Welcome to 2011

A new year has arrived, and an awful lot of us need it to be better than the year that just finished.

On Goodreads, recently I posted a brief review of
Whoops! Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay. This book is so good, I am recommending it for anyone who can only stand to read one book about the current economic situation—or for anyone who has found other books and articles about it too hard to understand. This is very readable, not the kind of book that causes brain meltdowns.

I had already done enough reading about the Credit Crunch to have a reasonable non-banker’s grasp of what happened. While it was unfolding, I didn’t realize it would go as deep as it has so far. But I seem to have gotten a better sense of the weather than many other people, and this book has wrapped up a lot of loose ends for me. I had a patchwork comprehension. Now I feel like I have a more cohesive picture.

At a certain point (the day Washington Mutual went under), I had enough sense to start keeping more cash within reach than usual. This doesn’t mean cash in the bank. It doesn’t have to be in my pocket or even in my home, but it does need to be reachable without walking into a bank or using an automatic teller machine (cashpoint). I advised a number of people around me to do the same.

After reading Lanchester’s book, I feel vindicated about telling people we have at least one more round to get through. We do. But there is a chance that 2011 can provide a breather for at least some people. If you get a breather this year, I recommend using it to bolster your foundations, not run wild with relief.

You can get the book from Amazon by clicking here in the USA or clicking here in the UK.

Disclosure: If you buy through these links, I will get a very small commission. I don’t usually put such links in my blog posts. Feel free to go directly to Amazon—it’s important for everyone to understand as much as we can about the pickle that so many national economies are in.

If you have a choice between Vince Cable’s The Storm or this book, this one will do you much more good.

I see signs of some relief this year. I will be delighted if it turns out to be broader and stronger than I expect. May 2011 treat you kindly!