I have been watching the financials over the past few weeks, and listening to the news about the trillions of dollars that all of us are going to give to the government to give back to some of us. Not to many people seem to be purchasing many retail items, automobiles, or applying for a new home loan. So, if no one is really spending money, with the exception of Congress, what are people spending their money on. The stock market wants people to start investing again, and the retail market is vying for their share of the consumers money. It puzzles me how the consumers can be told to have confidence, when some lost their job, or have lost income due to pay restructuring. For many retired people, they are watching the nest egg cautiously. For those that do not have the funds to fix or repair the things they own, what are the alternatives? Don't fix it? Patch it with duct tape? Not sure if my next idea is legal in your state, but last I checked in mine, Bartering is legal. Say I have a neighbor who needs automotive work, but can't afford to take their car in right now. And I have a leaking toilet and dripping faucet. I don't have the money to fix mine either. He buys the auto parts, I'll fix his truck, and I'll buy the plumbing supplies and he fixes the leaks. See, we just supported our local retail stores without having to go deeper in debt. I think this is a occassional solution, given my present circumstances. If it helps the economy, keeps the personal debt down, and doesn't add another single dollar to the trillions already tapped, I won't lose sleep over it.