I have to tell you, the way the economy is going is crazy.  Since I have a small shop, it has become very difficult to keep running.  The number of customers seems to be going down while our expenses keep going up.  The tariffs haven’t really caused any price increases yet, but I am guessing that they will start soon.  But just because there is so much uncertainty about what is going to happen, I think that the customers are just not going out to spend money anymore.  I know that I am not. 

We used to go out once a week for dinner.  Just a little date night for us and a litttle reprieve at home from cooking.   It was fun, and helped us to stay sane!  But now we cook at home 7 days a week, and maybe once every quarter we get a meal from a restaurant.  Prices have been going up and our income has been going down.  We had to make some concessions.

I think there is going to be more things that we will have to give up down the road as well.  We’ve gone from enjoying life, to just trying to survive.  I think that is happening to a lot of folks too.  It seems more and more people are locking themselves into their homes and avoiding taking breaks to relieve stress and anxiety.  Thus, everyone is feeling more stressed and anxious!

I don’t have the answers.  I think everyone will have to find their own way out of this.  No “one size fits all” solution.  I’m just hoping we get it all together soon.