Teens and 20-somethings reflect on the state of economy

These six young people offer their observations on the state of the economy today and how it is affecting their lives. On employment: With the economy in a delicate state, Sussex County’s young community members are finding themselves faced with uncertainties, especially in the job market. Not everyone is affected in the same manner. Max Lehman wants to insure that he has plenty of work hours and decided to take on two lifeguarding positions. “Instead of getting 5-10 hours a week working at the same place I’m doubling my availability.” Kate Boyle has been focusing on finding her first full time job after college. “I have also been hand delivering some of my resumes and cover letters to certain schools and have been making follow-up phone calls to check the status of the current job posting.” Kerry Geddis is also focusing on finding her career, but the field she wants to pursue, mental health services, has taken a hit from the economy. “People just don’t have money to spend on therapy. It is seen as more of a luxury. I have a few interviews lined up, but not real possibilities yet.” Lauren Boyle was lucky enough to find a teaching job for the 2009-2010 school year. She’ll be teaching math in Jefferson. “Since I have a job I decided to take this summer off to relax and plan for the next school year.” Benjamin Rose, while still attending college, was offered two jobs for the summer. He decided to take the position most closely related to his field, computer science. He’ll be working as a network security researcher and security officer. “I think that as the market gets tougher, companies are looking to automate more and more things, which requires a good IT (information technology) department to maintain.” On cutting back expenses: There has been a push to consider purchases more carefully, need versus want. Society has been encouraging healthy spending. While there has been a drop in purchases, companies have also been dropping prices in an effort to encourage those who have adopted a more frugal outlook to drop their extra pennies. For Ben Rose, cutting back is more a question of what are the essentials. Living away from home has helped him create a responsible outlook with the money he makes. “I go home every weekend to get leftover food from my parents and do laundry. I do have to pay rent for my apartment, so there’s not too much left over after the essentials. The other day my projector broke and I actually had to ‘save up’ to buy a $50 replacement part.” Lauren Boyle’s decision to take the summer off in preparation for her full-time job beginning in September has caused her to be more responsible with her money as well. “I have definitely cut back on spending money on myself and save most of it for gas and food. I am basically living on the money I made last summer. I will be living at home next year as well, so knowing that I will be living rent-free for a year and being able to really save relieves a lot of stress.” Kate Boyle prioritizes her expenses. “I have definitely cut back on what I spend money on. I basically use the money I make for gas and for special occasions, like family birthdays and anniversaries.” The change from school to the working world has been an adjustment for Kerry Geddis. “When I was in school, my parents were more than helpful with helping me out financially. Now that I am responsible for my own money, I pinch my pennies when I can. For a while, I have been putting my spare change off to the side and starting a nice piggy bank. I still go out with friends; we tend to just do things that are free like going for a walk or browsing stores and not buying anything.” On gas and travel: With gas prices continually on the rise, most find driving an added expense, especially in an area where driving is essential. Still, some don’t seem too bothered by the current gas prices. Bobby Texel’s driving has not been affected. “I don’t travel less because of gas prices. Last year I was driving a vehicle that gets 15 mpg at $4 gas prices. This year I’m driving something with about 20 mpg at $2.50.” Others find that gas is an essential that they need to incorporate in their personal budgets. “Gas is mainly what I spend money on,” says Kerry Geddis. “However, I do miss my friends from school very much, and most of them are located in South Jersey, so I spare no expense in going to see them; it’s well worth it.” Ben Rose tries to keep his driving to a minimum. “I travel home every weekend, two hours, to get food and such, but beyond that, nothing further than my commute to/from work. When my coworkers go out for lunch at the office, I always bum a ride and pack my own homemade lunch too, simply because of the lack of money.” For Max Lehman gas prices have affected how and where he spends his leisure time. “Gas prices force me to focus on where the fun is in Sussex County so I don’t have to search far.” On leisure: Not only employment and personal expenses have been affected by the state of the economy. The financial strain affects how people spend their time. The younger generation has found that the current cost of fun lends itself to the exploration of creative and cheaper ways to spend free time. Max Lehman attempts to budget his funds when he goes out. “For fun, I have movie nights, game nights, etc. When I do go out I attempt to keep a $20 or $30 max.” This summer, Kate Boyle is looking to take advantage of the summer weather. “I try to find more things that are fun to do that don’t cost as much money like going swimming, hiking, playing Frisbee or just staying in to cook.” Bobby Texel doesn’t feel it is necessary to pay for leisure. “I don’t go out as much this summer, because you have to go out of county for a mall trip, and the whole dinner/movie thing costs 20 to 30 bucks for a solid three or four hours of entertainment. Why work for just as much time to do that when I can catch up on that book I’ve been falling behind on or head over to my friend’s house for a gaming session into the wee hours of the morning — for free?” Kerry Geddis is making creative decisions on spending her free time. “The hard part is that in Sussex County, we don’t really have a lot to do that doesn’t cost something. My friends and I have been walking a lot whether it’s at the high school or Woodbourne Park. It’s free and healthy! Also, I don’t really go to the movies anymore; it’s so easy these days to just watch a movie online.” Ben Rose has made some big changes with how he spends his time and he’s enjoying the adjustments. “Since I don’t have cable, to save money I find myself reading more books and going outside a lot more. My apartment is on a lake, so sometimes I borrow a canoe and go out there.