Sandwich Generation Squeezed by Downturn

soundtracks

+1

soundtracks of AL @ Jul 17, 2009 07:29:50 AM

Fifties Shaping Up To Be Tough

Hadn't counted on needing to care for my mother and mother-in-law while my daughter was away at college. I had always assumed my fifties would be an enjoyable mix of work and leisure travel.

Now it's looking like my wife and I will be paying for in-home care AND college at the same time, which means a lot more work to earn the dollars required and little, if any, leisure travel.

Bright side is I'm highly motivated to stay healthy so I can travel during my sixties. Mark; www.linkedin.com/in/markcoleman1

Mark of OR @ May 24, 2009 12:28:27 PM

other side of the bread

Thankfully, both sets of our parents are healthy and financially prepared for the rest of their lives (in their 80's.) We do help them more and more with transportation, handling things that have become more taxing on them,etc.

Right now it is the other side of the sandwich that I'm trying to keep up with. Our plan had always been that it was important to us to help our children provide the extras for our grandchildren. This has been a priority and we've derived a great deal of pleasure from it. My son-in-law is a school teacher with a master's degree,sports official, and has a summer job. He also picks up odd jobs once in a while (like delivering pizza.) He and my daughter head the children's programs at church. My daughter works part-time while her mother-in-law and I help babysit the two pre-schoolers. She has a business degree and owned a Kindermusik business until the economy impacted it to the point she had to close down. We have two grandchildren in elementary school also. In other words, they are very hard working and doing their best to live without debt other than 1 car and house payments on a reposessed house we helped them gut and rebuild (a 2 1/2 year process.)

All of a sudden, my husband was laid off from a managerial position for the first time in 36 years. This is Michigan and that was last November. I am a college graduate, have extensive experience (but not in the last 8 years) and owned two small businesses. I cannot get a job in a grocery store or as a waitress let alone my profession. My husband, a former vice-president of an engineering firm, is trying to start his own environmental engineering consulting business but everything is so slow-going. Many banks have closed consultant lists or don't want to hire a new firm. This despite the fact that he worked for them with his previous employer; has exceptional experience and would charge less than what they are being charged for by consultants with lesser qualifications - the ones whose reports my husband used to review. State projects often don't even require a PE anymore. They're often awarded to questionable enterprises . Our savings are down to one week's expenses except for our 401K which we have not touched due to our ages (59) and the losses incurred in market loses.

Right now, my heart is breaking. My grand-daughter needs orthodontia. She is also one of the top dancers her age in the state. As it looks now, there will be no money for lessons in the fall. My grandson will be developing interests soon and he will also need braces.

We have always lived simply, have 8 years left on our small ranch home's mortgage, serve in the church, grow a vegetable garden and enjoy fishing which also provides meals. Most of all, we love our family and our grandchildren bring us such joy. We never thought we'd be in this position.

I'm doing my best to remain optimistic but not being able to help out the other part of our sandwich is so hard for me.

Ann of MI @ May 11, 2009 13:56:56 PM

Congrats to Senior Helpers

We used Senior Helpers here in St. Louis. Nice to have someone that cares who they placed with my parents. They were willing to take the time and make sure the match was right before placing someone in our home. They also helped connect us with someone to help with getting veterans benefits for my dad's service.

Kevin of MO @ Apr 30, 2009 10:27:14 AM