“Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door… all the negativity that’s in this town sucks… And it stinks.” – Rick Pitino
Any Celtics fan, and many NBA fans, remember this famous rant from Rick Pitino. He took over the Boston Celtics and failed to bring them to the glory of the mid 80’s. The fans of Boston weren’t happy. I turned on CNBC a few times over the last week and every analyst sounds like Rick Pitino. They speak of how the credit markets stink and this economy sucks. They stick and they suck… and Alan Greenspan isn’t walking through that door. (Though much of this mess was on his watch, so maybe we don’t want him to).
With all the negativity out there, I feel I need to provide a little perspective. Let’s focus on some very good things about this economy. Believe it or not, opportunities abound for those who were responsible in the past and know where to look.
- Buy Some Cheap Stocks – While everyone is afraid of the stock market, these are some of the lowest prices we’ve seen in some time. Not to bring you back to school, but history and math has proven time and time again, buy low and sell high.
- Save Money on Cars – It’s a bad time for car manufacturers now. Headline after headline in the news state how bad it’s been for them. If you’ve got good credit (or can pay cash), you should be able to walk into a dealer and get a great deal. The consumer is in the best position I can recall in the last ten years. (For more tips, see save money on cars :-)
- Big Savings on Dining – I covered some of the deals at restaurants earlier this week. I missed some places like Applebee’s Pick ‘n Pair Lunch Combos for $6. (For more tips, see save money at restaurants)
- Buy Cheap Oil – I looked up today and noticed that oil is currently under $70 a barrel. I remember when people were complaining about gas prices when oil was at $140… and we were afraid it would go to $200! I look at this as not only a great time to refuel my car, but I can’t help but believe that PowerShares DB Oil Fund is a greater opportunity here to make money over the next 5-10 years.
- Capitalize on the Expected Poor Holiday Sales – Notice a trend by now? Retail sales want your money. Stores are going to battle hard for your dollars this holiday season. This puts you in perfect position for you to say, “What are you going to do to make me happy?” Just try not to be too obnoxious with it.
- Learn To Manage Your Money Better – This is going to sound counter-productive to the previous advice of spending money, but hear read me out. Necessity is the mother of invention. In this economy, many people will need to manage their money better. I hope some see this as an opportunity to invent new ways to optimize their money management. When times become good again, they will be stronger for it.
Do you have other reasons to love this economy? Let me know in the comments!
Photo Credit: Mike Licht