Budget: bud·get
Pronunciation: \ˈbə-jət\
Function: noun
The amount of money that is available for, required for, or assigned to a particular purpose.
Not that I would ever tell someone what to do (no, not me) but perhaps a useful resolution for all in 2009.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Today's Wonderful Life
Did anyone catch the "It's a Wonderful Life" broadcast?
While watching last year for what could have been the 83rd time, I was mesmerized anew by the honest emotional conflicts the film captures. The tortured self-examination of a man on the brink of suicide is to this day so laceratingly real and mature, yet exists in this Americana snow globe, shaken only at the holidays.
What a piece of film making!
And what an odd tale to have burrowed its way into the seasonal American fabric, just consider;
A) George Bailey is good, but not always nice
B) There are no song and dance numbers- this is certainly no "White Christmas," and
C)The telephone scene between Mary and George- hot!
But those observations are 'so last year'.
This year the classic enlightens me again, but this time it's all about Potter- who, in today's economy, should be the man of the hour. A sour puss- yes, a kill joy- most certainly, a voice of reason- perhaps.
George beseeches the angry mob to remember that without the Savings & Loan, Potter would be able to keep the citizens of Bedford Falls in his slums, kicking out tenants who can't make their payments and that it was George, his father and uncle who made the dream of home ownership possible for those who would have otherwise been held under Potter's thumb (a more lovable Countrywide, if you will).
The fictional citizens in a 1946 film were striving for what the hard working people of present day America have been given- the powerful tool of credit; to obtain a better life, to strive and achieve more, to ultimaltely exceed their wildest dreams.
And with that excess, we are all learning what 'too much of a good thing' looks and feels like.
Thoughts for the Christmas season.
While watching last year for what could have been the 83rd time, I was mesmerized anew by the honest emotional conflicts the film captures. The tortured self-examination of a man on the brink of suicide is to this day so laceratingly real and mature, yet exists in this Americana snow globe, shaken only at the holidays.
What a piece of film making!
And what an odd tale to have burrowed its way into the seasonal American fabric, just consider;
A) George Bailey is good, but not always nice
B) There are no song and dance numbers- this is certainly no "White Christmas," and
C)The telephone scene between Mary and George- hot!
But those observations are 'so last year'.
This year the classic enlightens me again, but this time it's all about Potter- who, in today's economy, should be the man of the hour. A sour puss- yes, a kill joy- most certainly, a voice of reason- perhaps.
George beseeches the angry mob to remember that without the Savings & Loan, Potter would be able to keep the citizens of Bedford Falls in his slums, kicking out tenants who can't make their payments and that it was George, his father and uncle who made the dream of home ownership possible for those who would have otherwise been held under Potter's thumb (a more lovable Countrywide, if you will).
The fictional citizens in a 1946 film were striving for what the hard working people of present day America have been given- the powerful tool of credit; to obtain a better life, to strive and achieve more, to ultimaltely exceed their wildest dreams.
And with that excess, we are all learning what 'too much of a good thing' looks and feels like.
Thoughts for the Christmas season.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Storytime
Once upon a time there was a princess who possessed the magical power to obtain whatever she wanted immediately. Poof! Voila!
The only hitch was that the princess had to eventually pay for those items.
That wouldn't be hard, no, of course not.
But my, how the Princess could shop and travel and dine. My, my.
Then one day the Princess realized that she'd been excessive in her magic carpet rides.
And there was no Fairy Godmother coming to turn Amex into fairy dust.
My, my.
'Debt', it turns out, is what happens when there is more on your credit cards than you can pay off. And with this realization, the princess started to feel more like a toad.
Did she faint? No?
Ask the King, her father, for help? Nay.
The little lady went hardcore She-Ra on her spending habits.
And the rest, well the rest is being revised as we speak. The princess is your very own, Miss Mary Joan (spoiler alert) and it turns out she wrote a book. Or at least the draft of a book.
