I'm not getting paid, but that doesn't mean I can stop paying the bills. That's hard, and will only get harder as this goes on. Am I special? No. Public and private sector employees alike, nobody should be subjected to that through no fault of their own.

So far, no actual personal impact. Reduced activity associated with the lack of funding of of science, medicine and the arts is a concern. Government websites like nist.gov being down is a small annoyance.

Two fed family in Oregon. We can weather this for a while, but the uncertainty of how long this might go on is stressful. We're fortunate to have a savings cushion; I can't say the same for some of my younger coworkers or the single parents in my office. Pass a clean CR and send us back to work.

One aspect that isn't being covered is the impact the government shut down is having on the Federal contracting community. We're a small business that provides training to Feds and maintaining positive cash flow will become a big issue very quickly.

I'm considered excepted since I am a powerplant operator. Therefore, I must work not knowing when I will receive compensation for my work. Also I am 6 mos. pregnant and worried abt taking leave when my baby is due to be born since leave is not going to be granted until this is resolved.

I own a small mom&pop restaurant in Gatlinburg TN, the entrance to The Great Smokey Mtns. National Park. Without our visitors, my family has no income and will lose everything. Shame on you all.

I am a federal worker and my wife and I closed on a house a few weeks before the shutdown, when nobody thought a shutdown would happen. Now, we are re-listing it just days after we moved in. My wife is heartbroken and I feel completely helpless. I thought a federal job was supposed to be safe.

My wife and I are both federal workers but we are both thankful not to be affected by the shutdown.

I own a semi truck and have to fill out a tax form with the IRS and can not drive my truck and support my family until they open and do my paperwork so I can get my new licence plate for my semi.

I am extremely worried about paying my bills with no paycheck coming in. Unlike Congress, I have no choice but to pay my bills. I am now faced with paying for my debts, or eating. For the 1st time, I feel I am letting my wife down. I promised to take care of her, and now I can't do that.

Furloughed, sitting at home trying to concentrate on reading, but instead trolling news to see if anything is happening. Nothing is....I teach for the govt, worried about my students and how this will mess up their year. Republicans without a program or any ideas, caused this mess.

Sixteen of us are waiting at Lees Ferry to raft the Grand Canyon. We have spent $$ time effort and tears to get this trip together. Please open the road so we can go on our highly planned 20 day raft trip down the Grand Canyon.

Impacting me financially and also was going to Grand Canyon with a huge group of International Students. They must think American government is really stupid and childish! That is what I think!

I get no sleep at night wondering how will I pay my mortgage and other bills without a paycheck...

As a federal contractor I will be greatly affected. I will not get paid for the time between Oct 1 and when we eventually get to go back to work. If this lasts longer than 7 days it will be an extreme hardship on my family as I will no longer have an more vacation pay to "fill" the no-pay gap.

My parents planned a vacation to travel across the country to see national parks here where I live. I bought an annual pass to the parks, and now they'll be closed while they visit. I know it's not jeopardizing anything critical, but it is frustrating.

My office is still working as we aren't directly funded by Congress. But most of the people we work with are out. Wasted the day putting contracts on hold that we we have to restart and researching what work we can legally do. It's an idiotic way to run any organization much less a country.

I am current fed, off and loving it. My wife and I control our spending, so unless this last a several years it will have little or no impact. If you cannot withstand a few weeks, if not months, of not getting paid you should seriously re-evaluate your spending habits.

I already had to tell my 3 hourly employees they won't be receiving any work until the government passes a clean bill. They won't be able to pay their bills and either will I if this lasts longer than 1 week since all my business comes from serving a government facility.

Wanting to serve my country, I never thought about any other job. Now I'm thinking I should have. I'm "essential" but having to worry .about money for gas, and student loans, and rent. This is very stressful. And the uncertainty is really depressing

I've cancelled all personal travel plans and spending. I will pay only a few of my current bills - those that will penalize me with higher interest rates. I do not plan to pay my mortgage. Instead, I will send each CEO a letter explaining payment will come when a "negotiated settlement" is reached.

I'm a contractor for DHHS and one of several hundred thousand contractors out of work with no chance of retro pay. How come no one mentions us? I've already had to get an extension for this months rent, and with a recently unemployed spouse and bills stacking up, timing could not have been worse.

Unsure how I'll pay the bills or when I'll be paid next. I'm also owed money from work related travel, that payment won't be processed until gov't reopens. Yet bills keep coming.

I am a museum worker and am paid out of museum trust funds, not federal money. Because my supervisors are all federal workers, my office has been shuttered. In the seemingly unlikely event that congress agreed to backpay federal staff, there is no guarantee that trust workers like me would be paid.

Although excepted, uncertainty as to when the next paycheck will come has already caused me to cancel non-essential spending. Multiply this by 1,800,000 and imagine the overall economic impact.

I am an instructor. Training has been deemed non-emergency- which I completely understand. What I do does not impact someone's life or national security on a daily basis. I like what I do. I'd like to go back to work and do it, but I can't.

I'm worried. My wife is about to have a surgical procedure that will require her to be on unpaid leave for five weeks. Add on top of that the possibility my reduced or non existent paycheck. This is ridiculous.

As a retired fed employee and my wife's Social Security check are or will be affected by the shutdown. I am willing to suffer for several months if it will help in the delay of ACA.

I will be heavily affected as will my neighbours in West Yellowstone. We rely on the end of season tourism as many business in town close for 4 to 5 months in the winter. The loss of a month and a halfs revenue is devastating to some locals that spend the winter barely working or on unemployment.

The reduction in my income is already reducing the money I spend....food, haircut... Even these simple expenditures directly impact the national economy. Pass a simple CR, no strings, then those of us who want to accomplish our work can do so (unlike congress, who do nothing and still get paid).

I am single, federal employee on furlough. I have no other source of income. if this continues worried about being able to pay rent,bills, student loan payments. Its stressful not knowing how long it will last and how to budget.

My husband is a 100% combat disabled veteran who receives VA benefits and I have been out on unpaid leave due to the loss of my child and a battle with Cancer and now my husband is furloughed we have been struggling and just one missing pay check or VA benefit will do damage we can't recover from.

I am getting behind on my work with every passing day - my entire office was furloughed even though our work continues. Plus, I don't know when my next paycheck is coming.

I and 78 other volunteers at the CVC are unable to give the Center 200 hours/week free services.

I am a vendor with federal customers. They're not there, so I can't sell them anything. It's going to be hard to deal with one paycheck.

I'm reaching my point to be discharged from the U.S. Navy, however with the government shut down I will have to stay and not be processed out.

I was supposed to have drill this weekend at my reserve unit in Atlanta, it has been canceled and will remain canceled until the republicans pass a clean bill!

Contractor working onsite for federal govt client. Funding is there for 1-2 weeks. If shutdown goes beyond that, I'll work in employer's head office on other projects until shutdown's over. So only real affect would be a longer commute

I'm a National Guard solider, currently unemployed and on unemployment. I live in house and have my mother in law and her kids with me. I'm taking care of them the best I can. I worked for my armory a few weeks ago for extra money I needed to keep the house. I'm not getting paid and my be kicked out

Bad enough losing my federal salary...now my husband's VA disability may be in danger too! He's 80% disabled, we depend upon that income to feed and shelter our family.

As a wife to an active duty service member we are feeling the pinch on both ends. Thankful for my spouses income, but my income is also equally important. We change duty stations at the end of the month. We need my income supplement our spending and transportation cost to fine a new home to live.

My spouse is a federal contractor and it's unclear whether or not she will be paid. We're luckier than plenty of people, but it's still a really huge stress for us. If it goes on too long we will have trouble paying our bills on one salary.

If they don't come to an agreement then Workers like me won't get paid on time. But we will still have to report to work. I like any other family have bills to pay and kids to support.

Although not a federal employee, I am a Smithsonian postdoctoral scientist who cannot order supplies I need or send samples to other labs for analysis. In a week my supplies will run out, which jeopardizes my ability to obtain a stable job because scientists are evaluated on continual productivity.

My bills are getting all strewed up already. I am worried about finances and losing sleep. Already had to cancel my daughters birthday party because I can't afford it. I feel pathetic.

I had been planning to take my child to Washington DC for a weekend. Now those plans are on hold indefinitely. In addition to disappointing my child, I will not be helping to stimulate local business as I will not be spending money on lodging, in stores, or at restaurants.

