I'm happy to read in one of the Sunday papers' lifestyle section that 'money is out of fashion,' sneers Mrs. M. Could it be that the days of economic Sodom and Gomorrah, as epitomized by our banker class, are over?  It's too good to be true.  Are we actually looking for happiness somewhere else?  Is it possible that a high income is not necessary for happiness?

There are new catch phrases and slogans bantering about:  'the new modesty,' 'the new sobriety,' and a hilarious one called 'a cultural return to sincerity.'  The prime minister is calling for a return to old-fashioned banking, where bankers are servants, rather than masters of the universe.  Heady words!  And how the rules have changed in a space of only six months!

And listen to Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most hedonistic icons of the popular press, 'We are now post-bling!'  Of course, all this assumes we still have money, which for aesthetic reasons we will not spend.  Many of us baby boomers don't have incomes other than what we have invested or saved up over the years.  Now through no fault of our own, but because of the impulsive risk taking of others, we are broke.  Now our shares in Lloyds, Citicorp and Bank of America are in danger of being nationalized, leaving us nothing.

Only a year ago we thought we had enough to 'see us out.'  Now I spend my pensive time when at the wheel or in the garden trying to figure out how to make money.  For someone in their mid-sixties the options are limited.  What do I have to offer that other people will pay for...a lemonade stand at the end of the drive?

What I no longer believe in is the stock market, nor do I believe that banks are safe places to keep your money.  This is a complete reversal of the thinking of my entire life.  Never again will I hand over my hard earned assets for the top end executives to profit from leaving me penniless when things go wrong.  No thank you.

Let's hope there's a light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm not sure anymore that this crisis will ever come right.  In the meantime, how does one survive?