OK, I'm tired of the story telling. Back to glorious first person...me, me, me. I mean, this is a blog, not naptime.
As I was saying-
In the middle of my financial fury, I also wrote about my crusade to reinvent my spending habits.
Surely I couldn't be the only one who was errant in my spending ways?
I wondered. I wrote.
I became tenderly aware of other people's habits.
And aware of what the banks were doing.
And what seems now to be the whole world's errant manner of spending.
Now that I've written as much as I have, I can't stop. Hence blog.
There's just too much fodder out there not to.
And in the meantime I'm revising my book, though it's in what I call the "Cud Stage".
It's just cud now, we'll see how I end up spitting it up.
The only hitch was that the princess had to eventually pay for those items.
That wouldn't be hard, no, of course not.
But my, how the Princess could shop and travel and dine. My, my.
Then one day the Princess realized that she'd been excessive in her magic carpet rides.
And there was no Fairy Godmother coming to turn Amex into fairy dust.
My, my.
'Debt', it turns out, is what happens when there is more on your credit cards than you can pay off. And with this realization, the princess started to feel more like a toad.
Did she faint? No?
Ask the King, her father, for help? Nay.
The little lady went hardcore She-Ra on her spending habits.
And the rest, well the rest is being revised as we speak. The princess is your very own, Miss Mary Joan (spoiler alert) and it turns out she wrote a book. Or at least the draft of a book.
OK, I'm tired of the story telling. Back to glorious first person...me, me, me. I mean, this is a blog, not naptime.
As I was saying-
In the middle of my financial fury, I also wrote about my crusade to reinvent my spending habits.
Surely I couldn't be the only one who was errant in my spending ways?
I wondered. I wrote.
I became tenderly aware of other people's habits.
And aware of what the banks were doing.
And what seems now to be the whole world's errant manner of spending.
Now that I've written as much as I have, I can't stop. Hence blog.
There's just too much fodder out there not to.
And in the meantime I'm revising my book, though it's in what I call the "Cud Stage".
It's just cud now, we'll see how I end up spitting it up.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Black, Indeed
Black Friday, so named because it often puts retailers in the "black" (profit) from the "red", has become a de facto holiday itself. The exact opposite of my pleasant little Daylight Savings ritual, the day following Thanksgiving is now a call to action to not only visit a retailer, but to do so with gusto.
No doubt, retailers wished and hoped and crossed fingers that on November 28, 2008 Americans (who might themselves might be in the red) would justify spending money on this day as a way to "save" money on holiday gifts, forgetting ever-so-briefly that we're in a financial shambles.
That they did.
As you might imagine, I have many thoughts on what is fast becoming an ugly American tradition, but in this case CBS's Bob Schieffer says it best.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Blackest Of Black Fridays
Nov. 30, 2008
(CBS) Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
This was not the happiest of Thanksgivings.
A nation which was shaken by an economic crisis that no one seems quite certain how to repair was horrified by the awful tragedy that unfolded in India.
No matter how terrible, tragedy always seems more cruel on a holiday.
Against that background came news on Black Friday that an angry mob pushed in the doors at a Wal Mart on Long Island and trampled a sales clerk to death.
Bargain hunting on Black Friday has gotten dangerous in recent years - pushing, shoving, the occasional fistfight and injuries were reported at other stores on Friday - but the Long Island incident marked the first-ever Black Friday shopping fatality.
It made me wonder: What were they shopping for? Christmas gifts? They didn't show much Christmas spirit.
When store officials ordered the mob out of the store because someone had died, many called it unfair, because they said they had been waiting hours to shop.
The terrorist attack in India will cause us to redouble our anti-terrorist efforts, and economic recovery plans are already in the works.
But shouldn't the death of that poor sales clerk give us some pause as well?
If we have become a people so self-centered that we are willing to step over a lifeless body to get a bargain, we have problems that go beyond terrorists, a credit crunch and bad mortgages.
Surely we can do better than that.
----------------------------------------------------------
Let's hope, Bob. Let's hope.
