Just What Are Good/ Bad Times?

Good times are entirely dependent on who is dependent on you and how good your health is. Some of the best times of my life have been when I had no job and next to nothing for money and lived in a van. But then I was in great health, had no bills, and single with no kids.

It is easy to be happy with no money when you don't have little mouths to feed and your warm and healthy. However with that said there is a lot of perception that goes into being happy, I have met quite a few people that make plenty of money yet they think they have it rough. Met people with next to nothing and they are as happy as a lark. I found for myself the key to being content is have low expectations, be realistic, and stay healthy.

It's pretty easy to wax philosophical when you're doing ok.

Little harder when your child is crying itself to sleep because their tummy hurts from not eating today.

Something about getting older has messed with my ability to distinguish between the good/bad times. I'm still breathing so anything from that point on is good, even if it's bad.

I do know that stress kills. Finding the good times depends entirely on finding the good perspective.

Good times for me is seeing all my extended family coming together for a big potluck meal. I love to see all the smiles, hugs and laughter and to be a part of that.

i don't believe that the unemployment in the great depression, going from 5% to 25% in 3 years, was caused by a sudden bout of laziness in the population. And many people who had scrimped and saved, lost those savings when their bank folded.

No doubt in normal times, many people's misery is self-inflicted by spending too much on "wants" instead of "needs". but I think we will see again, a lot of people suffering, even tho they personally weren't the ones that were acting irresponsibly. That is what I would consider bad times.

But todays biggest expense, housing, has been artifically boosted much higher than normal, by the credit system. And along the way, property taxes have gone up, forcing people to move in some cases. Many people's pensions, thru no fault of there own, will be affected, because the state pension fund invested poorly. And the expense of the healthcare system makes it such that many people will lose their house if they get sick.

I agree that attitude is important. I've always been frugal and saved my money. I fortunately realized early on that money didn't buy happiness.

I've watched these problems develop over the last 6 years, so the stock market crash and real estate problems aren't a surprise to me. But I still try to have compassion for those that I think will be blindsided by what I believe is coming this way, and I'm angry that the regulators and politicians who should have seen it and done something, didn't exercise their responsibility.

--sgl

Sorry to hear your in such bad straits...

Or are you talking about someone else? Is there anyone in this country that goes hungry at night? Are there cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs in the house? Some of the poorest of the poor I know always seem to have enough money available for chain smoking, a case of beer in the cooler, and all too common, small vials and funny looking cigarette butts in the ashtray.

Or, are you talking about truly bad off folks, in third world countries....where starvation is a reality (unlike America's poor, who all too often are obese)

McDonalds, I hear, feeds it's employees, and half price meals outside of work.... I imagine if one worked there, they could throw the 'extras' in a nice bag outside, and pick them up after work.

And, there's food stamps for the truly desperate (or the truly satisfied with the government taking care of them).

If you have wheels, and can get to town, there's tons of free food available. Maybe google freegans....

If you're children are hungry, have you asked for help? Where are you located? I've got plenty of extra food right now... I'm feeding it to the chickens and goats.
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further defining of good times/bad times...

Good times... going into town (good)... finding a store open (good)... finding the shelves full of food (good) or other goods (good)... having some coinage to buy said goods (priceless)

Bad times... not going into town (no fuel for the vehicle, no horse, no horse and buggy, and the bicycle has a flat tire.... BAD)... not finding a store open (BAD)... finding a store open, but no goods available (BAD)... finding a store with any goods, and having fiat money that is worthless (BAD)...

I reckon I'm talking about good times/bad times for the country and not individuals... there's always someone thats going thru rough times... thing is, no matter how 'good' a person is doing, if the country has fallen completely, and civilization no longer exists, that person will have a hard time existing (unless they'd spent lots of time down on the Survival and Emergency Preparations subforum... and prepped accordingly)... and on the other hand, no matter how bad a persons personal situation is, if the 'worlds still turning', there's always a chance of recovering, and getting back in the game. If Bad times are for everybody, and you have a personal bad times to boot, then simple survival comes into question.

Prep Now, while the Preppings Good.

I prep hard when I have cash... because all too often I don't have cash...

