Those who were dramatically affected by America's Great Depression in 1929 seemed to carry the weight of that experience well beyond the following decade of double-digit unemployment. The stories of people who spent the rest of their lives saving aluminum foil or hoarding sugar packages aren't folklore, but the long-lasting results of preparing for lean times to reoccur.

I recall grandparents and older relatives living simply, with a sense of risk-aversion, and I think my grandmother was in her 70s before she felt financially secure and finally surrendered to the lure of express buses to Atlantic City.

While the economic metrics may differ between the Great Depression and the late 2000's recession, undisputedly, current times are tough for a lot of people. Individual and organizational cost-cutting is occurring necessarily, and even pre-emptively, as expenditures undergo evaluation.

But will the trimming stick?

The recovery will come, along with job growth, opportunity and renewed optimism, but could that steady income stream cause us amnesia? Are there lessons we collectively learned from the tribulations of these last couple years that can be applied long-term or will consumers and corporations revert to the bad habits that contributed to the financial collapse: flimsy mortgages, credit dependency, short-term thinking, temporary solutions and reactive strategies?

It might be that when I next reach for a credit card, I find a sugar package in its place as a reminder.

Robyn Greenspan
Robyn Greenspan is the Editor-in-Chief at ExecuNet, where she is responsible for setting and driving the editorial content engagement strategy across the private business network's publications and expert-led programming. She is also a Huffington Post blogger. You can follow her on Twitter @RobynGreenspan

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