Next Friday marks the anniversary of “Black Thursday,” October 24, 1929. I wasn’t around then (no matter what my kids think about me sailing with Noah,) but I was raised by parents who were 10 years old at the time it happened. Their parents lived right in the thick of it. The difference in opinion in what was “sufficient for our needs” was a real study on life. Grandma Atkinson could not physically throw anything away. She could put her hand over the trash but couldn’t force her fingers to let go. Nor could she waste a morsel of food if her life depended on it. My parents came out of the Second World War (essentially the end of the Great Depression) as if they were shot out of a cannon.
The American Dream looked a little different to every young couple, but they all had the same mantra: spend, spend, and spend some more. It was the road to happiness. It was handed down to the next generation as the pursuit of happiness. I was 15 before I knew a credit card was accompanied by a bill someone somewhere had to pay.
Many rumor that we are in “the worse recession since 1929. Is the sky falling?
Here are a few thoughts on the subject:
You do not live or die by the stock market. The reason it is in trouble is a combination of greed and fear. If you aren’t participating in the greed, you have nothing to fear. One way we participate in the greed portion of the equation is by the speculation of debt. Living beyond our means on the belief tomorrow will be better than today was and after all, we deserve it. Now. Just ask our parents.
What to do? Wring our hands and wait for the government to do something? News flash: We are the government! What are going to do? Here are some basics from grandma:
Keep a positive tongue. If we talk enough bad, we will soon be acting badly.
Make the best income you can. You work to make money. No matter how cool & fun your job may be, if you can live on the proceeds, get a new one.
Avoid debt, or buy back debt. Spend a dollar less than you earn.
Don’t buy a new one, fix the old one.
Shop the bargains. A dollar saved is two dollars earned.
Enough of the rambling of an old man. Think about it… Dad
new blog address
13 years ago
4 comments:
Good thought. . . so are you saying you didn't sail with Noah?
I might be dumb but what does, "chicken or lemming" mean?
Thanks for the good advice. I'm kind of glad for all the stock market problems. Maybe this will make people think about how they consume now. I'm not sure when "thrifty" took on a bad connotation, but it's time people realized it's a good thing.
Yes, what does Chicken or lemming mean?
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