I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 28 years, disabled daughter, adult son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!I know I already posted today, but I am having thoughts. They keep making a big deal about people not being able to make rent next month. And what I am wondering is if there is going to be any kind of financial changes in people's lives on the other side of this. There are so many people who have been irresponsible with money for their entire lives. They have lived with debt because there was always money coming in to pay it and now they are experiencing what life is like without that.
Do you think this will change spending habits when jobs and incomes come back? Do you think people will fight to get out of debt and save up enough money in an emergency fund to get through a couple months if something like this happens again? Or do you think they will put their heads back in the sand and go back to how life was before. How many people will learn from this and will it alter the financial rules of society away from being credit based?
I read an article today or yesterday about some small grocers and restaurants that are still open for take out going cash only because their margins are so thin now they can't afford to pay the credit card fees. I wonder if that will ripple out to larger stores and restaurants or if they will continue to be able to handle it. Or if they will pass it on to the consumer?
I don't know, money is so dirty and changes so many hands, and may or may not carry the virus, so maybe we'll see an end to cash and only have debit and credit cards in the future. I guess it could go either way. But if they do eliminate money they should eliminate all debit card fees. Not that society ever does what it should do.
I keep reading about people going out and partying or insisting they are going to hold Easter services and people letting their kids run all over their neighborhoods with all the other kids and I wonder, in my more cynical of moments, if we will have enough people left to run the world after all the dumb ones die off.
I wonder if the big cities will see a mass exodus as people continue to work from home? They have been the most dangerous place to be during this outbreak. I wonder how many people will plow up their lawns and plant a garden for the first time this year? I wonder how many will stick to it if things appear to be getting better?
It's strange to not be having cars going by on our street all the time. It is a secondary route to the hospital and also is the only outlet street for the elementary school so it could be pretty busy at certain hours and now it is just dead all the time. It's been nice, since a lot of those drivers would blare their music. I can't remember that last time I've heard the bass so pumped up it was loud enough to hear in the house. That part has been a happy change.
The other thing is the medivac helicopter has not been buzzing the house lately. I guess there are far less traumas because people aren't driving and getting into accidents. Or the hospital is too full. We have 222 cases in my county and have had 12 deaths.
They were going up the street yesterday and today replacing gas lines because there were several leaks. They had to take out the long flowerbed that runs along the driveway because the line is under it. We've been wanting to take that out for a while and now we don't have to. We are going to plant it in grass. We can't plant a crop there in case they have to dig it up again.
Okay, guess my second brain dump of the day is over.
Thinky Thoughts
April 9th, 2020 at 05:08 am
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