As I’ve written about before, it seems that all we hear about in the financial news is that the economy is getting worse and headed for a recession (if not already in one). Most of the news is doom and gloom as is most of the associated commentary. So what is an individual to do in times such as these? I thought I would list some of the most talked about and feared areas and give some thoughts on how we can proactively handle them.

1. Gas prices are continuing to spike upwards. Some of the most recent reports have average gas prices approaching the $4 mark fairly soon. When I hear people talk about this, it’s mostly disbelief followed by a lot of complaining. Well, I hate to tell you, but complaining about the situation isn’t going to change it and make it go away. We need to think of things that we can do in order to lessen the effect of higher gas prices. For starters, we could drive less. Be conscious and aware of any unnecessary errands and trips. Make a conscious effort to lay off the gas pedal a little; there’s no rush to get to the next stop light. You might want to think about trading in your gas guzzler for something a little more efficient. The point is that we need to focus on the things that we have control over instead of just complaining about the situation.

2. The market continues to plummet. This shouldn’t be a shocking revelation to anyone at this point, but it’s still a point of concern. There are also many ways to handle the situation and you’ve got to choose what is best for you. For some people it would be best to cut your losses and have the peace of mind that you won’t lose any more money in the market. Others are able to convince themselves that they are in it for the long term and so they choose to just wait it out. Still others will see the current market as a buying opportunity and choose the role of a contrarian. I’m not going to say which of these paths is the best since everyone is in a different situation and has different risk tolerances. Again, the point is that we have choices of things that we can do.

3. The dollar continues to weaken. I’m going to say that for most people this really is that big of a concern. I don’t know how often the average person goes out and buys a bunch of Euros, but I would guess it’s infrequent. I understand that it has ramifications in the global economy and that imports can be more expensive and such, but the main concern with this would really be inflation which is also talked about quite a bit. There are volumes written already about ways to save money and to live frugally so I’m not going to go into specifics here, but rising prices can be dealt with.

These are some of the items in the financial news that I continue to hear about on a daily basis. I haven’t yet seen widespread panic in the streets, but people are getting fearful and the market will at least show you that people are panicking. While I believe and understand that there is some cause for this, I think we should worry a little less and be a little more proactive about our situations. People will get into tougher situations by letting things happen to them instead of making things happen for themselves.

So what are your thought about all of this? Am I way out in left field with it?

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