Massive discounts at a "Dollar Store" chain....Quote:
Originally Posted by randymatt
Nothing says FKDUP like that.
EDIT: Changed long link to named link to prevent horizontal scrolling. -Gaillo
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Massive discounts at a "Dollar Store" chain....Quote:
Originally Posted by randymatt
Nothing says FKDUP like that.
EDIT: Changed long link to named link to prevent horizontal scrolling. -Gaillo
A bunch of homes seemed to come up for sale at the same time. Funny thing, they're all moving - even ones that had been on the market for a long time. Why? Military. They're standing up a bunch of new units on the several bases in the area. A guy that works with my wife says one anomoly with the market here is the military officers. He claims to know several who don't even negotiate home prices when they buy - the just shrug and pay asking price.
Further evidence that any "green shoots" in my area are a result of having most people work for the only boss that can legally create his own money out of thin air: The dude across the street (mid-grade enlisted) had a party today. You didn't see any Kias or Hyundais up and down the street. Nothing but Tahoes, Suburbans, 4 x 4 crew cabs, BMWs - with nearly every American vehicle sporting a big V8 emblem. Looks like lots of discretionary income there - with job security to boot.
Walked into our Albertsons. They have a nice slesction of wine and liquor. Lot of Napa reds, etc. Almost all the good stuff 30% off. Maker's Mark 30% off. All the premium Bourbons, etc. 30% off. Even a lot of the cheaper stuff discounted 20%+. They are obviously not selling the stuff at this point.
see a lot of cars on 'fire-sale'.
Random observations..........
I went to a block party a few weekends ago. Working class neighborhood - a good chunk of the men were unemployed. Everyone seemed broke as f*ck. I even heard some doom and gloomers talking - they seemed new to the idea - so I didn't get all conversational on the topic. I heard a few conversations about mortgages and defaults and other housing related drama. Heard a convo about Peter Schiff, about buying guns and some attack upcoming on the 4th. The only folks who seemed devoid of some stress were a couple of "tax dollar funded" folks.
Lots and lots of out of state folks up here in WA. More out of state license plates than ever. I get the feeling that a lot of folks are worried for their job and you can see the stress all over.
I even saw a hooker under a bridge - in the suburbs. I saw a pretty fine ass chick holding a "we lost our house" cardboard sign - " damn she could stay at my place" kinda hot.
I'm trying to get rid of a couch - "brand new" leather couch - very nice. Not getting any bites at $450. wtf
I added some camping gear this week. I am going to check out some spots soon.
Crazy times out there - feeling like the edge.
I don't know how "economic" this field report is, but I'll post it anyway.
In my area, I've suddenly seen about twice the usual police presence in the last few weeks. Seems like every time I go to the nearest town to me, I see 2 or 3 police cruisers on the highway either pulling someone over, or speed-trapping on the way. I've seen a LOT of police in the parking lots of area stores in the evening, just sitting in their cars - my guess is they're waiting for DUI arrests when people leave the stores with beer. I saw a cruizer pull someone over near a gas station/mini mart - the main cop was giving the DUI test then the other cop got back in the cruizer and pulled over ANOTHER guy who was just pulling into the parking lot, while the other cop stayed at the first pullover site on foot!
My guess is that city budgets in my area are in trouble, and they're coming down on the police to generate more revenue. I don't EVER remember this much police presence in this area!
My next door neighbor popped over for a visit yesterday, and when we told him that we wondered if he had any baby chickens for sale, he said the whole neighborhood and beyond has been asking him if he has any chickens for sale... he said, "about 100 families have asked me."
It's thrilling that the people around me are wanting to produce some of their own food - eggs.
However,
can you imagine the sound...
100 roosters crowing at 5 am. OMG OMG
I hope they all by female chicks.
(Of course we have a male lol)
my biggest client notified me on monday that they are done as of july 15th. been in business since 1952. 30 people. ceo told me "we have had literally almost zero orders since november."
My brother-in-law's business is going under. He is a good guy, a hard worker, and has lots of energy. It breaks my heart.
Hmmm... do you live on my street? I think I have the same neighbor...Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Ringo
Sometimes for lunch I visit this little mexican food joint downtown. You used to get three enchiladas with the lunch special, now you only get two... :'(
Bacon - regular price now $3.99/lb - 6 months ago was $2.99/lb.
Noticeably fewer day laborers at the usual haunts waiting for work (gone home?).
Homeless panhandlers - was rare to see one, now there are 2-3 in front of the grocery store at all times (including 6 am) - they are also much more aggressive.
Getting junk mail almost daily from Cable and Dish companies offering to undercut each other with deeper discounts as they try to maintain service population.
Credit card companies are sending those "checks" and balance transfer promos weekly (I've no balance on the 3 cards - Amex, Visa, and M/C), so I assume they'd really like to have some low-risk debt on their books.
Local restaurants - empty - no lunch crowd here downtown. The parking lots are empty in the evening except for the "All you can eat Buffets".
Only about 3000 miles away. Same clientele, though. Only mine are Air Force (I'm ASSuming your neighbors are Navy....) And it's even worse than I thought. I assumed this guy was about an E-6 or E-7. Nah. I finally got a good look at him in his uniform - he's an E-4. The pay must be A LOT better than when I was in....Quote:
Originally Posted by BrewTech
Did go to the Navy Base (Pensacola) this weekend, though. If I hadn't ducked into the commissary and seen the 100 meter long checkout lines (express AND regular), I'd have assumed everyone had gotten an early start on the weekend and bolted town, because the exchange was pretty empty. Very unusual. But the few people that were there were dropping coin on big-screen TVs, living room sets, etc.
Back when I was an E-4, many of my married co-workers were on food stamps (or eligible, but didn't apply on principal). Things have really changed. And don't get me started on the officers....
I was in the grocery store yesterday morning and ahead of me was this lady, who while checking out had to "put Back" several items Due to not having enough cash on hand, and all other forms of plastic were "maxed out". Then, as I'm walking to my car I see her loading what was left of her groceries into the back of a brand new 40K dollar SUV....Kinda make ya wonder
People are differentiating their yard sales from the competition by having the yard sales on Thursday/Friday instead of Saturday/Sunday. Apparently they are getting customers, which means maybe some elderly collectors, but more likely pickers looking to resale or unemployed looking to save money. How the hell do you go junking on a Thursday or Friday if you have a job?
Add to that why you would need to differentiate your "permanent" yard sale from the competition.
Hmmmm.
You know things are getting bad when Dollar Stores are getting robbed at gunpoint. If that's not desperate, I don't know what is.
But that's where the dollars are!! :whistleQuote:
Originally Posted by Argentium
Baby formula is often sought by druggies...it's used to "cut" crack and other street drugs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Galen
Took a ride to Pismo beach today went to the outlet stores to buy shoes, I got shoes and left, it was packed ! everywhere people going here and there, we are supposed to be in a recession.
Then came back north and through Los Osos into Morro Bay the traffic was ridiculous, (even on 101 on the way down) nobody seemed to be in a recession there, kept going north into Cayucas stopped there and had lunch, went to the beach and walked the pier, people all over and restaurants full it was about 3;00. :conf:
Shoes probably due to school shopping I'd guess. Or end-of-season sales.
Gas down to $2.61 here in MN.
Gas here 3.17
I'm sure there's a circle of Dante's Inferno reserved for people who make bad puns like that one!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by MNeagle
I have had the same domain for my small business for over 10 years. While I have effective spam filters, I had to dial them back a bit to ensure I get all emails.
The spam I am getting has changed...
2008 - home mortgages and refi
2009 - refi, fix your credit, etc
2010 - get financing for your small business, avoid filing bankruptcy
The spammers know which way things are going ...
I took my wife out shopping on Saturday: I brought the "100 items to disappear first" list and we stopped at a SuperWalmarts in SE PA to fill in some gaps. Anyway, we decided to drive around and see the country sites. My wife suggested we pick a restaurant from the Garmin GPS to have an early dinner. An hour later, we had stopped by four family restaurants listed in the Garmin, all of which were closed and boarded up - OUT OF BUSINESS!!! Four in a row. Do you think there is a pattern emerging?
We finally found a diner that was open.
I'd like to know how to stop Angelina Jolie from stalking me. She just keeps barraging me to join her facebook. I have to say I'm getting fed up with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShortJohnSilver
I'd buy that for a dollar!Quote:
Quote from: MNeagle on July 23, 2010, 11:54:21 AM
Quote from: Argentium on July 23, 2010, 09:34:15 AM
You know things are getting bad when Dollar Stores are getting robbed at gunpoint. If that's not desperate, I don't know what is.
