Financial Worries Abound

I just returned from a fun trip home to Boston, Massachusetts where I got to see my parents, my new 6 week old nephew, my other brothers amazing renovated house, a new family puppy, and much more including seeing old friends. It was a great time for the most part.

Why for the most part? Because beneath all those smiles is heartbreak. Financial heartbreak. A member of my family facing foreclosure, another family member just filed bankruptcy, a friend who lost his job and is also in danger of losing his house, another friend who still owes taxes from last year and is in a huge financial hole and in serious trouble, a real estate agent who has only sold 1 house in the past 2 months, a local brick and mortar business owner who’s in debt over $200,000 and has to close up shop, and the list really does go on and on.

It’s sad what’s happening in this country. So many good people are in financial dire straights. Why? Well some people live beyond their means, others lose their jobs or don’t make as much as they use to, some have had bad thing after bad thing happen, there are a lot of reasons.

The economy in the U.S. is in tough shape. This is real, more real than anything I have ever seen with my own eyes. In my 30 years on this earth I have never seen things this bad. I have personally seen massive losses in the stock market. I luckily am a saver.

My Mom always said save money for a rainy day. I take that to the extreme. So for right now I am safe. But I can’t possibly bail out members of my own family in so deep they would need to hit the lottery to get out.

It puts me in a tough position. Should I give my family money month after month? Or should they just have to face consequences as they come some deserved some not? I don’t know what to do.

I do know things aren’t getting any better soon. Rising gas prices, adjustable mortgages coming due with shockingly high rates, stock losses, slow economic growth, and foreclosures! Yes, foreclosures. Some have it so bad they just make a conscious decision to NOT pay their mortgage and they move elsewhere taking the 7 year black mark on their credit.

I do want to be optimistic about it, maybe when the new president comes in, probably Barack Obama, change really does happen, the economy picks ups, people survive, and we can all thrive again like we did way back when.

All I know for now is, I have to be extremely carefully with my spending. Who knows how long this bad spell will last. I hope you do the same. It’s called sacrifice. Give up the cable TV, the fancy car, whatever it may be. I think if you cut back now, you will certainly be better off in the long run.

I actually have a spread sheet where I track all my monthly expenses. I highlight in red expenses that I don’t need and can get rid of. Every month I sacrifice 1 or 2 things. My monthly expenses are falling, at the price of what, some pride? So what I’ll take that trade off any day of the week. That Lexus, Hummer, and Porsche I was driving were waaay to expensive to maintain anyway. I like my cheap and reliable Nissan Altima just fine.

Good luck!