Making Lemonade

The Budget Doctor’s Advice on Staying Optimistic

It does not appear that the economy will rebound soon and we will all have to learn to cope with high unemployment and depleted retirement accounts. It is easy to get pessimistic in such times as we contemplate life getting even tougher when we already thought it was tough. Yet there is a positive side.

For example, it is now fashionable to shop at consignment stores and thrift shops. Cars cost much less. The improvement in the value of the dollar makes a European vacation much less expensive than it was just a few months ago, and plumbers are now willing to show up the next day.

And who doesn’t appreciate the savings at the gas pump?

Still, the real good news about this meltdown is the change in attitude among Americans. People who charge everything are turning to cash and folks are lining up to learn financial management skills. Every news show has a feature on coping with the economy and newspaper headlines tell of new ways to address financial problems. New skills and attitudes could lead to a healthier economy as people learn how to save and how to stay out of debt.

The Budget Doctor’s prescription for finding optimism:

1. Use the crisis to teach children about economic realities. Share problems and let them contribute to solutions. They’ll be better people than those who just take and never give.
2. Substitute time for money. Learn again how much more valuable it is to spend time with someone instead of buying them something.
3. Develop self-reliance. Nothing provides a sense of confidence like knowing how to deal with challenges. Learn to grow food, to change the oil in the car, to fix a clogged drain and a thousand other things we normally pay others to do. The library has books on all this.
4. Develop a community. Facebook and LinkedIn aren’t communities; service clubs and religious congregations are communities. When you need help or want to give help, you need to know real people you can see.
5. Make optimistic friends. Don’t hang around those who only complain about life, meet people who do something to make life better. Attitudes are contagious.
6. Put life in perspective. Some years are good and some years are bad. Treat them both the same and don’t get excited about events. Have you ever met anyone who never lost a job or had a failed relationship or made a bad investment? It is all part of life.

People who lived during the Great Depression were well known for being frugal. They saved and they avoided debt because they knew first hand what debt could do. Their children were a little less careful and their grandchildren practiced free spending. It appears that we don’t pass down these lessons, yet the problems reoccur. The good news may be that the people who live through the current economic melt down may become responsible spenders and careful savers and maybe even become another "great generation."