How about the upside of Great Depression 2.0?

[Stinky The Clown]

I'll cut down on my tendency to eat well and will now be able to lose that 18 lbs my doc is on my case about.

I can forget about needing to always be snappily dressed. Everyone else will be wearing Thrift Store Modern, too.

There are plenty more, I'm sure ..... what upside do you see to Great Depression 2.0?

[azmouse]

1. My 14 yo car won't look out of place anywhere.

[Ishoutandscream2]

10. Bingo. My Camry is 13 years old.

It needs to keep on ticking.

[Warpy]

13. I retired a Ford Ranger that was

old enough to vote 2 years ago.

Until things started to fall apart monthly, it was cheaper to fix it than get another beater.

[Ishoutandscream2]

14. Yep. We gotta do what we gotta do.

[DURHAM D]

2. My camping equipment won't be in storage anymore. eom

[hendo]

3. with all of the stores going out of business..

I can actually afford to buy something in thier liquidation sales.

[Baikonour]

4. I may actually be driven to finally quit smoking. Especially with the new 1 dollar tax.

[mike_c]

5. I've always lived simply and within my means....

Well, other than the enormous debt I had to assume for my education. But not consumer stuff, so as long as I keep my job-- and as long as California issues me paychecks instead of IOUs-- the upside of the economic crisis for me is that more and more folks will begin to live like I do. I've already begun to see an upswing in bicycle commuters, for example.

[graywarrior]

6. The homeless and those on welfare should give classes on how to survive in bad times

[notadmblnd]

7. I have a sister that is a professional at getting free services

From clothes to bedding to furniture to food to housing. I've always thought that she put way more effort in obtaining things using her method than it would to actually take to get a job like most of us and simply purchase it.:shrug:

[graywarrior]

9. Having been homeless myself once, I learned good survival skills

Best skill I learned is waiting things out. Things always get better if you do the footwork. Also, don't let the fear get to you. Network with other people in the same situation. You can pool things...safety in numbers, etc.

And don't back down from "the man." If you snivel, they will beat you. If you act like you can take them or leave them, they are more helpful. Being a victim doesn't work. Staring them right in the eye with a smile does.

Never give up. Never.

Just a few pointers.

[sandnsea]

8. Starch is more filling than veggies

so I'm not quite sure how you figure a cheaper diet equals weight loss. We're already feeling the pinch of having to cut fresh veggies from the diet, can't wait for the growing season so we can eat well again.

[Le Taz Hot]

11. My canning/perserving skills

are coming in REAL handy now AND the investment in jars and equipment was done long ago. I hope to be teaching a class in it at my local community education program this summer.

[grasswire]

12. I'm having a hard time finding something positive

The last predictions I saw for our future if the stimulus package doesn't work are more dire than a depression. I've been trying to picture what I can pack into one suitcase. It's hard to see the importance of such daily tasks as cleaning the oven or raking the yard, today.

[Initech]

15. If we really are spiraling toward Great Depression 2, we should come up with a better name.

Great Depression 2: Electric Boogaloo

Great Depression: Escape 2 Poverty

Great Depression 2: Depression Harder