If the flattening isn't working is it time to face reality?

[kymom99]

I can't really imagine that. I remember going in and out. Our kid was born around 7 PM and by the time we could do anything the cafeteria was closed and only my wife could get a meal. I had to go out to get anything to eat. And I went home a few times because my wife forgot to bring a few things with her. I would have gone stir crazy in the hospital.

Things are not the way they were 6 weeks ago. A friend of mine in Tennessee had her little boy break his arm at the elbow. He had to have surgery. The father went into the hospital with him. Only one person allowed. They were allowed to switch places but if the dad left he was not allowed back in. They have 2 smaller children so the mom was unable to be with her son at all before surgery. She was understandably heart broken. She went home to the kids because she is breast feeding one of them. After the surgery she was able to see him.

 

[goofy4prez]

Elective surgeries can be many things. Need a hip replacement that is considered elective right now no matter how much pain you are in. Not happening until restrictions are lifted unless it becomes an emergency. Previous breast cancer patient due for your annual mammogram-nope elective, unless you are in an emergency state or dying you are not getting services right now. That is just a few of many examples. So many “elective” procedures need to be performed in a hospital but cannot be at this time due to covid restrictions. This is why hospitals are losing money rapidly, especially in areas that are not covid hotspots. My husband’s system is primarily caring for covid patients, maternity and end of life or emergency patients. There are many floors and departments that are pretty much empty because of the lack of patients which has led to huge layoffs and furloughs. Unfortunately all you hear about in the news is the hotspots and the staff shortages they have but not much is ever said about the reality of many healthcare systems that are not in hotspot areas and suffering financially.

I agree with this and with you, well said. Here in N.E. Ohio many nurses are not working their full shifts and being sent home. Many of the hospitals have furloughed hundreds of employees in their hospitals because the hospitals are empty. We were warned that even with stay at home orders we should expect to see up to 10,000 new cases per day in the state of Ohio and in reality we have a total of 14,500. We are at 649 total deaths. That is 649 too many, but still way less than the doom and gloom we were told.

With all this, my wife is a breast cancer survivor whose cancer was discovered with her annual mammogram exams. That exam saved her life. Her annual exam was scheduled for the end of March and was cancelled by her doctor and has been rescheduled for late July. Four months is a long time. How in the name of all that is good is this an elective procedure? Is my wife and I worried? You bet we are and rightfully so. I'm not going to complain about my cancelled cruise next month or our WDW trip in the fall. While it's disappointing, it's certainly not a matter of life and death; but my wife's mammogram certainly can be just that. End of rant.

 

[Notrealname]

Could all y’all posting about restrictions on medical procedures indicate what state you’re in. The situation varies from location to location.
DW had a follow up mammogram last week.
I have a follow up MRI next week, made the appointment a week ago. The only issue was the typical “peer interaction“ my physician needed to have with the insurer’s Dr. No.
We each had routine blood draws at the local branch of the mega lab also in the last couple weeks.
That was NJ.

 

[snappy]

Louisiana. Telemedicine appointment Thursday. Blood working here opening up next week under new protocols. Told I could schedule my bone density test in either May or June. I opted for June. Our dog needs to go in for annual vet visit. I am waiting on that for another month too.

 

[mousefan73]

Just want to comment I have tons of friends employed in the travel/ tourism/ meeting and events industries . Management level all furloughed until Aug31 st and most likely will be extended. All were making well over 5000 a month. Making Good money and the mortgages to reflect that. Unemployment just a drop a water on a hot stone. Will not keep them over water for long. Thank God most seem financially ok with savings etc. but if you lived paycheck to paycheck you are screwed. Cutting back on small things no problem but car payments / mortgages need to be paid or negotiated to move back.

one Friend commented her checks might cover their property taxes and partial mortgage. Rest from savings.

 

[morgan98]

I have disdain for? WTH are you talking about? Please provide a post which shows me showing disdain for anyone. If you can't, I expect an apology.

I am not apologizing, and maybe disdain is strong. But that came across as very flippant to people who may make as much or more than the unemployment benefit. A previous poster explained it to you.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I think what the poster was commenting on is that your post says:

“ But if you are making enough to reach the $713/wk limit, you are probably not laid off right now.”

They were trying to point out that that was not true. I read it the same way. For instance my husband works in IT for a major health care system. They have laid off or furloughed thousands of employees both direct patient care and management in the last three weeks who probably make more than $713 a week or even the $1613 with the extra $600. They are not working from home and not being paid. With elective procedures suspended in most states and being forced to care for primarily high cost/ low or little reimbursement covid cases they are going under financially. Thankfully my husband as of today is still working but that could easily change the longer everything is shutdown.

