Saturday, September 15, 2018

Ten years ago today

The beginning of the financial crisis
It was on this day a decade ago that Lehman Brothers collapsed. I remember it well: we had moved in the spring of 2008 to Bellingham, and I'd been retired for several months, with my retirement assets already converted into a monthly annuity income. Thank heavens for that! Although we lost hundreds of dollars of monthly income when everything was refigured in 2009, we still had so much more than those whose savings were wiped out.

Sometimes I wonder about what it would have been like for us if we'd retired a year later, in the midst of the financial crisis. We didn't have any idea of what was to come, nobody did (at least those of us not in the business), so we just hunkered down and rode it out. For one thing, I know that our assets would not have stretched nearly as far, since a third of our assets were in stocks. Today, we are back to the same monthly income of a decade ago, so it took a long time to recover, but we did. And although we don't have lots of money, we are able to pay our bills and not count pennies. I am more than a little grateful for our situation.

After having walked this morning with the ladies, Lily and I got home just in time to miss the rain.
Ornamental gourds for sale
We also admired these pretty fall gourds that were on display outside the grocery store. I think the ones in back, the large ones, are edible. I love this time of year, when pumpkins and squash become available once again. Hope you have a great weekend! Thinking of those in the Carolinas today, hoping they stay safe.
:-}

16 comments:

  1. Our investments too a hit. Thankfully though, we had government pensions because of our teaching careers and have enough to live on.

    I love the various squashes, roasted especially. My husband, not a real fan of them, will eat them when I cook the various types.. He wouldn’t waste them!

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  2. There have been many stories marking this sad anniversary. Some people have never recovered from that disaster.

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  3. We escaped relatively lightly here in Australia, for which I am grateful.
    Love the gourds - and I am a big fan of pumpkin and squash. Like Marie, my partner is not a fan.
    Have a wonderful week.

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  4. The housing market in Florida really took a hit... but things have recovered.

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  5. I pulled some money out in early Sept that year...I got nervous...it went into a savings acct...which gets almost nothing. and it is still there:)

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  6. Yes, the financial collapse had effects on many people's retirement funds, ours included...
    Good to know things are back on track.
    Love those little gourds, I always buy a basket full for Fall decorating :)
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  7. Meanwhile, the powers that be in Washington show they haven't learned a thing and are gleefully working to remove regulations.

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  8. I agree with William. We could see it again.

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  9. The news keeps telling us that we are under flash flood warnings but so far it's been a non-event. The folks on the coast weren't that lucky unfortunately.

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  10. I considered having annuities, but decided against it because I don't want to tie up my money. Anyway, you have every right to be happy with your situation in Washington. Blessings!

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  11. We went down, then went back up. It's okay as long as you don't have to cash out at the bottom. B has an annuity. I don't. Time will tell who's the smarter one. Meanwhile, we enjoy the pumpkins and everything else life has to offer.

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  12. I'm in the day, took a massive hit on real estate due to construction and demolition of thousands of trees next door to my holding. this has impacted me but I don't let it get me down. It just is and I can't change it.

    It's a changing world and nothing is guaranteed. I heard from banker friends that there is a coming collapse but who knows.

    XO
    WWW

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  13. I love fall and spring. In fall, it's apple picking and decorating your house with gourds and Indian corn and farmers markets. Sigh... I miss all that fun we used to have in Illinois. With no real change of seasons here in Hawaii, it's almost the same year around.

    We took a hit too, but I think we've diversified enough and Art always has his military retirement and I have my teaching pension that keeps us afloat.

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  14. Dear DJan, the squash at the back--the pale orange ones are delicious when baked or steamed as are the acorn squash to the left in the picture.

    I moved here in 2009 and it wasn't until then that I got an annuity. By then, I'd lost 1/3 of everything I had invested. A big hit. But so many people were left with so little. And now regulations are being loosened and this could all happen again. Peace.

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  15. It was real estate here that took the hit and is still coming back. Many people in our neighborhood lost their homes due to taking out such large, poorly done mortgages. We never did that, we never saw our home as a bank account as so many did. We paid off our house and can do lots of things since we have no mortgage or rent payment.

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