What's going to happen to the economy?

Question

I've never been so poor in my life. The ever-rising price on gas is killing me. On top of that the price of food and everything else has jumped up too. But my income and rent are the same. My bills keep piling up. It was hard to make ends meet before but now its getting to be impossible. Eventually everyone but the richest of the rich are going to be in my position unless something happens. But what is it that needs to happen??

Answer 1

Many other Americans are in your boat.  The issue is, you have to stay ahead of the game.  Do not follow the herd.  Now is the time to start investing and hold on for the long term if you have extra money after paying off your debts and funding an emergency savings account.

Truthfully, i am doing much better than most people these days.  I do not mean to brag or rub it in. But, when everyone was out charging and charging up credit card bills, buying extravagant houses far from their employers and upgrading their cars, I made some smart choices.

- I paid off all of my credit card debt 13 months ago (it is a great feeling).

- Three years ago when gas start to take off, and my old car (1998 Ford Contour SVT 6 cylinder) started to act out, I down graded to a newer Focus with better gas mileage and lower cost of ownership.

- I have started investing 15-20 of my paycheck from my fulltime job in the market (mostly stocks and some bonds).

- I kept my part-time job when my friends and girlfriend kept telling me I could afford not to work there anymore. -  Now many of them are scrambling to find a flexible part-time job like I have had for the last 5 years.

The point is this.   The economy as a whole and your economic/financial situation are two different things.  You need to analyze your current situation, make an educated guess about the future, draw up a plan and get going.  

I am not an economist or financial expert, but I knew the US dollar would sink in value as long as interest rates stayed low, the US military stayed in Iraq, we imported more than we sold to foreign countries and our government cannot balance the federal budget (raising our national debt).  I also assumed, gas prices would go up because of nations like China and India developing.  I was pretty much right.  Its not to late for you to make some changes. Start with debt and spending habits.

Answer 2

The value of the dollar is not in good shape. It seems like the economy won't recover.