I am not sure if that is how you meant that statement to come across but that is how I read it too. I don’t know that I would call it disdain from you as the other poster said but I definitely would be offended if I was in that category of people making that amount of money and currently unemployed due to this pandemic and not by choice. Again I am not saying you meant it that way but that’s how it came across to me as well.

Well, I am in NJ and make far more than it would take to receive the full unemployment amount, so I obviously have no disdain for myself or people paid well. I used NJ because I live here, and it is the only state that pays unemployment well enough to get over the discussed threshold of $5k/mo.

People read into posts more than is there. It gets them offended over nothing. How about people ask for clarification instead of getting upset?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

never mind - won't make a difference

 

[billlaurie]

I agree that they need to pull back on the non-covid medical restrictions. The week before the stay at home orders went down my mother was diagnosed with carotid stenosis to a degree that she has an extremely high stroke risk. No surgery scheduled, however, because of all this. They will "watch" her instead. What, watch her have a stroke?
Also, not severe, but upsetting nonetheless, my daughter had her 12-week ultrasound for her first child and dad was not permitted to attend. Upsetting for him to miss this important milestone in the pregnancy and chance for a first time dad to connect.

 

[mousefan73]

One more comment. It’s recommend for people to have that 6 month safety net in savings. Now if people are able to even do that has been discussed many time in other threads.

i just want to comment to those furloughed in industries such as the travel/ meeting/ convention / mass gathering type industries. Most major events, concerts, conventions etc.are cancelled for this year.
My one friend was already furloughed back in March until August 31. There are many like her that I know this brings them to at least five months of savings if they even have that before they work again. The situation we’re in right now is totally new and traumatic it’s not a short-term situation but for many industries it’s long-term and there even savings is not gonna help you.

 

[msjprincess]

Could all y’all posting about restrictions on medical procedures indicate what state you’re in. The situation varies from location to location.
DW had a follow up mammogram last week.
I have a follow up MRI next week, made the appointment a week ago. The only issue was the typical “peer interaction“ my physician needed to have with the insurer’s Dr. No.
We each had routine blood draws at the local branch of the mega lab also in the last couple weeks.
That was NJ.

I was wondering the same thing.im in downstate NY and I just received an email last week from the radiologist saying they're open and not to forget to schedule my annual mammogram.

 

[TchrLady]

NJ gets there - we get up to $713/wk - with PUA that is $1313/wk or 5,252/mo. But if you are making enough to reach the $713/wk limit, you are probably not laid off right now.

I am going back to your original post because I still don’t think you see it. Your clarification post was that you only posted that NJ is the only state that pays enough to get to the $5000 mark. Yep it does say that. Your problem is that you finished your post with stating that people making that amount are probably not laid off now.

Well, I am in NJ and make far more than it would take to receive the full unemployment amount, so I obviously have no disdain for myself or people paid well. I used NJ because I live here, and it is the only state that pays unemployment well enough to get over the discussed threshold of $5k/mo.

People read into posts more than is there. It gets them offended over nothing. How about people ask for clarification instead of getting upset?

I read very well and do not need clarification and I did not read more into your post than was there. I never said I was offended personally but I don't think it was over nothing. Yes you did state that NJ pays unemployment well enough to get over $5000.
Your last sentence clearly says that you feel that if you are making enough money to get to the $713/wk limit you are probably not laid off. If that was not your intended thought then you need to clarify what you really meant because it says what it says. That is what the previous poster and I pointed out. I personally know many people who make well more than the amount needed to get to that limit and I can tell you that they are currently unemployed not by their own choice but because of the economic situation due to the shutdown of our country. That was my point. That is it.

 

[ronandannette]

One more comment. It’s recommend for people to have that 6 month safety net in savings. Now if people are able to even do that has been discussed many time in other threads...

...My one friend was already furloughed back in March until August 31. There are many like her that I know this brings them to at least five months of savings if they even have that before they work again. The situation we’re in right now is totally new and traumatic it’s not a short-term situation but for many industries it’s long-term and there even savings is not gonna help you.

Income disruptions of various kinds will not magically reverse themselves when the current lock-downs are lifted. I'm taking a salary-reduction at the end of the month based on the on-going revenue losses projected by my company. We're custom homebuilders and it's a long-game. The sales we're not making now means missed budget-targets as far out as a year from now. Even if the market rebounded tomorrow we're still screwed for a very long time. My DH is a commissioned salesman in a related field. Same exact scenario for him.

