Why I’ve Been Away from Substack for a Month

Others are back at work, but I’m hibernating. And oh, hey, have you seen grocery prices lately?

Photo by Nik on Unsplash...

I’m still here.

Even though I’ve been off Substack for a month, I’m still here. No posts, few notes, not much of anything. For two weeks I didn’t go to most of my writing sessions. That’s the first time in two years that I’ve been absent when I haven’t been on vacation.

The cause: A two-year health journey that sapped Mark and me emotionally and physically. He’s still here too. We weren’t sure two years ago.

In the meantime I’ve had conversations.

The job market, anecdotally

Mostly about work. We haven’t had employment reports for a month—it may be another month before we have reliable data. We haven’t had any government data.

But we noticed rising grocery store prices. And that getting a job seems harder. Something Mark and I saw during the early 1980s.

So I’ve talked to people instead.

One Substacker who coaches book authors is doing well. But he has to work. His family needs food and shelter.

But for others, the market is slowing. If you’ve got a job—you’re set. If not, you’re sunk.

Another Substacker lives in a community near DC. Former employees were feeling not only the government shutdown, but also the funding cuts. Contractors lost pay. But that’s the nature of contracting.

Some of their jobs are gone, permanently.

A lot of them are looking for work—any work. Former IT personnel found work as cashiers. Biologists are looking for substitute teacher positions.

A few will leave the government and corporate world for good. They’ll find gig work. Writing, consulting, or coaching. Or they’ll retrain—if they’re young enough and have the savings.

Times are tough for some workers, but the economy will bounce back.

It always does.

But these former government workers are also having experiences reminiscent of the pandemic. Moms and dads meeting their kids at the school bus.

There’s a renewed sense of community in these places. A sense that everyone has to help. Income lost, but maybe a much-needed break?

And after two years of pushing myself, I needed a break.

Hibernation 101

So, I decided to slow down. To push things off my plate. Posts will be slower through the end of the year. Notes will be haphazard, although I do have a couple of supply and demand stories to share.

I’m pushing the Home Buying series to January. The section on costs will be up first.

After all, the holiday season starts next week in the US. This is that time when most of us will pull in, finish what we can, and spend more time with family and friends. For instance, I’m working on a round of proofreading for my book. Found one major boo-boo. Lots of places where I wish I said things differently.

But that’s how writing is. Imperfect, but the best we had in us at the time.

I’ve got a New Year’s Eve story ready for the end of the year. In the meantime, I’ll have a short post on Chapter 5 from my book.

I’ll post Chapter 6 for paid subscribers. This one was the hardest for me to get across to my readers. Free subscribers can read the beginning. I think you’ll like it.

Chapter 6 about money. Money as a thing you use, not as a synonym for income. Money for transactions and savings.

I also look at how banks and the Federal Reserve create (during recessions) and remove money (during inflationary periods) from the system. And I don’t mean printing new dollar bills and destroying used ones.

This week, elsewhere

BTW, here’s some links to check out from this week’s news:

ADP report on how jobs that require repetitive tasks are also the ones that lead to the greatest financial strain: https://www.adpresearch.com/repetitive-task-workers-financial-strain-and-workforce-dynamics

Marketplace.org report on how the new fees on H1B Visas are hurting healthcare hiring: https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/11/14/how-trumps-100k-h1b-visa-fee-is-hurting-rural-health-care

For all of my American readers, Happy Turkey Day! For the rest of you, I wish you the best. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for reading,

Nikki