Is a Depression better for Aspies?

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I was thinking, since so many Aspies are practical people, not about fashion, design, and unneeded things, since we are mostly poor, would a recession/depression put us in a better light to others, and put us at a better advantage than others?

I think I am better off in recession/depression. Being in the health care field, it is easier for me to get a job, and there is always a demand for my skills and training.

I don't get paid much though. So if I make $2,000 a month after taxes, my buying power is much higher in a recession/depression amongst a population is that unemployed or making less.

I am also skilled in knowing how to get by using very little money. I can live very comfortably on about $1000 a month. Most people don't know how to do that.

I think Aspies can get by on a lot less than other folks, because we know we don't need all that outside stuff when we are so rich inside.

it's nice to have a roof over the head and food in the belly, though. And the internet.

Merle

Well, I still love material possessions. I want to be filthy rich, and I swear that I will be. To quote a classic '80s song "the best things in life are free...but you can give them to the birds and bees, I need money...that's what I want..."

And of course Aspies are better off during recessions/depressions. One thing I've been telling people a lot lately "you're gonna see a lot more recessions in your lifetime than good economies; get used to it. The only way you'd likely see constant good economies is for most businessmen to be smart, and for people to vote decent politicians into office. So, since that's never gonna happen, you have to give it your all, and show that you want it more than that schmuck down the street". As even Scrooge McDuck used to say, he got rich by being "smarter than the smarties, and tougher than the toughies". Remember that.

How do you live comfortably on $1000 a month? Please tell me.

Get a studio apartment, (pretty cheap rent, but depends on where you live though) buy just fruits, vegatables, and plain meats, and have water as your main beverage. No junk food or sodas. Instead of buying books, borrow them from a library, and instead of buying a computer and paying for the Internet, you can use them for free (usually) at the same library. Also no subscribing to cable, its expensive. Get your clothes from a Goodwill or its Canadian equivalent.

P.S. Instead of a car with its insurance payments and gas expenses, ride a bike, walk, or use public transportation.

Do you want to know why? We see beyond the scope and scale of idiotic consumer spending.
Part of the reason we are now in a recession(and this is pratically worldwide with few exceptions, I think India and China are the only two major countries not in a recession) is of more expenditure then income. How does this happen? Buy this, buy that, oh look that Bluray, that Hidef TV, oh look credit card bills, compounded interest, adjustable rate mortages. How the hell did we get into this mess? Don't blame me , blame Uncle John who drives a Mercedes or my friend who drives a BMW. See, because we are not influenced by peer pressure, not only do we not smoke or drink(well, excessively, moderate drinking is ok, if you are of age), is because we are not influenced by that crap.

Is a depression better for Aspies? I say it is irrelevant, because the labor market is always the same for us. Rough and maltreating.

Well materialism is proven to contribute to depression (and vice versa). So maybe people in general will be happier having less.

I don't notice any impact on the depression/recession on me. I still get my meager SSDI check with my part time job that can never go over $980.

I live in an almost studio apt (called a 1 BR Jr.) and I buy all my clothes at thrift stores. I buy about one very good pc game a year. I get movies from Netflix for pretty cheap.

My problem is I buy too many groceries and I smoke ($180/mo) and I always seem to push my budget to the wire.

That's been going on, my dear, since day 1. It's human nature. And then...we as humans elect representatives who do the same thing, but then take more money from individuals who earn it, leaving them with less to hire people to work for them.

The reason I don't think most Aspies are concerned is because, due to our hard-wiring, we champion logic & reason over blind emotion. Most of the world goes with the latter.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE material possessions and free-market capitalism, and I blame people who put Altruistic ideas, like Socialism, Communism, etc into practice for recessions, depressions, and worse( dictatorships, etc). As I've said before, though...I don't fully see this ever changing with humans because they champion blind emotions over logic and reason, whereas we work the opposite.

The good thing about this is we're smarter than most people, and can work around this stuff, while they become totally co-dependent on everyone else.

Here's one of my favorite ideas:

Government creates really bad law/bill. Bill/law was properly created quite hastily, considering how bad it is. When written hastily, there wound up being loopholes so big you could drive a mach truck thru 'em. We Aspies can take advantage of those loopholes because those elected to represent didn't think far enough ahead.

er, the beatles sang that long before the 1980's.

anyway, i agree with the OP. I'm kind of going through poverty. i barely have any food and all i seem to buy is concert tickets and cds.

