March 28 2009
Here we are, the end of a week, and I am grateful. If you are working, you should be too. That would make you one of the 80 Percent of Us. I was recently in the 20% but I was blessed that I was able to get work right away and I have a lot of irons in a lot of fires. There are a lot of people like me who are very busy even in these hard times. There are people who even though they are making money and saving it, still have some discretionary spending that they take very seriously.
That is the part of the equation that economists don’t point out in their fear and doom scenarios. Yes there is horrible unemployment and there is probably going to be more. Assuming the worse case that we have unemployment at 20% which is an astronomical figure, you still have 80% of the people in America working.
Are they underpaid? Probably.
Are they in debt? Probably but not all of them.
Some of them may have stashed cash, paid off their homes and are in good shape because they either got lucky, were conservative in their spending or have relatives who keep them employed. The choices are endless.
Their situation is subject to change (as all of ours are) but I bring up that point just to show you that there are still people out there who have money to buy things. They are holding onto it and if you have the right product or service, they will spring for it.
Am I saving money? You bet but I also will spend money on things that I like. I may not get a top of the line computer system for work but I will get a decent one. I may give up buying coffee when I go out in the morning but I still will buy something comparable from the supermarket and make it at home. As one of the 80 Percent of Us, you may have your own goods or services that you still will splurge on. It is human nature.
Just don’t go too nuts otherwise you will end up in the other 20 Percent of Us.
And a reminder – be charitable, nice and gracious to the 20% who are currently out of work. You may end up in the 20% at one point and you will want the wheel to come full circle!
Have a great weekend to all 100% of us and for the 20% of us that are looking for employment – I am sending you my thoughts and prayers. Please hang in there, don’t hang yourself and stay healthy, happy and keep working on getting wealthier.
Interested in any of my books? You may want to make a stop over here. Please click through to purchase my books and some other interesting items that actually ARE on sale. Have you read my book, “Bad Tax Idea, Good Tax”? Please order it today. The tips inside can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars!
If you are looking for a day job, part time work, suggestions for saving money or investing, please check out my book listed below. Part of all the proceeds from the sales of that book go to Rett Syndrome research. One girl is born with Rett Syndrome worldwide every fifteen minutes. My daughter Arianna has Rett Syndrome and we are working to do all we can to make her life easier and find a cure in her lifetime. Boys born with the Rett gene generally die at birth.
Kim Isaac Greenblatt
the 80 Percent of Us