So, consumer confidence is at an all time low. Is anyone surprised? With prices skyrocketing, banks failing, the stock market falling, and the government taking “drastic measures” to prop up the economy, it’s no wonder people are worried.
An economic situation like this always seems to hit harder at the holidays as well. People are looking to spend money to travel to be with family and purchase holiday gifts and prepare big holiday meals, and for many families, tha’ts going to be tough this year. Thankfully, gas prices are dropping, but that’s little consolation for someone who has just lost their job.
I’m not sure this new report tells us anything new. We know there’s a financial crisis. We know that it’s likely to get worse before it gets better. And we know that we just have to keep on going, make smart choices, and hope for the best.
I’m actually curious to see if the financial panic increases after the election. Why do I think this is possible? Right now, the news is divided into two areas – the economy and the election. What’s going to fill the gap after the votes are cast and the new president is determined? I’m betting it’s going to be more about the economy. But I could be wrong. Maybe we’ll have happy stories about puppies and kittens instead.
Megan is a 30-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:
In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance. It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information. It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck. While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.
While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.
Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.
So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan. I needed to budget. I needed to know what I was spending my money on. I needed to prepare for the future.
I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way. I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.
