"Good Enough" and the economy

As the subheading of the blog says, "good enough" in some ways is for people who can't afford the very best, or perhaps it would be better to say that they don't need to afford the very best.

It's April 2009, and we're all aware of how the economy has slowed down due to the credit crisis, which I won't go into since it's been covered so well by so many others. Some of the people responsible for predicting the economy say it will begin to rebound by the fall - but I want to point out something they seem to be missing and which ties into the central theme of this blog.

People are finally scared enough to stop spending so much, especially on credit. Many have lost jobs, and they say unemployment will continue to rise before it gets better again.

So, to the retail forecasters, I say - "good enough" is going to hurt you.

• A 1996 Olds station wagon suddenly becomes "good enough" if we can keep it running, and it's better than taking on a car payment.
  
• The DVD player is "good enough" - we don't need to buy Blu-Ray.
  
• The "old" 32-inch CRT television is "good enough" now, we really can wait on that thin LCD model.
  
• A haircut every four weeks instead of every two is "good enough", and suddenly the Supercuts at the mall seems every bit as good as the Haute House salon.
  
• The three bedroom house is "good enough" - let the youngest two boys have bunk beds, rather than increase the house payment to let everyone have their own room.
  
• Powdered milk mixed half-and-half is "good enough" and makes the milk stretch further.

Don't expect a large uptick in retail sales, any time soon. We're all going to make do with "good enough" for some time to come.