My spouse is a USG employee so overnight we are down to one income. I work for a NGO on a multi-year federally-funded grant. This situation is a massive time-sink: instead of working productively on current projects, I have to work reactively, dealing with regulations & contingency plans.

I am a government contractor. We have received stop work orders for our effort.

I am working on time-sensitive land conservation projects with two federal agencies. Their closure threatens our ability to complete work before December 31, which will cause severe financial harm to the landowners, who are donating substantial value. Unacceptable foolishness from Congress!

I am a single mother of one boy, 11 years old. I have to pay for rent, a car payment, car insurance, and other bills. I do this with no help from his father or receive any assistance like welfare and food stamps. I work for the IRS and two days without pay is going to hurt us tremendously.

I am an "essential" employee who is working without knowing when I will be paid. The morale among my co-workers and my friends is very low.

I am a wildland firefighter who works for the US Forest Service. My position is deemed exempted from the furlough so I still go to work but all of the personnel who handle our human resources paperwork are furloughed so I don't paid for working until the shutdown ends.

This is making me very angry and scared because I have bills that need to be paid and If I can't get paid, I can't pay my bills on time. I can't believe the year that we had, first the furlough in July and now this.

My college students have a paper due in a week that requires research done at the Library of Congress website - or at least it DID require LOC research.

My family and I live paycheck to paycheck so this takes away from necessities. Frankly, I'm concerned that career politicians who are in no way impacted financially by their own decisions will continue to dig in their heels at the expense of federal employees like myself.

My husband works for the FAA as an airworthiness safety inspector and has been forced into this shutdown. People don't realize without the safety inspectors there is no oversight across the country to insure regulatory compliance. Please write to your congressman and put these people back to work!

I am furloughed. I am the provider for my 2 children and husband and have no idea what we will do. While the majority of my Agency is up-and-running, I am one of 8,000 "non-essential" workers, along with 40 of my employees.

I'm planing a trip to dc and now I can't go

My kids are government employees with children. If they don't get paid how are they going to make their house payments and buy gas and groceries? Why are congressional members continuing to be paid? What a bunch of hypocrites.

I am also a Federal contractor and have been asked to cease work on several projects.

I shall be working without pay until this is resolved. The vacation days I had planned with family have been cancelled and if we get back pay for the days worked, no one knows when we should expect the checks. This is definitely putting a damper on my spending habits.

If the gov't shuts down long enough I will not receive my benefits which pay for anti-depressant medications and therapy; suffering from major depressive disorder, I could end up in the hospital.

I'm a disabled american who receives Social Security Benefits with that being my ONLY income. This shutdown is a disaster in my eyes. The govt NEEDS to agree to disagree so mine and millions of others lives aren't impacted.

I have bills to pay and will not receive a paycheck until this is over, yet I pay $25.00 a day in gas, drive 91 miles each way and must go to work. I am a TSA AGENT. I will go to work, do my job to the best of my ability to keep our airport safe. I love my job and do it well.

My commute is longer because of the closing of part of the rock creek parkway, my son's soccer games are cancelled because they are scheduled to be at Carter Baron, I cannot use educational websites from the USDA to work with my 2nd grade students on their nutrition projects.

I'm a National Park Service employee who got furloughed.

I am a member of the national guard and the military school I have been training for 14 months has been cancelled. It is a true disrespect to the amount off effort myself and others put to prepare.

Why is there no talk about the millions of Federal Contractors out of work, only the 800,000 federal employees. We work side by side with federal employees every day and we are out of work too, and unlike our Federal Employee coworkers, we aren't getting any backpay.

I live in a region that is largely dependent on tourism in and around national parks and monuments. If the shutdown lasts for any length of time, our whole area will be impacted since fall is our primary tourist season.

Was scheduled to go to NIH to qualify for a clinical trial...flight booked, hotel confirmed so could miss the clinical trial because of government shutdown...incomprehensible ...how many people are affected but the legislators...they will continue to get their salary and benefits.

Spouse is in the reserves and not getting paid

I work with federal grants, and determining rules and regulations on spending on the web has been shut off.

A race I had signed up to run this weekend may be canceled or re routed because much of it is on national park land.

My morale is at an all time low even though we have been told there is enough money for a few days the anxiety is becoming to much to bear. Everyone is trying to do their jobs but at the same time they are worried about making their mortage payment or paying bills if the idiots in DC don't fix it.

Blow to local economy will trickle down to all people, especially the small business we rely upon to make this city a community.

The programs that I manage won't be moving forward during this period and may not get off the ground due to the delay. This jeopardizes not only my performance but a program that could help many people.

Long-planned trip to Grand Canyon with non-refundable plane tickets and hotel rooms--the House Republicans owe me and my friends $550 each!

I am a recently widowed 85 year old woman who receives social security through the railroad retirement board. If my pension payments stop, I will have no income.

I paid my rent this morning, knowing that if this shutdown lasts 2 weeks, I won't have enough to pay bills and rent next month. My landlord doesn't care I am furloughed, he just wants his rent. Neither do the utility companies. I am just a mid-level employee living in a very high cost area.

I am a young, single female working as a scientist. With the shutdown, I am not getting paid which puts a strain on this single income household. I am applying for unemployment so I do not risk my entire financial future if I am out of the job past what my savings allow.

I work as a protective specialist for congress; even though I am still traveling across the country protecting a specific member of congress, I am not being paid for my work. And yet the member is getting paid. Shouldn't they be paying for protection out of their own pockets?

I'm a fed in my mid 20s. I started my career with the pay freeze, then there was a threatened shutdown in 2011, and now I am furloughed due to an actual shutdown, with more furloughs to come due to sequestration. I'm a computer programmer and a statistician, and I plan to leave the government soon.

I have been working in Colorado as part of the disaster response and recovery. I had to leave because I was furloughed. Fortunately other staff are paid out of a different pot of money and are still on the job.

I do scientific research and was expecting a grant to come through, which would support graduate students. US is still a world leader in my field, but at this rate not for much longer.

I use GIS data from USGS and the Census for my freelance cartography job. The websites are unavailable, so I am unable to perform essential duties to complete my projects.

Living pay check to pay check. No pay check can't pay the rent and other bills. Credit will be killed and may face homelessness. Trying to apply for homeless Vet program. Applied for unemployment.

Im a currentfed emp for the sba,started 5yearsago and have yet to get a raise.Its hard enough to start a family, now this will just put me and my wife further behind.Baby due in april,$375hospitalbill every mth til then.A break in my pay devastates us. Mortgage student loans the bills dont stop

I am a university scientist that works closely with scientists employed by the USDA. The shutdown will disrupt data collection at many of our ecological field research sites.

My husband & I are both furloughed federal workers, so we've just gone from 2 paychecks to none. I could earn more in the private sector, but love my country & consider it a privilege to be a public servant. Now my kids are worried and I'm so tired of fed-bashing, pay freeze, furlough, politics ...

I feel badly for the affected government workers, but the shut down does not affect my life at all.

There is the psychological effect of feeling "non-essential". After my father died, my mother retired and I told her I will cover part of her living expense. Now what? I am have real financial fear. If that is not enough I am also worried about the work I left incomplete. I am very anxious.

It was a great day to finally be able to drive without the myriad rush of traffic heading into DC! No one seems to miss the "services" provided by many agencies. EPA, DoE, and many more equal billions saved.

it's giving me time to catch up on household and freelance work. Don't mind 2-3 days without pay, but wouldn't it to go more than 4 days. problem is not knowing until last minute wether I will be working. kind of like a snow day.

I'm planning a wedding in a few weeks that may be postponed if this situation does not come to a speedy resolution; paying a caterer is a luxury, the bills and mortgage is not.

My friends and I have been looking forward to a private raft/kayak trip down the Grand Canyon in early October. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and now Lees Ferry (the launch site) is closed. 1.5 years in the planning and thousands of dollars invested. Very sad and frustrating.

My husband is in the air force and I am german. We are supposed to move to Germany again. Because of shutdown they can't get our orders ready.Half of our stuff is sold,I took my 4 year old out of school. In 2 weeks we don't have a place to live anymore because we have to rent out our house.Thank you

My brother is in the Air National Guard. He lost his orders today. He and his wife are unsure when his next paycheck will come, whether they and their two sons have health coverage, and when he'll start work again.

I'm assigned to a government field site and am not essential. Two house payments, two children and wife to support, with no job. My employees are essential and working, while I sit home and wait.

The shutdown has impacted me by delaying all virus testing & shutting down the swine influenza repository. I am instructed to only come in if human health is at risk, & when we need to do testing for exports. I'm working on an I.O.U. from the Gov't w/ severely reduced hours & bills to pay...

My husband is a DoD civilian employee. We are a single income family with a son in college and a son who will start college next year. The BRAC took us to San Antonio from Northern VA, and we were forced to sell our house at a great loss. We continues to sacrifice in the name of public service.

I one of only a small percentage of Navy personnel let go, although I am the only one licensed to perform the work required for my duties. Unlicensed individuals cannot legally be substituted in my place, but they will be. This is devastating.

Thus far, no impact. I am retired, living on two pensions, and Social Security. We don't have any travel planned to National parks or landmarks. If the shutdown does not go on too long I don't think we will see any problems.

I am furloughed. That means forced leave WITHOUT pay. I have the normal set of bills to pay and this is going to make it rough.

This is the final straw that has broken our finances. We will now loose our house. Even if back pay is authorized, it wont help with late fees, plus we will be kicked out of the HARP program due to missed payments.

I do scientific research and depend on government run (NIH) sites to obtain research information. Also there is no one at NIH available to talk to. This is a big inconvenience.

I am a captain on a wildland fire hotshot crew. Although I am considered an essential employee I am planning on going on leave for the birth of my first child. As of now I will not be paid for this leave due to the shutdown.

I've lived throug h the previous 2 shutdowns, so I'm not as concerned as my newer co-workers. However, i was married during the last 2 and now I'm not, so a long-term shutdown would have a very serious impact on my life and well being. I don't expect to be off more than a week or two. Any longer ...

First a pay freeze, then sequestration with 3 unpaid furlough days. After that they took away our bonuses, healthcare costs are going up and now shutdown. I never thought as a federal employee that I would be on the verge of becoming homeless! Meanwhile congress continues to get their paychecks!

Work continues to pile up for me for DoD weapons testing support. It doesn't go away but I'll have to prioritize and drop work that may be necessary. The longer I wait then the worse it gets.

I am on furlough until Congress passes appropriations for our agency. My wife and I are sitting down today to re-do our budget and will have to dip into savings if this lasts more than a few days. I am going to apply for unemployment benefits for the first time in my life today. It's depressing.

For starters, productivity is down. Even though everyone in my office is still working, there have been dozens of emails trying to explain what is going on and what happens next. It's not simple trying to sense of it and it's harder trying to figure out a budget for my family of two federal workers.

In the final stages of a rural development home loan and that is on hold now. Supposed to close on oct 24

My sisters and I go to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge every year at this time to monitor the Monarch butterfly migration. We also plant seaside goldenrod---the butterflies' main nectaring plant---on the dunes because much of it gets overwashed during the winter storms. We can't get in!

Working in the biotechnology space, my livelihood is directly dependent on the NIH being able to do research. The shut down of the NIH--even for a few days--will cause me lost wages in the range of 15-25K this year.

I'm in the Navy Reserve. Our October drill weekend has been deferred, whatever that means. Bigger picture, hundreds of part-timers like me will not get training to keep our physical and technical skills sharp to defend our freedom and democracy.

I am a criminal investigator for the US govt am I am on unpaid leave indefinitely. I have served our country for 16+ years, half spent in the Army, I have three children, a wife, a mortgage, etc. This lack of pay and uncertainty and inability to plan for the future leave my family in quite a bind.

Worked 4 hours unpaid today closing out patient cases. Turned work over to an incompetent military member; he will create a mess; I will clean up once I go back to work. I supporting an adult son out of work for 9 months.. Was told I was indentified as employee who "needs to be furloughed".

Bars are posting great happy hour specials and the city streets are pretty quiet for lunch time. I can't wait to see what happens in three weeks when Urbana is having happy hours for 25+ hours out of the day, and growing.

I am a govt contractor and will have to use my vacation days if I want to be paid while politicians thumb wrestle over the budget crisis. Politicians that will still be getting paid regardless of how long this shutdown occurs.

I am a retired Soldier and current DA Civilian living in Germany buying a house. I need a paycheck to feed my family of 6 and I don't know how this will play out. Kinda scared.

I work in software and the Government is my customer. The shutdown means invoices don't get processed and new orders aren't issued, which can create cashflow problems for small businesses in particular. I'm a Republican, but the GOP is wrong to hijack the process when they know it's a lost cause.

I receive ss benefits on behalf of my brother who has special needs (Downs Syndrome). I am single and caring for my brother on my own. This money is required for his care. I am appalled by what is happening in Congress. Congress should lose all benefits until the Goverment is back in business.

I work for a non-profit org. and I can't get paperwork from government agencies that my clients need to apply for VA or Social Security programs.

Both my husband and I are government scientists. The hardest part about going in to pack up our stuff, was seeing how many of us took our hard drives full of data so that we can continue to work, without pay, during the shut down. Don't we all have mortgages to pay? GOP, don't you have a heart?

Now I have a lot more time to work on grad school and apply to other jobs!

My husband works for the feds and has to work through the shut-down, but we don't know when he will be paid. I STILL support the effort to stop Obamacare! I would rather pay now than pay the higher costs and reduced quality of medical treatment for the rest of our lives. The end justifies the means!

My husband and I planned our trip here for eight months. Now we're here and everything we came to see is closed. Thousands of dollars wasted. I'm so disappointed I'm in tears. This was a once in a lifetime trip.

How about in a very simple statement: both my husband and I are non-essential federal employees. It's quite embarrassing for us to have the rest of the world watch and laugh at the Washington's psychopathic antics. Bravo...what a day to be a proud American...sigh.

My husband is a govt contractor - he's good for a couple of weeks, after that it's uncertain. My mother was supposed to be screened by NIH for cancer treatment for stage 4 lung cancer and that is on hold.

I was planning today to use the U.S. Census for teaching my class about gathering social research data. But the whole Census site is dead and there is no data access. It's very disappointing!

I am so tired of congress playing these russian roulette with my paycheck. They have no idea on the affect this will have on my family and others. They all should be fired.

My partner works at a non-profit and I work at a university. Our kids attend a daycare that, while privately owned, is on the property of a federal agency. So we have to be at work, but the kids' care has closed. We're alternating vacation days until the government starts up again.

I am a current federal employee and a May 20th 2013 tornado survivor from Moore OK. From the day of the tornado it has been a very stressful process, losing my house, being displaced, hassling with the insurance company, worrying about my pay check not having the finances to rebuild.

Out here in the real world, life goes on. Nobody has noticed.

I live far from DC, outside a tiny town on the prairie of S.D. We were scheduled to sign mortgage papers for our ranch today, giving us the relief of saving my family home of nearly 30 years, where my father is buried. We were informed at noon that it is postponed until the shutdown is rectified.

Let them work it out. I am just going to enjoy my time off. It is out of my hands.

Gee..how about "I'm a contractor and I have to burn leave or go without pay"

My wife and I have spent a year planning a dream, 2 week trip to all 5 of southern Utah's National Parks. We picked out iconic hikes and woke up early to get backcountry permits months in advance. Our flight is Saturday, but now, we may not go. A year's worth of planning and excitement, for nothing.

I'm an attorney at a federal agency in DC. I had to go in this morning to ask the courts to put my cases on hold indefinitely. I'm in a better position to absorb the loss of pay than a lot of newer or lower-paid employees, but it means living off the down payment that I've scrimped and saved for.

This is my first experience with something like this. I will not be able to pay my bills on time, if they don't solve this thing this week! I literally live from pay check to pay check and this will but a tremendous strain on my family! I say we need to clean house in this next election cycle!

I don't live in the DC area and my metro area economy isn't entirely dependant on the federal government expenditures.

I have spent the day communicating with creditors trying to arrange extensions on bills that are coming due this month. And then I am going to dig into what savings I have left to meet obligations that creditors are not willing to extend.

I am a small business owner who works on contract for the BLM, USFWS, and the Forest Service. I have had several contracts put on hold during this shutdown. This will directly affect my income for the foreseeable future.

