day 27- it's a bone you lucky dog!

a 2 pack of rawhide bones? what kind of purchase is this?

let me tell you about a nice little lady i know named flicka. she's got nice brown hair, big brown eyes and if i have been gone for a long time she pinkas herself with happiness when she sees me.

i am talking about my niece and nephew's dog. she's a beagle mixed with... um.. something else. i see this dog maybe twice a year and she always remembers me, tells me her story and just showers me with her puppy love.

i never really was much of a dog person, but flicka is the one who could change all that.

so the bones are for her. i am a lower east side guy and that's where milk-bones orginally were made. it seemed appropriate. and at a buck59 i can complete my mission for the day, while she gets to eat her bones.

so...

have you gotten your cash from the government yet?

if you have, then have you spent it?

if not, i really think you might want to really think about how you are going too. over half that money has been sent out and here is what we have seen thus far.

spending has increased since last december by .07 percent. and retails sales are up 1 percent. most of this is attributed to our checks that have come in the mail from the government.

is this a good thing?

think about it. if we have money in our pockets, then we will spend it. the "rebate" looks like free money. right?

maybe we should be thinking about it as free money with a patriotic responsibility attached.

it's intention is to stimulate the economy. spending is up.. so far so good right?

not really.

with the price of gas still riding high and everything going up with it of course we are going to be spending more, but our confidence is down. way down. i am only spending a buck64aday and my confidence is way down, and i am worried that by the end of my year long mission my buck64 is just not going to be worth what it was at the start.

if everyone is spending their money as they get it, and the checks run out in july then, where will be then?

putting all this into perspective.. -let's think back to when you were in high school.. your parents are headed out of town and you will be on your own for a week. mom has stocked the fridge and cupboards with everything you will need for a week.

they come back a week from monday. you will be fine.

she also leaves you with 100 bucks cash for emergencies. (sweet!) you know... just in case. you also know that this money is expected to be spent on pizza and whatever.

it's "fun" money. (it is not expected to be there when she gets back)

mom says goodbye to you and your younger brother and the 'rents take off for a week long trip in south america.

as soon as your parent's plane leaves you are on the phone.. ordering pizza, and of course making arrangements for the annual "kegger" you throw on your parents dough. the money is all spent in the first 2 days.

one day before your parents are to get back, you get a phone call from mom.

dad is sick... no, no its nothing to worry about, but he needs to stay at the hospital for another week to "sort himself out"...

"you'll be fine right? still have that money i gave you for the emergencies?"

"yeah of course, don't worry about us. we will be fine. tell dad to get better."

of course that money was all spent. the party cleaned out the food stores and all that's left is the canned goods, 2 loaves of bread and a box of fruit roll-ups.

just one more week to go kid. you're gonna survive. you have enough to keep you going, but that you know what? 70 bucks sure would come in handy now wouldn't it? see where i am going with this?

end of persepective-

consumer confidence is down now, and i am sure it will be even lower in august. (these high prices for oil barrels we see in the news is after all for july and august, not now) we will have no more of our "free" money to spend, and things are going to get rough. i will still have my buck64aday to spend. that's my mission. how much will you have? couldn't you spread out your money a little bit. maybe spend it slowly? might that not be better for the economy?

200 bucks a month for three months, rather than one of those fancy lcd tv's that you really don't need in febuary 2009.

maybe 100 bucks over 6 months.

i am just sayin...

if we spend our money at a slower, steadier rate we might be able to keep the economy at a more even keel. sure it will be slow, but that 1 percent increase in retail sales was higher than expected. it's total recession we are trying to avoid after all.

here we all are, all 132 million of us.. cash in hand and all we want to do is spend, spend, spend (and put maybe 1/3rd into some sort of debt reduction). kids in a candy store and all that candy we are gonna buy is just in the end going to make us rot.

i am no economic expert, but today's idea might have been a good strategy.

well... might have been if this had been the plan from the start. we as the american people could have been a force to be reckoned with. we could have stared down the economy with our collective 264 million eyes and made it work. tightened the belt and made do, but as americans we go our own way, and when things get bad...

i'll still be here. spending a buck64aday.

at least a bunch of you all will still have those fancy tv's.

wrapping up

557.80 at the start

a buck59 spent

the kitty stands at 49cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck13

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me