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Economy Downturn in My Backyard

I had recently started keeping an eye on the news on TV, usually on the treadmill at the gym and sometimes the news at 11:00 pm. The bad news about the current economy condition has been so much and so bad that I gave up on watching the news. I stick to NPR radio news – a lot less bias and doomed.

We all get the picture – THE ECONOMY IS BAD!!! Looking at my IRA and 401K statements, I see how much the stock market has gone down. After the second month of bad Wall Street news, I stopped looking at my statements. Since I was so late in my reaction, I decided not to move into cash and left my old 401k and IRA the way they were. I only elected my current contributions to go to cash.

Once I decided what I‘d do with my retirement accounts I left them alone and didn’t worry anymore. Therefore, the economy crisis was outside of my own micro economy until I went to do laundry a few weekends ago. I have a system of course – I read a book during the wash and after the switch, I do my grocery shopping.
This particular Saturday I vacuumed my car instead of reading but went to the grocery store during the dryer time. I almost bumped into the sore’s door, which is automatic but didn’t open. Puzzled, I looked up and read the note. It said something like “Thank you for your patronage, blah, blah… this store will be closed for good…”
How horrendous! This was the only grocery store I knew in my neighborhood. My supposed future misery rolled like a film in my mind; I saw my long hours of work, during busy season, and my struggle to find time to buy groceries. I imagined the different stores’ locations that I know and how they would misfit my daily routine. I even felt the pain of frustration. Thankfully, the woman at the Laundromat directed me to a store nearby that I didn’t know about. This was the second blow to my personal life of the economy downturn.

The third blow was the most ridiculous. I have a credit card with Capital One Bank, which I’ve used to transfer balances at 0 % and pay them off within the 0% period. I’ve had this card for years, have never been late, and have always paid way above the monthly minimum. Therefore, I was very unpleasantly surprised to receive a notice in the mail saying that due to the economy condition, starting April 17, 2009 the interest rate on this card will be going up to 29.9%. Can you believe that?!? From 0% to 30%, just like that.

Funnily, in this economy downturn, it’s very difficult to buy a TV. I’ve been trying to by a Vizio 32” TV for weeks. I’ve been looking in Costco, Walmart, Target and online, but it’s sold out. I finally was able to find it at Costco but it took a lot of work. I saw many people casually buying 37” and larger TVs, as if they were toothpaste or something. I don’t know what to think.