Best recession... ever!

Save when times are good, and spend when times are bad. I forget where this phrase comes from, but I believe it's pretty good advice.

The media is all doom and gloom about the global recession, but a recession is not without it's benefits. You may not be a Warren Buffett with piles of money on standby to make an opportunistic stock purchase... but his principles are scalable to the level of the personal consumer.

Have you noticed the price of gasoline has dropped significantly in the past few weeks? Last I checked it was around 85 cents per Liter. Good times! Analysts predict that a global recession means significantly less demand for oil, as people cut down their use of this previously expensive commodity.

Do you like lobster? Lobster prices are at a low because fewer people are buying this "luxury food". Some friends came over, and we had a lobster dinner with a lobster per person. They are thinking about doing it again next week. (Maybe that's a little excessive.) Be on the look out for other falling prices.

Are you in the market for a big screen TV? The prices for big screen TV's are dropping, because people aren't buying. Early adopters all have their TV's already, and people are more cautious about buying big ticket items. A few of my co-workers are snapping up some big screen TV's as they are moving into the range of affordability. I'm likely going to pick one up very soon as well. Yes, you heard me... I may finally upgrade my old CRT TV.

Are you looking to jump into the real estate market? I can tell you that all those poor guys lining up to buy pre-construction units at Bloor-1 will not be very happy with the recession. Most of them were probably condo flippers, and hard times will cut into their profit margins. The condo and housing markets are slowing down, and it's becoming a buyer's market out there. Personally, I think it's still too early to jump, but I'm hoping that things will reach the bottom in about 2 years... which is when I'd like to upgrade my current real estate.

There you have it. Your spending money goes a little bit further during a bust than it does during a boom. It's not a carte blanche to go out there and spend like crazy (especially if you're Royal Pinguo), but rather that bargains and opportunities are out there if you are vigilant. Companies will try a little harder for your business and consumers will have a little more leverage.