I am not yet certain how or if my annuity is affected. A volunteer for the NPS, my work is curtailed. My recreational plans at Shenandoah National Park for the coming weekend seem unlikely at this point. My wife works, so we have income even if my annuity is delayed. No mortgage, at least.

I serve Active Duty in the Army. I have to continue working--deployed or not--but may not get paid. My husband, also Active Duty Army, is presently deployed and also may not get paid even though he is protecting Congress inability to agree. Oh, and I'm not allowed to complain about any of it.

I have to work, but won't be paid. I'll probably be paid eventually, but who knows when? And if I take leave, I definitely won't get paid for that time. A coworker has a prepaid trip planned. If this isn't resolved, she'll have to choose between losing her trip $ or her salary. Not fair.

The vast majority of my income is now in suspended animation. Get rid of all of the incumbents in Congress, including the Senate, and let's all push for term limits for these two government bodies.

75% of my workforce are civilian federal employees. Myself and other military members from all branches will either be working 20+ hours a day to pick up the slack, or will see no mission completed do to strapped resources. National security is greatly affected by this division in congress.

It seemed like it would be nice to take a day off, but became stressful going in to shut down and help my employees do so. Living paycheck to paycheck, I hope this doesn't last, and I have it a lot better than others in the same boat.

I am lucky. I am "non-essential," but not furloughed because I work for a fee-based agency (USCIS); however, I worry about my friends. The vicious GOP might not provide retroactive pay. I offered to take a lower-paid, furloughed friend grocery shopping. We need to stick together!

I planned to go to a National Park with my daughter's 5th grade class, and we had been looking forward to it all year. Now we can't and its all politics. Not what is best for America, just stupid politics. We did not elect them to bicker about politics, we elected them to run our country. #FAIL

I am moving to England and need my cats' vet certificates validated by USDA employees within a few days of my departure. If that doesn't happen, they can't go and no idea what I will do.

I will think twice about the food I eat (USDA inspections). I worry about my retirement funds (BLS is not creating the jobs reports which could cause market instability). As a DC resident, this shutdown will drain our rainy day funds. Then we'll have to break the law. I will stand with my Mayor/Gov.

No affect. I work as a Fderal Government employee with a Public Enterprise Fund so we have no appropriated dollars.

we are vacationing in the smokey mountains. all restrooms closed. Are White House restrooms closed..? mkrueger@kpivideo.com

No impact, none foreseen.

It hurts to see so many people saying "If they're not essential, why keep them?". Just because the earth doesn't fall apart the first day, doesn't mean we're not needed. Stop lights and speed limits aren't "essential" but lets see what happens if they disappear for a few weeks.

I was supposed to go on a field trip to Hill Airforce base in Utah on Thursday. It's been postponed indefinitely.

The Government shutdown doesnt affect me directly but my heart breaks while reading all of the posts on here.. It is just ridiculous that these people can't come to some kind of decsion if for nothing else to keep from affecting SO many peoples lives!

Sitting down with my bills and determining which ones I can't pay without any salary coming in. What I have is what I have to live on until the shutdown ends.

I live in downtown DC in an appartment with my fiance and my best friend, both of whom are federal employees. Though I am thankful to still be working (and will pick up the grocery tab if needed), it pains me to see people good at what they do who want to work told they have to stay home. Senseless.

I live in Mbabane, Swaziland. My wife works for the US government here and I am applying for jobs at the Embassy. I have been informed that even if I am selected as the winning candidate, I cannot be offered a job until the shutdown is over. My wife also faces problems although not furloughed.

This actually helps me, because if it goes on long enough, the government should be able to lower tax rates.

At this point, it's not but may before it's over with as I receive social security. It's a shame that the Republican party has allowed a small faction to lead it to political suicide.

I bank at a federal credit union that has closed all walk in branches in DC. Satellite locations will not accept it give cash, & the ATMs MAY be offline ( I have not confirmed this yet)

My federal graduate student loan will be delayed and my dad is depressed that he is furloughed (and deemed non-essential).

I am currently on detail as a Loaned Executive for the Combined Federal Campaign. I am still in limbo whether my agency has furloughed me or not (Social Security). I am not too concerned about myself but rather alarmed how this would compromise CFC. I guess it will be another victim of this fiasco.

My office isn't effected by it. Traffic is lighter in the morning making my commute more bearable.

If I have a doctors appointment I will now have to cancel for I will go into non-pay status. I have asthma and diabetes. It can take up to a month to get a new appointment.

I'm newly married and was planning to legally change to my married name, the first step in changing my name for my passport, banks, and work. A minor inconvenience compared to what others will go through.

My workplace requires information from the GLA and OPUS. Without it, we cannot deliver land surveys to clients, and it could potentially cost us tens of thousands, and our clients millions.

Because the Congress can't pay it's bills, we can't pay ours. This is ridiculous and incomprehensible that half of our family income is just taken away from us and in the eyes of Republicans, us hardworking middle class Americans who happen to have a spouse that is a federal employee are to blame.

I think my legalization process is being delayed by this

I'm a supervisor. I spent hours yesterday learning how to effect an orderly shutdown so I could advise my staff. I spent several hours today collecting timesheets and signed furlough statements, and working on an excepted activity. I'm demoralized and worried about my staff.

Worried my passport will be delayed preventing trip to see grandchild born as well as delaying my social sec.disability benefits decision

My rwo sisters are coming to California next week, and we have planned (and paid for) a trip to Yosemite. The GOP got into bed with the loony toon Tea Partiers, and today I will pay the price. You can bet the GOP will pay in every election I vote in going forward. I can act like a spoiled brat too.

This just makes things worse! Having gone to school for four years to become an Air Traffic Controller for the FAA, I lost out on the job due to the sequester. This latest development just shows me nothing has changed. I`m having less and less hope for a bright future for myself and my generation

I have trips planned every weekend of October to national parks -- mostly Shenandoah and Smoky Mountains to enjoy peak fall foliage. I can't get that experience once the leaves are gone, so if this doesn't end, I won't get to see it at all this year in my favorite parks.

My husband is in the military. We don't know if he will be paid. His training he needs is cancelled. When he does get paid will Congress give us extra to pay all the late fees on our bills.

I am a seasonal federal employee, so I'm already strained a bit, financially. I'm 7-8 weeks from my normal layoff and I'm not financially ready yet. This could really hurt my family. I may not be able to pay all my bills. I am now seeking work in the private sector. I fully blame Republicans for it.

I'm sitting at work not getting paid while our supervision figures out how to respond. I am currently looking for another job online.

We believed in our government, lived a military career for 31 years. Still working hard to get treated worse than freeloaders on welfare! You're welcome for my hard work and years of service! It causes a monetary nightmare and a psychological depression because I work hard?...

I am not a federal employee, but I am self employed. The area I live in has many federal employees. I depend on a lot of them for my business. They don't have a paycheck coming in, so they won't be coming to me for business as we'll. it's a vicious circle. A lot of people will be affected by this!

I'm not actually a federal employee, but I work for a defense contractor on a military contract. We're sitting in our office, waiting for the official word to leave. Depending on how long it goes, we'll have to file for unemployment, because we need that paycheck.

My wife woke up crying today because we aren't going to be able to pay our bills. I'm a federal contract employee who works onsite at a federal agency. Unlike my federal collegues, I have zero chance for retroactive pay. I've seen very little mention of how federal contractors are affected by this.

As a non-exempted federal employee, two of the power plants with which I am charged with overseeing will not receive permits to produce power or proceed with necessary expansions until the shutdown is resolved..

My husband and I planned a trip to Boston. From there we would rent a car to go to Acadia National Park. Afterwards we are going to the DC area for a month. The trip starts next week. With a budget impasse we won't see any of the sites or parks. Thinking of going to Montreal, CA instead of Maine.

I work for a non-profit research organization and a large portion of my job is analyzing census data. The shutdown has closed access to the census data that I need to do my job.

I am foreign fellow working at NIH. Despite the fact that I will still get payed, the time that I have here is limited and I have invested all my resources to be here. Not being able to work is extremely frustrating and makes me wonder that maybe coming here was not the best choice.

