Are You Feeling the Recession? (Sioux Falls, Pierre: spring break, sales, coupons)

[DannyBanany]

I'm just wondering what some of my fellow South Dakotans are doing to deal with the recession and how you're playing your part to save and/or help. Some things I have noticed is that the Rapid Ride buses are more full now and there seems to be more people waiting at the bus stops throughout town.

I've also seen more pedestrians downtown and parking ramps don't look as full as they used to. I've seen a lot more cyclists on the commute too.

The mall is desolate now but I give a lot of credit to all the stores moving out. Restaurants still seem very full in the evenings though and bars are packed. I guess people will still pay to have a good time but I bet more people are forgetting the cocktails and picking up the Pabst!

One specific thing I've noticed is that the refrigerator at work that used to be empty is now jammed full of Tupperware boxes. I guess people figured out it's cheaper to pack leftovers than spend $10 for lunch at Qdoba or Schlotsky's everyday!

What are some things you've noticed/done?

[Chris19]

Very good topic, Danny.

I am still planning on going on a bigger trip next summer, but would be staying at mostly economy motels when staying in motels and will drive 65-70 mph to get good mileage. As a result, I have been making fewer side trips in 2009 to save up for that and to get towards having my student loans paid off by this summer (will be sooo nice to have them paid off). I could have let them drag on for another eight years on the twelve year payment plan, but I would rather rather have one less worry.

I considered trading my car in for a newer car, but will end up waiting until later this year or next year (depending on how things go).

Other things. I have been more conservative when eating out and what I order when going to a sit down or fast food restuarant.

Also, I have been making fewer trips to Sioux Falls. I usually eat left overs during lunch or fix a sandwich. Cheaper than eating out, but I eat out one lunch during the workweek as a treat.

I have been more cautious of my money and watching where my money goes more carefully than before, which is not a bad thing (making best use of resources).

Recessions are not easy and are not a cakewalk. It is sometimes tough for me to say no on some items, but I have to in order to make sure the bills are paid and to stay on task with my goals (which is tougher to do in these times).

With other people, I notice that they are shopping sales and using coupons more and shopping more frugally. Actually, this is good in a sense that they are getting back to the basics and common sense, but have to be forced into it as opposed to taking personal intiative during good times. People are more cautious about taking their trips and making them count.

[NEVAstopGamer]

I am feeling the recession where I work. I work at Wallyworld, so naturally, our sales have been up. Also on the day after or night after EBT, the grocery side has been emptier then usual.

For those who are not on EBT, a big word of advice: do NOT go to Walmart on the 9th and 10th of the month. Also if you go for groceries, our grocery side is still recovering on the 11th.

I have also noticed that those who smoke are cutting back and are spending their breaks in the break room instead of out in their cars. In my own department, more and more people are asking for where the clearance stuff is, and less people have been buying the expensive bedding and towels and what not.

[Jammie]

Good topic.

Thanks for the advice on when the best shopping is at Wallyworld. Sorry to be dumb, but what's EBT? Our Walmart does seem to be the most hopping place in town now, too.

Cars~we've had a couple of car dealerships close here within the past year and not much of a turnover on the car lots.

People's conversations seem to be different. We're now discussing how much our electricity/heat bill is. Pretty exciting conversation~NOT~but it's just a sign that people are worrying or at least aware that we need to tighten our belts. Conversations about future vacations make it obvious that we're all trimming down our future vacation plans. It seems like we're also letting each other know about sale items or clearance items in stores, too. It's like we're all a bit uptight and want to help each other find bargains.

Many of us cut back on the holiday spending, too. A lot of people were already cut back to 32 hours per week before Christmas so spending was much less. One of the plants temporarily shut down for 3 or 4 weeks over the holidays so I'm sure they didn't splurge like normal. It almost seems to have brought family and friends closer together though just knowing we're all trying to keep our heads above water until this is over.

Our restaurant parking lots seem much emptier then previously. Funny thing is even our McDonald's and Burger King don't seem to be swamped. I'd guess people are cooking in bulk and brown bagging it here, too.

The economy right here is doing fairly well yet compared to most of the country, but it's just obvious that people are tightening their belts and saving a few dollars in case things get really rough. I haven't seen cart loads of items at the local Kmart, Walmart, etc. Everyone is being a bit cautious now.

A slump in the economy is maybe a good thing because it builds character and makes us all realize that money and credit won't always come easy. But this recession is a bad one.

[pammybear]

Hi! Long time no see! Jammie, EBT is basically the food stamp program--I think it stands for electronic benefit transfer or something like that! I personally cancelled our Spring break trip (which would have been to Dallas) so I can put the money toward our trip back to South Dakota this summer and to see all the places that I miss in and around the Black Hills! Working on our itinerary is keeping me excited and not feeling too bad about not going away for Spring break. We will do local picnics, playdates etc., instead! Oh and we are also using cash only and not credit cards unless it is a tax deductible expense we want an easy record of like medical and dental bills or my husband's business trips. It's a pain to try and use cash only but I think so far we are spending less! We also share bargain tips with each other, what's on sale at the grocery store etc. I have twins who are almost three years old and we booked their birthday party at our Church Hall and we got the Hall for free so we are able to hire a clown but even so the expense of the party will be far less than having it somewhere like Chuckee Cheese. I am also making cupcakes instead of buying a cake---I think all these little things add up so we cut back where we can and where it's not terribly painful (so far at least!)

