Are Things THAT Tight ?

[ferco]

Plan to have a small yard job done tomorrow for about $150-200. The handyman asked if I could pay him in cash since he's unable to utilize any bank because of prior bad checks he's presented. I initially wanted the work done in 3 days but he said he's available tomorrow and that he needs the work BAD !
To the other posters, are things REALLY THAT BAD.....I still see folks eating out and at the malls, but when I talk to folks everyone's crying. If I were doing THAT BAD, I wouldn't be eating out or at the mall spending money I didn't have.......that's so oxymoronic to the FIRE mentality !

Am I missing something here....please opine

 

[devans0]

People eating at the malls aren't suffering the hard times. Housing and construction workers OTOH...

 

[traineeinvestor]

Unemployment is very high (and work force participation is low) - but most people still have jobs. Even LBYM types still go out and spend at least some money.

 

[Retch The Grate]

even during the Great Depression unemployment was "only" 25%. So yes most people still have jobs, and can go out and eat, but lots (in relative terms to what is considered normal employment these days) of folks are currently out of work (especially in industries like construction) and for them, it is pretty darn serious.

 

[rockyj]

Am I missing something here....please opine

I suspect your handyman is not eating out at the mall.

What's missing is visiblity for those who are in tight times at the moment.
I know several in very tight times at the moment - they are pretty much hunkered down, looking for work and finding free things to do for recreation.

 

[KingB]

The people you see at the mall are not the same as your handyman.

I noticed though that there are less traffic at the mall compared to a few years ago and more stores are shuttered.

The guy that does our lawn said that he has fewer customers now and if that continues, he may have to get rid of some workers.

 

[W2R]

Plan to have a small yard job done tomorrow for about $150-200. The handyman asked if I could pay him in cash since he's unable to utilize any bank because of prior bad checks he's presented. I initially wanted the work done in 3 days but he said he's available tomorrow and that he needs the work BAD !
To the other posters, are things REALLY THAT BAD.....I still see folks eating out and at the malls, but when I talk to folks everyone's crying. If I were doing THAT BAD, I wouldn't be eating out or at the mall spending money I didn't have.......that's so oxymoronic to the FIRE mentality !

Am I missing something here....please opine

In my area people who do small yard jobs are hard up for work these days. I had a 23-year-old kid ring the doorbell late one afternoon last week and offer to clean out my foundation beds, weed, use a selective herbicide, add mulch, and so on, for $225. I told him that was too much and he immediately came down to $175. He wanted $100 in advance, so I gave him a check and he started the next day. Then just after starting, he wanted another $20 out of the $75 left, so that he could buy lunch for his workers(I presume fast food or maybe a roadside taco stand). After finishing I paid him the rest in cash.

So, he didn't even have $20 to buy food! In casual conversation later on he told me his rent was late and he was desperate to earn money fast. He had three jobs lined up for that day, but out of that money he had to pay the helpers that he had picked up at Home Depot and buy the mulch and herbicide.

People who do this type of work would often prefer to be paid in cash. This way they don't have to worry about those pesky income taxes.

 

[veremchuka]

Perhaps he wants to be paid in cash to keep it off the books. I typically get a lower price if I pay in cash not always but usually.

 

[Avalon]

I recently had some foundation repair done. After shopping prices I found that most of the contractors bids were about half what they were several years ago.
When the crew showed up ( I soon learned there were two crews) I had as many as 22 workers digging holes or driving piers. They finished in less than 2 days.
The crew chief said that things were indeed slow, but they tried to keep employees working and not lay them off.

 

[Moemg]

We were getting painting & wallpapering done . The worker asked could we pay in cash so he could avoid the IRS .We did but my husband was an IRS agent . We chuckled over that one for awhile .

 

[kumquat]

Well, feel free, you pay more because he pays less (or nothing).

 

[Mulligan]

In my area people who do small yard jobs are hard up for work these days. I had a 23-year-old kid ring the doorbell late one afternoon last week and offer to clean out my foundation beds, weed, use a selective herbicide, add mulch, and so on, for $225. I told him that was too much and he immediately came down to $175. He wanted $100 in advance, so I gave him a check and he started the next day. Then just after starting, he wanted another $20 out of the $75 left, so that he could buy lunch for his workers(I presume fast food or maybe a roadside taco stand). After finishing I paid him the rest in cash.

So, he didn't even have $20 to buy food! In casual conversation later on he told me his rent was late and he was desperate to earn money fast. He had three jobs lined up for that day, but out of that money he had to pay the helpers that he had picked up at Home Depot and buy the mulch and herbicide.

