Log This!

To say these days are turbulent times for any newly-elected leader of this nation to face is an understatement. The bank fallout/mortgage crisis, record low car sales, high-unemployment rates, and around every corner is news of this retailer going out of business or another closing a store at the local tween-haven mall are prime examples of a recession if not something worse. These are trying times for this great nation, and while it can be frustrating, it can also open up new opportunities.

So how do those lucky few prosper these days? It’s simply a matter of savings and also being employed during the era of Wachovia and Circuit City going bust. Duh, the latter part of that statement is pretty simple, but the former is something we have steered clear like a piece of road kill on a desert road. According to this article, savings rates were in the negative territory back in ’05 and you can bet that this statistic hasn’t improved much, especially with the high rate of banks throwing in the towel and more people not being able to maintain a steady paycheck. The opportunity is for the folks whom put aside money and are able to get financed for that dream home on a short-sale or a piece of income property in the hood. It also lies in the slumping automotive market where two-for-one sales are not unheard of. It lies in the parents who put aside money for their college-bound kids who may not be straight-A students, but are being bumped up the selection ladder because of the virtual absence of a student loan market (darn I wish I was a high-school senior!).

These opportunities are not unheard of, but it is out of reach for most of us. Now, I will tell you how to get there. My military background has taught me to take into account your current arsenal before making a move (or was that the last time I played chess). Where are you at right now?

“I’m in my cubicle trying to look busy!” you think to yourself.

No not literally, I mean do you know where your hard-earned dollar went during the past week? For some of us, that may require an Outlook-like calendar filled with the various destinations you ventured off to while expending fossil fuels during this time of relatively cheap gas (at least for this week). Myself, being married, the destinations are few and I can tout those like the National Anthem. Make a list, or log book of every hamlet you stopped by and what you spent on what, keep track of when you stopped by Jack’s Gasoline and Fuzzy Things to fill up the Gas-Guzzler GT or when you dropped by the diner for a heapin’ helpin’ of something greasy but oh-so-delicious. My challenge to you: fill in this logbook or a low-tech paper version for the next two weeks or month. If you already have done so, then stay tuned for my next installment: The “B” Word