Have We Learned Anything From The Great Recession?

With the world and the U.S. getting past the Great Recession, I've been wondering what we have learned from the Great Recession.

Are we learning to manage our personal finances better? Are we learning to spend less on things we want and spend on things we need?

As I listen to people I work with and people I serve drinks to the answer is no, at least for a lot of people.

I've learned to spend less on things I want, like a new TV, new video games for my son and I and I'm managing our budgets a lot better than before the Great Recession took place.

People I still blow their savings on vacations, when they should be using it for something else, like a just in case fund.

We should be planning for future Recessions, because their going to happen regardless of the election outcome, there's always one around the corner, whether we like it or not.

As a race we've been conditioned, lately, to only pay attention to things in the short term, and that was one of the causes of the Great Recession. The only people who had money put away were those that knew how to handle there money, I wasn't one of those people until recently.

I see people slipping into the same habits after a bankruptcy, loss of their homes, not enough money for their kids, adults who still buy toys for themselves when they should be saving up for college for their kids. It feels like a lot of people want more for themselves, in the short term, than they do for their kids in the future.

Habits like I've described above led us to spend money we don't have on things that we don't need or will be outdated in a year or less.

This constant turn over isn't only our fault, it's the fault of corporations giving us things they think we want. 

If the power were to go out in the world tomorrow how would you feel about the objects you own? Would you be angry, jealous, despondent or would you go on with your life the best you could, taking care of your kids, family and spouse?

Are you doing things differently since the Great Recession? Why or why not? Answer in the comments.