I was picking up my dry cleaning this evening when the owner began to ask me how things were going. I told her that so far, thankfully, things were going well, but that I've seen better days. I jokingly commented that the FDIC at the bank wasn't enough to secure my hard earned savings. She began to tell me that her industry was in great turmoil, that small dry cleaners were closing shop and that business was decreasing. The cost of supplies and now natural gas have all sky rocketed putting added pressure on her business. In addition, she said that they have had trouble sustaining customers. Just then a realtor walked in and he started to share with us his frustrations with sales and finding clients and how buyers were becoming more demanding now that they had the bargaining power. I told both of them that the economy is affecting everyone, whether they are salaried professionals or business owners. On a brighter note, I told them that if they compared themselves to the rest of the world and if the world were a tiny village; almost everyone would go to bed hungry, many would be illiterate and live in shanty towns with no running water or central sewage and only a small number would have half the income that you do and if you happen to make more than $30,000/year, you would be in the top 1 percent in the entire world! You are already financially rich beyond measure in the eyes of the rest of the world.
