The Importance of Perseverance: Surviving a Tight Economy

My mother was very frugal, and I am so glad for it. She reused plastic bags and saved foil if it was not dirty. Rubber bands from the newspaper and twist ties from the grocery store each had their own little container next to the utensils in their drawer.

We passed the decadent eighties into the nineties, and now we are into the "What the Heck Happened?" 2000s. A report just came out that said women are most likely to be interested in men who drive little economical cars rather than sports cars. Unlikely, I think. There are always people who believe in showing the world how successful you are by means of flashy car, silicone-laden wife and huge energy-wasting house.
Reality is starting to sneak into everyone's consciousness though with the price of gas going where it has never gone before. Talk of 4-day workweeks is being brought to the breakrooms everywhere. The nation is in a crisis and no one knows when the price of gas and food will stop skyrocketing. In one year, should we have $6-9 a gallon gas, I believe people are going to be using plastic bags again after washing them. Foregoing unnecessary trips, opting for "staycations" and learning how to cook delicious money-saving meals at home without going out. Cars are going to be more fuel-efficient as gas-guzzlers are going to be hard to unload. Houses are going to be in low demand as the foreclosure rates send this country into a tailspin.

The only thing one can do is go back to school and get trained in a technological or medical field because there is no other hope. Like cockroaches after a nuclear blast, only those with high-paying jobs are going to be able to survive this crisis. The best thing to do is learn how to save money at the store, with your clothing, and changing to a motorcycle or moped to save gas. Maybe a career change is the best option for those who begin to crumble under this heavy weight.

The most important thing that one must have in these times of trouble is faith, for if there is no hope in you, there is no life in you. We all may survive the next economic crunch, but survival should not be our goal; sadly, it must be now.