People who do this type of work would often prefer to be paid in cash. This way they don't have to worry about those pesky income taxes.

Good for you W2R to give a kid an advance to trust him, and good for the kid he followed up and did the job! You have to respect people who go out and initiate work and make some money instead of just sitting home depressed and complaining they can't find a job.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I have a handyman who does pressure cleaning and I get a call from him occasionally telling me that he will discount the job if he can come tomorrow because someone else has cancelled.

i give him the work as I get a good deal and the work needs to be done.

 

[Lancelot]

To the other posters, are things REALLY THAT BAD.....I still see folks eating out and at the malls, but when I talk to folks everyone's crying. If I were doing THAT BAD, I wouldn't be eating out or at the mall spending money I didn't have....

I remember 1974-75 and it was some times difficult to get a seat in a restaurant. Despite 10% unemployment, there are still huge cash generating programs in existence (SS, Unemployment) and they do inject money into the economy.

 

[pimpmyretirement]

Everyone I know that wants a job has a good one. The market for IT is solid these days.

I had no idea work was so tight for handy man types. I've got some stuff I need done, maybe now is the time for quotes.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Everyone I know that wants a job has a good one. The market for IT is solid these days.

I had no idea work was so tight for handy man types. I've got some stuff I need done, maybe now is the time for quotes.

I know a few that "have" jobs but not necessarily "good" ones. They have a job and it pays but they are tolerating the situation until things get better. The work environment is not always "good"

I'm getting handy man types and painters for $15 - 20 an hour which is very cheap in my mind. The quality is ok, something for my renters for sure.

 

[teejayevans]

Perhaps he wants to be paid in cash to keep it off the books. I typically get a lower price if I pay in cash not always but usually.

Done all the time, hence one of the reasons about half the population pays no taxes. Also can keep getting the food stamps and unemployment if you don't have reportable income. That said, there is a lot of people out there struggling, especially the low income who are competing with illegal aliens. We have problems that aren't going away soon.
TJ

 

[dm]

Ive been looking into having a small building put up in my backyard. 750 sq ft, just a shell, no plumbing, electric, nothing on the inside. Just basically a shed to put my camper, lawnmower, and a truck inside. It's been two month's and Ive asked at least 6 builders that put up sheds, garages ect. Ive only gotten two bid's. One for $21,000 and the other for $40,000. The others either say they are still working on the bid or are just too busy.

So it must be a good time to be in the shed building business.

 

[Texas Proud]

In my area people who do small yard jobs are hard up for work these days. I had a 23-year-old kid ring the doorbell late one afternoon last week and offer to clean out my foundation beds, weed, use a selective herbicide, add mulch, and so on, for $225. I told him that was too much and he immediately came down to $175. He wanted $100 in advance, so I gave him a check and he started the next day. Then just after starting, he wanted another $20 out of the $75 left, so that he could buy lunch for his workers(I presume fast food or maybe a roadside taco stand). After finishing I paid him the rest in cash.

So, he didn't even have $20 to buy food! In casual conversation later on he told me his rent was late and he was desperate to earn money fast. He had three jobs lined up for that day, but out of that money he had to pay the helpers that he had picked up at Home Depot and buy the mulch and herbicide.

People who do this type of work would often prefer to be paid in cash. This way they don't have to worry about those pesky income taxes.

People who do this type of work would not normally pay income taxes... now, if you are being generic and are talking SS... then yes...

 

[Nords]

Plan to have a small yard job done tomorrow for about $150-200. The handyman asked if I could pay him in cash since he's unable to utilize any bank because of prior bad checks he's presented. I initially wanted the work done in 3 days but he said he's available tomorrow and that he needs the work BAD !
To the other posters, are things REALLY THAT BAD.....I still see folks eating out and at the malls, but when I talk to folks everyone's crying. If I were doing THAT BAD, I wouldn't be eating out or at the mall spending money I didn't have.......that's so oxymoronic to the FIRE mentality !
Am I missing something here....please opine

I think a check-kiting handyman has many more problems than the economy... and if that's how he treats the banks then how is he treating his customers?

 

[FIREd]

To the other posters, are things REALLY THAT BAD.....I still see folks eating out and at the malls, but when I talk to folks everyone's crying. If I were doing THAT BAD, I wouldn't be eating out or at the mall spending money I didn't have.......that's so oxymoronic to the FIRE mentality !

