Silver Lining

The bubble has burst and watching the news, they make it almost seem like we’ve reached a point of no return. After a decades of the stock market going up and millions of American's joining the ranks of home owners, the tide has turned. Words like deflation, recession, depression are catch phrases that are flowing off people’s tongues. In the midst of this, some people are breathing a sigh of relief. The people who have rented instead of buying, who have lived paycheck to paycheck, who didn’t listen to the advice of their elders, didn’t gamble their money on stocks, the slackers, this time is a blessing, in the short term anyways. If you do have a job that hasn’t been affected the downturn, you’ve lucked out and your hard earned dollars are reaching further then they were just a few months ago. The horrid term called deflation has kicked in, gas prices are falling and the price of goods are going down. Businesses are worried, deflation is horrible for them but for us the consumer, tired of inflation, this is a windfall that we should take advantage off.

I admit it, I’m a renter, I don’t own a single stock but I do own some property in Arizona. When I first moved to San Diego, my wife and I had a roommate and we rented a 4 bedroom house in Mira Mesa for 2200 dollars a month. The house was for sale for 700,000 which would have given us house payments close to 5000 dollars. I couldn’t imagine spending that kind of money on a place to live plus not buying saved us 3800 a month and for the year we lived there saved us $45,600. Not that I see that sitting about but I’m sure I would be a poorer person right now, both emotionally and financially then I would have been if I had bought. While many people I know did opt to join that dream and buy a house, I knew it wasn’t my time. I had people all around me saying that I should buy a house but I held tough. I don’t know where I’m going to end up after I retire but I doubt it’s going to be in San Diego unless I become independently wealthy but I’m not holding my breath. I love the city but living here comes with a premium price tag and a body needs to work too hard to just make ends meet plus, I’ve seen too many people who couldn’t make that cut. I’d rather survive then have to live through some of their stories.

So enjoy this reprieve we’ve been granted and hope the genius’ in DC can fix what ails our financial market without causing further inflation or the total collapse of civilization. Remember, it’s political season and I’m not telling you who to vote for, just vote.