If you don't know that the economy is in trouble, you must be a) a bear in hiberantion or b) insanely rich and insanely insensitive to the world. Yes, unemployment rates are high, stocks are down, homes are being foreclosed, and faith is little. In an article titled, Drastic Times, researchers state that unemployment rates are unexpected to increase to alarming rate of 11-12% in the next few years. The article states, "On average, the GDP per person falls by more than 9% from its peak and takes almost two years to reach bottom."
The most troublesome of all the economic troubles, Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University states, "is the effect on public finances." Real government debt has risen to an average of 86% affected by severe crisis. Don't just sit and wait while the government is busy coming up with ideas to save the economy, there are things you can do for yourself, that will help lower your debt and increase your capitol in such tough times. Some discipline that I've learned for myself:
1) Set a budget- One of my big and necessary expense is groceries. So I set a budget for groceries. How much can I afford a month? Through trial and error, I finally found the right budget for me, and I make myself and my fiance stick with it.
2) Don't eat out - we only eat out on special occassion now (and that's rare). Or if we absolutely have no choice, we'll eat out. You'll be suprise when you realize the amount of money you spend on eating out.
3) Pay cash or debit- Try to have only one credit card and use it only incase of an emergency. The interest on those things are hideous and I cringe at the amount of money they take from people.
I know saving and budgeting is hard, but believe me it's worth it. When you can go to sleep at night and not have a load of debt sitting on your shoulders, you'll feel in control of yourself and independent and it's all worth it.
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