Jeff Santucci was laid off in May 2007 as an auto mechanic, a job he had held for nearly 30 years.
He never dreamed he wouldn’t find another.
Now, at a time when Santucci, 48, should be planning for retirement, he’s watching his life savings dwindle at an alarming rate.
“There’s no money in the budget for any extravagances whatsoever,” said Santucci, a father of two from Frankfort. “We don’t go out for dinner, no vacations. We’re getting ready to cancel the cable.”
Santucci’s situation is one that many Illinoisans are either experiencing or expecting.
A quarter of respondents to a Tribune poll say they or a relative lost a job in the last year, and half fear it could happen to them or a family member in the next 12 months.
Among poll respondents, unemployment is the chief economic concern (36 percent), followed by stock market values and general price increases (each with 20 percent).
Santucci, who has sent out 143 resumes so far without any luck, says he never expected to spend his middle age pinching pennies and crunching numbers. Now he’s worried how golden his retirement will be.
“I’ll probably be working until I die now,” he said, pausing before adding: “If I can get a job.”
Many in poll have bleak view
Susan Wierenga was called at random to participate in the Tribune poll last week and said her family was worse off financially than a year ago.
As stark proof, the 40-year-old Beecher woman and her husband, Bill, were in Bankruptcy Court on Monday. They lost their home to foreclosure in June.
The Wierengas’ bleak view of the economy was shared by many in the poll of 500 registered general-election voters in Illinois.
Two in five say they are worse off than a year ago. Half say they will cut back on holiday spending this year — and only 1 in 100 say they will spend more on gifts.
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Respondents aren’t too impressed by the steps taken to stabilize the financial markets. Though 46 percent are at least somewhat confident in the government’s efforts to calm the crisis, 50 percent are not.
People have good reason to be fearful these days, said Richard Thaler, an economics and behavioral science professor at the University of Chicago.
“There is real stuff happening,” he said. “If a lion is chasing you, it’s right to be scared.”
But Larry Levin, who trades in the Standard & Poor’s 500 pit at the CME Group, said such fear can become contagious.
“The more people talk about, the more pervasive it feels,” said Levin, president of the Secrets of Traders training firm. “People are really spending less because they hear their neighbors are spending less. It’s difficult to dispel.”
On the other hand, Bruce Miller told poll takers he is better off financially than a year ago.
The auditor from Edgewater still buys takeout lunch and treats his dog to doggy day care when he travels. He will go on vacation as he always has.
“I haven’t crimped back,” said Miller, 44. “I want to keep the economy going. I don’t want Starbucks to shut down.”
The Wierengas are worried about more than coffee.
Their problems began in 2001, when Susan was laid off as a computer consultant. Less than five years later, Bill Wierenga lost his job in the toy industry. To make ends meet, she waited on tables and her husband went back to car sales. She now works as a retail supervisor, but they’re barely scraping by. They were unable to keep their house, which had been “based on me making a lot higher income,” she said.
Thaler said too many Americans were living beyond their means for the last decade. He said the current crisis might scare some people into keeping a tighter ship, but that there is a danger in too sudden a shift.
“If Americans tighten their belts, borrow less and save more — which is what they should have been doing — that could deepen the recession.”
TOM CLYDE, CHICAGO
Thoughts about the economy keep Tom Clyde awake at night.
A year earlier, the 51-year-old Edgewater man was optimistic. He bought a condo, adopted a second poodle and frequently ate out with friends.
Today, Clyde, a staff assistant with the Chicago Department of Public Health who participated in the Tribune’s poll, is worried about getting laid off.
“If I lost my job, I would be in so much trouble,” he said.
When his miniature poodle needed a $2,000 hip operation, Clyde turned to credit cards. As it stands, he downgraded his cable service to basic, stopped buying new clothes and packs his own lunch for work. He also is putting night school on hold next semester to save on gas and $500 in tuition.
“I am squirreling away,” Clyde said. So far, he has been able to save $1,500.
“I am taking every penny I have and putting it away.”
Last year, Clyde spent about $450 on Christmas gifts for friends and relatives. He said he would “absolutely not” have the means to buy gifts this year.
“I will probably give e-cards,” he said.
NUSRAT SIDDIQUI, WILLOWBROOK
There is no doubt in Nusrat Siddiqui’s mind that these are tough financial times. She owns a UPS franchise in Willowbrook and has seen up close and personal the effects of an economic slowdown.
“I don’t see too many birthday packages sent out,” she said. “I don’t see too many care packages sent out.”
Customer numbers are down, and sales have declined.
“It seems everybody is hurting,” she said. “As a business owner, I’m concerned. I want to make sure I can pay bills. It’s a scary time in this economy.”
The married mother of two said her family has made cutbacks: They don’t eat out as much, and she runs all her errands during one trip to save on gas. She rethinks every purchase.
“You have to justify it,” she said. “If you don’t need it, you can say, ‘OK, I’ll let it go.'”
ELIZABETH PEREZ, CHICAGO
Elizabeth Perez feels fortunate. She knows others are having a harder time in today’s economy. It wasn’t so long ago when she struggled to make ends meet. But today, she said her family is better off than last year.
“I do feel blessed,” said Perez, 27, whose husband just returned safely from Iraq after 18 months. “With him being in the military, we didn’t have to worry about too many things with money and housing.”
The couple have paid off old bills and put money away for savings. Their situation is far improved from last year, when she worked two jobs and they strained to provide their son a decent Christmas, Perez said.
“We’re not well-off, but we’re doing better than we were before,” she said. “We’ve been able to prioritize to secure our future and our son’s future.”
RANDY MACADAM, DEKALB
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Randy MacAdam recently learned he’s losing his job after 23 years in a union print shop. He estimates he has two months left of work, and then he’ll be out on his own.
“The economy as a whole, we’re in trouble right now,” he said. “There are folks who are in the same boat.”
MacAdam, 49, a married father of two children, 18 and 20, traded in a sport-utility vehicle for a car this year. He now carpools to work.
“We went from a big home into a townhouse a couple of years ago,” he said. “We were feeling the pinch then.”
But for all their scrimping, he knows it’s no safeguard for the financial hardship that would be sure to come if he doesn’t find another job soon. Still, MacAdam said he’s trying to remain positive.
“I’ve come to accept the fact that it’s out of my hands and it’s out of my control,” he said, “so I’ll move on to the next best thing.”
JOHN KUENSTER, OAK PARK
After suffering a heart attack and undergoing two open-heart surgeries, John Kuenster found himself in semiretirement at 62.
It wasn’t the plan, but as a self-employed insurance salesman, his business slipped away from him as he focused on his recovery.
“I have a hard time getting out and making calls,” he said. “My customers gradually drifted away. I don’t know. It was tough.”
Although health insurance helped pay the medical bills, he and his wife have increasingly tightened their budget. The situation is aggravated by the worsening economy, Kuenster said.
“Does anybody have an opinion other than, ‘It tanked’?” he asked. “If you’re super-rich and you’re in the right industry — like if you own a few oil wells — then you might have a different opinion.”
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