Profit and loss: I lost an old friend this week, and made a new one, all in the space of 10 minutes. And they say nothing ever happens in St. George's. I do not want to talk about the old friend, and I am not going to tell you much about the new one, except to say this: he led me to conclude that maybe, in this column, I have taken too soft a line.

I have all along been working on the principle that an appeal to your common sense might help you financially. My new friend helped me to see that such an approach would probably have little or no effect on the very people who most need to be affected. Today's young people, to use a phrase that he did not, have grown up in an environment of permanent plenty. They do not know what hard times are like, and they are going to be utterly ill-prepared for them if and when they should arrive.

That is indubitably true. Bermudians, perhaps to a greater extent than those in many other developed countries, have grown up believing that having it all is their birthright. There has always been money to spare, so why would not there always be money to spare?

My main theme in this space has been that you should develop the savings habit. You need to start young, and make a religion of it. I have assumed, in passing on this message, that readers would understand why. It has always struck me as obvious. But of late, thanks in part to my new friend, I have come to think that people might not understand the most important reason for having a savings programme, so let's get to it.

Into each life a little rain must fall, the saying has it. I would put it differently: into almost every life, sooner or later, hailstones the size of watermelons will fall. At some stage of your life, even in Bermuda, you are very likely to be fired, evicted or sued. The economy, which shows no signs at present of collapsing, will undoubtedly go into reverse at some stage of your life. The cost of food is going to soar (and has recently). The cost of everything is going to soar. Your house is going to need serious repairs. Your kids are going to need education. Your daughter is going to get married. You might find yourself divorced. You might have to pay alimony.

Not all these things are going to happen to you, but at least one of them almost certainly will, and perhaps two or three. When they do, the only thing that will cushion the blow is your savings. The average Bermudian hardly has any to speak of, which means that when the pain happens, there will be no balm.

I know, you think you are lucky and bad things will not happen to you. You are wrong. Bad times happen to good people, and they are going to happen to you, if they have not already. And if they have already happened to you, they might very well happen to you again.

Wise up, fellow babies. Life in Bermuda is a wonderful thing for most of us, most of the time. But sooner or later it turns sour for all of us, one at a time or all together. And when it does, and you cannot cope, you are going to find help hard to come by. Nobody loves you when you are down and out, as the blues plaint has it.

Human beings base their view of the future on their view of the past. Tomorrow, we all think, is going to be much like today. Often, it is, but sometimes, it is not. Bermuda and much of the world is poised on an economic knife's edge right now. Things could become tough before they improve. Take steps, starting now, to face facts.

Have a programme of savings, and get with the programme. Cut your cloth according to your needs, and remember that a solid savings programme is part of your needs. Six months' salary in the bank is the first goal, as protection against catastrophe. The process by which you achieve that will set you on the right road to greater security.

Ok, that is it. I do not do tough love very well, and I hate to be a Cassandra, but some of us need shaking out of our complacency, and maybe I have made a start.

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If I understand a report on productivity issued by the Department of Statistics this week - and I am not sure I do - producing $1 worth of work cost 35 cents in the real estate industry in 2006. It cost 54 cents in the electricity, gas and water supply industry.

Throughout Bermuda, it costs 88 cents. And it cost $1.39 in public administration.

That means, I think, that for every $100 we pay for government services, we receive work worth only $73.

If that is correct, it means that my argument that government is a waste of money has been confirmed - by Government. Blimey!

I must be some kind of genius. I should get a knighthood. I may already have one, but due to government inefficiency, have not been told yet.