The great depression

There is a big article today in the paper on the great depression. For lots of people I think it's sometimes a fantasy. Something that happened centuries ago or something like that. In truth it really wasn't that long ago and you would think after how devastating it was that lesson would have lasted far longer than it did. I talk to people about downsizing, but it seems to be something that is impossible for most. I know there have been many times I've thought I'm not going to go back to living like that. Lot's of people have said that it can't last, but I think the fact that they dropped the prime rate to almost nothing is an indication that not only can it last, but it will for far longer than we want to imagine. I mentioned the other day to a friend of mine that it's time to get rid of luxuries and start living a simpler lifestyle. She said there isn't that many to get rid of, but I think there are. I started paying more attention to my mom lately and her stories. Stories of eating conrmeal mush, and watered down potato soup. I remember my grandmother talking about buying bologna and grinding it up and adding mayo and pimento to stretch it out farther. Can you imagine? I never had cable until about 10 years ago. We just watched the regular channels. There are many things we take for granted as normal when in reality they are luxuries.
Now I'm not saying to get rid of everything. That way of living always leads to binge spending. But I do think we all need to look at what we can truly do without or do ourselves rather than paying someone else to do it, because I do think it's going to get worse, a lot worse than it is already. My goal for starting this blog was to truly work on the crown principals to financial freedom. So far I have never made it past step one. I'm determined to do better next year. It's not a resolution, just a determination to change the way I am living and start moving in the direction I want to be, which is financially free. I will be posting starting next month on my progress on my money map. You can find more details on the money map at www.crown.org
It changed a lot of the way we were doing things but we still have a lot to work on. My friend Maureen once said that people do not want to change until the pain of not changing is greater. I think that's true. The debt causes me great pain, and I want to be free of it. For my friends that are reading this, I hope you will encourage me next year as I struggle and pray for my success.