My hotel will lose revenues if the government stay shut down into the weekend. Navy vs. Air force brings in a lot of visitors to the Annapolis area

My child, a recent college graduate struggling to pay her way, has flatmates who won't be paid. They can't afford their rent if they don't receive their salaries. What a terrible message to send to responsible, hard-working young adults! So much for Republicans touting responsibility. Shame!

My husband is furloughed and we just bought a new home and may not be able to afford our mortgage payment without his income. I am a nurse and I will attempt to pick up more shifts at the hospital in order to pay our bills.

Forced to work without pay. Sure we will get paid some day, but for now it is without pay. Also not allowed to leave work even for doctor appointments. It feels like slavery while our Congress and president do get paid.

Without pay my family will not have our bills paid. Congress is destroying Americans.

Looks likely I'll be collecting unemployment. Surreal. Sad.

My husband is a federal government contractor, and has been asked to stay home. He will not receive his pay check while the govt is closed. We have two small children, and high medical costs. This is going to completely put us in the red. Why are we being punished for no fault of ours?

As a non-exempted employee, I am away form work. It is effectively cancelled an international, scientific comparison of instruments this week.

Went through this 17 years ago and thought I would never see it again in my career. Congrats to the spineless John Boehner. Trying to make the best of it: doing errands, catching up on house and yard work. Thank goodness I have money saved for this rainy day. Those who don't may be in trouble.

I am waiting for a tax transcript request to close escrow on my house. We were supposed to close yesterday. Let's see how many days it takes. . .

I'm being forced to use my vacation pay to pay my bills. In less than a week that will end. How will I pay my mortgage, support my family, and pay our bills? All due to the fact that these selfish politicians want to change laws that help everyone.

As a defense contractor, I'm one of the few still at work. Sending off the majority of government employees with an unknown return date is outrageous and dangerous. Morale is low for all right now.

i was told by my supervisor that if i take my planned leave i would have to take it with leave without pay. I was planning on working on my father new house to get ready for him to move into because his other house is unihabitable due to mold. My father is a Navy Seabee Vet and deserves better!

I will take my first family vacation in over 9 years

My brother works for the FDA and will be furloughed. He pays the majority of our family's rent so if this goes on long enough, paying rent will be even more of a challenge than it already is.

My dad works for the government and my mom is a teacher (not too much money there), they are currently putting my brother, my sister, and myself through college at the same time, my dad not getting paid even for a few days effects our entire family.

Other than now scrambling around trying to figure out how to pay my bills after the October 15th, when I won't be recieving a paycheck, it's "business as usual". We still haven't received guidance on whether we can buy gas for vehicles or other essential "nonessentials."

I have plans to go to Ocracoke Island, NC. Most of the island is national park. Sixteen miles of beach I won't be able to access one inch of it.

I am now out of work with no paycheck in sight. I have two kids under three who attended daycare costing 1000 a month. Now I will have to scramble to make ends meet while politicians who arent affected bicker like spoiled kids.

Further loss of faith in politics.

I am a federal employee and also a military reservist. As of yesterday I was dealing with a pay issue on the military side. Today, I am facing going without civilian pay for an indefinite time frame, and the individuals who could assist in resolving my military pay issue are no longer working.

For the first time in 5 years I'm going on a real vacation. I rented an RV months ago. Recently our dog - who was a big part of the trip - had emergency surgery and wasn't thought to live long enough to go. Now we leave in a day to travel across Texas. And no parks. The last concern I would have had

I cannot do my research online at American Memory: A Century of Lawmaking. Good thing I have the book copies!

It doesn't affects me directly but it will roll down indirectly to me since we are all economically, socially and politically connected under one nation & one world.

Members of Congress should NOT get paid while so many federal agencies and employees are out of work. Pathetic/ self-serving platitudes do not help those who now have no income. I blame the Republicans in Congress who hoped to derail "Obamacare", even after this had been funded and enacted.

I am a single parent and this is the only source of income I have. With not being able to work and bring in money, I cannot provide for my child or myself. I cannot pay rent, utilities, put food on my table, etc.

I am traveling abroad as a contractor for an agency. Witnessing some of the world's most extreme poverty in the midst of this political fight truly puts things into perspective. In more tangible terms, I cannot be reimbursed for this trip until the government operates; an unpayable bill awaits.

AmeriCorps members are national service volunteers. AmeriCorps VISTA members combat poverty by buliding capacity at non-profit and public agencies. We're asked to continue service and wait for our poverty-level subsistence allowances when the gov't re-opens. The media has yet to share our story.

Honestly, my family and I have been living in poverty from the time I was young. The reason I'm writing is because it makes me sad to see a government decided over pride and greed. What happened to our country? What happened to honor an fairness? This is a broken system and people need a revolution.

I am supposed to be moving to a new duty station, however, with no funding, I can't coordinate the necessary actions to support my move overseas. Until this is resolved, I am left in limbo.

Our small business has to stop work on a government contract.

BOTH my wife and I are career public servants; just recovering from the FY13 sequester furloughs, now facing more lost wages again!!!

I'm an entry-level hill staffer, and I'm worried about paying rent next month. My student loan assistance will also be suspended, so I have to figure out that extra expense too. But accepting the proposed plan to deny us a health insurance contribution would be worse-- I'd have to find another job.

I am living paycheck to paycheck and now my paycheck will be gone.

I'm trying to compile open source software, and one of the libraries is hosted on a NASA server that is not responding.

I frequently need to access government websites for research. NASA.gov is entirely shut down. Not sure how other .gov websites are affected.

I am a DOD employee mandated to come in to work. I've been here for 3 hours waiting to sign my furlough papers with no pay and I can't leave. $925 of my $1224 by monthly paycheck pays my mortgage...so now what?

I'm a Presidential Management Fellow Finalist who is trying to find a position in government in the one year window available for appointment. The shutdown puts an all-stop wrench in my efforts, as government employees are not about to interview candidates when they are furloughed themselves.

I'm a single mother and I work for the Federal Government and just been furlough today without pay how am I suppose to explain to my child about a furlough he don't understand This is crazy! How am I suppose to pay my bills??

Mortgage loans can't be in final approve status for closing because tax transcript can't be obtained from IRS.

My son's daycare will be closed

As a veteran and a current employee of the VBA. I'm required to work with likely no pay. I have scheduled leave to see my ailing mother who is in the hospital and have been told that if I take that leave I will be furloughed indefinitely w/o pay. Is this the land of the free and the brave?

A symposium on domestic violence and abuse was scheduled for this Friday, October 4, in DC. If the shutdown continues it will need to be rescheduled. Much planning went into this important event. Travel will also need to be rearranged.

I am out of work due no fault of my own receiving no income. While the "leaders" of this country continue to get paid. Seems fair to me.

My wife and I have been preparing for this day since 2010. We have set money aside but if this shutdown drags out for 30 days I will loose $5723.00. Colorado is already suffering from flooding and this is just insult to injury!

Many families are calling us because they're worried about losing WIC and childcare. There's lots of anxiety and worry about being able to feed their kids and go to work. We don't know what to tell them. -- p.s. this is how people lose faith in democracy.

Both my husband and I are excepted employees who are not allowed to take leave during the shut down. Our day care at FAA/DOT is closed (still charging us) so we had to scramble to find someone to for our 2 kids while we work. Not fun to double pay for child care when our paycheck is not certain.

I'm not a federal employee, but I am a contractor to the federal government. Due to the shutdown, I cannot report to work.

I need a new passport- I have an overseas trip coming up and I lost my passport

My husband & I saved for a trip to Hawaii. We already paid to go to Pearl Harbor. We will be in Oahu tomorrow. Thursday is the trip to Pearl Harbor and now it's closed.

Thank God I'm a retired Fed and therefore my income as not subject to partisan politics.

We are going for vacation finally first time in a long while, Miami is the goal. Everything is booked. Now we will probably not be able to see the Everglades. Very disappointed as we are on the West Coast and this is a significant trip for us.

We cannot live without my paycheck. I am furloughed, which has forced us to temporary suspend our nanny. This will have a major domino effect as furloughed Federal workers will not be able to spend money in the local community or pay household bills until an agreement is reached to reopen the Govt

I came in to work, and amazingly, the world was still spinning. The sun was shining and things were just fine. #theskyisfalling

I cannot go to Olympic National Park this weekend

As a Marine Corps veteran OEF2010 OIF2008 vet, I have been attending school for my bachelors degree. With this shutdown, my benefits will stop and I won't be able to continue and graduate as planned. I did my service and in turn my education is forfeit. I did my time, why should we vets be punished?