But that's where the dollars are!!
I'm sure there's a circle of Dante's Inferno reserved for people who make bad puns like that one!!!!!!
Coooool movie!Quote:
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Went to a mall in the San Diego area on Sunday... not packed but bustling. Great place to hang out if you are trolling for mall a$$... not so good if you don't want to run up your credit card on overpriced garbage.
Not too many places looked like they were about to go out of business, however. Lots of hucksters at the kiosks.
Local WholeFoods has their grilled chicken at 9.99 FRNs now, up from 7.99 just a few months ago. Prices are going up and up, the FRN is steadily going down.
A magazine we used to get is trolling for new/repeat business. They're offering:
1 year $5
2 years $9
3 years $10
Nice prices, but no thanks.
My brother in law works for one of the local school districts and they have some stimulus funds they absolutely had to spend by the end of the month or it was being taken away. So the school decided to throw away all the perfectly good and useful furniture so they could get new furniture for "free". He told us this story in awe about how they were hauling perfectly good executive desks, chairs, sofas, tables, etc to be dumped (nobody was allowed to take any of it or sell it). It's a classic "break the window to stimulate the glass business" scenario.
Local client has a home office where I was visiting him. He got up to let the appraiser come in to look over the house (he may refi, old guy with lots of equity).
The appraiser told him that he was one of the very few jobs he was doing these days that was not a foreclosure.
The state I am in is not a non-recourse state, but is a recourse state, which to me is pretty clear that the foreclosures "bite" is going through the fluff and fat of the bubbles and is hitting the meat and bone...
Sterling silver bracelet: $21.99
Cost to engrave (2 words/17 letters): $35!!!
Outback and Carabba's restaurants have both raised their prices, and are emphasizing cheaper stuff as their sides. Prices for some of the items at Carabba's went up about 8% and Outback about 10% or more.
I work in a large office building. Half of the units are empty right now. But that's not the scary thing...the units that are in use have very few people working in them. Big big offices with room for dozens if not hundreds of people, and some of them have like 5 people working at a time. There is a gigantic restaurant next door, it probably seats close to 1000 people (no joke, it's that big, I work in a big city)... the place it totally empty during lunchtime. It's kind of surreal.
dys
RE-flating the Fiat ...
My mother is 81 now, just went into a nursing home, I am her POA...
She had received some unemployment compensation benefits in 2007, and apparently never activated or used the debit card they gave her (probably forgot about it or thought it was junk mail).
Now the state she is in, is trolling through their old UC cards and figuring out who did not actually lay hands on the cash... and they are tracking people down via letter and basically asking them to take it - if they have bank info they will direct deposit it ASAP.
Interesting quote: "NOTE: If you have changed banks or closed your bank account since you last received benefits and owe money to the bank, if you do not contact us to suspend your direct deposit information, the payment may be kept by the bank."
Last month a bucket of 20 wings from the deli: $7.49
This month: $10
http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/a...508_27194c.jpg
Compared prices of Albertson's (conveniently across the street) and the Wal-Mart a few miles away. Albertson's is at least 30%-40% higher item-for-item. Adding insult to injury is Albertson's SELF CHECKOUT and never enough clerks available:
http://www.djchriscruz.com/wp-conten...mart-sucks.jpg
Makes no sense...pay more and bag your own groceries.
:D
I went on a trip into some of the most rural and undeveloped area left in the lower 48 this week...
Everything is for sale...everything....property, both residential & commercial - also - farms, businesses and homesteads. I was really surprised at how much was on the market.
Businesses boarded - houses in the middle of nowhere vacated, burned and shuttered.
Land - all over the place and cheap. Still at 2 - 3 ounces per acre though - I'll be waiting another 6 months -1 year.
Thanks for the report. Waiting here too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rebel Yarr
At local WholeFoods, grilled chicken went from 7.88 to 9.99.
A local sushi place, all you can eat for 10.99 kind of thing, was previously packed, with a waiting line outside, esp. at the end of the week. Went yesterday, no line and plenty of seats. Not just at the bar but also tables which were impossible to get.
Local builder :
Unfortunately in my mind, they just tagged themselves as the "Kia" of home builders:
"Only $99 moves you in!"
http://www.keystonecustomhome.com/Cm...1285250013.jpg