Bad economy, boohoo

[Diamondback]

The economy is in a trash dumpster. I can't afford to take my family on a nice vacation. At work I haven't had a cost of living "raise" in 2 years (which is usually 2% a year). And of course as you well know, everything has risen in price.

My money market statement arrived today and.....get this---I'm now earning .300%....I thought it was bad a few months ago when I was getting .35%

My only reprise to this bad economy is that I was able to sell my Intense Spider and Santa Cruz Superlight on Ebay
and use that money to buy and swap parts out on a "closeout" Kona Stinky. I had enough left over to buy a snow cone. (just kidding, a Big Mac)

I went to this Kona dealer where I bought the bike and noticed....hmmmm they sure have alot of them 2007's left. Also lots of 07 Kona frames hanging from the ceiling. Here it was early July, just a couple of 2008's were in sight. But a whole bunch of 2007's.

The sales person told me that they bought the whole 2007 stock and they have even more in a warehouse.
Usually Konas fly out of the showrooms, but I guess not now. At Pinkbike I read that Kona is now beginning to intro their 2009 line. Good luck with those 07's.

Well at least the gas prices have gone down a bit and we havent been devastated by a big earthquake.

[silverspot]

In the meantime, while we are all suffering from the sucky economy, Exxon Mobil continues to rake in the big profits -

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.

That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.

"At least the gas prices have gone down a bit"... I say, not far enough.

[art23rockpile]

Originally Posted by silverspot

In the meantime, while we are all suffering from the sucky economy, Exxon Mobil continues to rake in the big profits -

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.

That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.

"At least the gas prices have gone down a bit"... I say, not far enough.

Bring on the alternative energy. Let's all work to put the ultra-greedy oil industry out-of-business (and help the envirinment at the same time).

[Padre]

So what changed in the economy that prevented you from saving up for a vacation over the last year or so?

[Rawhead]

The plus side is that you are still able to buy a new ride

[JoeTruth]

NO, Errrrrrrrrnie!!! Oh gawd, it's starting already. Errrrrrrnie found a new audience and is going to milk it for what it's worth. God help you all!!!

Errrrnie, did your lush butties @ The Cat & The Fiddle get tired of listening to your redundancies? I'm gonna kick ghostie's arss for telling you we're all here now. Please make it go away!

Don't forget to post your P&L statement and 2007 tax return for everyone to see.

[BrahMa]

And all this time I figured you were single living with your mother. You have a family!?! God help us.

[2wheel_lee]

Can't afford a vacation? Despite selling a couple great bikes and getting a Kona, it shouldn't be that hard to put some kind of vacation together.

A couple months ago, my girlfriend and I took a three day vacation and rode Gooseberry Mesa and Little Creek Mesa - some of the best trails in the world. We had a ton of fun and look forward to going back in the fall. Total cost: less than $200, including lots of diesel and food. Last Thanksgiving, we took a three-day trip to Sedona for about the same cost. Vacations are whatever you want them to be.

[J_Sims]

Sounds like to have a nice stable of bikes at home, oh yeah you have a home, and even though your money market is not paying a ton you still have $$ in the bank and a job which is much better than some... You know since you have not received the last 4% of increase at work we can probably find you a web site that offers at least a 4% discount on travel to help out with the Vacation...kinda

[GregMiester]

reminds me of that headline a while back on yahoo "surfers feeling the pinch with rising gas prices" Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I don't have enough money to go surf Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

shelter, job, bike(s), vacations can be alot less expensive than that Kona was, buying used is also an alternative. Many people have it much worse. Get priorities in check and keep moving forward!

[reflux]

^ Agreed with the above. No matter how "bad" you think you have it, all you have to do is look to your left or right and see someone who has it worse.

[OTHRIDER]

sniff, sniff, heck, even in the good times you can find sob stories. It's just a little tougher now and the tough will get through fine. Follow Lee's advise - it doesn't take $5K to have a vacation.

I'm always amused at how recession-proof some areas are. Head out to the Parker Strip and you'll see a slew of new 25+ foot boats ripping it up. They'll dock at the RV park with the twin 502's idling and dump $400 in gas without blinking (sometimes twice a day! )

Smile & enjoy the little road bump.

[CC]

Yes, at least you haven't been asked to take a drop in pay. I spoke to a friend who had to do that a few months ago, that's tough. And try unemployment, I've been unemployed for about 4 months now and I'm not crying a river.

I was able to take my son to Big Bear camping and get some riding in as well. Like everyone say, it's your priorities.

Things are bad for everyone...just try to keep things in perspective, your family is together, you have a roof over your heads, you have a job.

[JoeTruth]

Folks, this is classic Ernie. He stays up late, gets tanked and posts cynical whiny random crap. And he's just getting warm. Wait until he gets really tanked and thinks he's a blood from Compton and starts posting like he's one. Stay tuned; the idiosyncrasies get way better!

[dirtvert]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

Errrrnie, did your lush butties @ The Cat & The Fiddle get tired of listening to your redundancies?

...that sounds very naughty.

[DISCO]

In business (much like life) you don't get what you deserve but what you negotiate. Economic factors like energy, durable goods, and even interest rates tend to fluctuate over time. If you are a buyer and you can swoop a massive inventory at closeout price most do, regardless if sales fail to justify it.

What does it all mean? Kona's are kick ass bikes and I am going riding.

[mntbiker12]

As long as FatPus...I mean Ernie..er, Diamondback doesn't post any actual pictures of his bikes, I'll at least tolerate his pontification.

What happened, tired of replying to your own posts over on Socalmtb? Or maybe you missed the attention.

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

NO, Errrrrrrrrnie!!! Oh gawd, it's starting already. Errrrrrrnie found a new audience and is going to milk it for what it's worth. God help you all!!!

Errrrnie, did your lush butties @ The Cat & The Fiddle get tired of listening to your redundancies? I'm gonna kick ghostie's arss for telling you we're all here now. Please make it go away!

Don't forget to post your P&L statement and 2007 tax return for everyone to see.

[bwk]

this thread is awesome