Back to the Basics

After decades of not conserving, now people are being to see the need to conserve. After decades of not caring about credit card overspending, now folks are becoming conscious of the high price to pay for such behavior.

People who grew up during the period of the 1930s and 40s were often criticized by the children of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s for their “penny pinching” ways. It appears the cycle has come full circle. Now everyone is going to have to learn work for the things they want and not just mindlessly charge it to a credit card. People will have to learn to get back to the basics. Walk more, drive less, eat at home as a family instead of stopping by a fast food restaurant.

It will be interesting to see if people return to the most fundamental basic of all, taking time to worship. The most basic aspect in the history of America has been that of Christian worship. The founders of this nation were individuals who sought guidance from God. It was not by accident that the monetary tenure carries the words “In God We Trust” on it. During the past twenty years church attendance was in a decline. There was a spike when the Twin Towers were attached, but that did not last long.

Here we are facing one of the biggest financial crisis since the “Great Depression” and people are afraid and stressed because they do not know what’s going to happen next and what to do. The answer is simple. Go back to the basics. Our ancestors did not buy a new car every year. They did not purchase a house that was beyond their means. Several generations of a family resided together. This is a cost saving measure in several ways. People can pool resources for paying the bills and grandmother can take care of the children if the mother works outside of the home, alleviating the need to pay for daycare. Families shared meals together, which increased family interaction and decreased incidents of juvenile crime. Children were taught the value of a dollar and were given jobs to do to help handle the household chores.

Yes, these are difficult times, but there can be a silver lining to this crisis. History may serve to prove that it caused people to get back to the basics which turned out to be far more valuable than all of the money lost in the stock market.