Enough with it already!

Everyone knows about what happened to Lehman Brothers, AIG, Wachovia. Even if you are not an economy buff you would have heard it or read about it somewhere. Since things started going downhill I started subscribing to some nice financial blogs to learn and understand how the system works. In the last few weeks I have even bugged my friends with some interesting post on this and on that which I keep forwarding every time I read something I think might be useful for them as well.

What I find funny is that most of these website try to instill on one thing. Do not panic.

Well if they don't want us to panic then why the hell is the entire blog world telling us exactly that but only a hundered times over??? Well if you don't want me to panic then you should'nt probably be giving me news to panic with right???

I am now afraid even to buy an organic water bottle (saving earth and global warming and those those fun stuff) because I am now thinking (panicking) what if I dont NEED it and only WANT it??? Well this is what happens when you get into the financial crunch mode...I now think (panic) that most of the things I do including Babs birthday cake is excessive. Gosh! It is driving me nuts. I was not programmed to think like this.

It is not me to feel like it even. I have been raised to spend. At least that is what my dad always told me. That I was born to spend his money which I am still doing consistently. Then there is the sudden fear of the financial crisis in the market (a market with which I did not even associate myself with 9 months ago) so I have to be frugal.

When people like me, who never knew how to balance books, do accounts, take care of their money and such are in this position, here is what we do - PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH! ya! Because I do not know head or tail about managing my money. I think I am being wise when in reality I am just going from one blog to another and doing things that each of them are making me to. Well, that is not helping because the bank balance still stands at a BIG ZERO! If my being frugal had really helped then I must at least have a dollar in my savings right?!!!

So my point is. Everyone must do what everyone can. Reading all these blogs (that tell you not to panic) is pretty pointless. You should use your own sixth sense to decide what is good for you and your family and do it. Just because someone switched from using diapers to cloth diapers does not mean it will work for your lifestyle. Choose the areas where you want to be frugal and be wise. Market will be down and market will be up and it is going to affect all of us in someway or the other. Till it affects us let us hope to not let the slump dampen our spirits...because if we loose our spirit then what else have we got to keep us up?? It is the festival season so let us enjoy by not only being frugal but also having a little fun.

As always
Love
ART

PS-1: some of these blogs also tell us not to get financial advice from the TV pundits on CNN or something...well then whom do we trust? YOU the blogger??? What proof that you are not getting paid by some third party to write what you write?? Gosh this world has loads of holes!

PS-2: Blogs I read are:
Get Rich Slowly
Smart Spending Blog
The Simple dollar
Wise Bread
Art of the Coupon

PS-3: As much as I crib, I enjoy reading these blogs...they are good and probably when read by the right person it can be put to good use...like I mentioned above I am not good with money and therefore these things are as good as a hammer in the hands of a monkey (I am really not a monkey)...