I live alone, and have been surviving for 6+ months on less than $500 per month. It's not what I'd call comfortable, but it is possible. Right now, I would feel rich with $1000.

Well thank you for telling me, but in fairness I wouldn't know cause I think the Beatles suck.

I DEFINITELY think they had the right idea about it, though! Too bad Yoko Ono changed John Lennon's opinion, though...

What you do is this.

List the things you need, then the things that are most important. Then budget them out accordingly. The things you need;

Housing
Utilities
Phone
Transportation
Food
Clothes

The things most important:

Internet
Cable
Eating out

Force everything into the budget, do what it takes, for me it is like this.

Housing/Utilities 500
Groceries/Household item 200
Transportation 100
Other/unexpected 70
Cable 50
Phone/ 45
Clothes 20
Internet 15

Housing I share a house so rent is cheap.
Grocers I budget
Transportation, my car is paid for. I put some into upkeep and gas.
Other/unexpected is for things to save for, or for things that break, or for entertainment.
There are lots of things you can do to force your costs into these budgets.

Some people don't like cable. I personally think that cable and internet saves me money because it is cheap entertainment and provides me with money saving tips and opportunities. It costs almost as much to eat out and go to a movie than it does to pay for cable for a month. A movie is $20 if you get popcorn and a soda. A meal out costs $10 or so. Transportation, and other costs along the way, you eat up $35+ dollars, and that is if you don't even have a date. So the cable stays for me.

Clothes I buy at thrift stores with the exception of underwear, t shirts, and shoes.

Internet is cheap because I split the cost. If I didn't, I would take from my grocery budget and transportation budget, and my Other budget. So I am flexible.

If I take home more than $1000, I save it for things like a car, emergencies, gifts, and to pay bills sent to collections I could not pay, like medical bills.

If I made less than $1000, then I could use food banks and get food stamps and use the amount budgeted for groceries to supplement everything else.

I strongly advise against using drugs, smoking, or drinking or having credit cards when you are poor. You don't have the money for those things. They cost a great deal, and you don't need them.

I also don't use cash. I only use a debit card. This keeps me from wasting my change, or losing it. Every single dime is accounted for. I also do not pay ATM fees for cash. If a place or service does not take debit cards, go to another location and tell them why. There is no place you have to go to that only takes cash.

Keep all of your money in the highest interest bearing account that you can find, if you can, dump the bank and get in a credit union.

Before you buy anything ask yourself these questions;

1) Do I really need this item?
2) Is there a cheaper alternative?
3) Can I wait to purchase it?
4) Can I get it somewhere else for cheaper?
5) Can I really afford it?
6) Should I think about it for a while, and buy it later?
7) Is this a justifiable purchase considering my financial situation?
If I didn't buy it, would it cost me more in the long run?
9) Is the product a good deal, a more than fair price?
10) Will it be cheaper to buy later, next week, or can I get a family member/relative to get it for me?

80% of the time you don't need it, you can get it cheaper some place else, or it is rip off.

I don't really care how much money I have, as long as it is enough to live comfortably. I just want to live comfortably and happily.

India and China are getting hit HARDER. China's manufacturing is taking a 'nosedive' due to them making the stuff the other parts of the world (Especially USA) buys. As the US cuts down/back,,,,

i don't have much. i am lucky to own a quarter of a house (my ex owns the other quarter and the bank owns the other half.) i have a pool in the garden and did that when i sold a lot of work a while back. those days are over.

i don't care about material things as the main aspect of my life. But i do have object fetishes. (different to materialism.)

a recession is not going to change how i live unless the banks go under and i lose the house. I doubt that will happen in australia. i live with just about nothing and don't mind that. i shop for clothes once a year and buy all pure cotton and cheap stuff that is comfortable.
i have enough to pay the bills and buy my kid some birthday and xmas presents.


i do get annoyed wiht people who cry poor and make out like they have nothing when in fact the reality is somewhat different.

i believe in a welfare state and i believe we need to look after those less fortunate than ourselves and i see this as a social priority. so i suppose i am into government intervention in that resepct, and far right economics where the market sorts itself out on its own seems to me like the rich's argument to perpetuate a system i am not really into.

i have my dog, my cat, a roof over my head which i did not always have. I have food and cotton clothing and i have just enough to keep on with my painting.

that's all i want and need.