No doubt, retailers wished and hoped and crossed fingers that on November 28, 2008 Americans (who might themselves might be in the red) would justify spending money on this day as a way to "save" money on holiday gifts, forgetting ever-so-briefly that we're in a financial shambles.
That they did.
As you might imagine, I have many thoughts on what is fast becoming an ugly American tradition, but in this case CBS's Bob Schieffer says it best.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The Blackest Of Black Fridays
Nov. 30, 2008
(CBS) Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
This was not the happiest of Thanksgivings.
A nation which was shaken by an economic crisis that no one seems quite certain how to repair was horrified by the awful tragedy that unfolded in India.
No matter how terrible, tragedy always seems more cruel on a holiday.
Against that background came news on Black Friday that an angry mob pushed in the doors at a Wal Mart on Long Island and trampled a sales clerk to death.
Bargain hunting on Black Friday has gotten dangerous in recent years - pushing, shoving, the occasional fistfight and injuries were reported at other stores on Friday - but the Long Island incident marked the first-ever Black Friday shopping fatality.
It made me wonder: What were they shopping for? Christmas gifts? They didn't show much Christmas spirit.
When store officials ordered the mob out of the store because someone had died, many called it unfair, because they said they had been waiting hours to shop.
The terrorist attack in India will cause us to redouble our anti-terrorist efforts, and economic recovery plans are already in the works.
But shouldn't the death of that poor sales clerk give us some pause as well?
If we have become a people so self-centered that we are willing to step over a lifeless body to get a bargain, we have problems that go beyond terrorists, a credit crunch and bad mortgages.
Surely we can do better than that.
----------------------------------------------------------
Let's hope, Bob. Let's hope.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The Forgotten Holiday
Speaking of Gluttony...
Oh, the holidays- upon us, already they are.
Christmas decorations are up in Mid Town. I love Christmas lights- tiny lights in the cold air, little pieces of brightness in the pitch black.
But Thanksgiving isn't even until this Thursday, aren't we jumping the gun a bit?
Christmas is lovely but before plunging headlong into a holiday that, for most, is completely secular and without religious association and is now heaftily focused on obligatory exchanges of material goods, I'll take pause to examine the forgotten holiday- Daylight Savings.
Defiying the time-space continuum, every year we are gifted an extra hour. An extra hour to sleep, an extra hour to our busy days and the reoccuring wave of relief all day long to look at our timepieces and mutter, "It's only..." Nothing to be given, shopped for, stressed over, nothing to hoard, only an ethereal gift with no giver. Both intangible and useful; the ultimate gift card, usable any way you want it.
Every fall my mother and I wish each other a happy Daylight's Savings and I advise many more to do the same. As I look ahead to this Thursday- my previous Favorite Holiday- I am happy for the simplicity of an hour. Thanksgiving, with a name that should really say it all, has become another opportunity to hyperbolize what could easily be nuanced. Giving thanks shouldn't be tied to obscene gluttony, but for a majority of Americans (those lucky enough to have so much) it seems that overeating is the de facto way to celebrate. The question plauguing me is, how is my being thankful for having too much food making it any better for those who don't have any?
While anyone would say that statement is an error in logic, I don't know that everyone celebrating is thinking logically at all. That's not what it's all about, but that seems to be what it's become. Just as Christmas didn't start out as a time to feel guilty over not being able to afford very specific items on your loved ones wish list, it is becomming an unfortunate reality.
With economisery rampant this holiday season, I hope we can take it easy on ourselves to give or give thanks for that which is truly important- be it a dinner, a personal token or even just an hour.
Oh, the holidays- upon us, already they are.
Christmas decorations are up in Mid Town. I love Christmas lights- tiny lights in the cold air, little pieces of brightness in the pitch black.
But Thanksgiving isn't even until this Thursday, aren't we jumping the gun a bit?
