My Personal Economic
‘tsunami’
  Although Edward Kasamba
does not want to blame the
global recession for his
personal financial woes,
he still finds it difficult
accept that it did not have
a hand in it.

No beginning has ever been as hard-hitting as that of the year 2009. I
have always thought I was immune to the current global economic
‘tsunami’ at least as far as the US is from India. Unfortunately, the
tidal waves did not seem to spare my wallet. It wasn’t long before the reality of
the troubled waters of the global economic whirlwind finally splashed through
the doors of my bank account devastating every single penny. There were many
expenses that came up so unexpectedly and emergency situations necessitated
my immediate financial attention. Unpaid bills piled up and as if to crown it
all, credit card debt collectors became so rude and charged up like a lioness
that’s just lost her cubs.

And just as I planned to pay off
some debt on my card, an incident occurred
where I had to pay a huge sum of money and
so the credit card debt was not paid off on time
 
My personal economic recession
has taught me a thing or two on
managing my personal finances
better. To start with, I have always had
a hankering for a lavish lifestyle. I
liked everything nice, of the latest
fashion and expensive. I never really
thought as much about the price tags
of the things I wanted as long as I
desired to have them. I relied heavily
on my credit card to purchase nearly
everything I ever wanted and as time
passed by, the bills on my card started
piling up and meanwhile the payment
due dates was closing in. And just as I
planned to pay off some debt on my
card, an incident occurred where I
had to pay a huge sum of money and
so the credit card debt was not paid
off on time. Meanwhile due dates to
clear the minimum balances of the
credit card passed but I still kept
ignoring them till the amount
together with a huge interest and
surcharges exceeded the maximum
limit. Later, I started receiving phone
calls from credit card debt collectors
every other hour At that point in
time I realized I needed a stimulus
package to bail me out. Though I
can’t blame the global recession for
all my personal financial disasters, I
don’t want to say it didn’t have a
hand in it. Nevertheless, I have since
learnt to live well within my means
and to be prepared always financially
for any contingencies or unforeseen
incidents that may arise.
I know some of you have not
suffered yet and may be wondering
how a global economic crisis that you
probably only hear about through
gossip and rumour mills can be so		 serious. I want you to find some time
and go to the streets and I am sure
you will find someone who will
narrate to you their woes due to the
widespread economic downturn. The
biggest fear is being served the ‘pink
slip’ as they call it at your work place.
With the rising unemployment rates
in the US and many other countries
as a means of cutting costs,
companies in India have started to
follow suit. Dot com employees have
started to go to sleep with the fear of
waking up the next morning and
being told that there is no need for
them to come to office any more.
Gone are the days when switching
jobs was like deciding when to eat
chapatti and chicken. Deciding to
quit a job in the current economic
times is very welcome and in fact
rewarded by some employers. It used
to be that if you find someone to join
the company you would be rewarded
but now it’s the other way round.
Huge multinational businesses
have closed down, others have filed
for bankruptcy and many more
reported huge losses. The business
landscape has started to resemble a
graveyard. Firms like Lehman
Brothers, Bear Sterns, Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac have now joined
history books. The 21st century
investment banking boom is now part
of history. Stock markets have
assumed a downward trend (what
analysts call the ‘bear’ markets).
With so much in the news daily,
names like NASDAQ, Wall Street,
Dalal Street, and the Dow Jones
Index have slowly started becoming
household names. However, to some
 

extent there is a positive side of the
current global recession. Gone are the
days when I used to be bothered by
tele-market callers trying to market
credit cards, personal loans and car
loans.


Some spiritual charmers
have begun blaming
it on the outrage by evil
spirits and have gone
as far as performing rituals
and offering animal
sacrifices to appease the
spirits


People have started playing the
blame game over who started the
current financial crisis that has
already degenerated into a recession
and its feared may degenerate further
into a full blown depression
worldwide. Some politicians have
taken advantage of the economic
downturn to play the blame game so
that they can lure the electorate into
voting for them during the elections.
The origin of the crisis is still a debate
and it’s anyone’s guess. Nobody can
give a precise reason for the downturn
in the global economy.
Some spiritual charmers have
begun blaming it on the outrage by
evil spirits and have gone as far as
performing rituals and offering
animal sacrifices to appease the
spirits. Some other spiritual clerics
blame it on the increasingly ‘sinful’
nature of man and that it’s one way
God is ‘punishing’ us.
Whatever the cause or reason for
the global economic upheaval, what
we should be more mindful about is
our individual financial security and
safety


Mr. Edward Kasamba is
a B.Com Alumnus (Batch 2003-04)
and currently working with
Accenture, Bangalore.