Recession: Good, Bad, and Ugly

Article written by Billionaire Woman contributor Robin Li.

That’s right, it is official, we are in a recession. I know, I know, I should be shaking in my boots like a good mind-controlled puppet, but all that shaking just kicked my brain into gear.

A few things flashed across my mind:

It feels like this recession is the recession of a millennium;
Bad things are going to happen and there is nothing we can do to stop it;
An invisible hand is going to make my money disappear so I should hold on to it as hard as I can.

The Perfect Recession

We have been through the Asia Economic storm almost a decade ago. The dot-com bubble burst at the turn of the century. However, neither of those seem to compare to the present conundrum. This time it just seems like everything is going wrong all at the same time, and all other recessions were really just peanuts in comparison. Do you believe in this? If so, then congratulations, you are under the spell of the media.

With the great advance of modern technology, instead of benefiting from a more diverse opinion, sometimes we are buried under a media storm coming from one central location. Nowadays, every time you turn on the TV, it is always about how bad the economic situation is; every time you surf to your favorite news website, it is always about how many people got laid off, or which company is going down the pooper.

Thank you for constantly reminding us that the situation is bad. We get it! News is anything that makes people jump off their seats, and we can see how successful horror movies are, so we know that fear does that best.

The recession is not necessarily that much worse than the times before, but the media certainly made sure that it is the best elaborated on in history. By playing us like puppets, they ensure high ratings for their outrageously opinionated “news” reality-shows.

Photo by M. Jeremy Goldman

The Inevitable Disaster

Subprime mortgage, lack of liquidity, the credit crisis, these are a lot of big technical words that we don’t understand unless we read through Wikipedia for a couple hours (even after that, it still makes my mind spin).

Everyone was living happily and no one seemed to have clue about what was going to happen. Then, BOOM the stock market tanked. BOOM, companies bankrupted. BOOM, the world is going to end and all we can do is to sit tight and fasten the seatbelt on the boat going straight to hell. When did we buy the boat ticket anyways?

As usual, we have greed to blame. We need to look no further than Wall Street, where the world’s money is funneled to. Ignore all the complicated terms about why it happened. It is pretty simply: when it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Wall Street smartie-pants can’t seem to get that into their heads. What can we do?

The government is telling us that we need to save the people that caused the disaster. We have to use our own money to plug the hole they made. The way we can stop the recession is just to let the companies fall! Short pain is better than long torture.

If these companies are saved once, they will be saved again, and rest assured, it will always be them taking our money and not the other way around. For the rest of us, if we make a mistake, we will have to bear the consequences. It is time for Wall Street to realize that as well. Being big is not the Golden Rule for never failing. This should be the one thing we learn from this recession.

Why Is My Money Disappearing?

It is NOT! Even with everyone complaining about the recession, the majority of us can still be grateful that we have a job. Our money in the bank cannot be affected, as bank deposits are insured. Even if the banks go down, the deposit stays.

If you are unfortunate like me and have money tied in the stock market, then the best thing to do is to leave it there. Unless the company goes bankrupt (in which case, get out quick), the stock market will rebound no matter how bad it looks now. Our money is not disappearing and we don’t need to worry.

Photo by Arseniy

What We Can Do

Put a smile on your face

Be a joy to the world and add a little bit of happiness to the already miserable world. Next time you are talking to your friends/coworkers:

Do not start the sentence with: “do you know what I saw on the news last night?”
But rather with: “you know something funny I saw in my backyard yesterday?”

Spreading negativity is falling into the trap that the media set for us. Once we realize the truth, we need to be actively spreading optimism.

Change Your Gift Buying Strategy

As the great Joss Whedon wrote in Firefly, every problem is just an opportunity in disguise. This recession is no different. Everyone is cutting back his spending as in every other recession, but as every economist would tell you, the best way out of a recession is to SPEND! This is the perfect time to change the way we buy gifts. We used to buy each other expensive paper weights. Perhaps now we can do something a bit more useful.

