Economy Woes

I'm not big on anti-consumerism. I'm a materialist, and I'm pretty unapologetic. But when Ihear the statistics on debt and savings in North America, it makes me worry. And when you read things like this, it makes me wonder if this economic crisis has a silver lining:

"Inside, Kira Carinci, 33, a teacher from Cicero, N.Y., searched for the $80 "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" video game and guitar controller bundle for her son but said she is more concerned about money than she was last holiday season. She said she had set aside a certain amount for Christmas spending.

"I don't usually save, so this year is a little different," she said.

That's from an AP report on Black Friday. Not to come down on Ms. Carinci - she may be amazingly frugal, for all I know - but this is a mess. We're moments from officially being in recession, and people are just now considering watching their spending. People trampled a Wal-Mart employee today trying to rush the store as it opened. I hope they enjoyed saving $200 on a big screen TV (that they're probably putting on credit).

I'm pretty good with money compared to most of my peers, but when it comes to debt I'm probably as guilty as most. I have thousands of dollars in student loan debt, along with my share of a car lease and a mortgage. I have multiple credit cards (traditional and retail). I don't spend more than I make, but I don't exactly have a nest egg built up. And I work in an industry, that, let's face it, won't be around if things get a lot worse.

And we all go along, shopping our little hearts out, spending hundreds (or thousands) on Christmas gifts for others, and, increasingly, Christmas gifts for ourselves. The economy surely needs us to spend, but let's start trying to do it responsibly. Let's budget in advance. Let's sleep on purchases, and consider both the short-term and long-term cost. Let's stop buying things we can't afford. Sure, spending is good - but when we're spending money we don't have, we're just perpetuating the problem that got us into this mess. Let's grow up a little.