I realize that making the statement that it is too bad the economy isn’t worse is not going to be popular. But there are reasons which make me sorry the over all economy didn’t get anywhere as near as bad as it looked like it would. It had the potential to be a real game changer but instead it was saved from taking a real dive and sits only at the major pain in the ass level. I don’t think we learned anything. The banks that were too large to fail are even bigger. All the big car makers are still out there making more cars than we need. The housing market is artificially inflated due to government spending. We haven’t changed the system, we have just propped it up so it can keep going just like it always has.

The boat didn’t sink. Yes, we are leaking in a lot of places but we have enough holes filled in that we aren’t going to need to redesign the boat. When things started to look really bad, I was grateful we were getting a chance to change some things. I thought we were going to be forced to make healthy changes. Instead, we were saved from sliding into another Great Depression and now only have the same old, same old but in a painful way.

At least Americans are saving instead of spending more than they make. That was a step in the right direction. We are more focused on conservation rather than expanding. I am seeing so many things that are a repeat of the good things that came out of the 70s. I am hoping that this time they really will stick unlike the fade out that followed the 70s. But I don’t see anything that will keep most people from going right back to their overspending, overusing, wasteful ways once the scare is over.

On the personal side:
I am caught up in it as much as anyone else. My spending habits are about the same as they were beforehand. Right now the places were I could cut are my internet access and my two phones (landline and cell). But that seems to be cutting my nose off to spite my face. The internet is only $20 a month and it is such a major connection for me to keep me from sliding into my depression and out of contact with people. I have very strong opinions about maintaining a landline when a lot of other people are switching to cell only or VOIP. My landline will continue to work even if the power is out while the other two methods won’t. I feel my cell is necessary for getting work. It is $45 a month and that would be nice to drop but it is very hard to deal with not having one these days and it is so very useful. I am looking at smart phones but have no plans to buy one any time soon. TiVo could get the boot, it is $14 a month but it too is something that keeps me from falling down the rabbit hole. My food bill could go down somewhat if I was willing to actually cook. I find I will spend the day not eating when faced with boiling water for pasta. I have been spending money on clothes with the justification that they are for work matching my current size, the sale was massively cheap (75% off, shirts for $2) and my mom is giving me my wardrobe for my Xmas present. My meds, my car insurance, my health insurance, my credit card payments, my rent, my utilities are all set costs. Therapy might take a hit which would not be a good idea. My entertainment budget should be pulled in but again it is something that keeps me in contact with people and gets me out of the house.

Mostly I can manage to scrape along close to normal and am not forced to really change my ways. I wouldn’t even know how or what to change with the perspective I have now. I know a few friends that have been in the barely getting buy place for long enough that they have learned how to make the change. If I get there, I am sure it will be a good thing to learn. If I don’t, that means I figured out how to keep things the way they are. While painful and crappy, it still comes out to a win win situation. I will have to remind myself of that when I whine about how hard life is.

Mostly it is my depression that is my main concern. I really would like to get back to my frugal college days of a weekends worth of entertainment for $1 (probably $10-$20 now days). There is a lot of money I spend just because if I didn’t, I would get worse instead of better.