It seems as if everyone is worried about the economy going into a double-dip recession these days. Worry in and of itself can be very destructive, both to your mental state and to the economy overall. Besides pulling out your hair, causing acid reflux and other health problems, worry can actually become self-fulfilling prophecy and cause the very thing you are most afraid of.
A number of years ago when I read Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, one method he suggested was just to accept the worst case scenario and then move on with life from there.
So accept it: THE ECONOMY IS DOOMED! it's going to be 10 years of economic nightmare!
Now what?
For each individual the plan may be different, but let me make some suggestions.
Pay down debt. Clear off the balances off of your Visa (V) and Mastercard (MC). It is rarely good to pay high interest rates on money, and when everything recovers you are going to be happy if you are balance free.
Get some education. Is there a degree that you have always wanted, some night classes that you are putting off? Now is the time to fill your mind, learn new skills and expand your horizons. Being more educated can help you in both good times and bad, and it is rarely a wasted opportunity. Be sure to consider the starting pay of your chosen profession as there are some degrees that have a very poor return on investment. (That is why you can do double majors.) Maybe you can even do it online at someplace like Strayer (STRA) or Apollo (APOL).
Reconnect with old friends. There is probably a whole list of people who you have been too busy to call, have not written or kept in contact with. Call up old friends just to say hi. Go through your old rolodex or Google (GOOG) those you haven't heard from in a while, or get on Facebook and search the social network. It's always great to hear from an old friend, and you might provide just the lift they need to get through a tough time.
Take a cooking class. Rather than go out to eat with all your friends, cut back by cooking at home. Better yet, make it a social event, put an ethnic spin on it and see who can create the best-tasting, most cost-effective meal at home. Most of the world survives on much less than America's food budget and their food does not taste bad. The average Indian survives on about $1,000 U.S. dollars per year; they eat a lot of rice and vegetables, but use an impressive array of spices and multiple vegetable curries to appeal to the palette. With an economy that may be bad for years, having multiple easy, cheap, tasty and healthy home-cooked meals ideas ready to go could really help the grocery budget and be fun.
Balance your stock portfolio. Are you diversified properly? Are you set for both good times and bad? Do you have bellwether stocks like General Electric (GE) and Proctor & Gamble (PG)? Is there some energy like Exxon Mobil (XOM) or Chevron (CVX) and technology like Microsoft (MSFT) and HP (HPQ)? From dividends to growth, make sure you are diversified.
Make a plan for good times. As much as preparation for bad times can be good, the hurricane does not hit every year. Make a plan on how to capitalize on events if they go better than expected. Write out your goals, review budgets and make plans for the future going out one, five and ten years or more.
I don't think all of American's problems are going to be solved by eating rice curry, although it is a great meal. If everyone in America would just quit worrying about bad times, tighten the belt while working for and investing in the future, the economy could turn itself around very quickly. Some people may decide to pursue a new hobby, begin volunteering or even start a new business, but once you have accepted the worse and start taking part in a plan for the future, things seem so much better!
America is a strong, vibrant, flexible and creative country that has overcome much worse in the past. Americans are honest, hard-working, flexible, resourceful and out-of-the box thinkers. We are competitive, independent and responsible for many of the great innovations of the past several hundred years. From harnessing electricity and inventing the light bulb to creating the assemble line and landing on the moon, it is Americans that have led the world. From the personal computer and iPads to the latest drug research, Americans need to stand up and take credit -- and then get back to work.
Paying down your credit card debt, educating yourself for the future or reconnecting with old friends over dinner are things you are unlikely to regret. And before you know it, you may be just too busy to worry about the economy because you are involved with the next big thing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-01-2010 @ 7:17PM
JIM said...
Who is to blame..The DEMS & REPS..and the LOSER IMMIGRANTS...When has anyone president congress senators done one thing right...NOT IN MY LIFE TIME.
We should cut ALL FOREIGN AID
BRUTALIZE THE ILLEGALS..LEGALIZE HATE CRIMES AGAINST THEM!!
SUPPORT ARIZONA....
NO MERCY JUST PLAIN HATE..!!
8-01-2010 @ 8:01PM
Steve said...
Let the good times roll. I am prepared. I am diversified and expect a bull run like none other since the Great Depression. Bush, Reagan and Bush dumped us into a pile of crap and Clinton and Obama are pulling us out, dusting us off and giving us a great economy. My generation is retiring in droves, so the jobs will be abundant and the pay much better. The world economy is being led out by Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Japan and China. We are a world economy with a very bright future and wonderful American innovation. The market was up 6% last month and the fund managers who missed that are pulling their hair out. We either have one more correction or shoot the moon. The gold balloon has burst and private bonds are up in yield. All you need is a good education and some ability to invest for the long haul and you will too will be successful. Now all you doom and gloom freaks, have at it.
