I ran across a short article on CNN Money entitled, Buffett Sees U.S. in Recession, and when the Oracle of Omaha speaks, people tend to listen. Now, whether or not the country is actually in a recession as it’s technically defined still remains to be seen, but here’s what Buffett had to say:

“I believe that we are already in a recession. Perhaps not in the sense as defined by economists. … But people are already feeling the effects of a recession.”

It’s an interesting take on the subject of recession, and one that’s definitely more practical. I mean, aren’t the effects on people’s behaviour more important than whether we’ve actually had two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth? If people are feeling pinched and are afraid of inflation and other financial worries, what does it really matter if we technically are or aren’t in a recession?

I must say though that it depends on one’s individual situation whether they feel this way or not. I personally don’t feel the pressure of a recession even amidst rising gas prices and such. We have a certain buffer built into our “budget” (if you can call it that) so the current conditions aren’t having all that horrible of an effect on our situation. Others will see things differently though.

Regardless of your personal situation though, it’s safe to say that things are definitely changing. The lifestyle of the past couple of years probably won’t be the same going forward. The days of easy credit and the “we can pay for it later” attitude are going to have to change if they haven’t already. It’s not something that we can’t deal with, but change happens and we’ll have to adapt. For those who are unwilling to adapt and make changes, it’ll probably be tough, but if you’re willing to find and learn a new way to play the game in the changing financial landscape, you should manage to do just fine.

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