__________________
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

I think that Texican raises a good point.

IMHO there is a difference between the perception of hard times and the actuality of truly hard times. It's been said that one can get so Heavenly minded that they are no Earthly good.

We can also get so caught up in "Telescopic Philanthropy" to where we ignore the needs of those closest to us.

It's rather easy to sit back on a self-righteous high horse and proclaim "Why wasn't this sold and the money used to help the poor."

Too often the rich are nothing more than anyone who is doing better than we are. Combine that with the bent of some to think that they always have it rough and it's easy to conclude that everybody but them should be making sacrifices to assist the less fortunate, who just so happen to be themselves.

Oh and in case it wasn't mentioned before, the quote:
"Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
was taken from the book Man's Search For Meaning, written by Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. . I highly recommend it for those who are willing to have their perceptions of hard times altered in some way. I know that it did mine.....

A few years ago I lived in a very large house with a bunch of people crammed into it. There were people in the basement, I got the cold attic. I think there must have been 10 people all together, but anyway getting to the whole McDonalds deal. One of my roommates/friend worked for Micky D. He has an extremely high metabolism, 6 foot tall and 120 pounds. The little bit of food he got (I think it was one meal a day) wasn't enough and they made a big deal about eating the wrong orders. At the time that time the area he lived in there wasn't much for jobs besides the minimum wage fast food type of work. He sure didn't gain any weight the whole time I was there. Most of the other people in the house weren't much better off and everyone's food was locked up in their rooms. It was pretty sad really.

Texican, I worked for McD's when I was in high school and I got 50% off a meal during my work shift (my lunch break) and I paid full-price the rest of the time. I think the managers got their work shift meals free, and maybe 50% at other times, I don't know.

So far its been a terrible year for my wife and I with a series of unexpected financial setbacks that has wiped out our savings and on top of that I have been passing a kidney stone since before Christmas and I was really getting depressed.

We are saving to move south into the Missouri Ozarks but as so many have said, its all about attitude and thankfully my wife has a great one. We dont have any debt besides a manageable mortgage but we reviewed our bills and buckled down on food costs, stopped buying impulse food purchases, etc. and we are working on our savings program again.

My hard times would be looked on very favorably by many and I realized I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself. There are people who dont have enough to eat or have that elemental fear that they will lose their jobs, homes, and way of life. I think that living with fear is the worst part.

Andy

Hi Andy,

Sorry to hear of your round of recent setbacks. I've heard that kidney stones can be a real bugger too. Hope that things work out in that department too.

Glad to hear that your attitude is faring well. I'm glad that your Missus is a source of strength for you in that regard.

There's a saying that goes something like this..... Get knocked down six times.... Get up seven.

A couple more are:

Whether you say that you can or you can't... You're right.

Can't is an acronym for Certainly Are Not Trying

Fear is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real

"Far better it is to dare to mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

I wish you well in your efforts to move down here to the Ozarks. Hang in there and keep your chin up the best you can.

David

Jeepers Beeman! I hope that you enjoy my penchant for quotes and that it doesn't annoy you none.

Ya know if I was thin skinned an' small minded I could take yer comment the wrong way 'n get my feelins all hurt an' such. I figger I'll jest get "Frosted" by takin' the council of your little byline quote and choose not to take a fence. 'Cause ya know a feller kin git in truble fer takin' a fence that hain't his.

*Git it? Frost(ed)....Quote.....Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck....I kill me!*

Just a few more thoughts.


Then I observed that most people are motivated to success by their envy of their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless, like chasing the wind. Foolish people refuse to work and almost starve. They feel it is better to be lazy and barely survive than to work hard, especially when in the long run everything is so futile.

I observed yet another example of meaninglessness in our world. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, "Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?" It is all so meaningless and depressing. Ecclesiastes - Chapter 4 verses 4-8

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what is the advantage of wealth--except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers! People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich are always worrying and seldom get a good night's sleep. Ecclesiastes - Chapter 5 verses 10-12

Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, and enjoy their work--whatever they do under the sun--for however long God lets them live. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life--that is indeed a gift from God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. Ecclesiastes - Chapter 5 verses 18-20