8-01-2010 @ 8:01PM
william lindblad said...
Good post. However, within all of the optimism there simply remains the cold hard fact that along with a dismal economy, we are also going in the same direction as that of mighty Rome. It sure looks to this individual that we are in a period of decline. Once we were the manufacturing giant, but now we are the ghost of what was. The big mills and the small mills are long gone, along with many small business operations. So are all of the jobs, and not everyone is in a position to further their education when times are tough. Most choose to eat first, the second being keeping a roof over their heads.
It is nice to be young, idealistic and optimistic, and while is is good to dream of better things to come, one must also be practical and concentrate on the immediate.
At present you are probably close in observation that this will require 10 years to mend. It might even be longer as we encountered a similar situation that began in 1893.
It's old, and lost to time but it took until 1910. The present has an eerie similarity and if this is a repeat - a rocky road lies ahead.
8-01-2010 @ 10:39PM
DAN BRINKLEY said...
The economy is doomed because democrates and republican are to busy playing the blame game. When they should be working together to fix the problem.
8-01-2010 @ 10:43PM
Michael Sanders said...
This article should be re-printed on parchement and sent to every American household.
8-02-2010 @ 8:17AM
Clay Gunter said...
BigBiz is the cause of our problems(Bankers,Wall Street,and Oil companies!) By the GOP Goobers playing the less government scam against America, we're going to lose! They are the ONLY ones big enough to put BigBiz in their place and protect us from BigBiz and their greedy self-serving ways!
8-02-2010 @ 10:43AM
LongRifle said...
Bring back production to the US...Repeal the Endangered species act, the Marine Mammal protection Act, the EPA, OSHA, Dissolve all unions, Eliminate government pensions...until then, we cannot compete with China and in ten years they will be the world's largest economy--and all at our expense. Ford, Edison, et al could not even invent their products in the US today.
8-02-2010 @ 11:42AM
BHarrison said...
A relatively superb article.
Of course it is going to take at least a decade to somewhat recover from this economic debacle that took over a decade to be developed by our financial institutions. It's just a matter of everyone adapting to the economic situations as can best be done and to work to improve our financial situations.
No are no "magic solutions"; it will just take consistent efforsts to slowly rebuild our economy and personal lives for those who have been impacted the most. (Certainly not everyone was financially devastated by the economic collapse, were they?)
8-04-2010 @ 2:34AM
Dave Mayo said...
The future is as YOU predict. It can be heaven, it can be Hell! Once you get that vision in your mind, unless you change it, that is what you will focus on. Defeat or optimism?
If you are living in the last century you will fail. Time moves on, so should you. Or maybe you would like to turn your car in for a horse and buggy? Absurd? Yes, but unless you understand, you do not understand. I wonder if Yogi Berra ever said that?
Go out, pick up a rock, thrown it over your shoulder. When it lands it is over. From here on you will THINK ONLY POSITIVE THOUGHTS. Go to the library, ask the librarian for "Think and Grow Rich" it is FREE! While you are there ask for "The Strangest Secret" by Earl Nighingale, Listen to it over and over again until you hear the secret. The secret is LOGIC! You WILL talk to yourself. Say Nice things. You are not a failure, You are just not informed.
The job process is a Lottery and your resume is ONE ticket to each job you apply for. Hundreds if not Thousands are also applying. Once the electronic scan and mass destruction of 50 to 90% of the resumes are complete (no Human Resources are not going to sit down and read each resume they get, it will take too long and cost the company way too much money) ONE lucky winner will emerge with the title of employee. One out of hundreds or thousands. That is a lottery.
What do you do instead? Contact me at Mayoaid@aol.com I promise you my consultation is FREE. I will not send you worthless information that you can pick up on the Internet and try to sell it to you.
I will be looking at you just as hard as you are looking at me. If I am investing my time in you, I do not want to waste my time on a scam, a sham, someone who can not see the reality and logic that you can NOT fix the problem with the same mind set that you have (or you would have already moved on.) You need a fresh idea and outlook. Again, contact Dave Mayo, Mayoaid@aol.com.
8-10-2010 @ 3:57AM
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8-16-2010 @ 5:18AM
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