Portraits of America's Recession

March 6, 2009— -- As part of our series "The Kitchen Table," "World News" will spend considerable time in the coming months with a family in Seattle, a small businessman in Garland, Texas, and local officials in Brockton, Mass., to get a firsthand look at the different ways each is coping with the recession and preparing for the challenges ahead.

Lori Campbell, 48 and Rick Hirst, 42 have been married a little more than a year. But in at least one way, the honeymoon is long over. Both lost high-paying jobs with Microsoft. Campbell's contract ended in September, and Hirst was laid off in January. They share a two-bedroom, two-bath condo with Hirst's four children, who recently came to live with them in Seattle.

"We did everything right," Hirst said. "We kept our debt down. We didn't buy a house we couldn't afford. We live very frugally."

Moving from a dual income to no income, the family has entered recession mode, cutting back on everything. It can no longer afford to bring in a housekeeper once a month, so the kids help clean the home instead.

Campbell takes the family on trips to stock up on groceries at warehouse stores. The family of six can go through nearly a gallon of milk a day and can polish off an entire loaf of bread in a week, making shopping a challenge.

Campbell also hunts for bargains at thrift shops and buys clothes by the pound at Goodwill. "The kids are growing like weeds," she said.

Both Campbell's and Hirst's full-time jobs have now become looking for one.

With 20 years of work experience, a master's degree and a resume spanning four pages, she's inquired about nearly 100 jobs since September.

"Some are resumes, some are online applications, some just meetings with recruiters," she said.

Despite her efforts, nothing has happened. All they can do is wait and keep hunting.