Christmas is lovely but before plunging headlong into a holiday that, for most, is completely secular and without religious association and is now heaftily focused on obligatory exchanges of material goods, I'll take pause to examine the forgotten holiday- Daylight Savings.
Defiying the time-space continuum, every year we are gifted an extra hour. An extra hour to sleep, an extra hour to our busy days and the reoccuring wave of relief all day long to look at our timepieces and mutter, "It's only..." Nothing to be given, shopped for, stressed over, nothing to hoard, only an ethereal gift with no giver. Both intangible and useful; the ultimate gift card, usable any way you want it.
Every fall my mother and I wish each other a happy Daylight's Savings and I advise many more to do the same. As I look ahead to this Thursday- my previous Favorite Holiday- I am happy for the simplicity of an hour. Thanksgiving, with a name that should really say it all, has become another opportunity to hyperbolize what could easily be nuanced. Giving thanks shouldn't be tied to obscene gluttony, but for a majority of Americans (those lucky enough to have so much) it seems that overeating is the de facto way to celebrate. The question plauguing me is, how is my being thankful for having too much food making it any better for those who don't have any?
While anyone would say that statement is an error in logic, I don't know that everyone celebrating is thinking logically at all. That's not what it's all about, but that seems to be what it's become. Just as Christmas didn't start out as a time to feel guilty over not being able to afford very specific items on your loved ones wish list, it is becomming an unfortunate reality.
With economisery rampant this holiday season, I hope we can take it easy on ourselves to give or give thanks for that which is truly important- be it a dinner, a personal token or even just an hour.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Amex Attack
(Warning, this is a rant)
Just so you're aware...
I've noticed the troubling trend at some of my favorite neighborhood (that's Nolita, NY for those of you keeping track) restaurants not taking MasterCard, or in some instances anything other than Amex.
(Them's fighting words.)
MasterCard happens to be my Washington Mutual debit card. (Read: plastic cash, not plastic-pretend-I-have cash)
Amex and cash-only eateries are posing a threat to my "life without CCard payments" lifestyle. Cash-only places usually have a prominent sign so that we know what we're getting into and if not prepared, have an ATM handy. But when my MasterCard is rejected with a faux sympathetic smile from the waitstaff at the final moments of the meal, it seems easier to just switch cards and lay down the Amex. Ok, yes I should have cash on me and live off a cash budget of what I have in my wallet, but I'm not yet self-actualized enough.
Jeez- I go on a business trip to Manchester, UK and no one, not event the Starbucks equivalent, takes my business Amex and here they're trying to enforce it.
I'm reminded of my (loud, Texan) father's comments after Christmas shopping at Neimann's for what must have been my mother's favorite perfume at the time (either 24, Faubourg by Hermes or Panthere by Cartier). Something to the effect of "They only take check or American Express. This is my money, that I am paying them and they are going to tell ME how to give it to them?"
The man has a point. And usually does, though I often find a way to disagree with it.
His rant was warranted. In his case he wanted to use credit, but who's to say how he can pay for a purchase, when it's clearly a retailer who could physically accept any form of payment?
Surely there's economic motivation for an establishment to be exclusive with one card or inclusive of only some. I don't know what those details are but certainly they have some reason for restricting my payment options.
Is this really the economy where purveyors of luxuries (dinners out, anything sold at Neimann's) should be restricting payment methods? Methinks that would explain why the waitress bent the "No MasterCard" rule quickly after informing me that there was one. I would think that if this state of affairs continues as long as we hear it might, providers of goods and services will be happy to accept payments of any kind.
Moving from what might be the plight of the payment recipients to the plight of the payment givers, in this "credit crisis" (as NPR remindes me daily) should enforcing the use of credit be deemed negligent behavior? Ok, no, probably not but I'll say it's contributing to potentially negligent behavior. As we're seeing, many American citizens and American companies are leveraged out the whazoo, so I don't see it as too harsh to assign some blame and accountability.
It's not called the debit crisis. It's debt, it's credit, debt because of credit; debt because we don't know how to deal with the promise of owning more than we can pay for (coughsubprimemortgagescough).
