Real Stories of Real People

The purpose of this thread is for members to post stories and anecdotal summaries of conversations with family and friends this holiday season.

What's it like out there? Who's has been laid off or been fired? Who's buying a new house. Whose kids can't find a job out of college? Who's getting screwed by Obamacare? Etc, etc...

Maybe, as this thread grows, we can get a collective sense of just how bad or good economic conditions really are.