Not only is our economy changing at record speed, so is our way of thinking.  As the world alters around us, out of necessity, so do our desires and the way we go about achieving them.  As most everyone knows, the last few months have seen profound shifts in every aspect of our society from politics to finances and careers to technological advances.  Because of this, our thought trends have taken off in a new direction.

Here are some of the most recent trends:

What's HOT...

• Discounts
• Trying to live within your means

It’s one of those mysteries of life, a question everyone has asked in their adult life: “Where did all the money go?” Especially now with finances so tight, it seems your bank account is shrinking at an alarming rate.

And, as that balance gets smaller, the bills seem to come in faster and faster. You never have quite enough to cover everything, and then – WHAM! One of those surprise expenses hits you and sucks away all the savings you have left.

It's easy to get caught up in the day to day drama of the current American economy and start pointing the finger. For instance, we could blame the media for inciting so much fear, or we could blame the banks and other financial institutions for making so many bad credit loans.  We could blame the bleeding-heart liberal democrats, or the ultra-conservative republicans, or whatever part of the federal government we are angry with!  Better yet, we could blame President Bush for single handedly causing everything in every market everywhere in the world to collapse.