In 1929 the stock market crashed. People panicked and sold their stocks for a very cheap price. Banks began to fail, money was lost and people started to take their own lives. This was the beginning to the 12 year depression that tore through America

In 2008 the market crashed. People panicked and sold stocks too cheap. Banks failed, the government gave out too much money and people were laid off. This is the way our “Great Depression” started.

In times like these what can people do? We went from rolling in the dough to getting evicted. College graduates are forced to take blue collard jobs. We have a hole in our wallets that just wont stop bleeding. What to do?

When people hit hard times who do they turn to? Parents, friends, family? They turn to who has been through it before. People who have the experience you need to make it out alive. I turned to the eldest family member, my Grandmother Marry.

Q. What was it like, living through rough times during the Great Depression
A. It was very hard, I was only a small child then but I remember we had little food and no luxuries.

Q. What did you ,your family, do to stay out of real trouble financially?
A. We didn’t spend money. We saved every penny we could. We would buy cheap food, normally some sort of bread and cheese, and we wouldn’t get anything that was not absolutely needed. We all got jobs too. Once we were old enough we would go out and do some sort of work

Q. What do you think people should do in modern times to stay out of major debt?
A. They should cut back. Sell one of the cars, TV’s, computers, no more eating out, less birthday presents, less food just buy what you need. Don’t be wasteful, save and eat left overes, eat perishable food quickly, and don’t be loose with spending.

Q. What should unemployed workers do?
A. they should get back out and work. No down time, just get a new job. Blue collar is fine, you might have to cut back and sell but at least you will have a little bit of money. People who just give up will end up failing and getting into major debt. It isn’t a good road to go down.

Q. Should people sell their houses?
A. No! the market is too low, money will be lost and there will be a major gap in money. It is a last resort thing. It is better to sell than foreclose but that is pretty much it. You cant take that big of a loss and expect to keep afloat.

Many people are lost today and don’t know what to do. Just relax and keep doing your thing. Make cuts, get a new job, and just keep treading. You can’t give up. We will be back to rolling in the dough again soon.