***It’s Not The Economy, Stupid

Driving past the electronics store yesterday, a roadside billboard caught my eye.

“Watch the recession in high-definition.” That was how the billboard read.

My first thought was that the store manager obviously had a few leadership abilities himself. In an effort to stop his employees from becoming de-motivated by the doom and gloom of the media about the current economic crisis, he injected a little levity. In doing so, he sent a strong message to his people: “we’re still open, you’re still getting paid and people are still buying big TV’s. So let’s remember that the economy isn’t an excuse for not being good at what we do.”

At the same time, he sent a very strong message to his customers. “You’re also still getting paid, the world isn’t upside-down and now is a great time to be making a major purchase with some of the best pricing ever.”

I spoke with a real estate agent today who tells me that for the month of February, real estate sales are up in Calgary and the median price per sale is also up. Some people, when the economy was on fire, got greedy and snatched up some overpriced properties in an effort to flip them for a quick profit. Research says that by the time amateur real estate speculators get involved in the market hoping to make a quick buck, the market boom is usually over. And such is the case for a few greedy-wannabes.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Are you really any worse off this year than you were this time last year? Honestly. If you are worse off, is it the economy or your own decisions that have caused you to be worse off? If you’re about the same as last year, has the economic situation affected you directly or are you just thinking that it’s affecting you? Did you overspend your means when the economy was robust and now you have to play catch-up?

It’s time to take stock and really tell yourself the truth of whether you are any worse off today than you were yesterday. For the 92.8% of Canadians who are still working, it’s really no different today than it was this time last year. For some people though, well they made some bad decisions about their own personal finances and it got away on them.

If you overspent in past and now it has caught up with you, it’s not the fault of the economy. If you over-extended yourself in past and now you find yourself a little behind, it’s not the fault of the economy. If you got greedy when the economy was hot and perhaps thought you could buy up some real estate and flip it for a profit and now you’re stuck with it, it’s not the fault of the economy.

There is only one common-denominator in every bad job, bad financial decision, bad judgment and bad luck. That one common-denominator in every bad thing in your life is you. Change you, not the economy, and you change the results in future.