Inflation

Nice.

Jewel-Osco Grocery Stores Implement Price Cuts

Hee Hee

'David Brodbeck
3:13 PM on Mon Feb 23 2009

@Mooshie: If you go to your local Asian grocery and spend $0.60 per packet instead of $0.30, you can get ramen that comes with little flavor sachets and is really quite tasty. If you poach an egg in the microwave and lay it on top you can have a pretty good meal.

Applekid
3:55 PM on Mon Feb 23 2009

@David Brodbeck: Whoa whoa WHOA there, Mr. Rockefeller.'

Learn To Make Depression Era Recipes With 93-Year-Old Clara

Calvin And Hobbes

[Click image for full size]

Interesting side note: Calvin And Hobbes ceased publication in 1995.

Wow.

So I don't know what's up with the stars today or what, but it has been a good day financially speaking.

Found out we're going to get a bonus this year [despite the news saying The Corporation had a 50% decrease in profits, our internal info states we actually increased revenue in pretty much all areas WTF?].

And thanks to this financial meltdown, the interest rates on my two mortgages went down again.

The total for both now each month is less than I have ever paid for rent on all my previous places.

It makes me feel weird because I know that a lot of people are going through financial hell right now, but on the other hand, it's helping me out.

[Knock on wood.]

Crazy.

So in the meantime, I am going to keep doing what I have been doing: spend and trying to support mom 'n pop businesses, to try and get things moving forward again.

Shady

All of those ads for Quarter Pounders finally got to me so I had to satiate the craving.

Whilst eating, I noticed on the receipt a charge for 44 cents listed as a 'Eat In' tax.

Whua?

Since when?

I can kind of see how it would maybe go for having to have staff keep the restaurant tidy, but that should be included in the price of food.

I wonder if they charge a drive-thru tax.

Effects Of The Economic Downturn

Down economy means more business for some

KUSA - While business is down in some areas in Colorado, it is up in others.

'At liquor stores, consumers facing tough economic times are not passing up on all the good times. Alcohol sales are up 20 percent in Colorado over the past year, but there are fewer wine snobs in the aisles.

"Instead of a $25 bottle of wine, two bottles for $10 each," said Ron Vaughn with Argonaut Wine & Liquor.

It is the same with beer. Nationally, sales of some pricier brews are down, while brands like Keystone and Miller are seeing sales surge.

Grocery store shoppers are also buying more soup. Campbell sells a meal in a can for as little as 60 cents and the company's sales were up 12 percent last quarter.

On its Web site, Malt-O-Meal says it's having a hard time keeping up with demand. Its hot cereal costs less than other brands.

Cashiers are also ringing up more SPAM. Sales of the cheap canned ham are up by double digits and the company had to increase production.

It might be the cheap food or just the stress that comes with a bad economy, but for some reason laxatives sell well in recessions. This year, sales are up by 7 percent.

Discount stores like Wal-Mart and thrift stores are also performing well in this economy. So are bankruptcy lawyers.'

Question....

This post on Gizmodo brings up an interesting query:

Say you're doing some shopping and when you get home, you realize that you weren't charged for some items due to an error on the part of the cashier.

Do you keep the items?

Do you return to the store and point out the mistake?

If you keep the items without paying, is it stealing?

Personally, if this happened to me, [actually it has on a lawn chair], I would just consider it the store's loss and the employee's mistake.

I like to think that I am a morally conscious person, but I don't see it as stealing.

Just a mistake-generated bonus.

What do you guys think?

Strangers Have The Best Candy

Paying it backwards' at the drive-thru

'LOVELAND - Call it a Venti Caffe Latte of love.

At the Starbucks drive-thru in Loveland, more and more people are pulling up to the pick-up window to find they owe nothing. They're then told the person ahead of them paid their bill.

"It kind of almost took my breath away for a minute," said Lindell Green, a Loveland resident. "It was just such a wonderful surprise."

Green then paid for the person behind him.

"This is paying it backwards," he chirped.

Starbucks employee Julia Domascieno says - for reasons she can't explain - this random act of kindness is becoming less and less random.

"I've seen it go through 15 cars," she said.

Of course, this idea of paying it backwards wasn't born at this coffee shop and it's not limited to its drive-thru.