My daughter's 5th grade class is supposed to visit Channel Islands National Park this Friday. This is the biggest trip of the kids' elementary school career and everyone has been looking forward to it for years. But now they can't go because our Congress is populated by tantrum-throwing toddlers.

I am retired and may not get my pension which means my mortgage and all fees may not be able to be paid. I also do a little contract work and may not be able to do the work and get compensation. its is very frightening

Does not affect me, and I imagine it will be the same for the overwhelming majority of Americans.

I'm a psychiatrist, work for Indian Health Service, Dept of Health and Human Services. I see outpatient Native American patients. I'm classified essential, required to report for work, probably for the duration, but in unpaid status. Unsure if I will be paid, ever.

As an excepted employee, I'll still be working, spending money on gas and tolls to commute to work while not knowing when I'll actually be paid next. Until then, we'll have to minimze our spending to the bare necessities.

I work in the field office for Social Security. I am told I have to work without pay. This affects my family as my spouse was recently laid off.

During the shutdown, my husband is required to work and will not be paid until the shutdown is over. This is a huge inconvenience since we do not know when we will receive his paycheck.

NASA contractor, and fairly recent graduate. No paycheck until the government re-opens. If it happens quickly, my husband and I will be okay, but if it goes too long we will drain the little savings we have been able to accumulate.

Now I can't: make the mortgage, pay the phone bill, pay the utilities, etc. Has it ever occurred to Congress that these are real lives, real people they are toying with?! I'm not a faceless, nameless bureaucrat, I'm a hard working American with a family to support!

My longstanding plans to visit 3 National Parks are ruined.

I'm a smokefree advocate. The shutdown has stopped tobacco prevention programs. The tobacco industry is not having a shutdown. Its pro-smoking programs continue in full force.

If the shutdown continues and federal employees don't receive backpay, I will not be able to pay my rent.

I'm a federal contractor. My primary responsibilities include making sure we do not over-bill the government for our services. My activities were deemed non-essential - I find that terribly ironic given the rhetoric concerning lack of fiscal discipline.

I'm starting a company and need an employer identification number to get a line of credit. However, the IRS isn't processing EINs. So my business is on hold. The GOP says they're looking out for small businesses. Well I'm a small business and they're screwing me.

I was told not to come to work. My wife is upset and afraid.

I'm in high school, and I need Census Bureau data to complete my homework but can't access the website

I am a gs 8 who entered the government 24 years ago (right after college) as a gs 5. My parents assured me that fed was the way to go for security, as a single mom. I am the major breadwinner for my family and I'm scared to death of what will happen to our finances.

I work for a state government, and the shutdown impacts my work as it relates to communications with federal employees, partnerships, funding, data, information, etc. The impacts are more far-reaching that just federal employees.

I'm currently trying to figure out what I'm going to loose--- my home or car or even both. This is so stressful. What is obvious is that Congress doesn't care about us, they ALL seem to care about whose ego needs to be stroked. The constitution does not in anyway support their actions.

Now I can't: make the mortgage, pay the phone bill, pay the utilities, etc. Has it ever occurred to Congress that these are real lives, real people they are toying with?! I'm not a faceless, nameless bureaucrat, I'm a hard working American with a family to support!

My husband is the sole breadwinner for our family-we have six kids under our roof, including our niece, who's mother (my sister) is active duty military and deployed. We are now wondering if we can feed our children, let alone pay all our bills.

The shutdown has an immediate financial impact for me. I was sent home furloughed this morning with just 54 hours toward this pay period. That means next Friday's paycheck will be 45% less. I will be filing for unemployment as a result of the shutdown.

My professional life has been committed to public service, choosing to join the DoD as a civil servant after retiring from the USAF. I have never felt so betrayed by those I devoted my life to defend, nor has my faith in the integrity of the Congress been so violated. Shame on the GOP radicals!

NOAA maintains weather-related databases and information that I use daily in my job as a risk analyst. While I am not a federal worker, my inability to access federal databases will impact my ability to do my job.

I'm going up to DC with my girlfriend (who's from Moldova) to visit and now our plans are ruined because the museums will be closed. It's just a shameful aspect of our system that now I have to explain to her. She can't understand why people would do this against helping people afford healthcare.

I am paid monthly by an National Science Foundation fellowship. I'm not about to stop working and I'm confident they will sort this out by next month, but will I get paid for the whole month's work? If not, will I get the equivalent of a no-cost extension on my fellowship? Or am I just SOL?

I teach art history at a community college and part of my curriculum is sending students to the DC museums--this will negatively impact their education.

My heart grieves for all in whom will lose their income due this shut down, this should not be happening. If Congress believes in their heart this is right, they should give up their paychecks, if not put these people back to work.

My husband and I are both department of defense employees. We are both furloughed. There is potentially no funding coming in to pay our bills. We live below our means and my husband had a Whipple operation for cancer two years ago. It hurts that we are so hate/despised by our fellow citizens.

I am a disabled veteran who depends on my disability compensation benefits and social security disability benefits. This is my source of income I earned through my military service and work record. I am totally disabled and cannot work.

We are selling our home. The buyer of our home is getting financing with a USDA loan. The loan came out of underwriting yesterday and sent to USDA. They won't guarantee funds until an agreement is reached. We may miss our contract date on our new home because our buyer can't get financed with USDA

My husband is a fed tech and will not be paid his wages. He also serves his country as an officer in the army national guard. He made an outh to serve his country and this is how he is repaid. This is awful and we are completely frustrated.

The republican party us a disgrace to USA. We use commissary, PC, gas station, long lines at gates to get on Ft. Knox. Husband retiree & disabled. what did he fight for!!

My brother and his fiancee (who are getting married this weekend) and my father work for the government. The hotel I work at has government workers no longer staying. It is everywhere. But mostly, my husband is serving this country in the Navy, and we might not be able to pay the bills on time.

For my job I reference NIST data that is not available during the shut down.

It is not impacting me. I am considered "essential" personnel. I feel horrible for those that are impacted.

I am a Foreign Service officer serving in Africa in an extremely poor country. The work we do here is literally the difference between life and death for many thousands of people. I don't know what to tell them. For the first time ever, I find myself embarrassed for my country.

I'm a disabled vet now rated 100%. If the shutdown lasts thru Oct I won't receive my disability payment for Nov. I won't be able to pay my few bills, utilities, mortgage. Won't be able to buy groceries, gas etc. I served for 12 years, worked for 30. This is how I'm re-payed?

I shared part of Dr. Collins (NIH Director) message on a listserve and was chided for being political. The person said in the private sector they work weekends and nights without pay making me realize that he doesn't know a furlough doesn't mean just no pay. It means we are forbidden to work.

I am an "essential employee". I'm required to be at work but may not get paid. There are alot of people on base that have been furloughed so it's kind of like a domino effect. Can't do some of my job b/c they're not here.

I am sitting at home when I could be helping other Americans. Not sure how I will pay my bills, but the millionaires in Congress don't seem to care much about that.

I operate education programs in our National Parks and will lose my fall income.

My husband is an Air Traffic Controller... How do you feel about Having to go to work but not get paid for it? Better yet, how do you feel about traveling knowing that they are not getting paid??? STUPID, this can happen...yet the ones making the decisions still get paychecks...

I work for a consulting firm that works on government contracts, primarily the EPA. No one is talking about us. We are forced to use vacation and then leave without pay. Everyone is talking about federal employees, there are many more like me that are just out of luck with no chance of being paid.

I am not directly affected, however I am deeply concerned about how this will affect our economy and deepen a lack of trust in our government officials. Political games are killing us.

The impact is well out of the bell curve. More than financially, as an agency level manager I have a significant level of work and support that cannot be done today and the coming furloughed days that must be completed upon return via non-paid long hrs and weekends to accomplish predefined goals.

My agency has enough multi-year/no-year funds to keep running. Let's hope the buffoons on Capitol Hill start doing their job and pass a budget quickly.

I know someone that has fought for years to receive SSDI that she rightly deserves. It was recently approved, however, it cannot now be processed due to the government shutdown. People die waiting for their deserved disability benefits, and no one cares.....

