According to the interesting article linked below, I have survived 9 recessions. God willing, I plan to not only survive this 10th. one, but move forward afterwards, like I did the first 9 times.
I was just one year old during the 1957 recession that included the Asian Flu pandemic that killed 1.1 million people. The first recession that really impacted me was the 1973 oil embargo recession. Waiting in line to get gas before a high school date (now wife) was a real hassle. It influenced my first car purchase, an early '70's Opel Kadett that got a whopping 21 mpg. I opted to delay college one year to work and earn tuition money. Even with high unemployment rates, upon graduating high school I had numerous job offers in the local steel mills and factories of NW Indiana. Brutal work conditions, making equivalent of $35/hour today right out of high school. I finished college (working) debt free - different than today's situation. I hunkered down and survived.
The 1981 recession affected me the most during my early 20's. Near 11% unemployment, the industrial rust belt was hammered. I remember Michiganders boarding up homes and moving south for work. Michigan's dependence on auto manufacturing was devastating. My job position was eliminated. Wife was 4 months pregnant. Absolutely no jobs available in the Upper Peninsula. We sold our home and moved 200 miles south to take a position replacing 2 retired people. My reputable work ethic saved my butt. This move caused me to seek professional counseling to survive the trauma. We hunkered down and not only survived, but the move opened up advancement opportunities and encouraged me to "man-up", for lack of a better word, in all aspects of my life. I credit the challenge to causing me to become a better person. Had I stayed in the U.P., I probably would have remained a "mouse" of a person to this day.
Read the link below. In every case, our country survived and grew afterwards. Learn to be self reliant, no matter what it takes. I.E., if needed, I could survive by hunting and gathering. Ditch those expenses and lifestyles that really are not necessary: expensive cell phones, expensive television plans, expensive transportation, Starbucks, and on and on. Nose to the grindstone has worked well for me the past 55 years or so.
Best wishes to everyone. Become a survivor. Life afterwards can be even better if you challenge it.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/09/what-happened-in-every-us-recession-since-the-great-depression.html
