Building Models for Budgeting and Financial Planning in a Recession

Chances are you or someone you know has been hit hard during our current economic recession. Knowing when and how much to spend or save can seem daunting when faced with the present economic crisis. There are ways of building your own financial models for budgeting and financial planning so that you can deal with the ever present financial obstacles of life while weathering the storm of a recession. Budgeting, strategic financial planning and simple common sense are several ways to start.

• Working Budget - Begin by creating revising a realistic and working budget which outlines your income, dividends and expenses. A budget allows you to examine how much money you make and where it goes and gives you an opportunity to make changes where needed.

• Strategic Financial Planning - Decide where to make adjustments in your budget. Budget variable expenses by cutting back on eating out, buying non-label or generic items and, making local plans rather than vacationing out of town.

• Common Sense - Preparing for the worst may be the best attitude to adopt in our current economic situation. Increasing the amount of money that's put into your savings and building a three to six month emergency savings fund model into your financial budget can help you prepare for unforseen circumstances.

Be ready to make good financial choices for you and your family during this recession with sound judgment, strategic financial planning and realistic obtainable budget. Tough economic times call for tough financial planning and budgeting decisions to be made; let common sense be your compass when building financial models for you and your loved ones.

Associated Press Economic Stress Index

The Associated Press (AP) has compiled foreclosure, unemployment, and bankruptcy data in order to create a county-by-county index of the impact of the current economic situation across the nation.

The Economic Stress Index map shows a trend of highly populated, urban areas experiencing the worst of the recession and rural, inland areas experiencing a less harsh recession. The indices range from 0 to 100, with 100 being the areas most affected by the recession.

Broward and Miami-Dade Counties both have an Economic Stress Index of over 15 and Palm Beach County follows with an index of almost 14. This is due to high levels of unemployment, foreclosures and bankrupcy across South Florida.

Artists Inspired By Economic Downturn

The economic downturn may have been good for something - many artists are finding inspiration in the current recession. 

Andres Zapata came across a bag of credit card clippings and decided to arrange and photograph the credit card pieces. He titled the photo Plastic (above), as a response to the things he "purchased that he didn't need and couldn't afford." Plastic will be published in a book of recession-themed artwork later this year. 

Zapata also began working on Recession Nation in January, a book of art and poetry inspired by the financial crisis. He has received submissions from around the country and hopes to compile 100 pieces. Proceeds from the book will be donated to charity to help those most affected by the recession. 

But Zapata is not the only artist inspired by his economic woes; there are a growing number of artists around the world who are creating songs, paintings and photos inspired by the downturn. This artwork serves to document the recession and its effect on society and is being compared to the social commentary that came out of the depression era. Documenting history as it occurs is important and self expression is one of the best ways to chronicle today's events for the future. Sometimes, people are at their best when circumstances are at their worst. 

Florida's Population Projected to Increase Despite Economy

Florida is one of the states which has been most affected by the economic recession, especially in terms of mortgages and foreclosures. However, Florida's residential real estate market may find relief in the projected population increases for our state. 

Florida has long been one of the fastest growing states, both from natural population growth and foreign and domestic migration. Everyone knows a lot of people come to Florida to retire, but many middle aged and young people across the world also move to Florida in search of work. 

Since the recession began in 2007, Florida's population has been steadily increasing at a rate of over 200,000 residents per year. From 2010 to 2020 this number is expected to increase to over 300,000 residents a year - on par with the population boom of the 1980s and '90s. 

This increase is due to the surge of baby boom retirees and the abundance of new job opportunities in Florida's metropolitan areas. Tourism, technology, international trade and business services are all fields that attract 20-50 year olds to Florida's cities. Many of these new residents of Florida travel from New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, U.K and Canada to take advantage of Florida's diverse economy.

The US Census has projected that by 2010, Florida will overtake New York as the third most populated state.