7 GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE BAD ECONOMY

There is so much negative talk about the economy that Americans are getting depressed by and, even angry at, the media for constant bad news. However, there are some positive things that have come about as a result of this terrible economy. This idea could potentially make a great telephone topic on your show. Here are the 7 good things that I think have come about as a result of the bad economy:

1. Service personnel are a lot nicer. It seems people who have a job now really understand the gift that is. The service people in my life who used to be sullen and surly are now smiling and willing to go that extra mile to give great service. For example, at my local grocery store the stocking clerks seldom said anything to me when the economy was good. Now, I get asked by each one as I pass by if I’m finding everything I need. In the past, if I couldn’t find an item I would be hard pressed to even find someone to ask where it was. Now, the grocery clerks available throughout the store don’t just tell me where an item is, they walk me right to the aisle, to the item’s location and point at it.

2. There’s no longer any pressure to keep up with “the Jones”. Status seeking is out of fashion. People who used to buy the same lamp at a specialty store for three times what it was selling for at Target used to think of themselves as superior beings. Now the person who can find the same quality item for less is the person we want to be.

3. Cooking at home is healthier. Obesity in America was the big topic in the media before the economy replaced it. Because restaurant food is so much more expensive than what you make at home, we are all eating out less. That has meant we are eating more home cooked food and are less tempted to eat the huge portions of food we are served at restaurants. Perhaps this bad economy will turn out to be a factor in decreasing the waistlines and and improving the health of Americans.

4. Coupon clipping is cool again. People used to look at those of us who use coupons at a grocery store like some sort of lesser human beings. I have never seen anything wrong with saving money. If $1.50 were to fall onto the street I would most certainly pick it up. So, why wouldn’t I use a coupon if it saves me money? Now when I hand my coupons to the grocery store clerk and he or she tells me I saved $21 on my grocery bill the person behind me in line gives me a look of admiration.

5. Every retailer is willing to sell you merchandise on a 12 to 15 month payment plan with no interest. Items that you would have had to pay for in one big payment in the old, good economy you can now buy and spread the payments equally over a period of months. For example, a $2,000 refrigerator in this economy will cost you $167 a month on a 12-month payment plan. I am hoping that when the economy improves this is the way retailers always do business.

6. You don’t have to deal with car salesmen. Most of us are not buying new cars. Just ask the folks at GM. There is no process more annoying than having to deal with car salesmen. I swear they are trained by the CIA in methods of mental and physical torture. If water boarding were legal I’m sure car salesmen would use it on us. They keep you in this little office in uncomfortable chairs for the better part of a day only giving you water. Then they show you a bunch of mumbo jumbo they call “the numbers” which I don’t understand again and again before they finally release you and car buying process blessedly comes to an end. When buying a new car is finally over I’m exhausted and I always feel dirty. So, I personally am grateful that the economy is saving me from this grueling process

7. The economy is an easy excuse to get out of anything you don’t want to do. Don’t want to visit your in-laws this summer? Blame the economy. Don’t want to go to your boss’s kid’s wedding? Blame the economy. There has been no better economic time in our lifetime to say no to just about anything you don’t want to do!