Have your buying habits changed?

[DeWayneTN]

Since the economy has been strained, are you more careful when you go shopping? I ask this because when we visit Disney, you wouldn't think there's a recession. Yet Disney is laying off workers and they have felt a huge pinch. The malls still seem crowded, but maybe everyone is just buying cheaper and less.

[dolfan]

We have. Eat out less. More careful choices.

I can tell you as a c-store we also see the differences. We're getting more aggressive about offering lower priced alternatives and going out of our way to get low-price goods for our customers. The response is mixed, though. Younger people in particular seem oblivious. Instead of buying a 16.9 ounce Pepsi or Coke product for 92 cents (we've priced those to compete with 20 ounce drinks because they're almost $1.50 now -- you can lay a dollar down tax and all and walk out the door with a 16.9 ounce drink) they'll buy a 12 ounce for 99 cents. We also carry Mad Croc energy drinks, and they're cheaper and taste very close to Red Bull, but young people still buy image. Family customers are more likely to buy the discounted offerings, as you'd expect.

For smokers, the SCHIP tobacco tax is hitting them hard. We're seeing many more customers buy more discount brands because their prices are closer to what they'd been paying for premium brands. We haven't seen the end of tobacco taxes, either.

Foodservice wise, in our deli, we're rocking and rolling. We have good food, very clean place, and the prices are good. The Quaker/Tropicana/Gatorade rep was in our store one day this week and I happened to be there at midday. We did our annual contract with them, and they were walking through our kitchen to our walk-in cooler, and I heard one of them say to the other, "This is the cleanest kitchen I've ever seen." That makes me feel good. We have never scored below a 95 on our health rating, and even that was when we first got there. Since that first one, we've scored 96 or 97 every time. They usually find something to nitpick about just to keep from giving us a 100, such as they knocked off a point for one of our employees having her purse stored on a shelf (we had told her not to do that and she got in too big of a hurry one day and the inspector happened to show up). That kind of stuff. We have 4 Serv-Safe certified employees, so we are diligent for a convenience store deli. For that reason, we do a good deli business and it pays off.

[MacUser]

We've held off buying new cars until they drastically tumble. They are extremely overpriced right now across the board maybe 30% +

[Mike Vande]

No, but I was broke most of the time anyway. The only difference now is I have more po' folks for company...

[Paully_44]

yep, eat out less, groceries from Walmart, movies less.....
Just trying to be a bit more prudent.

[Tracy]

Yes, I try hard to be a frugal queen, and this has given me a great opportunity to try even harder.

[EagerBeaver]

I download movies and music off BitTorrent rather than using iTunes or other legal channels!!!

[paul]

Nancy and I have always been very cafeful spenders, both in our personal life and also in the work of the ministry.

As with most of the replys, we eat out less than we did, even though it has never been much. Doing most all the repairs around the house and the cars myself instead of calling some one.

Nancy is shopping at WinCo where she gets a lot of the bulk items.

What has surprised me is that in the ministry we have seen an increase this year. the giving is well above this time last year. To which we give God all the praise. Last year was one of our toughest in many years. Giving went way down. I think when every thing hit people were just scared to part with any cash. It seems that this year they have found a balance and have made the decision of what and where their money goes.

For groups like ours adjustments must be made in our spending. Most of our offerings come only after the people pay their tithes to the local church and give their offerings to the church. Then if anything is left ( generaly very little) they might send a mission offering to us.

So a lot of adjustments. My son Joel spends a great deal of time planning our trips, trying always to use the same airlines if possible even if it involves long layovers to build up milage. He is always finding special promotions to get double milage, free nights at a hotel, combo packages that will help us get free flights and save money.

[JanB]

Yes, we most definitely have cut back on our spending. Although we have a good retirement income (for now), plus our church salary, we are trying to put more money into savings. I find that I am actually enjoying cooking more at home. We have, however, increased our giving to the church and local charities.

[MacUser]

Yes, I try hard to be a frugal queen, and this has given me a great opportunity to try even harder.

Tracy, you are similar to my wife in this way. You actually enjoy it tremendously don't you?

[Pianoman]

I've been trying to be more frugal. I don't necessarily
eat out less (yet) - but I've been trying to watch for
coupons & specials for my favorite restaurants. I always
comb through the Sunday paper and look for coupons.
I usually only eat out on the weekends though. I cook
during the week & take leftovers for lunch.

I also signed up on the email lists for several restaurants
as some of them send out coupons as well.

I've seen a few that were all hype - but have gotten several
lately for $ 5.00 to $ 10 off your meal, etc.

I've been trying to put more in my savings as well. My place
of employment has seen a steady decline in business the past
2 months & there is a bit of an underlying fear that if things
continue as they have we could be impacted. I've talked to several
of our customers that have gone to 4 day work weeks, let people
go, consolidated sales offices, etc. the past 2 months.

I haven't made any big ticket purchases - but haven't really
had anything I needed. I'd like a flat panel television at some point -
but have resolved I'm not going to buy one until my old TV dies.

[Susie Hamilton]

In the past month I bought a new 42 inch HDTV and a new entertainment center for it. I also bought a computer desk with hutch off of craigslist, a good deal. Going out to eat is less but I am trying to do my part to stimulate the economy.

[rjc]

I'm a lot more careful and I use coupons a lot more. I have always taken brown bag lunches. I am also using more store brands. I am buying more fresh fruits and vegetables from the local farmers market instead of the grocery store and I will probably do some canning this spring (it has been a while since I did any but I still have the equipment). Maybe there is a bright side to this after all, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed canning.

[Tracy]

Yes, I try hard to be a frugal queen, and this has given me a great opportunity to try even harder.

Tracy, you are similar to my wife in this way. You actually enjoy it tremendously don't you?

Oh, yes. I thrive on it. I love seeing how much money I can NOT spend

One example--I don't use trash bags! Why buy bags to throw them away? I have people who save their grocery bags for me, and I use those for trash rather than buying garbage bags.

That may not seem like much, but when you add it to a hundred other tricks, it makes a huge difference.

It sounds like I would get along well with your wife!