J.O.B.S.

Apex, NC

J.O.B.S.

Joy Over Budget Success! We simply need more JOBS!

Squeezing every dollar for value is central to getting our local and national economy back to even 2007 standards... Raleigh is now the 10th biggest coupon clipping city in the US. And it is no wonder. Gas is UP to three dollars and silly, up a little more silly each day. My favorite grocery store has all my regularly bought items like cheese, cream and cereal priced thirty cents higher than the prices in December. On the back of the grocery bill is a coupon for a $7.99 large extra cheese pizza; that coupon was $5.99 last year.

Have your pay checks gone up as well? Thought so...With confusing signals from the stock market and even more confusion with lower unemployment coupled with lack of job creation, it is indeed no wonder Dave Ramsey's show about personal financial strategy on the radio has a huge audience base.

Ahhh, but I am a crazy optimist first, well before my realist persona ever sets in. We are managing our household budget strategies very well as Americans. We indeed squeeze every dime out of that nickel.

Many of us are bustin' bugs to get our taxes done. We are assessing our financial and insurance profiles to see where changes can be made. This simple awareness is making us stronger. We no longer pound our charge cards with impulse buys. We are fixing our cars rather than buying them; and we are cutting our phone and cable bills at a furious pace.

Welcome to the New Normal. It is great to be back at our roots with real world, down home values again. Where a penny saved is indeed a penny earned. It is refreshing.

We now know, we can never return to mindless spending and speculation that created the collapse of the economy back in September 2008; that is pretty cool. You just cannot put a price on that.

Have a great weekend!