Well… it’s here isn’t it? I didn’t want to acknowledge that there was a problem until it was like a neon sign right in front of my face. I didn’t even want to admit it could affect me. I lived in a bubble of non-reality believing every little thing the government told me. Now, the Recession has been showing its ugly face and nearly every family in America is, has been, or will be affected. Many Americans were in complete denial about the coming recession. I was one of them. I would think, “What am I going to do?”, “How is this going to affect me and my family?” Just as I begin thinking this, a whirlwind of anxiety comes over me. And it’s so scary and too much for me to handle. And I literally try and wish the problem away. My reality check came when in a two week period, 3 of my friends and family lost their jobs.
My Reality Check
Every morning I sit in front of my computer and start reading about what is going on in the country and just like the headlines that you read, it’s all about how bad everything is right now. I am affectionately calling it my “morning cup of anxiety.” My husband chimes back and calls it, “the morning cup of reality,” and, how right he is. I have used denial and anxiety as a buffer to wish the problem away. I didn’t want to admit we had a real problem on our hands. I kept telling myself, “It’s anxiety and everything will be fine.” But when my husband uses the word reality. Wow… that word has some muscle power. I can’t use denial and anxiety in conjunction with that word. Anxiety is often defined as a fear of impending doom. Reality means the problems are real and present. They are not going away. I realize that now. How do I handle this?
Now that I admit this to myself, I am apologizing to you all because I played a part in the downfall of this country… I suppose we all did. I have come to the startling realization that I was a fed a line of crap that I believed and now I admit I have a problem.
We are Addicted to Consumerism
We are constantly fed pictures of rich socialites and artists in the best clothes. We want the things that they have even though we cannot afford them. The term, “shop therapy” is widely used now. It’s so easy to get credit that our debt has spiraled out of control. We, as Americans have a consumption addiction. It’s a problem that each of us must address and be aware of. Now is the time to start taking steps toward change. Lax government policies, with greedy banking interest at their core, have pushed free money [in the form of credit] on Americans for over 30 years. Money is a very, very cheap drug. The drug dealers know that America is hooked, and rather than seeking treatment, they push even harder. The fact is we must take personal responsibility for this. We can’t ignore it like a big white elephant. The world is being affected by the mistakes, lies and denial that our politicians and citizenry engage in. It’s time to sit yourself down and say, we have a problem. It’s time to get help.
The reality of the situation is: the money bubble has popped. This country is broke. Read the previous two sentences again.
Our federal, state and local governments have spent all of the riches this country has produced in the last 200 years and now they’re borrowing from our future with collateralized loans. And, the collateral is YOU.
An Apology To Every Citizen In This Country
I admit that I am hooked on buying things. I love the rush it gives me. I love the way something new looks in my home or seeing a new dress on my daughter. I was approved for credit cards before I was mature enough to handle the responsibility. And, at the time I didn’t care. I wanted free money. At one point, I was in so much debt that I couldn’t even pay the bills. I crippled myself financially. I bought into the “free money” drug and got high every chance I got!
We should all realize now that we have been crippling ourselves for a short lived fix. Now that the economy is basically on life support I have a duty to myself to stop my addiction and prepare for the inevitable. I am taking full responsibility for my part in this.
By this admission, I have decided to begin this website to help myself and my fellow American in preparing for what is to come. And for the part that I have caused in the crippling of my beautiful nation, I apologize profoundly. It breaks my heart to think that millions of us will be dealing with hard situations and having to struggle to buy food and keep shelters over our heads. As Americans I know we will get through this, but not without some hard times ahead. But I will take comfort in these words, “Dont count your problems. Count your blessings.” We will get through it with faith. Best of luck to you all. I’m praying for my country and my fellow citizens.
What kills me is that here we all are, desperately trying to control our spending before we’re all in the poorhouse, and the talking heads are telling us that we need to spend spend spend to get the economy up and going again!
We have a house payment and one car payment and that is is it (besides utilities and insurance, of course). No credit cards, no personal loans, nada. If we had more than that, in this crappy economy, we’d be sunk! Yet all around us we see people that we KNOW earn exactly what we do, driving two brand new cars (and not Kias either!) and living in McMansions and bringing home the latest in electronics and video games and computers, wearing expensive clothing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a ho for Christian Louboutin shoes and Fendi bags, but I am rocking Payless fashion at the moment in order to keep our finances flush.
The only kind of shoes you need to be wearing are Army Boots……read between the lines.