Five years ago it would have been fairly easy for a working pair of parents to buy a track home and a used car for their teenager. However, today many families are buying fewer things and earning less money due to the recession.

Recession.org defines a recession as a time when the “GDP [gross domestic product] growth is negative for a period of two or more consecutive quarters.” As a result of the negative GDP, many jobs have had to be cut. Recession.org says 539,000 jobs were cut in April alone, and the 17-month recession is not yet over.

Junior Leah Christopher says her family has been somewhat affected by the recession and she might work as a babysitter this summer to make extra money for shopping. Christopher also enjoys making crafts and cross-stitching.

“My mom and I used to go out a lot and have girls’ days where we would buy craft materials and go out to lunch,” Christopher said. “But now we have had to resort to doing yard work, picking out flowers and making sandwiches at home, which are cheaper alternatives.

“I think it stinks because it is hard to switch from one way of life to another so suddenly. There wasn’t really time to adjust; it was just like, this is how it is now.”

While the recession seems only negative, sophomore Mary Reynolds looks at the brighter side of this issue.

“I have had to cut back on shopping trips,” Reynolds said. “At parties, sometimes I have to wear things I already have, which is kind of good because it makes me appreciate the clothes that I have. It’s also good because I have realized that money is not needed to have fun; it helps me take my focus off of money and material items and put it back on God.”

Other families have not seen the effects of the downturn in the economy. Emily Schoettler, ’11, says her step-father’s grape harvesting business is booming and she has not been hit by the recession.

“Personally, I don’t really see an effect of the recession in my life,” Schoettler said. “Our income is still the same, so we still have all the privileges that we had before. But I do see a change in some of my friends’ lives, where they are struggling with tuition money. I see other people and I feel bad for them, but it’s a huge problem on a national level that I can’t really make a difference in. I feel really blessed that I haven’t been affected because of my step-dad’s business.”

Certified investment management analyst Steve Guinn graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and currently works at Regency Investment Advisors in Fresno. Guinn says the drop in the economy has had a significant effect on him and his business.

“Some projects that were in the planning stages have had to be put on the back burner until the economy gets better, because we’ve had to curtail our spending,” Guinn said. “We really have to watch our spending and practice what we preach to our customers. Now is the time to deal with needs and not wants. The economy expands and contracts, and right now it’s contracting ? we don’t see this as a forever thing; it’s simply part of the cycle.”

For more coverage of the recession and the economy, visit the April 27 column, American citizens tighten economic ‘belts’.