Thursday, February 26, 2009

Gaining strength by doing without : What we did during the Great Recession

The Washington Post often reminds me that I live in a different state .A different state of finance and of mind.My suspicion(hope) is that this must be satire.They should label this stuff better ,it is in the Business section,not normally the go to source of humor,even in the best of times .The many sacrifices being made in this country are documented ably by the paper .Good solid American citizens forced to cope with the demands of hard times .
Far reaching tales of the unbelievable pluck and resiliency ,that ultimately will help pull us through .One can only read in awe and wonder "Do I to,have what it may take ?"
The recession has had a powerful effect on the American state of mind shouts the Post

People forced to cancel lawn services ,forgo tailoring services and even dye their own hair ! Hard times .Spending on pet services is down and will only grow at 6% percent this year from a recent high of 40%growth.
Here are more examples of the sacrifices borne no doubt with grim faced stoicism . Within one week, Efthalia(not her real name ) changed the bulb in the headlight of her Mercedes, cutting out a $120 trip to the mechanic. The couple made a cake for their 11-year-old daughter's birthday party instead of spending $50 at the local bakery. And Epiktetos(not his real name ), who works in a management job, picked up some cans of paint from the Sears in Fair Oaks to help a friend redecorate -- seven hours of work but a savings of roughly $1,000. Griselda (not her real name ), 34, of Potomac canceled her lawn service last year and now mulches the yard and trims the wisteria herself, saving as much as $500 a month -- even before she was laid off from her marketing job about a month ago and started a bakery. Aglaia(not her real name) 28, of Arlington dismissed her personal trainer to save $60 a week.She has called off the lawn care service for the coming summer and asked the woman who does her nails to cut them extra short -- so the manicure will last longer.

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