Many of my dear friends are on unpaid leave (including both halves of a married couple). Other friends are planning to visit DC soon & may not be able to go to the Smithsonian. I was planning to see more art at the Hirshhorn this weekend myself.

hello I'm waiting for a visa to visit new York this month(from France) with my wife and my three children i spent a lot of money for plane and appartment it was a dream for us to visit national muséums thank's françois

The main thing that this shutdown has done for my wife and me is change our party affiliation. After 42 years as Republican supporters, we will no longer vote for ANYONE from the Republican party.

Going through the last furlough ate a lot of my savings. Just had a child and single provider and I'll have a lot of trouble making my house payment next month.

Can't work. Won't get paid.

Gov't contractor fully funded with FY13 money...business as usual just like any other FY transition with carryover money.

My husband is a disabled vet that fought in vietnam, now you are taking away his 100% disability which is what we try to survive on? That is the biggist disgrace I've ever head in my life If he had not risked his life along with the other vets where would we be?

Currently none as I work for a Working Capital Fund organization. However, depending on how long this goes on, we could certainly run through our cash reserves and we would be furloughed too. I am overseas and frankly, this lack of action by the Congress makes a mockery of our government.

My family took this day off for vacation to go see old faithful, that my daughter has been learning about in science class. Well, we wasted our vacation days and family time because we took the trip here and can't get in. My eight year old is ticked!

Maybe they'll have to stop taking and printing money to give away

I am annoyed that Congress cannot perform its most basic functions and cannot separate those from partisan politics. I worry about not being able to contribute to retirement TSP plan and how our next mortgage payment will be made. We have Emergency savings but this is a Congress-caused emergency.

I'm a government contractor therefore am furloughed because of the shutdown.

The paycut. Was furloughed in the summer (DoD federal), expecting more furloughs and not being able to recoup the costs. My parents paid off the rest of my student loans yesterday, and they work for NASA.

My passport expired Oct. 28, 2013. In anticipation of a shutdown, I used a courier service (rushmypassport.com) last week to renew quickly. The service was great; my passport was renewed before the shutdown, but I spend over $300 I would not have spent without the spectre of the shutdown.

I've been training to take a backpacking trip in a national park for 2 months, bought special maps and everything. guess I'll camp in front of my congressman's house instead.

I find it frightening that border patrol, air traffic control, and prison guards will not be paid and therefore may not be able to take care of their most basic needs. This may cause them to be unable to do their jobs well. This could mean terrorist attacks, plane crashes, and prisoner escapes.

Spent 3 hours on shutdown and timesheet activities, mainly the timesheet as having 800,000 people trying to fill out the form is unworkable. Cutting back on spending for a few week sdue to expected lower paycheck.. it will ripple thru out the small businesses that I will not be frequenting....

We're still waiting to see how essential we are. At least I can stay up late watching hockey.

Our application for a home loan with the USDA is just sitting around now. We were suppose to close on our new home October 25th. This could prolong closing or if its a long shutdown we could even lose the house!! It's horrible to try and explain to three young children that we might not be moving

I'm one of the lucky 10,000 at the USPTO who will continue business as usual. According to our management team, we'll remain operational for roughly four weeks. Hopefully our elected officials will have this mess sorted out by then!

My wife and I are both federal employees. We have no source of income until this gets settled.

In my office, most of us are paid by appropriations that span fiscal years, so we aren't directly affected. However, there are many of our colleagues who are affected and have been furloughed. Many are leaving as I type this. It's having a horrible effect on morale, and no one knows for how long.

I was planning to leave for a trip to two national parks on Friday. This has been in the works for 4 months. All the appropriate reservations and permits have been acquired. Looks like green eggs and ham for me instead.

I am in unpaid status. This doesn't change the fact that I have to pay my kids' daycare even if I kept them home so their spots aren't given to someone on the wait list. And I feel, somehow, not entitled to my feelings of anger, and unimportance because so much of the country doesn't value my work.

Both of my parents are federal employees, and both are now furloughed. My sister is a senior in high school and getting ready for college, I'm a college senior, at an out-of-state college, and tuition was barely affordable before, so this has a huge impact on not only me, but my entire family.

I am an dental student on an Air Force scholarship. My tuition and stipend payments are now on hold during the shutdown. I needed my stipend pay to cover this months rent.

I'm currently a contractor with the State Department - we're still waiting for guidance. I'm supposed to begin a Federal job on Monday, October 7th but have been notified that all start dates are for new hires are delayed until further notice. Get it together, Congress! Quit acting like children.

contractor stationed at NASA. will not be able to use the supercomputers where I do most of my work.

The only impact to seniors is the sad state this country is now in. Washington does not work anymore and the gov't is way to big. It hurts us all.

I am a furloughed single mother who is responsible for supporting my 2 children. I can't get another job without agency approval. I can't get agency approval when they are closed. I applied for unemployment in my state in case this lasts, but I haven't received proper notice yet from my agency.

congress was just on a five week paid vacation, hasn't passed a budget in years and now shut down the government and yet they still get their paycheck.

Both my husband is a contractor and I am a federal employee, we've both been furloughed. We have some savings to get us through initially, but depending on how long this shutdown last we may have serious issues paying future bills/rent.

My father works at a local National Guard training camp as the maintenance manager. He was supposed to be on vacation this week. However, since they needed to furlough workers, they took him off vacation time and have him working instead of the other maintenance workers.

The shutdown is affecting me in that I am not being paid and want to work whereas the Republicans in Congress are being paid to hold Federal workers hostage in their attempt to dismantle the AHA.

I am currently in the process of applying for a passport and a Senegalese visa through the Peace Corps. With the government shutdown, there is now a very real chance that I will not have these documents in time for my PC volunteer service to begin.

My husband will be furloughed for the second time this year. We are a 1 income family. All extra spending on our part will stop as of today. I wish our government could learn what they are doing to the very people who put them in office. They really just don't care about Americans.

I work at a small business restaurant and rely on tips from federal workers in order to makes ends meet.

I work with the Head Start program. When will the tell these children they can't go to school?

A failing economy has impacted me far greater than this shutdown. Jobs available are at a fraction of what we made 15 years ago. Students graduating can only find low cost service sector jobs. Many 50+ colleagues with good engineering backgrounds are driving school buses and are employed part-time.

I just went to look for information from the US Census for work, and found that their website was shut down.

I rather be at work performing my duties in serving the American people.

I'm a recent college graduate trying to get a job within the federal government and I'm sure that this government shutdown is only going to stall my applications, possibly even cancel the job announcements and overall just make the job hunt much harder.

My college FinAid won't get processed. I cannot get my tax return for the FinAid. My job does a lot of government contract work for investigations, but all of that work is on pause now.

Trash,

Federal agencies in departments like USDA have increasingly emphasized the important of partnerships with NGOs like mine in causes like conservation. Several meetings for one project scheduled for this week have had to be cancelled due to the shutdown.

I am presently on furlough and will take the hit to get the word out that those in Congress that passed the ACA,without reading it, refused to avert a shutdown by agreeing to be covered by this Act. Actions speak louder than any words and this is speaking volumes to me!

It's NOT. This will prove how non-essential most of the FED is.

The uncertainty of the situation, and not having any possible impact on its resolution, is heavy. Should I start looking for a temporary job, or just enjoy today's nice weather? I tried to anticipate and deal with job issues, but all depends on how long the shutdown lasts. The world doesn't stop.

I'm going to be visiting Canada next week and though border personnel are "essential", I suspect the border will still be affected.

I can use the time off to clean up the garden and finish canning the tomatoes.

It doesn't affect me directly, but my parent relies on federal benefits for housing, medical treatment, and food.

I just applied for unemployment in MD, 2nd time (last time was the 21 day 1995 furlough). My bills must still be paid and I believe the Congress is ideologically poisoned to the idea of paying us if we weren't on the job. If I wanted to be home I'd retire, I prefer working and paychecks.

not at all. I believe the Government has become bloated and wasteful and it is time for cuts to be made. Only one third of the federal workforce has been furloughed, so what. Most average Americans can't afford trips to national parks, etc. It is time to stop this socialist trend in our country

I'm lucky- my family has financial resources to weather a shutdown and my wife is an essential employee, so we're not in bad shape. In a way though, it's like being unemployed again- I'm a lot more aware of what things cost and what I'm spending. For a while the bank account won't be going up.