I'm not even going to beat the subprime lenders further down in this rant but rather shift the spotlight to those card tables set up by credit card companies on college campuses, offering a t-shirt for new applicants. T-shirt? A t-shirt!? Drug dealers are put away for soliciting crappy crack all in the name of getting new users hooked and we're letting otherwise smart humans put themselves into years of debt, starting before their 20th birthday AND THAT'S OK?
Understanding the basic premise of using only what you have isn't rocket science and most of the population should be able to grasp the concept. But for the same reason Communism will never work on a large scale, this doesn't either. We want more. Yes, we're smart humans who should be able to manage our own lives, responsibilities and consequences, but the free will bestowed upon us allows for all sorts of errors. We choose to lie about our age, cheat on our taxes and spend more than we have.
This rambling stream of consciousness brings up an interesting question- is there a moral component to fiscal irresponsibility? Gluttony? I don't think paying off hospital-incurred debt could be considered so, if from an accident (not a face lift, then that's adding Pride to the equation), but living the life of a fund manager when you don't have any funds is (More, more. I want MORE). Paying student debt on a private school when your state school was just as acceptable? Maybe.
It's all perspective based on Background. And at the end of the day we justify our actions as they suit our purposes.
Just so you're aware...
I've noticed the troubling trend at some of my favorite neighborhood (that's Nolita, NY for those of you keeping track) restaurants not taking MasterCard, or in some instances anything other than Amex.
(Them's fighting words.)
MasterCard happens to be my Washington Mutual debit card. (Read: plastic cash, not plastic-pretend-I-have cash)
Amex and cash-only eateries are posing a threat to my "life without CCard payments" lifestyle. Cash-only places usually have a prominent sign so that we know what we're getting into and if not prepared, have an ATM handy. But when my MasterCard is rejected with a faux sympathetic smile from the waitstaff at the final moments of the meal, it seems easier to just switch cards and lay down the Amex. Ok, yes I should have cash on me and live off a cash budget of what I have in my wallet, but I'm not yet self-actualized enough.
Jeez- I go on a business trip to Manchester, UK and no one, not event the Starbucks equivalent, takes my business Amex and here they're trying to enforce it.
I'm reminded of my (loud, Texan) father's comments after Christmas shopping at Neimann's for what must have been my mother's favorite perfume at the time (either 24, Faubourg by Hermes or Panthere by Cartier). Something to the effect of "They only take check or American Express. This is my money, that I am paying them and they are going to tell ME how to give it to them?"
The man has a point. And usually does, though I often find a way to disagree with it.
His rant was warranted. In his case he wanted to use credit, but who's to say how he can pay for a purchase, when it's clearly a retailer who could physically accept any form of payment?
Surely there's economic motivation for an establishment to be exclusive with one card or inclusive of only some. I don't know what those details are but certainly they have some reason for restricting my payment options.
Is this really the economy where purveyors of luxuries (dinners out, anything sold at Neimann's) should be restricting payment methods? Methinks that would explain why the waitress bent the "No MasterCard" rule quickly after informing me that there was one. I would think that if this state of affairs continues as long as we hear it might, providers of goods and services will be happy to accept payments of any kind.
Moving from what might be the plight of the payment recipients to the plight of the payment givers, in this "credit crisis" (as NPR remindes me daily) should enforcing the use of credit be deemed negligent behavior? Ok, no, probably not but I'll say it's contributing to potentially negligent behavior. As we're seeing, many American citizens and American companies are leveraged out the whazoo, so I don't see it as too harsh to assign some blame and accountability.
It's not called the debit crisis. It's debt, it's credit, debt because of credit; debt because we don't know how to deal with the promise of owning more than we can pay for (coughsubprimemortgagescough).
