Wake Up! The Party’s Over

It’s no secret. The state of the economy in the United States and the world is tumbling down and down. Who knows how much longer and further we will fall? But as bad as it is, I can’t say I didn’t see this coming.

For the last two decades, we have watched as people need more and more in their lives. More STUFF that is. They need more inches on their TV screens, bigger SUVs to cruise around, more square footage for their homes, more technology than you can shake a stick at. It never ends, no matter what you have, you always need more. I know people living in homes the size of a small village in Africa. Literally, their house could house all the people in that village, but it may only be two people living there. The only thing that is getting smaller and definitely should be, is our garbage.

We are leaving an age of excess, a time of overspending and overneeding. Remember when only one person had to work to support an entire family? For the majority of us, that is not even possible. And do you know what part of the reason is for that? You. Plain and simple. Not just you, but me too. We all get so caught up in “keeping up with the Jones’” we forget that we used to live with only one telephone in our home, only one car per family, and we were perfectly happy then. We forget that the stuff that makes up happiness in our lives, actually isn’t STUFF. It is people and experiences.

So we leave this time of luxury now, as the economy boils down. But you do not need to fear it. Embrace it and realize the wonderful things you still have in your life, all around you, the important things are still there. So maybe you need to downsize your home, but you still have a family to have a home with. So you won’t be able to keep that iPhone on, you still get to talk to your friends everyday. Remember the good things you have in life. And you will be rich forever.