Recession Blog: Surving the Recession

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With the recession well and truly underway, many of us are looking for solutions to the countless challenges we now face.

Jon Boyd Barret summarizes the latest on-goings of the recession, and also offers some ideas and inspiration for how to get through these troubling times.

July 22nd 2009: Update

This blog has become almost obsolete in the last month or so. Finding time to write here is the main challenge. With so much of my working hours going into keeping the website running with updates and articles, the blog just becomes second fiddle. I hope to be able to post regularly in the coming days.

June 26th 2009: Grateful for the Recession

The recession has been going for what seems like years, and in al reality probably has.
Now, the day to day attempts to balance income and expenditures in the face of a waning economy have just become a normal way of life. Gone are the days of careless spending.

Although I have always been relatively sensible with my moola, it is certainly a lot easier to think that you are so when income is generous and in excess to requirements. These days I really really have to be sensible with the finances. To be honest though I do not really see this as a negative experience, for while there have of course been occasions while I have been fretting over my waning bank balance, my overall perspective on true wealth has drastically changed.

When times are good financially, it is all too easy to assume that you need certain things to make you content; a nice car, 200 tv channels, outings to concerts and plenty more. In reality though you need none of these. The best things in life are free whether it be spending time with loved ones, enjoying nature or being creative.

The recession may have forced me to make changes in my life in regards to my finances BUT it also helped me to appreciate the important things in my life on a whole other level. For this reason I am grateful for the recession.

June 22nd 2009: Recession Specials

When it comes to eating out, recession-deals are getting increasingly easier to find. In New York, restaurants are offering deep discounts on their menus, which is a cash cow for cheap restaurants but a survival tool for more expensive places.

June 12th 2009: This Time is No Different

June 8th 2009: Spam

In light of Spam’s imminent revival as the frugal be all and end all of food, I just had to re-view and post this classic Monty Python sketch.

June 5th 2009: Politically Incorrect Comedy Video

If you're looking for something informative and useful in aiding you through the recession then this video probably won't do that. However, it might just make you laugh. Warning! the interviewer is a little rude.

June 1st 2009: My Trip to Detroit

I had of course heard about how bad the collapse of the automobile industry had affected Detroit, yet I was not prepared for the scenes of depression that I saw.

Yesterday, while on the way to the Ambassador bridge to head into Canada for the day, I had the chance to witness first-hand to severe effect that the economical problems have had on the “motor-city.” There were abandoned buildings everywhere: warehouses, factories, skyscrapers, houses, garages, bar, shops and pretty much anything else you can think of. It seemed as though Detroit has become a ghost town.

Even though we have officially been in a recession for less than a year, it is clear that the problems in Detorit have developed over numerous years. This to me makes it even more upsetting. The fact that despite the steady and obvious demise of such a historically rich city could be ignored for so long by the government an corporations running within it.

Here is a video that I found on youtube. It shows some of the abandonment:

May 29th 2009: Funny Layoff Video

 

May 20th 2009: Comparing Recessions

Spending 10 days in the UK gave me ample time to digest the effects of the recession in comparison to in US.

The worst point of the financial crisis back in October last year had really been the pivotal point for much of the UK and many countries in the world. This was the moment that confirmed what many people had been suspecting, that the economy was on an unsustainable path.

Since that time, the UK, like the US, has had bank failures, ample job loses and faltering housing prices. Yet it seems to me very apparent that while conditions in Britain are not great, they are certainly a lot lot better that here in the good old U.S. of A.

There is not the crippling amount of foreclosures, banks seem to be steadier, unemployment is bad, yet better and less sustained than in the US and there are not areas that have are completely depressed and down like certain areas stateside, i.e. Detroit. Most importantly seems to be the growing optimism and belief that the worst is over. While there is also such consensus within the news reports here, in the UK it carries much more weight.

The good news that I take from this is that the economic stabilization for Britain and other countries can only help to provide a much needed boost for America.

May 20th 2009: Useful Site With Ideas for Working From Home

Here is a useful resource that gives advice on how to make money from home. It not only suggests ways in which to work from home, but also how that work can be found. Worth checking out

Written by Jon Boyd Barrett