You sound very reasonable to me,
Mau. I do think many people are nervous about the economy.
For some reason, your post made me think of that Wordsworthian sonnet that begins, "The world is too much with us, late and soon/Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers." You are right that we should spend more time appreciating what we already have. And, yes, that is what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about.
As for budgeting and living within one's means--I have decided that handling money wisely is a lot like weight-management. Everyone knows what you need to do to handle money wisely, just like everyone knows what you need to do to maintain a healthy weight. It's the
doing it that's tough!
One thing I am doing this year for my kids is creating a personal cookbook with all the traditional recipes that have been handed down in my family, plus a few favorites of ours from over the years. It started as a holiday cookbook but has branched out from there. I don't mean it's going to be a "book," more like a pamphlet. I intend to laminate the pages and bind it with one of those plastic term paper binders you get at the office supply store. But that is something only I can give them, and basically it will cost me some time. I have been working on it sporadically for almost a year. I am not only giving them the recipes, but the stories and anecdotes behind them, who taught me to make them, etc. I am hoping they will appreciate that.
