Demanding, demanding, demanding

The United States is constantly changing, improving, and growing. And with this massive growth, especially during the holiday season, there are many things that are in demand such as gold, oil, and cool new toys. During this holiday season, the prices for these hot commodities will grow as the demand grows, and new retailers will see the market and come out with cheaper toys. This is called supply and demand, and it runs the free market economy of the US.

Saving early, making more

Many people wait until they are older to start thinking about their retirement. But in reality, if you save a fourth money earlier, you will end up with more. Now, if you procrastinate and decide to start saving later, less money will be in your retirement account when you need it. The opportunity cost of saving earlier is that you may have to budget a little more in your younger years, but this will pay off alot when you are old and like to have a luxurious lifestyle. Want a cute sports car when you get old? Well hurry up and start saving!

Credit Cards 101

Credit cards can be a benefit or a disaster for the average American. First assess your personality to see if you are right for a credit card. Do you like to spend more then you make? Do you have an addictive personality? Do you have a steady job to pay for what you spend? If you answered yes to any of these questions, DO NOT get a credit card. Look for a debit card or carry cash. If you then do decide to get a credit card, look around first. Find a low interest, low or no fee card and look for any fine print that may apply to you (such as late fees). Apply for only one card that you want, since that is all you really need, spend only what you can afford and pay you bill on time each month and your credit card can help you instead of putting you into deep debt.

Inflation!

Inflation, or the decrease in value of currency, has been a major problem in countries around the world such as Yugoslavia in 1993-1994. A country's economy cannot function properly if there is too much currency circulating, or if prices skyrocket. In the United States, since April '08, our inflation rate has been between 5.4% and -0.2%. As the cost of living rises, the inflation rate also rises. One of the reasons that inflation peaked in October 2008 is because fuel prices skyrocketed, once they went down, so did inflation!

Good luck finding a job, even at Mcdonalds!

The unemployment rate recently skyrocketed from 4.8% in April of 2008(normal), to 9.5% in September 2009. When it is that high, the college graduates who spent thousands of dollars on their education resort to entry level positions and labor intensive jobs. The high unemployment rate makes budgets tight, lowers the spending of consumers, and can result in the bankruptcy of businesses which leads to more unemployment. Inflation can also occur, called stagnation, where people earn less in comparison to what they are making. The business cycle that includes the unemployment rate and inflation is constantly going up and down, which is bright news for the US in 2009, since things can't get much worse.


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