Current Financial Crisis Is Just Temporary

Despite what the doomsayers and Chicken Littles of the world would have us believe, our current financial crisis (if we can even call it that) is just temporary. Yes, the vultures are circling, but there will be no carcass for them to consume. All of this is merely a bump in the road and we will come out of it just fine – as we always have. The U.S. has had (and will continue to have) its ups and downs and this is just one of the downs.

At the end of the day, America will emerge once again as the great nation it has been more than 230 years, and still as the world’s only remaining super power. Before you start believing those who are predicting some kind of cataclysmic conclusion to these events, please consider this: Those people are almost always … well … wrong! Another Great Depression, you say? I’ll believe it when I see it.

How soon we forget. Things were much worse during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. We had gas shortages, interest rates that were through the roof, and much higher unemployment and inflation than we have now. Yes, the housing and financial markets are not looking good right now, but they will make a comeback in due time – just like things did in the 1980’s. And when they did, we all became proud Americans again.

We have gotten so spoiled! If things are so bad now, why are people still buying big-screen TVs and subscribing to expensive cable, satellite, Internet, land line, and cell phone packages? Some just want to complain and bellyache just because they have to tighten their belts a little. Still, though, there are many others who have lost their jobs, their homes, or even both. No one can blame them for worrying and losing sleep over the current state of financial affairs.

But I’m not going to panic. I’m going to leave my 401(k) dollars in the same stock funds I’ve had them in. In fact, I’m even planning to increase my contributions to take advantage of the cheap stocks that are now available. I can handle a temporary downturn. It’s just a paper loss for now and I have 20 years until retirement – plenty of time for those losses to be recouped. And I if don’t live until retirement, none of it will matter anyway.

Also, I’m not touching the savings that I have in the bank. It is all 100% insured by the U.S. government. Keep in mind that, if the government ever defaulted on this guarantee, the money you’re hiding under your mattress wouldn’t be any good either. But not to worry, that’s not going to happen.