Uncommon Cents

I realize I am in a better position than many in this economy. I have two jobs where I am high up the seniority ladder–one ten years, the other fourteen. I’ve just about completed the mortgage refinance which drops the interest rate from 5.875 to 4.25 percent. I’ve gotten (small) salary increases in the last year. The income from this blog is a bit down but it’s such a small percentage of my income that it’s really not significant–so my income has been steady. And prices in many cases are down–especially in energy. I’ve even found places to cut back due to the dip in my emergency fund for significant but small (hopefully) one time fiascos.

So for someone like me, the recession is largely psychological. Yes, I’ve watched my investment accounts dip to levels I’ve not seen in years, and it doesn’t thrill me, but those accounts were ahead (as much as a couple of years) of where I was hoping they’d be in 2007 and they had been doing very well for quite some time. Yes, I’ve had family affected by the economy–my sister is still unemployed a year after Aloha Airlines closed down. And yes, I’ve had my truck damaged and my bike stolen, which might be due to people’s desperation. But still, any significant spending slowdown–and I’m not sure I can actually call $30 a week that I’m stuffing into my emergency fund a significant slowdown–that’s coming from me and that I attribute to “the economy” is just about my worrying, and not because I’m actually hurting worse financially than I was a couple years ago.

Are other people cutting back on spending for psychological reasons rather than real financial problems? I would not be surprised.

Tags: Economy, Emergency fund, Interest, Investing, Social aspects, Stocks

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