Ed. note: Welcome to the fourth installment of the five part series, Living With the Recession by author and executive consultant Granville Toogood, who also happens to be my uncle as well. For more information on Granville, visit his website [here].

Bargains everywhere

Everybody seems to agree the recession won’t end until consumers – people like you and me – fire up our confidence and start spending again.

Happily, retailers are trying hard to make that happen with specials offers so good that even the most tight-fisted among us find it hard to refuse.

For example, airlines are practically giving away seats.

A couple of weeks ago, we flew Jet Blue to Bermuda for $99 one way. Not bad for an international flight. It’s such a good deal, we’re going back for the same price in June.

Want to visit a friend in Florida? Jet Blue has a $79 sale on seats from Westchester (White Plains).

American, Delta, Southwest and and Spirit, among others, are piling on the bandwagon with competing one way fares of $59 and $79 all over the country.

If that won’t get you to open your wallet, the newspapers are screaming with clothing, furniture and appliance sales of up to 70% off (whether that 70% is actually 70% is an entirely different question). Even better, small stores, I am told, are open to some negotiation and bargaining, especially for existing customers.

The web is bursting with all kinds of vendors offering an infinite variety of stuff (that you might want or need) for prices that would have been unheard of just last year.

You may be able to do even better if you don’t mind the hassle of bargaining on eBay or Priceline.

So if you are out of a job, or bunkering down for the duration, or just biting your nails and wondering what to do next, dump your worries for a few days. Psychologists say a change of scene can work wonders to remedy depression, and who can deny the recuperative value (and sheer wicked bliss) of scoring a once-in-a-lifetime megabargain?

How about that shiny antique 1953 MG  you’ve been dreaming about for the past 20 years? Have you checked eBay lately?

Been thinking about a cruise but never had the time? Now you’ve got the time – and if you go on Google you’ll find that even the tonier cruise lines are throwing out deals that might make your eyes pop.

So if you have to agonize, why not agonize on a nice beach with a good book, or angling for that little treasure you’ve always dreamed about? Even if it rains, or if the treasure somehow slips through your fingers, you will still have taken that important first step that we’ve all got to take individually to get not only ourselves, but the entire country back on the road to recovery.