PRIORITIES

Economic times like this are being described as unprecedented. It makes me examine my priorities. How important is it for me to have a retirement nest egg? What if I lose my job? What if I can't pay my bills?

What is the worst case scenario? Will the entire banking system collapse? Some families are facing hard decisions right now. Others will face them in the coming months. In these past economic boom years we have had beggars at the main intersections just off the freeway, with cardboard signs and messages designed to inspire guilt. Will they lose their job too? Will the guilt donations slow, or will their numbers swell?

Will we hear accounts of suicides because fortunes have been lost? How prepared am I to face several years of economic slowdown? What is my responsibility to others?

There is an investment that does not lose value. That is when we invest in the lives of others. I find myself evaluating my investing. I try to be prudent and save for retirement, but what about those I love? Has my attempt to be financially responsible taken away from investing in people? I hope not. After all, if an economic collapse occurs, I'll need lots of people to hang out with. That doesn't cost any money.