So far, it's chaotic. I am a VBA GI Bill processor. Info roller coaster: furloughed, have funding through Friday. Now essential. Rumors abound. We can't take leave even for med appts. time off will be Non paid. we hear if you take off, you will be suspended. Mgmt has provided little information.

I am a federal employee, and although "excepted" from furlough, I will not be paid during the shutdown. I commute 130 miles round trip. I'm a divorced mother of two children. How I'm expected to even buy gas to get to work, I don't understand.

I don't get paid. I'm a federal worker.

EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND non-essential employees. Someone should 'go through the budget line by line' and make it more efficient and cost effective.

I've already been furloughed give days this summer, so at this point it is just one more unpaid day for me. The main difference is that the previous days were announced well in advance. The uncertainty of the duration of the current situation is what is making me anxious.

Have to use air travel and wondering if the traffic will be out of control.

My wife and I are retired federal employees. I worked for EPA and the Navy, she for USDA. We have moved our retirement accounts out of the market and are keeping it in cash without interest. Five of our children will be impacted. The shutdown will damage the economy and ruin the recovery.

While the shutdown doesn't impact me directly, it shows a complete lack of accountability by both sides of the aisle to effectively govern. The entire Senate and House should be fired, they give government a bad name.

After 3 years of pay freezes, days of furlough and surviving a lunatic gunman at the Navy Yard, we are now faced with clowns in the Republican party who are stealing our livliehood, trashing our public service and calling it a paid vacation. The hubris is obscene and will have yrs & yrs of impacts.

As a DOD employee, and having lost pay due to sequestration, I am again witjout pay for an undetermined time. If I ran my personal finance like the Federal government does theirs, I would be in prison.

This will impact my ability to pay for my son's last year in college. He is now working full time and going to school full-time to finish up. I am working at Bass Pro Shops on the weekends to make ends meet. As if furloughs with previous sequester was not enough hurt for federal families.

I am a employee of NIH and have barely been in the government for over 3 years. My wife is also a fed employee. She was just released from the hospital and now we have to deal with a furlough.

I retired from the Air Force after 24 years, on September 30th. I expect delays in my final active duty pay and possibly to my retirement pay at the end of October. VA processing will be delayed. My enrollment in TRICARE (medical insurance) will probably be delayed. Expect reduced svcs @ mil bases.

The biggest immediate impact is my personal financial uncertainty: what can I tell creditors? The second is substantive uncertainty: I am a professor with the Naval War College - what do/can I tell my students? The third is quite certain: my own morale and faith in government simply is gone.

I have a wife and two young children at home that I support with my salary, like many feds. Losing pay hurts our small savings, may delay paying of bills and keeps dollars out of the U.S. economy. And it is incredibly painful and stressful when my 5-year-old asks "Why is daddy's work shut down?."

Although the public is getting the impression the government is up and running at 50%, those employess, like myself are working for no pay. Tell the public that.

I am on a very tight budget, and have suffered several financial hardships since 2008 that I am just now beginning to see my way through. Now this happens.

Angry my tax dollars are paying the salaries, health care and future retirement benefits for the dysfunctional, misogynyst Republicans and Tea Partiers who would rather play politics and continue to act out over Pres. Obama's election than carry on the business of this country in a civil manner.

Right now, I'm worried about paying bills if this lasts long. It isn't easy to get unemployment as a federal worker in my state. And, I am upset at how we are being portayed in the news; that "non-essential" means "disposable" in their eyes.

I am retired military and a government contractor, but my contract is funded through Mar '14. My wife expected to be furloughed, but because she works on ACA in DHHS she was deemed "essential." So, the House nuts have succeeded in shutting down everything but the program they most want to kill!

While I'm on furlough, my mortgage and bills will not be. If another large body of employees in any other industry were put on leave without pay, there would be an outcry of indignity, injustice. Federal workers are REAL PEOPLE not the villains extremists in the Republican Party make us out to be.

It depends. Losing one week of pay would mean we'd need to use about 5% of our savings to pay our bills for the month. We're not spending money on anything beyond the basics. We can get by for about 2 months before we go broke--we just bought a house so our savings are lean.

For the next few days this is an unwanted distraction. If it continues for more than a week it will be financial burden. It will always undermine my confidence in our political leaders and the government as an employer. as a citizen I hope it does not impact my safety or economy.

I am devastated. I'm a single income and have been deemed essential personnel. I'm expected to report to work everyday and do my job not knowing when I will get paid or how I will pay my mortgage this month. I'm scared and frustrated.

The uncertainty and lack of organization and information is frustrating.

I am government contractor who will not be getting paid this month if the shutdown goes on for very long at all. I live paycheck to paycheck. You should have a box for us too. It isn't a benefit, and I'm not a "federal" worker, I'm a contractor and we are a huge segment.

I live outside of the DC area and am an excepted employee because I work in federal law enforcement. The biggest impact on me is financial. I can't afford to have a delayed paycheck and am worried that I won't be able to pay my bills. This also is affecting the morale of many of my coworkers.

I'm a DoD employee, and just went through 8 days of furlough. My savings was basically decimated during this time. If I don't get paid, I don't have much to fall back on. My husband is also unemployed.

I am at home, trying to get some things done that I have been putting off or haven't found time for, but it is horrible to be sent home when others are working and none of us know if, or when, we will get paid. I am a single parent and we're already going to be furloughed without pay this year.

Being a member of the Uniformed Services, we (in the DC area) are not eligible for furlough consideration. We will most likely be temporarily re-assigned into new positions to cover those that have been furloughed. I would rather be furloughed than to have to do menial work.

My work isn't getting done. I am currently teaching workshops to new employees, who start appointments to do their job next week and their training may not be complete. Not to mention all the other work on my desk that isn't getting done. Frustrated at the waste of my time.

Various projects I'm working on are going to be delayed. I like what I do, and now I can't do it.

I am not a federal employee; rather, I am one of hundreds of thousands of employees of federal contractors, most of whom work on site at federal agencies. I will be either loosing accrued vaction time, or pay. Unlike Federal employees, I will not be getting paid for this time.

Stayed late at the office last night to try to catch up on projects, then shut everything down and now am sitting at home. I'm looking at the stack of bills on my desk, wondering which ones to juggle, anticipating how long this mess will drag out. Kind of depressed, kind of angry.

I was furloughed for six days, depending on the period of this shutdown, this could impact paying my bills in a timely manner. As head of household, I have two grandchildren who depend on me and my mom who has suffered a stroke a few years ago, I pay out of pocket for her optical and dental care.

I was supposed to be presenting results of my research at a conference this week. The organizers and attendees will have empty slots to contend with. My children are nervous. They are afraid that I will be out of work w/o pay for a long time.

I'm a retired federal employee working as a consultant. The project that I'm working on will be impacted as well as delaying my payment.

How does the shutdown impact me? You mean beside the schadenfreude I get watching the GOP implode? Watching Mr. Boehner dither is worth the price of administration by itself.

I will not be able to pay my bills this month including electricity/gas/phone/food/gas etc. If this shutdown lasts very long my husband and I will be in real trouble. I am nearing retirement so loans are not an option. It's scary. Thinking of selling some things to get by.

I am a hardworking federal employee who has been furloughed and I am worried about paying student loans, mortgages, and other bills. I live paycheck to paycheck and one week without pay would have a huge impact on me.

I've been furloughed. I am planning to live on only my husband's paycheck and our rental income until the furlough ends; we'll be able to pay the mortgage and the bills, with a little left over for food. I plan to spend the time catching up on hobbies that I haven't had time to indulge in recently.

While not a federal worker myself, DC is super dependent on them feds. I don't like the idea of the local economy tanking simply because Congress is messing around. So no direct problems but I'll be watching closely.

I'm currently working but potentially without pay. I am an excepted employee and will be reporting to work as usual.

I am not essential.

Obstructionism is especially frustrating for people who live in this area, but not because of the very serious consequences for society at large: it's mainly just the fact that it creates extra work for everybody.

I am grateful to the mayor for trying to keep D.C. humming along even with a shutdown. I'm not planning on necessarily visiting any monuments but I'm sure I'll be inconvenienced one way or another.

Extra hours at the office to prepare for all the hubbub.