Another coffee joint in Loveland, The Black Cup, is also reporting an uptick in the number of people taking care of the stranger waiting in back of them.

This kind gesture is also being found in checkout lines at various places across Colorado.

On Sunday, Ault's Ann Bradley approached the cashier at the Wal-Mart in Greeley to discover the man in front of her had put $20 toward her bill.

Lindell Green thinks he may have an explanation for the growing generosity.

"With the way our economic world is kind of in the pits right now, I think something like this shows just how many good people are out there," he said.'

Wow.

Guess what I got in the mail today.....

An offer from AIG to start a 401K with them.

Ha.

Yeah, right.

Although, I am tempted to start purchasing some stocks since everything is so low.

Thankfully....

I only have one credit card balance left due.

And in a pinch, I could pay it all off if I needed to.

Thanks Consumerist!

Credit cards at a tipping point?

'Dire times are coming for consumers who hold credit cards and the banks that issue them, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report by the research firm Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, titled "Credit Cards at the Tipping Point," predicts that fallout from the credit crunch will lead to a sharp increase in credit card defaults in the coming year, making $1 out of every $10 owed on credit cards impossible to collect. That will force banks to write off nearly $100 billion in credit card debt, it said.

"A long build-up in consumer indebtedness, deteriorating economic conditions and a potential 'sudden stop' in credit availability could cause charge-offs to rise dramatically into 2009," the report says.

Misleading practices by credit card issuers will come back to bite them, say report author Gregory Larkin and Laura Nishikawa, as uninformed consumers who wind up facing surprise interest rate hikes and fees will be more likely to default on their loans. The report concludes that Capital One is most at risk, due in part to its aggressive marketing and "fee-trapping" strategies.

"The data points to an unsustainable business model based on penalty pricing, and the company is worst-in-class by Innovest standards," the report said.'

Ha ha.

[Click image to enlarge]

What do you think?

They say that people are seriously cutting back and not shopping or eating out.

I was out over the weekend and all the stores I went to were packed.

There was even a huge line at the movie theater yesterday.

Maybe Colorado isn't being affected as bad as the rest of the country [so far?].

Personally, I am at a point where I am the most financially secure in my life which is why I wish they would stop creating such a panic.

It's creating trickle down hysteria which consequently makes things worse.

So, is it all a bunch of hooey?

[Interesting. Blogger recognizes 'hooey' as a word.]

I can't believe they're still running this ad.

Personally Affected

I didn't realize how much this financial fracas would personally affect my work.

Seriously, a lot of our major financial clients are causing us headaches with moratoriums.

Whoa.

I got these pants I'm wearing today at this cool little consignment shop and who'd a thunk they were originally so pricey.

Reminds me of the time I got a Moschino belt for $10 bucks when it retailed for $275.

I'm in the wrong business.

Never go to the grocery store hungry.

I went to tackle the salad bar, but they took it out!

So I had to search for alternatives for lunch.

Ended up getting a pre-packaged salad, a bagel, and some soup.

Then I figured, I'm here, might as well get something for tomorrow's lunch.

Cut to 15 minutes later, I'm cashing out and it's $40 bucks[!].

Favorite Comment Of The Day

'That's hysterical. I didn't know you could get a card like that.

If you are exploiting your fear of public shame and fear of suspected homosexualtity you may be interested in the new Visa Penis Platinum card.

In addition to a photograph of your genitalia imbedded into the card (to prevent identify theft) your purchases earn points redemable for products and services in our PPPN (Penis Platinum Partner Network).

Partners include: Viagra, ESPN, Astroglide, Hooters, Callaway Golf, Hummer Motors and we're adding more every day!

Visa Penis Platinum. It's like a friend - with benefits!'

Shame Yourself Into Spending Less With A Hello Kitty Debit Card

I wonder if that's why they bumped up my credit limit?

I do this:

'...make two payments each month -- one just before the account's statement closing date and another just before the due date.

The first payment will reduce the balance that is reported to the credit bureaus and is used to calculate your credit scores.

The second payment ensures your account won't be marked late, since many issuers require some kind of payment between the statement closing date and the due date, even if a payment was made earlier in the billing cycle.'

9 big credit card myths