I greatly admire anybody who has always lived well beneath their means. They are really the only ones positioned to ride this out unscathed. We're certainly not, and while our accessible savings will subsidize our expenses for a time, they won't last forever. For now, we think we can keep the house, the cars and the bills paid but discretionary spending is a thing of the past until we figure out a way to permanently revise our budget to account for the income reduction.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Your last sentence clearly says that you feel that if you are making enough money to get to the $713/wk limit you are probably not laid off.

To receive the $713/wk you have to make an annual salary of $61,793.33. The vast majority of those out of work in NJ work in jobs that do not pay that much money.

Are there those who do make that much money? Absolutely. But I never said that there were none. I said that if you made that much you were probably not laid off right now. If you believe that to be untrue, show me stats that back up that assumption.

And if someone is upset that I said something that is factually correct, I really do not care.

 

[bcla]

Things are not the way they were 6 weeks ago. A friend of mine in Tennessee had her little boy break his arm at the elbow. He had to have surgery. The father went into the hospital with him. Only one person allowed. They were allowed to switch places but if the dad left he was not allowed back in. They have 2 smaller children so the mom was unable to be with her son at all before surgery. She was understandably heart broken. She went home to the kids because she is breast feeding one of them. After the surgery she was able to see him.

I just took my mother to the ER yesterday. She wanted me to go with her, but they wouldn't let me past the initial check-in tent. I've been to plenty of ERs before, and I've seen as many as 5 people there waiting for a single patient in the waiting room. I've gone into an ER exam room before. This was particularly frustrating. It would have been really frustrating for someone without a mobile phone.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

I greatly admire anybody who has always lived well beneath their means. They are really the only ones positioned to ride this out unscathed. We're certainly not, and while our accessible savings will subsidize our expenses for a time, they won't last forever. For now, we think we can keep the house, the cars and the bills paid but discretionary spending is a thing of the past until we figure out a way to permanently revise our budget to account for the income reduction.

The easiest way to live below your means is to not increase lifestyle with income. When we come out of this, try to do the same and your savings rate will increase quicker than you think.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

The easiest way to live below your means is to not increase lifestyle with income. When we come out of this, try to do the same and your savings rate will increase quicker than you think.

I agree - easiest way - every time you get a raise or bonus, have the extra amount automatically deposited into a separate account. You don't see it, it isn't there. Then 2-3 times/year, move funds from that account into investments.

That said, when the economy is running as strongly as it has been for the last 10 years, it is hard to imagine something this horrible coming, much less coming with no warning at all. This event blindsided the entire world. People who had no reason to be anything but optimistic about their financial future have had their world turned upside down.

This truly is tragic.

 

[ronandannette]

The easiest way to live below your means is to not increase lifestyle with income. When we come out of this, try to do the same and your savings rate will increase quicker than you think.

Sure, of course, yep. We've spent our entire careers building both a life and a lifestyle so that horse is fairly far from the original barn. We're aged 65 and 53 respectively. There's not really going to be much of a "when we come out of this".

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

I agree - easiest way - every time you get a raise or bonus, have the extra amount automatically deposited into a separate account. You don't see it, it isn't there. Then 2-3 times/year, move funds from that account into investments.

That said, when the economy is running as strongly as it has been for the last 10 years, it is hard to imagine something this horrible coming, much less coming with no warning at all. This event blindsided the entire world. People who had no reason to be anything but optimistic about their financial future have had their world turned upside down.

This truly is tragic.

We were in the longest bull run in stock market history. That should have been a huge red flag waving in everyone's faces that a recession should happen soon... it was just a question of what would be the trigger and who would be hardest hit.

True, these events were unprecedented but the same could be said about every recession. 2008 was the first recession that saw housing prices decrease significantly, 2000 was the dot com bubble, etc.

I'm sympathetic to those impacted as there are many industries that people thought were "recession proof" that are getting hit by this but it's a good reminder that all of us could be a month away from unemployment. Better to live below your means and reduce your dependence on employer income in good times than when dealing with the added stress of finding a new job.

 

[TchrLady]

To receive the $713/wk you have to make an annual salary of $61,793.33. The vast majority of those out of work in NJ work in jobs that do not pay that much money.

Are there those who do make that much money? Absolutely. But I never said that there were none. I said that if you made that much you were probably not laid off right now. If you believe that to be untrue, show me stats that back up that assumption.

And if someone is upset that I said something that is factually correct, I really do not care.

That is not what your original post said and I stand by what I said. You imply that people making above that amount aren’t laid off in your original post.

Now you are choosing to clarify further what you meant which is probably what you should have done in the first place.

I never disputed your facts because you didn’t clarify them until this post so not sure why the snarky comment Hitting the ignore button and moving on .