by Suzanne Fort

Created on: May 10, 2009   Last Updated: May 19, 2009

When people think of the recession it is just usually all negative things. People think about lost jobs, having to cut back on things they used to enjoy, losing their homes, etc. With everything negative about the recession, there are also little bits of silver lining in those dark and dirty recession clouds.

When the economy is going great, we are expected to go to every birthday party, bridal shower, baby shower, etc. Now, we can use the economy as a way of getting out of those things. We can say, "we are really having to cut back on our expenses, so I won't be able to attend." Lucky for you, you can now get out of playing all those annoying bridal and baby shower games. You can also get out of watching kids running around hyped up on candy and cake.

The economy cuts out clutter in your life. I bet you didn't think of that one, did you? You may be invited to Pampered Chef parties, Scentsy parties, Candle parties, Passion Parties, Mary Kay parties, etc. Now, you can get out of buying a bunch of useless junk. You can talk about how times are tough and you just can't afford a babysitter to go to this party or you just can't buy anything because you are struggling to get by in this economy. It's a win-win situation. No junk and no boring speels on how great some wire whisk is or even worse, getting shown how to use a sex toy in front of a room full of your friends.

With the economy, now you can be picky and choosy about who you buy gifts for. You can be selfish and think about who gives you gifts and only give gifts back to those people. You can see who has been nice to you around the time there are birthdays, Christmas, etc. and choose to only give gifts to those people. Maybe your sister will be nicer to you when she knows that you may not be buying her a birthday gift if she continues to be grouchy all year round. It's like you can be the Grinch all year round and you can justify it with yourself that the economy is just too shaky to be buying gifts for ungrateful and selfish people.

Do you ever feel trapped into going out to dinner with friends that just sometimes drive you crazy? Some friends you'd rather just not see at all and if you do see them you want to make it a quick visit. You can tell your not-so-close friend that you can only afford to meet for coffee instead of lunch or dinner because you are just struggling with the current financial crisis. You can get out of those long drawn out talks about how great her kids are or how wonderful her husband is doing in his business.

With the economy, you can now even get out of going to those boring family reunions. You and your family can make a brief visit and then do your own thing. You can use the economy as a way of getting out game night with uncle Joe who is always making those horrible jokes that are just so old.

The economy can give you an excuse to have the kids do the work that you would usually hire someone to do, such as mowing the lawn. The economy can also give an excuse for you to pay less allowance to your children for more work. Your children will learn to value money when they get less of it for sure. Yay for the economy!

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