If nothing speaks about the economy, the crowds at garage sales and thrift stores do. I'm a regular garage saler and thrift store shopper because it is better for my wallet and better for the environment. Right about now with everyone else things have gotten tighter, so I'm definitely skimming the sales a lot more closely.
Today I went with my two sons to a yard sale and it was packed. The same was true at the American thift store. The clientelle appeared to be different than the normal folks I see skimming the aisles also. Instead of the usual club kids looking for club clothes and the money stretched moms looking for good deals for their kids, I saw fairly well-heeled folks looking for suits and other items. Of course this is so subjective than to call it anything other than that would be false, but it caught my notice all the same.
With the recent Fannie Mae and Lehmen Brothers scares, the ongoing crunch of fuel costs and all the effects that has on the economy...not to mention footing wars on two fronts - I wish it were my imagination.
The dependency of our financial system on credit is not sustainable in the long run. Many economist quipped that if Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac had fallen then there would have been a global financial crisis. Yet, the answers aren't much better. How do we break an overdepency on credit when our values and our economy are based on the large scale consumption?
I've been sold on frugality since I first read the "TIghtwad Gazette" almost five years ago. Frugality is the best way for me to get what I need. We found 10 Lord of the RIngs figurines for $2.50, and about $200 worth of clothes for the boys for $40. I found a new blouse that still had a tag from Sears priced at $25 for $2.50. It has meant changes for our family like making lunches, switching from a truck to a motorcycle for my husband, and a continuing vigilance on our spending.
At least I have these sorts of choices. There are many that don't. There are increases in homelessness, joblessness, and foreclosures. It is about how we use our fuel. It is how we spend our money. It is who we vote into office this November.
A is also for Apathy. It will be the straw on America's back, if we can't move past it to some solid answers on the backbone of this economy...and the very values around that system.
To me, this really hits home. My dad is a car salesmen, or not with the way the economy is. This has really hurt my family in that he has gone from making over $100,000 dollars 4 years ago, to last year only raking in $34,000. As a result my family was forced to find ways to make ends meet. Set Scene: Resale. The entire family now contributes to bargain hunting and then reselling whatever we can, but even that has taken a hit. We have noticed that there are fewer customers at our frequent garage sales. They used to average about $4400 now we are lucky to break $1000. And on ebay, which we sell on and have a store, things don't sell for near what they used to, even to international buyers.
I can't honestly say I know the solution to America's financial problems, but I do now that what we're doing now isn't cutting it. I can only hope that come January when the new President is sworn in that it begins an era of change and of economic hope, not the pessimism we have now.
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Do you find it odd that you are not as strong as you once thought?
It seems a lot of families are working hard to find creative ways to make things work. Before I went back to school I was a Massage Therapist and would barter for a number of services, and I still barter for house cleaning with a friend that owns a cleaning business. She, in turn, also barters for accounting.
I just hope if things get better, it won't be like the lessons left unlearned in the 1970's. There have to be fundamental changes to our economic reliance on oil and we seriously need to get out of this trade deficit and credit overimbalance.
My Blog: www.progressiveu.org/blog/jlepp-journey
I've spent far too long in an impoverished life. I look at the cost of everything and calculate how many hours I'd have to work to afford it. I guess this is the consciousness that being starving when you are growing up brings.
I've often been confused about the American way of living life. You see, I grew up in England where frugality was the way of life for everyone, not just the poor. Coming back to America permanently left me shaking my head in wonderment at when this economy was going to come crashing down around them. I wondered, "Didn't they learn from their elders and the Great Depression?!"
My answer is simply, "I guess not.". I can't say I understand the American way of life of living on borrowed credit, but I'm getting there. With too much money wrapped up in Sallie Mae school loans, I'm wondering if I'll be contributing to this annoying trend. I hope not. Then again, with the job market crashing and no real need for professors of archaeology out there, I'm pretty sure that I'll be homeless again in no time.
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You can't ignore me, for I'll not lie down quietly.
http://insanitek.net
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As you've seen from the markets in the past few days, our ability to shake the world with the credit debacle is scary. Change begins at home...
My Blog: www.progressiveu.org/blog/jlepp-journey