It's a rich man's world

I've been listening to a little ABBA lately so the song "Money, Money, Money" unfortunately has been stuck in my head for a while. This song selection is timely in part because of all the talk of the economy that is hitting us from every angle. If you read anything online, watch television, have a job, or a bank account you should have an idea of what's happening.

Personally, Chris and I have not felt a pinch yet due to the economic crises. Our retirement accounts have taken huge hits - around 30% each - and the contributions we made this year have all but disappeared at this point, but we only contribute money that we don't need now anyway. We don't plan on using it for another forty years so we can take the hits now. I'm not concerned.

The interest rate on our high interest checking has dropped from 6% to 4.5% over the course of a year, but that's still a great rate.

I got a pretty good job with great benefits during one of the worst months for our economy in recent history. Chris is in school getting an education that will provide a good job for him in the future. Really, the only area that I see us really getting into economic trouble in would be a loss of loans for Chris' school. As of now that is not a worry.

I have to say I agree with ABBA. It is a rich man's world. But rich doesn't mean millions in the bank. You are rich if you have money in the bank, a home you can afford whether that be by renting or owning, and secure employment. It's too easy to focus on all the problems and worry about what might happen but I'm not right now. I don't like seeing people suffering but economies go through these cycles. It won't always be like this. And I don't think we've seen the worst. I fully expect it to get worse before we see the upswing. For now though, we'll keep contributing to retirement, paying down student loans, and living life as normal.