Save the Economy or Save Yourself
There was a panel discussion a few months ago concerning the state of the economy and Peter Mansbridge asked each panelist for one recommendation for someone who had a little money at their disposal. They had to pick something specific.
The big union guy said to buy a Canadian-made car. Of course he would. Funny but a car (any car) costs more than what I would put in the category of “a little money.”
The next pundit also advocated spending the money- though she would have recommended saving some if she could.
The next advocated saving with the qualifier that the fear of recession is the very thing that could bring it about. If money stops flowing, big problems (not dissimilar to what happened when big banks stopped lending to each other in 2008) could result.
The last, Amanda Lang, expanded on the third comment but said the majority of people will ignore common sense advice so her recommendation is to save yourself and save the money.
I love it.
Save yourself!!
I laughed out loud.
Even thinking about it now- months later- I can’t NOT laugh!
I don’t know why I find it so deliciously funny but at the core it is the absolute truth.
I try to use common sense. This is boring but I want my risks to be calculated, not stupid (though I have done my share of stupid). It is all very snooze-worthy. Simple but not easy and too easily dismissed.
There is no magic bullet and ultimately it is all about making choices.
People have scoffed at my choices (i.e. not going on a ski trip to Vermont because I was SO close to paying off my mortgage). I don’t know what other people go through so I am certainly not one to thumb my nose at the decisions of others. But sometimes, they are confounding. I just shake my head when the people who make fun of me complain about the state of their finances.
I have joked in the past how some people I know are singlehandedly keeping the Canadian economy afloat but it’s not that funny when the bills come in or if the freelance work dries up.
With all the stuff that is happening in the E.U. right now, I am not sure how the sitting Minister of Finance can say that Canada (or even the U.S.) is not under threat of a recession. Hello, global village. The reality is that we are all in this together. We are not immune.
I digress (a little).
It is hard not to give into the Jones’ some of the time but that is a mistake choice. I’d rather the Jones’ have their fun, I have mine (somewhat modified) and save myself.
And, if you are smart, you will too.
AngryEgg 