Although we can’t predict the future, we can look at what has happened over the last two years. And, as anyone who has the facts laid out in front of them can see, the economy has really taken a beating over the last two years. While people can sit on television all day and predict when things are going to get better, the truth is that none of us can know with one hundred percent certainty. However, the one thing that we can do is to prepare ourselves for whatever lies ahead. Whether it turns out to be bad or good, my philosophy has always been to prepare for the worst.
Because of this, I have been really focused on saving money in the past couple of months. Fortunately, I have never been the type of person to live beyond my means, but I have really been clamping down on myself in recent months. For example, when I realized that I needed a new car (because I had been driving my old car until it was on the verge of completely dying), I made the decision to buy a rental car. I felt this was a financially sound decision, because I was able to get a reliable car at a very reasonable price.