The economy is improving every day: just watch the nightly news and a plethora of politicos will feed you this fact. They'll fastidiously tell you this, never waivering from the message and always avoiding the “d” word. After all, “it's only a recession and a minor one at that.” The media, in it's very next report will say that this recession is the worst since the Great Depression, as an expression of Orwellian double-speak.
The reality of the markets is, that everyone needs to stop listening to politicians and start looking out for themselves and their own homes. Charity begins at home, so stop volunteering your pocket-book to local, state and federal agencies who squander taxes left and right. Do not buy into the argument that taxes must be raised when people are out of jobs, businesses are closing and homes are being foreclosed upon in record numbers.
People seem overly-willing to allow government to take more of their hard-earned dollars, instead of less, during these harsh times.
The smart family needs to hunker down and reign in spending.
Here are a dozen suggestions for surviving the roller coaster ride of pseudo-recovery that the masses are buying into: