of at their school’s pricey after-care program.
“Our kids understand the situation,” says Berman. “They are becoming frugal.”
The most difficult aspect of the Bermans’ new lifestyle is not being able to visit Alan’s two daughters from a previous marriage, contends Elissa. The family would usually drive once a month to Maryland where the girls live.
The expenses of the journey – gas, food and hotel room – have made the monthly excursion untenable. Elissa plans to drive to Maryland in a couple of weeks to bring her husband’s kids back to Cleveland for Thanksgiving.
“We struggle with that,” she admits. “The girls miss their dad and want him to come” to Maryland more often.
…
Wayne Mayer’s wife and two children are in Durham, N.C., while Mayer has a temporary position teaching biology at John Carroll University. Mayer, 38, is living at the University Heights home of his parents, Kathe and Jim Mayer, until his contract expires at the end of the school year.
Mayer initially returned to Cleveland to help take care of his ill father. However, the faltering economy has made it difficult for him to find a more permanent job.
Weary of shuttling back and forth from Cleveland to Durham, Mayer hopes to find a position with a large non-governmental organization (NGO) or university since his background is in forestry and conservation biology with a focus on sustainable development.
Recently, Mayer turned down a position at a small nonprofit in Denver because housing costs there are double what he is paying in Durham. Ideally, he would like to find a job in Durham or Cleveland, but geography is not a constraint.
“I’m mindful of the ‘economy of scale,’” Mayer explains. “Would a salary that does well (in Cleveland) do well in California or Florida?”
The latter consideration is especially important if Mayer found a job and had to sell his Durham home, probably at a loss.
“It would be nice to be near my parents, but I won’t hold myself to that, given the current economic situation,” he says.
dguth@cjn.org
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