Well – that pretty much just sucks now don’t it?  Here I was, all prepared for the second coming of Jesus now that Congress did not pass that stupid assed bail out bill.  I had the clown-mobile all packed up and ready to go.  The BoBo Family was put on alert and they had all their gear ready.  I grabbed up all my seltzer bottles, balloons, over-sized shoes, noses, hand guns, and rifles and crammed them in to the back of the ol’ BoBo Mobile (BTW – you know how much shit you can pack in to a clown car?  Holy crap!) just waitin for the financial armageddon.

Well – as I sit here – DJIA is UP almost 300 points at mid-day.  I thought it was supposed to crash?  I thought people were supposed to start jumping out of windows on wallstreet?  – actually – I’d still like to see that anyway!  But, supposedly, as all of our so-called smart leaders had told us while whipping us up in to a frenzy – if this bill didn’t get passed – we would find ourselves in the middle of a collapse proportionate and equivalent to the collapse of Russia.  Maybe there is someone out there smarter than me that can explain to me if that were true – why is the stock market on the increase today?

Oh – wait – I get it.  Congress is on vacation today!  There’s no one in D.C. to interfere with and screw up business today.  Awesome!  Also, could it actually have to do with the fact that our stock market is just ONE indicator out of a whole host of economic indicators?  See, the thing today is, even if the market crashes – business for the rest of us will actually continue!  People will get sick and need healthcare – so, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and all those that have anything to do with healthcare will still be working.

Everybody needs to eat – so – grocery stores, corner markets, farmers markets, farms, truckers, distributors, etc – will still be working because we as consumers will still be buying food.

Same thing with housing – we all need shelter – while some may not be able to afford their own homes – there will still be apartment complexes, homes for rent, etc.  As the foreclosures start coming on the market – this opens up more inventory for the smart investors – prices come down and investors can afford to rent them out cheaply.  Now would not be the time to flip them.

Certainly, our dollar may decline which will cause prices to go up, oil/gas will go up, etc – but – as long as you are not stupid about your money and actually budget – you can make it through.  Do you really need that Hostess Ding Dong?

I saw this coming last year.  I started moving all my money in to cash-based investments (cd’s, money markets, etc.), gold, and coin collections – things that have real tangible value.  I started paying down my debt last year – we only have 2 credit cards now with small balances – the rest will be available credit lines in case of emergencies.  Additionally, while I am the first to rail against those who force global warmongering on us – you know I’ve been all for conservation – I put solar panels on my roof.  With all the state and local rebates, federal tax incentive, and local exemptions, I saved a lot of money putting it in.  I got rid of my hot water heater and turned off the circuit breaker to that tank.  I save $100/month alone on that.

What I’m saying is – if you’re smart about your money – you will survive any hardship coming our way as a result of Congress’s failure to pass the bail out bill (and rightfully so).  Yes, there will be some trickle down as a result – but – catastrophic and world changing to the rest of us?  I don’t think so.