I'm not even going to beat the subprime lenders further down in this rant but rather shift the spotlight to those card tables set up by credit card companies on college campuses, offering a t-shirt for new applicants. T-shirt? A t-shirt!? Drug dealers are put away for soliciting crappy crack all in the name of getting new users hooked and we're letting otherwise smart humans put themselves into years of debt, starting before their 20th birthday AND THAT'S OK?
Understanding the basic premise of using only what you have isn't rocket science and most of the population should be able to grasp the concept. But for the same reason Communism will never work on a large scale, this doesn't either. We want more. Yes, we're smart humans who should be able to manage our own lives, responsibilities and consequences, but the free will bestowed upon us allows for all sorts of errors. We choose to lie about our age, cheat on our taxes and spend more than we have.
This rambling stream of consciousness brings up an interesting question- is there a moral component to fiscal irresponsibility? Gluttony? I don't think paying off hospital-incurred debt could be considered so, if from an accident (not a face lift, then that's adding Pride to the equation), but living the life of a fund manager when you don't have any funds is (More, more. I want MORE). Paying student debt on a private school when your state school was just as acceptable? Maybe.
It's all perspective based on Background. And at the end of the day we justify our actions as they suit our purposes.
Debt and her sweet clutches. Hold me, Debt. Hold ME!
I've dabbled in debt over the years. Due, in large part, to living beyond my means.
(shocker)
I quite honestly remember a time not too long ago when the mention by a friend of "not being able to afford" some little trifle on the order of groceries- or was it gas? - was incomprehensible to me. What dost thou mean, not afford it? How canst one not "afford" anything? We have credit, Silly!
Certainly I've always understood financial limitations in the realm of say, not being in the correct tax bracket to house myself at the Dakota overlooking Central Park or even a lease on a BMW 3 series. But with my handy dandy Amex Blue or UT Alumni MasterCard or my Wamu MasterCard or, ahem, others, I could always find a way to pay for groceries. Heck, throw a martini or two on top of that (oh and I did). I won't have a problem paying for them NEXT month.
Oh, the sweet cycle of debt.
Its clutches were so soft, warm and welcoming before morphing into the haggard, cruel thorny bonds that they would remain for all of eternity. Or until I paid the balance.
Speaking with girlfriends recently and reminiscing over our wonderful mid-twenties, two great quotes stick with me as they nail the credit habits of many young adults (and evidently all of America) squarely on the head.
"Oh, yeah! That was back when we all had credit cards and no one had money."*
"You know, when I was a grad student and my credit card was my paycheck"**
I leave you with these, as no greater quantity of words will so accurately describe how and why a very significant portion of the population became credit ne'er-do-wells.
Thanks to:
*Bridget O'Gara
**Jennifer Souza
(shocker)
I quite honestly remember a time not too long ago when the mention by a friend of "not being able to afford" some little trifle on the order of groceries- or was it gas? - was incomprehensible to me. What dost thou mean, not afford it? How canst one not "afford" anything? We have credit, Silly!
Certainly I've always understood financial limitations in the realm of say, not being in the correct tax bracket to house myself at the Dakota overlooking Central Park or even a lease on a BMW 3 series. But with my handy dandy Amex Blue or UT Alumni MasterCard or my Wamu MasterCard or, ahem, others, I could always find a way to pay for groceries. Heck, throw a martini or two on top of that (oh and I did). I won't have a problem paying for them NEXT month.
Oh, the sweet cycle of debt.
Its clutches were so soft, warm and welcoming before morphing into the haggard, cruel thorny bonds that they would remain for all of eternity. Or until I paid the balance.
Speaking with girlfriends recently and reminiscing over our wonderful mid-twenties, two great quotes stick with me as they nail the credit habits of many young adults (and evidently all of America) squarely on the head.
"Oh, yeah! That was back when we all had credit cards and no one had money."*
"You know, when I was a grad student and my credit card was my paycheck"**
I leave you with these, as no greater quantity of words will so accurately describe how and why a very significant portion of the population became credit ne'er-do-wells.
Thanks to:
*Bridget O'Gara
**Jennifer Souza
Monday, October 13, 2008
I am not an economist
I am not an economist.
