Merry Christmas, Your Money is on Fire

I have stopped talking to every one of my friends who worked in the finance industry here in New York because every time his mouth opens (sorry, they are all boys), it is invariably to talk about just how bad the financial crisis is and how we have not seen the worst of it yet. I say that they "worked" in finance because now they are all "laid off." Which is amusing to me in a way that makes me feel guilty about it afterwards.*

So basically the economy is like a drunk cow trying to go up the down escalator in roller skates, and it's starting to hit New York, which is already a very expensive place to live and was made worse by the oil prices over the last few months. You see, there are a lot of people here and the only things actually produced by those people are bad mortgages and fake money and smugness and really good pizza, so everything is imported, mostly on trucks and trains and boats that all run on diesel. And while gas prices have been receding somewhat, it is much easier for a shop to raise prices than it is to lower them, which is why a half-gallon of milk and a loaf of bread cost me nine dollars yesterday.

I haven't talked about the whole financial crisis impact here (not that I've said much here lately in general), but you guys, I am so not kidding when I tell you that people are still freaking the hell out about it. It's been lost for a couple news cycles, but I am telling you now, you need to prepare for this one. I'm not saying "Great Depression" or anything, but "depression" is a pretty accurate description of what we are likely to experience in the economy for a bit.

A few weeks ago there was a big deal about the $700 billion bail-out package thing wherein we give lots of money to people who have explicitly proven that they do not understand the value of said money. I mean, I think Merril Lynch actually asked for "eleventy bajillion dollars" to meet their payroll requirements, and AIG thought that decimal places were optional. However, and I can't believe I am saying this, but this bailout was a good idea, and I am glad it passed. Granted, it is not a great idea, and we are probably going to lose a lot of money with this plan, and it will definitely not solve the problem. But. If you throw $700 billion dollars at something, it is going to do something. You can't throw $700 billion at a problem and not see some kind of effect. Ok, so maybe in Iraq it made things worse, but let's not nitpick.

Anyway, I'm writing now because the Christmas shopping season is starting, and I personally find it very hard to stick to a budget around this time of year because while I don't buy myself a whole lot of things in general, I love buying awesome presents for people. I love being that guy who buys awesome presents. And that is a time investment as well as a strain on personal finances sometimes. (Although it does help this year that I don't have a boyfriend to shower with love wrapped in boxes.) (Sadface.)

So I am encouraging all of you to do a budget for the end of the year, make lists before you go shopping, and keep track of everything. I'm going to try and do the same, and while, yes, reigning in spending is actually going to shrink the economy in the short run, it has been bloated for so long on debt that maybe it can stand to lose a few, m'kay?

______________________
* But that doesn't stop me from doing a lot of things, so finding something amusing seems very minor.