Reminds Me of the Mortgage Meltdown

Above, at Monument Valley last October. I am better off during these
 uncertain times than I was 16 years ago during the Mortgage Meltdown.

The bank collapse, inflation and financial uncertainty in recent weeks (actually in recent years, at least since Biden started occupying the White House) is reminding me more and more of the mortgage meltdown of 2008.

It affected me in a couple of ways. First, I was working for David Morse & Associates, a third-party insurance claims administrator, for a number of non-standard insurers. We handled claims for several of them. 

Trouble started in late 2007. We were getting plenty of claims work, but like a Chinese water torture, co-workers were getting laid off over several weeks. Finally, it was my turn. It was explained to me that the company got a percentage of the premium monies the insurers received as payment for administering their claims. But as the mortgage meltdown started, fewer polices were being underwritten by those insurers. Therefore, our company's income became less and less. So they had to lay off workers.

Next, I had a 401k retirement account. When the meltdown got worse, I started losing money in my account. 

While I was working for the third-party administrator, my supervisor wondered why I would do my periodic shoots to maintain my security gun permit. I told him that it was my hedge in case of job loss in insurance and one gets better pay in security if they have a gun permit. When I got laid off, he then fully understood.

After the lay-off, I worked in security mainly for the medical benefits. I also worked for an independent adjuster, but that job had no benefits. (This was just prior to ObamaCare, which really screwed things up.)

I worked the adjusting job during the day and wrote my reports while at my security posts in the evening or during the graveyard shifts.

In 2015, I decided to retire at age 62. I was financially secure with the work I was doing and from farm income I was receiving (that I inherited in 2010 after my mother passed away). Social Security benefits kicked in during the spring of 2016. 

Now that I am retired and own my own home, I don't have to worry about getting laid off. The house has no mortgage and I am getting my Social Security payments, which covers my monthly living expenses just fine since I don't have rent or house payments to make. I am in full control of my investments, so I have no worries there (I recently made some adjustments to protect them).

On the current situation, Forbes wrote:

Layoffs, return-to-office mandates, hiring freezes and reduced compensation will be results of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse,

It looks like the country might be in or a wild ride...again!