Consumer Confidence at an All Time Low

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:46:42 +0000

Consumer confidence came out on October 29th and the index dipped down to 38.0 from 61.4 in Septebmer. The month to month decline is the third largest in the history of the reading and the overall score is the lowest reading ever recorded. The Expectations index also took a dive to 35.5 as consumers don’t see an immediate turn around in the future.

This reaffirms my belief that October retail sales will be horrific. I bet we have a month to month decline of about 3-4%, I think it will surprise on the downside (if that’s possible these days). Retail businesses are already cutting back inventories and definitely cutting back hiring. Unemployment will definitely rise to close to 8% in the next couple months from the 6.5% or so that it’s at now.

At least oil is in free fall, I saw gas prices of $2.49 the other night that was a sight for sore eyes.

Ways to Cut Back Costs

admin — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:11:57 +0000

Was thinking of ways to cut our monthly expeditures and what came to mind right away was taking my lunch to work. It’s easy to get so lazy and eat out every day, but having the discipline to bring your own lunch can really cut costs. Another obvious one is to drive your car less. Carpool if you can and/or ride the bus. Even better if it’s a short trip, walk or ride your bike. I remember one summer growing up a competitor of mine who was a long distance runner, decided that he would run everywhere he went that summer. That did the trick and he was in great shape all year.

Cut back on shopping, no need to get new clothes every 3 months. If you want a new shirt, consider trading with a friend or take a look at a discount store. There are plenty of deals out there if you know where to look.

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Consumer Confidence at an All Time Low

Ways to Cut Back Costs