I'm going to say something that everyone is feeling... This economy sucks.
Our country is trying to crawl its way out of a recession, but we are just getting deeper.
The stock market fell hard, unemployment rates are still high, the housing market is still low.
I work in the food industry, and since the day the stock market fell almost 500 points, we have been slow. As in, a couple hundred dollars a day slow. Some people lost money when the market fell, but even more people are just plain scared, so they are holding on to their money a little bit tighter.
You know what I'm doing? I'm living my life without paying attention to how bad the recession is. I put a little extra money into savings, and then I make my normal every day purchases. Because I believe that the more people get scared, the less they are going to spend their money, and the worse they are going to make our economy without even realizing.
Don't think for a second that I am not affected by this recession. I am completely grateful that I have a duel-income household to pay my bills. I don't spend like crazy; in fact, I stick to a tight budget, work hard to pay off debts early, and help support my unemployed mother. My husband and I have been planning to buy a car for over a year now, and we finally have enough money saved up for a down payment. Just because the economy has taken a downturn doesn't mean that I am going to be too scared to make a big purchase.
I understand that everyone's situation is different.. All I ask is that you look at yourself, your income, and decide what you can do to help this economy, because we are all in it together.