16 November 2008

The Brother-in-Law Experiment

The recession/financial crisis/economic meltdown has officially hit home. Sure, we've been cutting back on our spending for awhile, but that's mostly because we were planning to buy a house and because I'm not pulling in any cash. The gas-price crunch didn't even impact us that much. Benny and I rarely drive during the week as we can walk nearly everywhere we need to go (and I would prefer to use my feet over my wheels) and Nate only drives about five miles to work.

I realize that we are incredibly lucky. Nate's job is relatively secure. He works in wastewater and we all know that people will always produce "waste." I get to stay home with Benny and we still managed to buy a house in this financial mess.

Nate's brother wasn't so lucky. He was recently laid off from a medical supply company in Michigan. He's been looking for work in Michigan, but we all know that Michigan was one state that was hit particularly hard by the bad economy. Hell, it's been bad for a long time. Lesson learned: Don't base your state economy on one sector of the economy. Anyway, Nate's brother has been looking to move out West for awhile. Nate, being the good brother he is, suggested that his brother move in with us until he could get back on his feet.

That means that next week we'll have a boarder. It could be a win/win situation. While Matt, the brother, is looking for a job, he can watch Benny while I work to finish the dissertation. Plus, it will be nice to get a small amount of rent to help offset the mortgage payment. Plus we have the room now, so why not?

I know that Nate feels really good about the situation. He feels very responsible for Matt. I feel pretty good about the situation too, but I have a few reservations about the experiment. Ultimately I think it will be good. But throwing another body into the situation could introduce some interesting stories. As always, I'll keep you posted...

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