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Has the Economy Changed You?

April 18th, 2010 at 07:05 pm

This economy has made people rethink their priorities. People are now evaluating what is important in every area of their lives. Today, everyone knows someone or multiple people unemployed for the first time in their lives. With over 13.7 million people currently unemployed, no one knows who will be next. Individuals that never struggled or had a fear of losing what they worked their whole lives for, aren't sure how they can hold on to what they’ve got.

Foreclosures are at an all time high, and the numbers are increasing daily. Otherwise responsible people are walking away from their homes. Banks are so overwhelmed they are shirking their financial obligations, too. For the first time in countless people’s lives they now understand what use to be is no more, and that nothing is promised to last forever.

There is one bright spot in all of this economic mess. People are taking inventory of their lives, relationships, lifestyles, and money. For the first time some people are looking at their real needs and wants, and making sure their needs are actually met. The McMansions, leased luxury cars, and over priced restaurants are no longer a necessity, need, or want. Simpler, smaller, and sustainable is the new “in thing.” Working every hour for things that can disappear tomorrow are not so important.

Affordability, saving money, surviving daily, and trying to keep a balanced life has become high priority. People are going back to the basics of life. God, family, and then work is now important to many. Work is necessary to survive and live. God and family is what sustain us.

How has the economy changed you and your spending habits?

7 Responses to “Has the Economy Changed You?”

  1. NJDebbie Says:
    1271616234

    My husband and I have always lived below our means, but now I'm obsessed with beefing up our savings!

  2. Ima saver Says:
    1271617680

    It has not changed me at all because I have always been a saver. What is scary to me is all the people that I know and know of, that are having their homes foreclosed on. The paper is full of foreclosures every week and I know many of the people. People who use to have money. Lawyers, realtors, builders, etc.

  3. sharmanl Says:
    1271617839

    I know what you mean Ima. But, what is even more surprising is when people are in the process of losing everything and change nothing. It's a feeling of entitlement, I believe.

  4. elisabeth Says:
    1271619870

    I have a friend who declared bankruptcy less than a year ago and borrows from her parents to make ends meet but still has her hair colored (frosted) and nails done regularly. They spend money impulsively, eat out alot and then complain to her parents they don't have money for school lunches, uniforms, and food for the home. The list goes on. Its hard to have sympathy. I know what they make and they could make it and still have some left for a few luxuries but that will never happen. Its sad. For them and everyone around them.

  5. Jerry Says:
    1272054399

    Living overseas, the economic situation leads me to be more conscious about the relative strength of the dollar against other currencies, as well as comparing the costs of health insurance in the States with paying out of pocket over here. Interesting. I hope things get better back home!
    Jerry

  6. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1272380745

    Sharman, I just found this blog entry and wanted to respond though late....I remember one day when I was 21 years old saying, "How can I buy this wax for my floors when there are others who cannot pay their rent and may soon be homeless?" Wax for my floor was a want, not a need, and I was even looking to other peoples' needs before I could satisfy my own wants. That is because I so want, want, want to live in a world where we all take care of each other. I'm 50+ now and have experienced some surprising and marvelous mutuality in life, but also see that few people really share the same desire as I do for a life in which we all take care of one another. Frown
    But with the recession I had this fear that there would now be many demanding people who are accustomed to having so much more beyond their true means (through debt and failing to save for the future) and now they would be out of work or underemployed and not be able to afford either their wants or their needs. I admit that I feared an onslaught of people who would need so much despite having so much and having wasted so much. I admit I felt resentment at that possibility.

    In reality, I have been fairly sheltered from having to deal with such people in this recession. However, in part, that is because my life is already full of people who are either really financially responsible and wise to start with or who have always lived close to the bottom (no fault of their own), so that their struggles today are the same as always, nothing new.

    I so hope you are right about the one bright spot in all this mess. I hope it is not only a few who are "taking inventory of their lives, relationships, lifestyles, and money." I hope we all come to some sort of more peaceful sanity!

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