The other day I was reading an article somewhere online (sorry, didn’t bookmark this one) where the writer was talking about a friend of hers who was troubled by the economy. Not a surprising story to be sure – especially these days. However, what was interesting was that the writer’s friend actually felt guilty that she hadn’t put more money into the economy and, instead, was saving more; the point was that she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to put money into the economy or let the government do it.
What!?
And it is at this point that I wish I would have bookmarked this article because the rest of the story was as ridiculous as that last statement sounds. Can you believe that there are people out there crazy enough to think that they need to spend money to help kick start the economy? Listen everyone, it’s very simple – SAVE YOUR MONEY!
No, I’m not talking about putting all of your money under a mattress (though I actually know someone who does that). Spend your money on items that you need for you and your family, yes. But when it comes to big ticket items that you don’t need and might not be able to afford at this point in time – DON’T BUY THEM!
And for the love of God, don’t think that anyone needs to go out and spend money in an act of patriotism! Save your money. If you’re on an automatic investment plan like a 401k or an automatic stock purchasing plan, then if you feel comfortable with what you’ve got, continue to invest your money in that way. But good grief! Don’t think that it is our patriotic duty as Americans to go out and spend out money. That would be one of the dumbest moves that many Americans could make right now.
Think smart, then spend your money.
I didn’t see that specific one but here’s similar one from the Washington Post, which made me slap my forehead so many times I got black & blue marks. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/19/AR2009021902578.html
I’m not a celebrity gossip follower, but I did hear that Paris Hilton pledged to do her part to fix the economy by “buying American” in hopes that it would set a trend.
Yes, she did say that and I’m not making it up. She honestly believes she’s a trend setter. What might be quite sadder is that she just might be correct.
kerrjac – Although that’s an interesting article on the Washington Post’s website, that’s not the one that I saw the other day. I’ll have to go search for it now – in fact, it might be the article that Kinsley references in the article that you linked.
Martin – The funny part is that if Paris suggests that she’s doing something, then I would hope that the rest of us DON’T do it! And the truth is that buying American doesn’t always yield the best results. For example, if you buy a Toyota you’d probably be buying a car that is made down south somewhere – by American workers.
It frightens me that this is in any way news. Lord people are dumb. People going into debt buying crap they don’t need and can’t afford to pay for is part of what got the world into this mess to begin with. Fools.