It's a mess out there. Unemployment is higher than it's been in 60 years, and the U.S. dollar is losing value at an alarming rate. If that's not bad enough, fears abound that taxes will be heading north for all workers, even while the United States continues to find itself in a deep, protracted recession.
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On that happy note, let's turn to the subject at hand. What can we do, you and I, individually, to turn this economy around? In a word: Nothing. What you spend this week, how much you save or burn up in gasoline is not going to make one bit of difference to the U.S. economy.
But we can make a big difference for our individual economic pictures. Add that to what our friends, families, neighbors, colleagues and communities do, and we're looking at the cumulative effect, which can make a difference.
Here is a list of specific things that all of us can do, starting today, to get things back on track in our personal lives. That is how we will affect the larger picture:
Stop living on plastic. Please, just stop spending more money than you have. No matter now difficult your financial picture is right now, adding to your debt is like pouring gasoline on a fire. It is going to make things even worse.
Get out of debt. I'm talking about your unsecured consumer debt. Nothing but higher interest rates and increased fees are coming down the pike. You cannot afford to be in debt. Make a commitment today to do whatever you must to remove that financial bondage from your life.
Rein it in. Yes, you've cut your expenses. Sure you are becoming more frugal than ever. Great. Now, double your efforts. I'm serious. Whatever you are doing now, you can do better. Challenge every expense, every purchase. Is it really necessary? Can you do something else instead? Can you at least wait a few more days? Get tough on yourself. What you do not spend is money you can use to build your emergency fund or pay down debt.
