If you’ve opened a newspaper, turned on the television, logged on-line, or basically left your house in the past month, then you already know: the economy. Is not. Doing well.
The media has been very consistent in not-so-discreetly alluding to the fact (read: shoving it in our faces) that our country has not faced a worse economic situation since the Great Depression. In fact, today I received a “CNN Breaking News” e-mail informing me that the DOW dropped below 10,000 points today. I’m not going to pretend like I know exactly what that means, but I do know that you don’t have to be a financial analyst (which I am clearly not) to understand that the market is doing very poorly.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that, in the midst of this financial upheaval, other things besides the DOW are going down as well — like, say, consumer spending. This poor economic situation leaves no doubt in my mind that most people are curbing their excess spending pretty seriously. From elective cosmetic surgery, to vacations, to shopping — it seems that people of all walks of life are embracing the need to tighten up their superfluous expenditures. But just because the possibilities that we could, maybe, lose our jobs or, perhaps go into debt are a bit more real than we’d all like to admit, that doesn’t imply we should cut out one of our most cherished pastimes: shopping. …Right?
So you may have a limited budget and are more focused on preparing for potential loss, but who’s to say a little retail therapy here and there is totally out of the question? (Never mind those scary MSNBC correspondents bullying you into thinking our society is headed for further financial turbulence in the coming weeks. Plus, savings isn’t THAT important, right? Though don’t tell my dad, the accountant, I said so…)
Alas, if there’s a will, there’s a way. And I sure have a strong will when it comes to ensuring I get my steady dose of shopping. Though I assure you that I, in no capacity, believe that I’m immune to the threats of the current financial crises; I’m just saying, I’m not about to let a little dip in the economy — or the fact that Congress just passed a $700 billion bailout bill to help save our teetering economy — stand in my way of Saks! I plan to use my years of retail experience and savvy shopping skills to maneuver the current ugly situation.
Here are my suggestions for navigating a depressed economy, at a time when spending money is a bit more of a sensitive issue than usual. Be sure to check in all this week for more tips on how to be shop-savvy, too.
Today’s Tip: Sales
Scour the daily newspaper for listings of local sales. From large department stores to small-town shops, there’s always a sale going on – and be prepared to save BIG. You can find in-season items discounted by 50 percent or even more!
Next up: Spend More!
