The U. of Iew

It’s something I’ve been wondering lately, with all of the “bad news” surrounding our economy. Personally, I think the withering economy has just forced my family to realize how fickle things can be. Especially when it comes to money. With that in mind, we’ve been trying to save more and spend less on frivolous things. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have any fun; to say that would be an outright lie. We do a lot of things together; we’re just more careful about what we do and when we do it.

I’ve noticed, too, that we’ve resumed our “stockpiling” ways when it comes to grocery shopping. If there’s a sale on something, we stock up. This is especially true for non-perishable food items and various necessities. One recent shopping victory was the purchase of 10 boxes of name-brand cereal for a mere $5.30.

Higher gas prices haven’t hit us quite as hard as some other folks that we know. We’re fortunate in that we work for the same company, which means that we can get by with one car during the week. Our second car is used only on the weekends, so that means we don’t need to fill up the tank quite as often. Still, I can’t believe how much gas prices have risen in the past few months. It cost me over $30.00 to fill up the tank in our Toyota Corolla the other day. When I first bought that car, it only cost about $13.00 to fill up the tank when it was almost empty. That’s quite a change.

While financial analysts debate whether or not we’re in a recession, I really think that we are. Hopefully it won’t be a long term thing, but that really depends on how strong we are as a nation. We’re not just in a financial recession- we’re also in a bit of an “attitude recession”, for lack of a better term. People are pessimistic, tired, and uncertain of their futures.

In that respect, I suppose the election season couldn’t have happened at a better time. Change is good. Right now, a positive shift could make all the difference for America.