Whether we are or aren't officially in a recession, we all know someone hurting financially. It could be an overextended homeowner or a downsized auto worker or even one of those formerly high income Wall Street mavens caught in the Bear Stearns mess. These folks have bills to pay. Many need cash and they need cash quickly.
Unfortunately there aren't many with the available cash. But those of us with some dollars set aside can help the situation while also helping ourselves.
How? By shopping.
It could be buying discounted stocks other investors are selling or resale items such as cars and art. In almost every market, the sellers out number the buyers. That means anxious sellers and good prices for buyers.
Recently the hubby and I bought a new-to-us car. We hadn't planned to buy for another year or two but when we saw the lowered prices, we decided to buy now. At first, I felt like a bit of a vulture, taking advantage of someone else's bad situation.
Until we met the car owner.
The seller was happy, no, thrilled to see us. He had multiple cars. He hadn't driven the about-to-be sold car for months. He had a mortgage payment and a kid in college. I got the impression the car sale was going towards his bills.
Maybe if things were better, he'd have held out for a higher price. Likely, however, the car would still be sitting in his driveway, not driven and not used (you know how waste of any kind drives me crazy).
We were happy. He was happy.
