Thursday, October 02, 2008

Consumer UN-Confidence

The current economic roller coaster is certainly something of which to take note. While I am not anything of an economist or a financial advisor, I am an average citizen who takes money and personal financial planning quite seriously. So I am intrigued by the media's frenzy over consumer confidence and the dark clouds that seem to indicate that we'll all be living on bread and water in cardboard boxes by this time next year.

There is a legitimate survey performed to determine the average consumer "feelings" about spending. I do not doubt the results of these.

What I doubt is how most of us arrive at our "confidence." Shouldn't our ability to spend be based upon our monthly budgets, and our bank ledger? The answer, in the United States, has clearly been "no" for a very long time. Buying and spending is apparently so Credit Card driven (read "ruined") that there is no logic to begin with when it comes to so-called consumer confidence.

Listening to financial gurus speak on TV the past few days about "how to deal with this financial crisis," their ypical advice sounds pretty much like any good financial planning advice for anytime: spend less than you earn. Is this such a revelation?

As for how much confidence typical buyers ought to have for everyday things: if you have the money and you've planned for it within the budget: BUY IT with cash and slay your credit card.

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