STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

I haven't changed really either. I think it depends on if you salary has been affected and mine hasn't. The only thing that may have been affected is the pressure to work more from my bosses. But then again, that pressure apparently always exists, so who knows?

As for gas prices, I live in L.A. so it's just one of those costs of living here. It keeps going up and I keep shrugging my shoulders being like, oh, well what am I supposed to do?

My friend and I were actually talking about shopping and me feeling guilty about it and she told me not to because as long as I'm responsible about how much I'm saving, I'm actually doing my part to stimulate the economy. So then I said, well if that's the case, let's hit it!

ETA:  Ok so I just read over my response to this, and I feel like I sound really callous and oblivious.  Like honey and I totally made fun of this chanel saleswoman at bergdorf's who thought the worst thing about global warming is that the price of crocodile bags went up (because apparently global warming caused hurricane katrina which caused crocs to lay less eggs which meant less croc skin for bags and so the price of croc bags went up).  I literally tell the story and laugh at how obliviousl this lady was.  Well I don't want to be like her so as an add on to this topic, could we discuss what we should be doing to help the recession?  Like should I donate more to charity?  But how will that help the recession?

-- Edited by esquiress at 11:04, 2008-05-02

I feel like I'm the only person in the country who isn't really being affected. Last summer I graduated and started working full time for more pay, moved into a lower-rent house, and got a diesel Jetta (which gets way better mileage than my old pickup truck). So I'm actually feeling more freedom to go out and spend money than I ever have.

I'm very fortunate to be able to say that it hasn't touched me very much because I hardly drive, I don't work in a field that is affected, and since it is just me and my boyfriend, the increased food costs aren't enormous. So my lifestyle is the same. Something that has affected me personally more has been the decline of the dollar's value, but I can't really complain too much given what others are going through.

To respond to esquiress, one thing that I did that is sort of related, is that I made a pledge to donate at least 15% of my stimulus check (when I get it) to charity since I did not feel that it was a good way for the government to deal with the recession.

It's affecting me more than I thought it would, actually. I used to not worry too much about gas costs because my driving is limited since I live in the city. But now my gas budget is going up 20-30%. Groceries are also really soring. I used to be able to spend about $30/week on necessary groceries (it's just me) and now I'm up to way over twice that.

It's not like my world is rocked or anything but my disposable income gets eaten up by so many necessary things now that I can't even think about shopping.

Not to mention that I am the MOH in a wedding this year, so I've been trying to save for the dress, trips, showers, etc. that go along with it. Oh and did I mention all the car repairs that came up out of nowhere? Nice. So this year will be a hard year for me, financially, but to be honest, if turning down the shopping a notch is the least of my worries, I'll consider myself incredibly lucky.

I lost one job to the hollywood writers' strike, which forced me to take a job I would normally have never taken (more work, less pay, reality show...). I'm also worried about the actors' strike putting people out of work. I think I'll be able to dodge that bullet for myself, but I know many others who won't be so lucky.

I don't drive, which is definitely for the best since gas prices are skyrocketing, but I do feel the pinch at the grocery store and definitely try to shop around sales and coupon clip. BF and I stopped eating out for the most part once we bought our condo, so that's not that big of a deal.

I have bought a few nice things this year, but I don't go to the mall without a shopping list in hand and impulse purchases are pretty much outlawed.

Suasoria wrote:

---

I have a Prius, so the gas prices are only hitting me to the tune of $5-10 bucks a month. I've always been a skimper when it comes to spending money on myself.

I'm not that interested in "stimulating the economy" by spending money on consumer goods. But to answer Esquiress' question, creating jobs or increasing job security for others strikes me as a meaningful and helpful way to use disposable income.

So for example, this would be a good time to support people who are probably affected more than you: hire household help, give the gardener a raise, get a nanny or a dog walker a couple days a week, hire a personal trainer, or even things like get the house painted or rewired, get a massage, get your nails done more often, eat at mom-n-pop restaurants instead of chains, take yoga at someone's house instead of at the gym, and so on.

Basically, look for any way to support someone self-employed whose service, trade or business might be suffering because of the economy. You might even get better rates now than in an up economy.

---

What awesome advice, thank you. 

Oh I thought about the gas price thing more and it's also hard to notice the affect for me because I drive a Honda Civic and my friends all live close to me.  And work's relatively close too.

Also I don't really do that much grocery shopping and I haven't noticed a price increase at the restaurants I frequent.

-- Edited by esquiress at 19:46, 2008-05-03

Suasoria, you're the only one who has ever made a bad economy into a good excuse for me to splurge on massages and a maid. So obviously, thank you

Suasoria wrote:

---

I have a Prius, so the gas prices are only hitting me to the tune of $5-10 bucks a month. I've always been a skimper when it comes to spending money on myself.

I'm not that interested in "stimulating the economy" by spending money on consumer goods. But to answer Esquiress' question, creating jobs or increasing job security for others strikes me as a meaningful and helpful way to use disposable income.

So for example, this would be a good time to support people who are probably affected more than you: hire household help, give the gardener a raise, get a nanny or a dog walker a couple days a week, hire a personal trainer, or even things like get the house painted or rewired, get a massage, get your nails done more often, eat at mom-n-pop restaurants instead of chains, take yoga at someone's house instead of at the gym, and so on.

Basically, look for any way to support someone self-employed whose service, trade or business might be suffering because of the economy. You might even get better rates now than in an up economy.

---

I like this advice. On a similar note, buying local- local shops, farmers markets, mechanics, etc. There are some cities that actually have marketing campaigns for this (Portland, ME, for one).

 

I'm self-employed - recently started my own company on invested money with a shoestring budget, and so my income is not even reliable - if we do well that month I take my salary, if not I take what the company can afford (and sometimes what it can't afford, just so i can keep a roof over my head and the lights on) - Because my lack of income has basically cut out all non-essentials - no more pedis, those target trips elle mentioned - etc, the "shopping" hasn't been affected because there hasn't been any anyway - but the groceries and the gas prices are scaring me. I live in TX and not in a walker or bike friendly area unless i'm comfortable doing that on the highway and I'm not - the food prices are through the roof and lately I've become more and more vehement about whole foods and keeping away from chemically altered anything -
I'm feeling extremely scared about this whole recession thing and so have recently listed like 20 things on ebay and will be purging my house for more.
If anyone has any other suggestions on how to save money (keep in mind that the "skip your daily latte and -surprise! an extra $100 a month!" type of tip won't work for me - I had to cut out my dear dear Starbucks a few months ago :( ) I would VERY MUCH appreciate them.