Buy the ones you care for some nice fruits. It is healthy and it can even serve as a decoration for a few days. Cook a nice meal together. Spend quality time together rather than spend money on useless junk. Buying produce benefits farmers and stimulates the economy from the bottom up. Buying dust-gatherers benefits the mega-rich who will just use that money to extract more money.

Live Life To the Fullest

Even if you do not believe economists, some simple math could convince you. Right now, every company is cutting its prices. This means cheaper plane tickets, cheaper vacation packages, cheaper everything. One of your dollars has greater purchase power than before. If you keep it in the bank, the discounts will go away when everyone else starts to spend, then you won’t be able to buy as much. Always be the black horse and you will come out as the winner. Now big companies are begging you to make purchases and the table is turned.

Do not go crazy with the shopping frenzy, but if you see something necessary at a reasonable price, get it! If that thing is the dream vacation, now is a perfect time as well since it is probably easier to get time off. Time off means less burden for your company and more time for you to have fun away from work. If we hold on to work like a drowning person, then the floating device might just sink with us. This is the perfect time to have fun and enjoy yourself. Make your dollar shine, somewhere with sunshine and a good exchange rate.

Be The Joy

Be the little spark of joy in life. With enough of us around, we can light up the world into a happiness bonfire that can roast the marshmallow we call the moon.

Article written by Billionaire Woman contributor Robin Li.

Comments

Andrea|Seven Figure Psychic

I'm simply refusing to participate in the recession. I don't watch the news, I watch my own bank account. My economy is doing great - December has already been one of my best months of the year! I'm thrilled to be getting into the housing market in about six months. I can certainly afford a lot more house right now than I would have two years ago.

As entrepreneurs, I think we have the opportunity to create our own economic climate. That might mean "tweaking" our business direction a bit. But right now is a time of wonderful opportunity, if we choose to take that perspective.

Blessings,
Andrea

Nathalie Lussier

Absolutely right Andrea! I'm so happy to hear that December has been an awesome month for you. I know that with your outlook you can achieve anything! :)

Jessica

I really enjoyed Robin's article all around, but must admit, it was the reference to Firefly that really made my day brighter ;-). This echoes much of what I've been thinking, but then I still worry (what if I'm just being unrealistic?)... Thank you for posting Robin's article!

Nathalie Lussier

Aww, browncoats are still flying. ;) Thanks so much for writing, I am glad it was useful.

Hunter Nuttall

I lost my job in the recession (back before it was officially a recession). Still, I think people are really overreacting to it. Most of the people who think the recession is the end of the world have not even been affected by it. I lost my job, so I can say that I've been affected, but is that the end of the world? Even though the news wants us to be depressed, there's no reason we can't keep living our lives.

Nathalie Lussier

That's really deep Hunter. I think you are really in tune with yourself and we can all learn from your experiences.

Carla

Exactly! We are doing great. My business is growing, I am getting more blog subscribers and some freelance possibilities for the near future. In terms of my day-job, the company I work for is doing really well too. '08 was a better year an '07. We are looking to buy a home in the near future.

What helps me is to not read or watch the news. Every front page or top story has nothing to doom and gloom about the economy and thats not good for anyone regardless of your situation.

Nathalie Lussier

I'm glad to hear how everything is working out so well for you Carla. What we focus on expands, and you are clearly a star on the rise! :)

PizzaForADream

I think your post is a bit naive. It's true that there's lots of hype out there concerning the economy, but it's also true that lots of people have been hurt in a big way. Yes, we need to not let our circumstances dictate our mood, but we also need to take action in order to minimize the economy's impact on our personal economy.

Diversification and education are more important than ever. I'm currently reading a book called The Forgotten Man. This book is a history of the Great Depression and it's shown me how eerily similar circumstances of the 30's are to today.

Nathalie Lussier

I absolutely agree that education and diversification are important. I don't think that everything happening is necessarily a bad thing, in that from the pain we can learn to act differently in the future, and make new opportunities for one another. In any case, your opinion is warranted, especially depending on how the recession has impacted you or your loved ones.