Economy forces out-of-box thinking

With a declining economy looming over hour heads, just about everyone, whether at home or in business, is forced to think outside the box in order to survive.

There are probably some advantages with technology at our hands at home and work. Savings could be just a click away.

I’m talking about working businesses and individuals beginning to operate closer to home or even from home.

Every week, I notice a business closing or the owners cutting back on overhead, if they aren’t suggesting closing. It seems those small shops are hanging on by their fingernails. If everyone did their part, survival of those businesses could be imminent.

Some business owners are even dipping into savings to continue operating. If you ask most any of them how bad or good is business, most agree it’s not business as usual.

Resorting to different ways that keep them in the game often means price reductions, adding enticing loss leaders and cutting overhead costs. The list goes on. Reducing inventory to a sensible figure is helping in some places. There is a lot of waste trying to figure out what will sell, what services are and will continue to be of vital importance

Never before have I heard so many people downsizing their appetites for toys, luxury vacations and so forth. It is pretty obvious that just about everyone is concerned about this country’s future. My guess is we are heading back the to basics.

I am told that surviving an economic crisis makes us a better society. It builds character.

I remember my parents talking about the Great Depression of the 1930s and how hard some people took it, especially those who were considered to be among the wealthy.

While the government has to curtail spending, so do the people who already have their belts cinched pretty tight.

I called my television network server and downsized to the basic level. It only made sense because what I was getting were a lot of repeats and duplications on several channels. I guess they think we’re stupid when one additional package is the same as another. Well in the summertime especially, I really don’t have that much time to sit and be entertained. There is a garden and yard that needs tending, housework, laundry and so forth. By the time I sit down it’s almost time to go to bed.

Anyway, I axed the stuff I never watch on TV. It was kind of scary not realizing what it would leave me going from $71.99 to $21.00. After a few minutes, I turned the television on and surfed what was left. To my amazement, several of my favorite channels were still there.

Wow, I can watch uninterrupted my favorite week-day evening shows. Besides I have a DVD player and a library of movies I haven’t seen or it’s been awhile.

We have so many buttons, whistles and horns at our disposal that we’ve become so accustomed to depending on them. We go into a panic mode whenever we leave a cell phone at home whether for only a few hours or maybe an entire day.

It’s like our world will come to an end without these devices.

I don’t think mine will, except for the fact that there aren’t too many pay phones anymore.

I talked to a friend of mine who already axed her television entertainment package, at least for a while. She has a low-dollar long distance telephone coverage, too. There are a lot of ways to conserve at home that will reduce expenses through simple changes.

I’m stretching my propane tank volume by reducing the temperature on the thermostat; using warm and cold settings on the clothes washer and not letting the hot water in the kitchen sink or bathroom basin run too long. Cutting back isn’t all that inconvenient; it just takes getting used to, resetting our mentality on the “conserve mode.”

I don’t turn the air conditioner on until afternoon. My house is well-insulated and I leave my solid doors open at night, as both front and back doors have outer security doors that let the cool night air in. Once I close up the house when I leave for work, it stays cool all day.