I am a famous caveman who uses a debit card.

For your viewing pleasure, in case you have been wondering what I look like:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/local/article/CRED15S_20090214-211607/206839/

So there you have it.  I am now a famous caveman who refuses to use a credit card, because he does not want to go bankrupt. I hope this does not make me look like an idiot to you, but on a deeper level, I have never cared what people think of me in terms of my income and lifestyle. Yes, I do drive an 18 year old car. Yes, the carpet in our home is 20 years old, at least.

On one level, politically, I want the stimulus program to work and our economy to start moving again. On the other level, the personal level, I refuse to help shove the economy out of first gear by buying stuff I don't need with money that I don't have.

I would like to be up front about two things. First, we received two inheritances during my adult life. One of those really helped with our daughters going to college: one is graduating this spring and we still have the other one to pay for. The inheritances also really helped with buying our home, because having a down payment helped the bank take us seriously and pushed our monthly payment down to a point we could manage. The second point is that EVERYBODY makes money mistakes. I do not claim to be a genius. I am basically an idiot at investing- the leftover inheritance money is nearly gone because the stock market took 40% of it over the last year.

But my basic point here is the importance of having a plan for financial survival and staying with it. I think we have bascially managed to do that. Communicating with your wife helps too. We have mostly controlled our fights over $. Am I not a lucky guy to have such a wife, who puts up with my pomposity?