Making The Most Of A Poor Economy

Economists and market pundents now routinely tell us the economy is the worst its been since the Great Depression.”  You think?  Thanks for that insight.  Financial planners like Carmen Wong Ulrich tell viewers they should take money out of the market “slowly.” Hey “experts”, we know the economy sucks.  Tell us something we don’t already know. And Carmen, your advice to take some money out of the market is right, just a year or so late.  Telling your viewers to take some money out of stocks now is comparable to telling the California homeowner who just watched her house burn down to buy insurance.  Great advice delivered too late is no better than bad advice.

Pay more attention to people in the media that are telling you how to survive in today’s economy.  Instead it may be better to return to the basics, which often means hoarding every penny.  One way you can take advantage of this economy is by using the bargaining power you now have with contractors.  When the economy is hot consumers complain that good contractors are over-priced and difficult to schedule.

That certainly is not the case now.  Many contractors are available to work on the day you call them.  Insist on specific appointment times or at a minimum, smaller appointment “windows.”  Don’t forget to shop around for price estimates.  In some cases you can even name your price – or at least tell a preferred contractor that he can have your business if he matches the price of your lowest quote.

There aren’t many advantages to a recession.  Don’t miss out on the ones that are there for the asking.