I think things are genuinely tight for some people right now. I would hate to be unemployed and looking for a job in this economy.

But, with Alabama's tough new immigration laws, businesses can't find enough people to do grunt work. There are jobs out there for motivated souls but few takers from what I hear.

An acquaintance of mine lost his job recently. He has been an engineer for 20 years and the layoff took him by surprise. He is freaking out because his unemployment check is not enough to cover the mortgage and his $600 a month car payment, let alone anything else like food, COBRA, etc... He tried to get on food stamps but was rejected. He has no savings to fall back on. But he does have a brand new iPad 2 and enough money to continue smoking Padron cigars. Things are tight indeed.

 

[Andre1969]

Ive been looking into having a small building put up in my backyard. 750 sq ft, just a shell, no plumbing, electric, nothing on the inside. Just basically a shed to put my camper, lawnmower, and a truck inside. It's been two month's and Ive asked at least 6 builders that put up sheds, garages ect. Ive only gotten two bid's. One for $21,000 and the other for $40,000. The others either say they are still working on the bid or are just too busy.

So it must be a good time to be in the shed building business.

I had a 24x40 (960 square foot) garage built back in 2005/2006. Grand total came out to around $30,000, but that's partly because I had to have a lot of site work done. I think the pole barn company's part of it was around $17K-18K, the concrete slab and associated work was around $5-6K, plus I lost track of how many dumptruck loads of gravel had to come in for the ~200 foot driveway the county made me put in. Oh, that also included running electric out to it, buried underground, but minimal service in the garage, just two fluorescent lights, a 60 amp circuit box, and two outlets. Oh, plus permits, a schematic that a local engineer had to draw up when they struck groundwater digging the foundation, etc. It was done in phases, and I've lost track, but $30K might actually be slightly on the high end.

Anyway, the company that did the garage is Durabilt Pole Buildings | Pole Buildings, Commercial Buildings, Pole Barns, Loft Barns, and Cabins to Accent Any Home if you want to check 'em out. They're based in Ohio, but I think have nationwide coverage.

 

[DangerMouse]

I believe there is a certain sector of the population doing it tough. Most of us don't know the real stories about how or why these people are in this situation because we wouldn't have a lot of exposure to these details.

It's easy to blame the individual for causing their own mess but I would say in a lot of cases that may not be the truth. If you have only ever been a minimum wage worker and suddenly your hours are cut how likely is it you would have been able to accumulate an emergency fund?

It easy to say education is the key, but for some it is not an option, they just don't have the smarts. Let's face it someone has to be the checkout chick or work at the car wash.

it is frustrating to see those that have had opportunities at the higher income level to have plenty of stuff but no savings and not really getting that they are partly responsible for the situation they find themselves in.

I read some time ago an article somewhere that it is the guys who are doing yard work and lawn care who are getting stiffed. They continue to do the work but the property owner just doesn't pay. Add in those who are taking advantage of the situation by using the economy to push prices down when costs are going up.

All I can say is I am grateful that I am not one of those who is worrying about having money to pay the rent or put food in my mouth. I am grateful for the opportunities life gave me and that I was smart enough to recognise those opportunities and take full advantage when they came my way.

 

[flyfishnevada]

Yeah, for some folks its that bad, though that guy seems to have additional issues. Depends on what business you're in. If you have a job and it's secure and your not facing cuts in pay and benefits you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about.

On the other hand, if you're in certain industries or sectors, things are tough. You're losing pay and benefits, maybe even you're job. I suspect the Great Depression was the same. Lot's of folks scrapping by while others never really felt the pinch. With 25% unemployment you still have 75% of the people working and in certain places you hardly feel it.

Take Nevada and Texas. Both business friendly, both have low taxes, but Texas is doing well for the most part and Nevada has the highest unemployment in the nation. Nevada depends on mining and gaming. Mining is doing OK, but gaming is limping along. That means no expansion and no construction jobs, not to mention the horrible real estate market due to the bubble created by all the growth of the last few decades. More the sectors that each state depends on than the severity of the recession.

 

[Lsbcal]

People are restructuring their goals and expectations. That takes time and it can be very painful. We've certainly changed our thinking since 2008.

I have to remind myself occasionally that those trades people that do not pay taxes are probably pumping all that cash right back into the economy as they often have to spend it on necessities -- not a lot of fat. That pumping action is the most efficient way to stimulate the economy I'd think. I'm sure there are some exceptions out there, a few well off trades types who only deal in cash but I haven't come across any.