I keep reading that the Great Recession is finally over. We have recovered all the jobs that were lost. But is that really true? NPR just published a study that shows unemployment is still higher in most states than it was before the recession; in some states it is WAY higher. So why are we saying the Great Recession is over? I think economists need to come up with a new definition for "recession". The economy may be doing better but workers are not.
On top of all that, salaries and wages are declining according to the latest economic studies. Can this news get any worse? I could start into a long diatribe about how the evil mortgage bankers and investment bankers put us into this mess but the problem was created by everyone. We all spend too much. We don't save. And the news media have been telling us that for years. Financial experts like Lance Roberts have been telling people over and over to spend less than you earn.
And that is really the hard part. Just when you think you have saved up some money something comes along that demands your attention. I have a friend who own three houses and he just learned that a ceiling beam in one house is severely damaged. It may cost $20,000 to replace that beam. And the really sad thing is that the insurance company told him that if the beam was damaged by termites he is completely responsible for all the repairs. Ouch!
So what can we do to save some money right away? I was talking with my wife about this and she suggested we could put some time into learning how to save with coupons. Now, I admit I am really skeptical of these coupon shows where people save hundreds of dollars on each shopping trip. There are details the shows don't reveal because I have never seen anyone save like that at the grocery store.
Maybe we should buy more groceries in bulk than we do. After all we shop at Sam's and Costco. My wife joked we could just eat lunch at those places every day. Two people can eat on about $5 but I get tired of hot dogs and pizza really quick. And how healthy would that be anyway?
One thing we have thought about is moving. After all we both drive to work and that takes a lot of time and gas. Our budget could change drastically if we both lived closer to our jobs. Saving time saves money, or so they say. But if we're going to start searching for coupons to help save money then we should also learn how to save time when searching for coupons. That just makes sense.
Look, I don't have the answers. But I think you start making your own answers by deciding how you're going to manage your spending. We may have to swallow our pride and live more frugally for a few years because I don't think this economy is going to get any better. If nothing else, we have a President who takes great pride in creating more low-paying jobs than any President in history. Maybe he didn't make those low-paying jobs but they appeared on his watch, under his economic policies.
We're going to need a bigger economy, but how we find one depends on us more than on the next President.
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