If you’re just tuning in, I’m doing a 3-week series on the economy here in Money Matters. Be sure to read last week’s post: What Happened to the Economy – In Plain English. This week we’ll continue where we left off.
What Happens Now?
Sadly no one knows. If I knew the answer, I would be a millionaire according to my husband. So you’ll just have to settle for reading my take on the matter.
There are a lot of people in the world who are furious with our current situation. These are people like you and me who live mostly debt-free, pay bills on time, never miss a mortgage payment, don’t live beyond their means and are generally responsible with their money. They feel these “bail-out” plans are throwing good money after bad and are terrified at the likelihood that their children and their children’s children will be paying for our mistakes.
Our government is trying to get our economy jumped started again. You may not agree with the way they are going about it. You may think that they have selfish motives. You may think they are not helping at all. But they are trying. This problem was a decade in the making and isn’t going to be fixed overnight. Like my heart attack analogy last week, you spend years clogging your arteries. You may survive the heart attack but it will take years to get back on track. You won’t be healthy again just because you had your heart jump started by the defibrillator paddles. But unlike a heart attack patient, there is no prescription for economic recovery. We’re in uncharted territory.
So we’re in this for the long haul. Don’t think that this will be fixed next week, next month or next year. It likely will not be fixed in the next 4 years. We need to relearn healthy habits and this isn’t an easy task. Of course, everyone has an opinion but as the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words. I’ve lived my life being responsible and n
ot relying on others for monetary support. I’m not going to waste energy being furious about something I can’t change and instead am going to focus on something I can. I’m going to continue to live a responsible life. I’m going to try to educate those around me about how and why I live the way I do. By paying it forward, maybe I can make a difference (no matter how small) from the bottom up.
Stay tuned. Next week, I’ll share tips on how you can Recession-Proof Your Life.
Shellie loves to share her frugal finds to help you get more with less. A spender at heart, she balances her frugal lifestyle with the occassional splurge.
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I’m with you on being frustrated by the bail-outs… especially when I see people in my own family being fiscially irresponsible and taking advantage of such systems. But, in the end, those of us that took care of ourselves have the right to say that WE did it (though the help of our Lord, as always) and didn’t have to wait for the government to bail us out.
I’m scared for my girls. What will they inherit?
Hopefully they will inherit healthy money habits from their wonderful parents as well as the importance of sharing with their neighbors and those less fortunate. But knowing their parents, they’ll inherit many more wonderful qualities than just those two!!
These are very scarry times we are living in for certain, it upset’s me to see so many people hurting so much, loss of hope and dreams and the undoing of years of work and sacrifice has left many people desperate for answer’s but, it seems we are all looking for a needle in a haystack. What we are witnessing in my opinion is the effect of rampant greed and selfishness and corruption and we don’t have intergrity (as a nation) we don’t respect ourself, we take more than we give to the universe in general and now, boy are we all (collectivly speaking) going to pay! We need to change, and we need to face hard facts, above all we need to honor our maker and admit that only with his (or her) guidance, our hard work, and unwaivering resolve to make the world a better place can we even begin to imagine it will get better. You are so right in saying we are in unchartered territory, more likely the “Bermuda Triangle”, I only wish I had headed the advice of my Grandparents and saved for a rainy day, although even if I had I’m not sure that I would have been prepared for this monsoon! I guess we all will see what we are really made of sooner that we realize.
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