Aside from former Senator Lindsey Graham’s opinion that we should stop whining and that things are OK, today’s economic environment is tough, no doubt about it. There are a lot of good things that hopefully will come out of it though. The first is that we, as a society get away from the greed driven mindset that drove us into this economic dilemma in the first place. Secondly, maybe, just maybe we won’t devour our world’s resources in order to one up our neighbors. Maybe this will turn out to be a reprieve for our planet.

So what rational things can we do in these times of trouble?  I stumbled upon this website that seemed to have some rather intelligent suggestions. It comes from wikihow.com, a copy of the idea of Wikipedia but with the idea of being “The How-to Manual That You Can Edit”. The thoughts gathered are commonsense and doable.

Here are the 9 suggestions:

1. Quit using credit.
2. Nurture positive relationships with family and friends.
3. Enjoy the simple pleasures.
4. Do it yourself.
5. See frugality as a virtue.
6. Treat food with respect.
7. Reuse, reuse, reuse.
8. Practice good domestic skills.
9. Be thankful.

The last one is the most important. No matter how bad you think you have it, there are literally millions (maybe billions) of people who have it worse. Also, things will get better if you work at it and change your perspective as to what is important in your life.