Pam

[SDHomesteader]

Well for the past 2-3 years I knew the recession/depression was going to come. Mainly just from watching people and the ridiculous spending habits of most. I started stocking up back then. Potty Paper, Non perishables, etc... We hardly ever eat out (mostly due to location, 80-90 miles to nearest fast food joint) and when we do make a trip to town now, its the dollar menu at McD's or Burger King. We don't come to town now but maybe twice per month, depending on Doctors appt's of course also. But we try to schedule our doc appts so we both have to be in town on the same day. For almost a year we had nothing but my Dodge Ramcharger to go to town in but now that we have the economy car again we splurge on occasion and hit town. We have a friend here in town like us that have the EBT cards as well. I never thought I would be using that program. Parents were on it when I was younger but I have never had to use the program till middle of this year for just some little assistance. We do our grocery shopping, and then I take the neighbor guy here who is unemployed in a day or two later for his grocery shopping cuz he has a truck and no incoming money to pay for gas so its the least I can do to help him out. I'm hoping to be off the EBT program within the next 2 months though. And thanks for that advice on the Walmart EBT stuff, I always wondered why the shelves seemed so bare on the 10th and 11th, the same days we usually do our shopping.

We usually buy in bulk, 25 lb bags of Flour, Sugar, Rice, beans etc... Have been making larger meals and freezing half of them for later in the week or month. Been Sealing out gaps and such in the Trim of the house and sealing off air leaks to help on the Propane bill this winter. Got the front porch enclosed to help ward off some of the cold air that seeps into the house from that side. Got about 3-6 months worth of Canned Goods stocked up. Been hitting the sales up big time on stuff that can be frozen (milk, Cheese, bread etc...). But of course I am also one of them doom and gloom thinkers LOL. I hate to say it but I welcome the recession, I hope the hell it wakes up a bunch of people to the realization that credit is bullcrap, and that half the credit companies out there are charging GANGSTER interest rates and that money doesn't grow on trees.

The only thing I haven't really stocked up on yet is Fuel, but I have a 350 gallon tank on a stand and a 500 gallon propane tank that is no good for propane anymore that I plan on filling up with fuel before it goes sky high again. I'm getting 12 volt lights set up in my house for not only emergency situations but to use off and on to help lower the electric bill. 12 Volt Lights also last forever damn near cuz they are low voltage filaments and don't burn off as much as 110-120 volt lights. And as often as the power goes out up here, its nice to have a back up besides oil lamps lol.

I used to not shut my computers off at night but now I have everything (TV,VCR/DVD, Computers etc...) plugged into power strips and once its bedtime, everything is shut down and power strips are even turned off. Yeah we don't reset the clocks on anything anyway and some of these use the same amount of power whether turned on or off to keep the clocks and other internal garbage at a standby. So off with the power on them things. Just by doing that my electric bill has gone from 116 a month down to almost 80 a month.

The propane heater we have in the house works when power is out, its a convection type heater, prolly older than I am lol, I got a fan sitting behind that now to help circulate the warm air since it has no blower motor in it. So now the only thing that runs at night is the 2 alarm clocks, the fan behind the Heater, the ceiling fan and the fridge and deep freezer.

We've taught our son the difference between wanting something and needing something, something that EVERY parent should teach their kids but most don't LOL.

This summer we plan to have the 2-3 acre garden ready to go to help save some money on the grocery bill as well.

[Jammie]

The Geography of a Recession - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

Very interesting posts and I don't feel so alone with my thoughts that things may be tough for a bit yet.

I can't remember whether I posted this on the So. Dak. forum or not. A member from Tx. posted it several days ago and I thought it was interesting. Right now it's outdated because the new unemployment figure is 8.1% instead of the 7.1% on this map. I just found it shocking and depressing at how high the unemployment rate is in some areas of the country. It looks like the heartland of our country is still hanging on for the moment anyway.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Jammie

The Geography of a Recession - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

Very interesting posts and I don't feel so alone with my thoughts that things may be tough for a bit yet.

I can't remember whether I posted this on the So. Dak. forum or not. A member from Tx. posted it several days ago and I thought it was interesting. Right now it's outdated because the new unemployment figure is 8.1% instead of the 7.1% on this map. I just found it shocking and depressing at how high the unemployment rate is in some areas of the country. It looks like the heartland of our country is still hanging on for the moment anyway.

Thanks for that map Jammie. I like how they broke it down by county.

[DeadwoodJ]

Thats interesting, I wonder if the decrease in unemployment in Eastern Wyoming has to do with mines or oil exploration? Am I wrong or is Pierre in Buffalo county? I can't remember whether its there or Harding county? A few of the highest counties for unemployment in South Dakota are unfortunately on the reservations, so if they increase I wonder if that means a couple of the gas stations or grocery stores around that area closed imposing further hardship on the residents, requiring them to drive longer for their food etc....

[prairierose]

According to my trusty atlas, Pierre is in Hughes County.