Few people can escape the repercussions of a failing economy. The consequences are felt when a soaring grocery bill adds up at the cash register, when a job disappears from a business, with dwindling visitors counts, with every construction project left unfinished and every IRA, college fund or investment that vanishes into a stock market black hole.

In a series of articles ending today, the Star-Bulletin examined the sting of financial damage the downturn has brought to the islands and how people are coping. And while we have reason to be optimistic, we also have a lesson to be learned - one that stresses prudence in personal finances, living within our means, weighing desire against need and anticipating rainy days.

Although some have been fortunate enough to take advantage of dropping home prices and cheaper gasoline, there's another side to these “;bargains.”; Gasoline prices fell because demand for oil decreased when industries cut production and, of course, jobs. Houses got cheaper because foreclosures depressed the market and in those foreclosures, it is just as likely that a family lost shelter as a house-flipper got burned in a get-rich-quick scheme.

In the words of a bank economist, the cheaper tank of high-test fuel doesn't mean buying another gas-guzzler is a good idea. “;It's a reminder that what goes up must come down,”; said Bank of Hawaii's Paul Brewbaker, to which he might have added, what comes down can go up again and likely will.

Though there are good deals to be had in a fluctuating economy, Brewbaker advised consumers not to overspend and build debt loads, because a principle cause of the current crisis was exactly that. Saving money and spending wisely has been and always will be the best road to take, he said.