But I am someone who's been observing how myself and others spend money. How we use credit and the wants of not we as individuals but we as a society.
Last year I found myself in credit card debt- completely by accident (whoops)- and was quite offended by it; I've fancied myself quite a savvy spender, one adept at making budgets (though not as adept at keeping to them) and cognizant of occasional splurges on a credit card.
When debt set in upon me (i.e. when I realized I had no way to keep up with my credit card payments) I took to journaling my debt-induced woes and anxious ramblings. For a year I've chronicled how it was I can to end up in debt when I was taking pains to be frugal. It was in this journey that I became highly attuned to the increasing media coverage of Americans and America in debt.
Well, now it's almost impossible to shut out the deafening scream of our collective financial problems but I'm all ears nonetheless.
But I am someone who's been observing how myself and others spend money. How we use credit and the wants of not we as individuals but we as a society.
Last year I found myself in credit card debt- completely by accident (whoops)- and was quite offended by it; I've fancied myself quite a savvy spender, one adept at making budgets (though not as adept at keeping to them) and cognizant of occasional splurges on a credit card.
When debt set in upon me (i.e. when I realized I had no way to keep up with my credit card payments) I took to journaling my debt-induced woes and anxious ramblings. For a year I've chronicled how it was I can to end up in debt when I was taking pains to be frugal. It was in this journey that I became highly attuned to the increasing media coverage of Americans and America in debt.
Well, now it's almost impossible to shut out the deafening scream of our collective financial problems but I'm all ears nonetheless.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Who knows how we will be effected by this economic down turn in the years to come, but I have trouble envisioning consumerism halting.
Jobs are disappearing and yet NPR reported on rising sales in Halloween costumes this year. We like to escape in costume or into the bliss of a new toy. Iphone purchasing may be down this holiday system, but how many people are still going around with their $100+/month media plans for the convenience of checking personal email on the fly? And I won't deny that nice-to-haves become need-to-haves for the sake of convenience. But really, what will it take to get us to cut back? I suppose this is something to revisit in the next 6 months, 12 months...?
From what I make of it, the most important thing to do in this situation is to maintain a paycheck, make sure to have liquid cash for emergencies and if we're going to have these "needs-to-haves" then don't use credit for them.
(A certain and recurring error of my youth was when facial treatments, acupuncture, dinners with friends, a great pair of black pants and such were so absolutely necessary that even without the money in my account, a credit card was. That and less-than-stellar men are errors of my 20s that I'm glad to have moved on from.)
Jobs are disappearing and yet NPR reported on rising sales in Halloween costumes this year. We like to escape in costume or into the bliss of a new toy. Iphone purchasing may be down this holiday system, but how many people are still going around with their $100+/month media plans for the convenience of checking personal email on the fly? And I won't deny that nice-to-haves become need-to-haves for the sake of convenience. But really, what will it take to get us to cut back? I suppose this is something to revisit in the next 6 months, 12 months...?
From what I make of it, the most important thing to do in this situation is to maintain a paycheck, make sure to have liquid cash for emergencies and if we're going to have these "needs-to-haves" then don't use credit for them.
(A certain and recurring error of my youth was when facial treatments, acupuncture, dinners with friends, a great pair of black pants and such were so absolutely necessary that even without the money in my account, a credit card was. That and less-than-stellar men are errors of my 20s that I'm glad to have moved on from.)
Friday, October 10, 2008
State of the Nation
It's the American Dream to want more than we have (how else would we ascend to more than we are?). In light of the current economic crisis, are Americans really going to start pinching their pennies when our government and financial institutions haven't been? Conservation seems to have been weeded out of the American genetic code in the Fifties- as the nation became a boomtown, running away from the memories of the Depression as fast as possible.
So happy to again be a land of plenty. To have plenty, spend plenty, dispose of plenty.
So happy to again be a land of plenty. To have plenty, spend plenty, dispose of plenty.
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