2012 Worries, Walmart and Tiffany's

Well, the year was not an easy one. And as we go into the next election, respondents to a Houselogic survey indicated that housing was a large cloud on the mind of the public and fundamental in who they will vote for in the election . Chief among their worries:

Jobs/unemployment – 54 percent
Housing – 27 percent
National security – 8 percent
Healthcare – 4 percent
Energy/Environment – 2 percent
Other – 4 percent

Interesting that being deathly ill with no insurance or being bombed was less threatening than being homeless or unemployed. Brings up my favorite topic, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:







You just can't be worried about making love when the roof over your head is mortgaged to the hilt and you can't come home from a long day at work when there is no work. Additionally having the phone ring every ten minutes from your loan servicer reminding you your life is going to the dogs doesn't do much but wire your nervous system to crave some certainty.

The challenge with this market is the fear that things are going to correct the minute you cave in and sell short. Now your credit is wrecked and you are a renter again. Or, your FICO is already in the toilet from months of stringing along and the self concept you held of yourself as a prosperous adult homeowner is trashed. "What if I can't trust my own judgement anymore?" The idea that your best thinking landed you in this mess undermines your self confidence which paralyzes you when you have to make yet another critical decision. "Do I stay or do I go now?" The clash is real right now.

The idea of relief in the form of letting go of the precipice and falling onto anything remotely solid is alluring. The idea of letting go of family memories, your pride of ownership, your loss of stature is bruising.

One thing to consider and may console you is this: if you are over 50 you didn't grow up in the age of the internet. You depended on family for fiscal guidance and wisdom. You probably repeated the beliefs and expectations of your family culture and because you were not immersed in information about how the 1% lived, it was okay to have one TV, an old sofa and spaghetti every Family Friday night.

Then came the internet.. Investing was transparent, 401K's for everyone, pressure from the media to invest, to buy homes, to be a full fledged American citizen complete with debt to the hilt. So instead of living within our means we credited up and bought not one house but several. We put money in the stock market and took vacations, because it was expected. Frugal was social leprosy.

Had we stayed naive in our own little community cultures, content with less, we might have actually been happier, ala the cultures in Costa Rica or Columbia.. Very little material wealth, high peace of mind.

But here we are now, aware of fine cigars and fast cars, the ability to stay young and beautiful with enough coin, careless wealth displayed by gold grills on music artists and Mira Lago's over 67,000 sq ft home for the Donald and his 38 year his junior wife. What the hell happened? And we are 114th on the Happiness Index. Go figure.

So we trudge into 2012, (with the Mayan calendar sounding not so bad), and wonder is this the year that things may inch toward happier times?

We know we have an hour glass economy. The Tiffanys and the Walmarts are doing great. The upper crust barely noticed a blip or actually got richer. The 99%, whether they are newly demoted middle class types or the under educated and long bitter bottom of the 99% is disenfranchised. There is no middle anymore. These were the contented folks that poured coffee at Starbucks, delivered our mail, worked at Nordstrom, opened fancy restaurants for the 1% to flaunt their affluence. They had bed and breakfasts, car dealerships, they held us all together, the stitch in the middle that has come unraveled.

So as you ponder your underwater mortgage, your job prospects, keeping the kids in private school, foregoing your annual trip to Hawaii, take heart. You have a lot of company.

I can't say any of this is fun. Working through the broken hearted is awful work. But we will get through it and I find that after the move and the pressure is off and everyone is settled in new surroundings that joy does return. The pleasure in simple things is restored and there is a patina of gratitude that rests nicely on people. There are no U Hauls going to heaven, it's just stuff and when the game is over, all the pieces go back in the box. Embrace simplicity. Look within. Be kind. Do no harm.
And come Jan 1, 2012, you have a nice new white board for your life. Create it carefully and with joy.