BAD SIGNS

What are your personal signs that time are bad? Not paco's great charts, news reports, etc. But what you have noticed in your everyday life?
I supplement my fixed income by reselling books, Dvd's, and Cd's on Amazon. I buy them at auctions, thrift stores, and mostly garage sales. This spring I noticed that at every 5th or 6th yard sale, Daddy was selling one of his toys. There was a For Sale sign on his truck, motorcycle, boat, etc. By summer i was seeing lots of garage sales where everything had obviously been in storage, and people decided to part with their stuff, rather than pay for storage.

WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL SIGNS OF BAD TIMES !

Quote: buzzpaff

What are your personal signs that time are bad? Not paco's great charts, news reports, etc. But what you have noticed in your everyday life?
I supplement my fixed income by reselling books, Dvd's, and Cd's on Amazon. I buy them at auctions, thrift stores, and mostly garage sales. This spring I noticed that at every 5th or 6th yard sale, Daddy was selling one of his toys. There was a For Sale sign on his truck, motorcycle, boat, etc. By summer i was seeing lots of garage sales where everything had obviously been in storage, and people decided to part with their stuff, rather than pay for storage.

WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL SIGNS OF BAD TIMES !

Kind of mostly related to restaurants:

1. Sit-down places giving more push to cheaper appitizers, and mentioning how many meals they sell for under a "key-number" price (eg: losts of meals for $14.99 or less.
2. Decline in sales of appitizers and desert sales.
3. More and more people "just having water" with their meal. I do this often as my stomach can no longer handle the fountain drinks at sit down places, but if cash is short the $2-3 for a drink is a way to lower the price of the meal.

Yes, I think you are correct. Various personally noticed signs can be revealing. I've driven by places that have a vehicle for sale near the gate. They are more numerous and are not all these old clunkers. Mowers, boats, etc. seem to have joined the for sale ranks. Items that are being sold for income not "barn cleaning" or "bought a newer and bigger one and getting rid of the old one".

I've also noticed a number of businesses have complained about job seekers. One convenience store use to get one every week or so, now its every day.

Of course any such "shakeout" is good. Sort of a getting rid of the junk before the bank forecloses perhaps?

Casino growth, and lottery growth. Folks gamble more in bad times.

My simple lifestyle usually meant that anything I did want was as simple as getting it. That's no longer the case, even though nothing in my financial life has changed. I can't put my finger on it, but my dollar just seems...thinner. Watered down. It's like burning some cured birch wood; you seem to have enough for a night's fire, but 15 minutes later it's all burned up and now you're cold.

Also, something I just realized today - $3.79 at the pump last night didn't even register in my mind. It wasn't until watching an old Top Gear episode this morning that it clicked. The episode was from 2008-ish and I saw a sign for regular unleaded that read $2.68. I was like WTF? Today at $2.68 would noticably increase my financial status. At high school graduation prices ($0.69 p/gal), I'd be positively rich.

I see a lot of signs that economic activity is off its low of a couple years ago, but hasn't gotten any better.

There are job openings to fill vacated positions but no one's really growing staff, and any opening has a lot of competition. Hotels don't have to offer fire-sale rates -- they're expensive in periods of high demand -- but no one is building any new properties anywhere. I (still) see lots of out-of state plates wherever I go in here in the Colorado mountains, so some people can clearly afford to travel.

That said, there is a LOT of retail space out there. Borders, Circuit City and Blockbuster are the most obvious casualties, but there have been others, and no one is coming in to occupy this space.

I think the economy has become bifurcated with a fair number of people able to continue spending like nothing happened. But nothing is really cheap like it was in 2009.

Quote: FleaStiff

I've also noticed a number of businesses have complained about job seekers. One convenience store use to get one every week or so, now its every day.

A local gas station/store advertised a month ago
for a 2nd shift clerk in the Sunday paper. By Tue
afternoon they had gotten over 50 applications
for a $9 an hour job. The owner was beside himself
with delight, he got to pick the best one. He said
prior to 2008 nobody would have applied. He ran
an ad once for 3 weeks and got nobody.

Quote: 7outlineaway

That said, there is a LOT of retail space out there. Borders, Circuit City and Blockbuster are the most obvious casualties, but there have been others, and no one is coming in to occupy this space.

I have been noticing and wondering about this big-time. And it is a mixture of anchors and smaller stores empty aropund here. There are "newer and nicer" places that are more filled, but shopping for sport seems a very dated activity. You are right, no concept seems "the next big thing" for retail, local or chain.

I read someone once claimed "the Great Depression was not all that bad if you were in the 75% who had a job." Seems the same to me now, if you have a job you just keep plugging away. Keep reducing debt and keep liquid.

Quote: AZDuffman

I read someone once claimed "the Great Depression was not all that bad if you were in the 75% who had a job." Seems the same to me now, if you have a job you just keep plugging away.

I've read that unless you lived in a big city, you
mostly weren't even aware there was a Depression.
Most people still lived on farms and in small towns
in the 30's. And its true, if you were in the 75% who
had a job, and stayed clear of the Hooverville's and
the inner cities, you only heard about it and didn't
really see it except for the newsreels in the movie
theatres. And the same is true for Vegas right now.
There are a lot of unemployed people in Vegas,
who are losing their homes or are about to. But if
you have a job, and mind your own business, you
aren't really aware of whats going on.

Quote: Face

Also, something I just realized today - $3.79 at the pump last night didn't even register in my mind. It wasn't until watching an old Top Gear episode this morning that it clicked. The episode was from 2008-ish and I saw a sign for regular unleaded that read $2.68. I was like WTF? Today at $2.68 would noticably increase my financial status. At high school graduation prices ($0.69 p/gal), I'd be positively rich.

i usually stay away from any politcal or religious discussions, but the way things are going with the economy this is really p^ssing me off. gas prices! out of all this suffering i think one of the only people laughing to the bank are the oil companies! i can just see the oil company execs and oil traders sitting around smoking cigars and thinking how much more they can squeeze out of the economy. people blame obama and the government for our economic mess but outside of their stupid infighting they are trying. just that any money the government tries to pump into the economy the oil companies are right there sucking it up! like vultures circling around the smell of money!

hypothetically, just imagine how much the economy would be affected by every dollar or even .50 that gas prices would go down. it would be far more reaching than i could even begin to discuss here. but do you think the powers who are really in control would let that happen? lol noooooo way! and who would this hurt? only the poweres who would never let this happen!! but not you or i.

i say, FIX gas prices. DON'T let oil be traded and FIX oil prices, and watch who cries. then we'll find out who really controls this world. oil price is the first thing i look at, then the market. watch how one follows the other.

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