5 Lessons We've Learned from the Recession

By: Jill Schlesinger
Topics: Financial Decoder

(AP / CBS)

Yesterday I scolded Wall Street for not learning lessons from the housing and credit bubbles. For the rest of us, the news is actually pretty good–it seems that the longest post-World War II recession has knocked some sense into us!

Based on consumer confidence polls as well as hard data, Americans have shifted many of their former bad habits. Let's hope that these are long-term trends, rather than reactionary blips!

1. Even if you hate your job, be grateful you have one: In today's Conference Board Confidence Index, consumers were notably pessimistic about their income expectations. That makes sense considering that stagnant wages plague an economy that has lost 6.5 million jobs since the beginning of the recession.

2. Live within your means: This was a toughie–consumer debt as a proportion of disposable income peaked at 133% in the fourth quarter of 2007, when the current recession began. As of the first quarter of this year, it has eased to only 128%. That said, the personal savings rate has vastly improved.

3. Don't buy a house until you can afford to do so: Despite recent improvements to five questions to ask financial advisers.

It will take a lot of hard work to get out of this mess, but thus far, I'm far more confident in the American consumer's ability to learn lessons than Wall Street institutions' ability to do so.

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(CBS)

This post originally appeared The Financial Decoder blog on CBS MoneyWatch.com. Jill Schlesinger is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch.com. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch, she was the Chief Investment Officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.

Jill Schlesinger
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Jill Schlesinger, CFP®, is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch. She covers the economy, markets, investing or anything else with a dollar sign. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch in 2009, Jill was the chief investment officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.
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by sjc_1 July 28, 2009 10:56 PM EDT: The only thing I learned from recessions is that we do not need to have them. An economy is a man made structure. You can design and manage one effectively with NO recessions EVER. As long as you listen to the "free market" con artists, we will continue to have recessions until they crash it completely into a full blown depression.; Reply to this comment


by naj1953 July 28, 2009 8:55 PM EDT: The only thing I have learned from the recession is there is no change....Been living within my means all the time for 56 years.The rich didn't get one bit hurt by this...So take your own advise and take it where the sun don't shine.....................; Reply to this comment