Economy & You!!

[Macnarsandlove]

Havent seen a thread devoted to just this topic so here it goes.

I was just noticing that hello kitty is still up on the site. I was shocked cause I know Barbie almost sold out on the first day. Seeing the holiday collections go to 25% off was crazy too. I was on sephora.com and noticed all the sale items that usually sell quick ( popular brands, sets, etc). I know that ppl really arent buying much cause i work in retail (duh) so not that big of a surprise but I wanna know something...

Does anyone work in places where they see other tell tale signs of the horrible state of the economy?? Just wondering cause its one thing to hear it on those new/finance channels.

For example, I work part time at a car dealership too and for every 10 cars they have been selling 1 maybe is new. Very few ppl can/will finance a new vehicles. And a lot of cars are being bought on credit cards which I was shocked at but is smart in a way. You get the title to ur car and the bank cant take it away, u can go in collections if u cant pay the card but it gets racked up as more credit card debt, not a repo which can look worse.

Even for myself now Im organizing my whole collection to get ready to sell. I was a hard-core makeup addict now I'm like blah when new stuff comes out cause I have conditioned my mind not to even think about going to the counter and buying everything I want. My makeup bag is worth more than is in my bank account lol
Also, the CCO for me has become the mac counter now for me lol Im pretty well informed so I go in there like I used to at counters and get what I need. For the savings, between specktra and all the beauty blogs out there isnt too much that a live MA can tell me I dont already know. I can wait a few months to see an item I want.

Show share your stories, Im very interested to hear some responses..

 

[TISH1124]

Actually, the economy has really not affected my Makeup spending...I have always only bought what I knew I could afford. My dh and I are pretty good money managers so we keep on top of our finances and don't live above our means...which allows us to splurge on things we like on occasion. So I don't have any stories...I know the economy is not so great right now but hopefully things will get better for everyone in the years to come. I have always bought most of my items at the CCO and I don't have to have every item in the new collections...Just a few of my favorites. I am just now getting a Spiced Chocolate quad because they are now at the CCO.
My dh is self employed...and busness is still pretty good...and if it's not he keeps it to himself...The invoices still look good so I won't worry just yet

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

My parents work in the restaurant business. My dad is a cook and my mom is a kitchen aide. Every night when my dad comes home they both talk about how business went at each other's work place. And it fluctuates most of the time. The restaurant my dad works at usually gets really good business despite the economy while my mom's only gets busy when there's a convention in town.

Due to the economy I haven't even been able to find a simple cashier/sales associate job =[ I've been searching since the end of October and nope, nada.

 

[User35]

For me business is up. Im in law enforcement and unfortunately due to peoples money problems crime is up. I cant really say for the whole country but I see it in my community. Theft, and robbery is up, so is forgery and embezzlement. Its sad, and I dont think we have even hit the worst yet. Our department is in a hiring freeze, we arent getting raises or payed for holidays anymore, and we are fighting to keep out benifit package the way it has been for years. Personally I havent been spending the same way I usually do. Im a little bit more of a tight wad when it comes to spending on personal things like makeup and clothes. I was supposed to be taking a vaction here too and I dont know where the hell that went to

 

[Septemba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatalieR429 For me business is up. Im in law enforcement and unfortunately due to peoples money problems crime is up. I cant really say for the whole country but I see it in my community. Theft, and robbery is up, so is forgery and embezzlement. Its sad, and I dont think we have even hit the worst yet. Our department is in a hiring freeze, we arent getting raises or payed for holidays anymore, and we are fighting to keep out benifit package the way it has been for years. Personally I havent been spending the same way I usually do. Im a little bit more of a tight wad when it comes to spending on personal things like makeup and clothes. I was supposed to be taking a vaction here too and I dont know where the hell that went to

That's very sad and it says so much. (re the crime)

I haven't been personally hit and my fiance's business hasn't either owing to some precautions but I have friends who have been forced to take 40% pay cuts to keep their jobs and take on night jobs after just having a baby.

When I flick through my local paper there are minimal jobs and barely any houses up for rent.

 

[User93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smith130 Even for myself now Im organizing my whole collection to get ready to sell. I was a hard-core makeup addict now I'm like blah when new stuff comes out cause I have conditioned my mind not to even think about going to the counter and buying everything I want.

Thats exactly what I feel, lately I became way more indifferent to buying new make-up, I already have enough! I will use what I have and then only buy new stuff when old is over. Its great for me I started feeling like this especially in the current economy situation, cause I gotta be saving money up!

 

[xxManBeaterxx]

Im doing internship at a pharmacy and im seeing more people opting for generic brands than name brands, the cost difference between the two is huge. I even had a this woman come in and ask if she could only get 2 weeks of her 2 month prescription filled, i thought that was very sad. I know a lot of the older people are struggling since they need the most healthcare with very little income.

At the University i do reasearch on HIV immunology and we have no budget to do anything significant... well i'm basically getting paid to go on specktra because we cant do anything. And they are talking about a 4 day furlough which is a 20% pay cut which is well over $1,000 pay cut for me

goodbye luxury. But as everyone keeps telling me its better than getting laid off. I guess its time for another part time job

As far as my MAC addiction goes... With the exception of hello kitty and BBR, i only buy 3-5 things from each huge collection. The other collections i limit myself to 1 such as the creamsheens or tendertones. Theres no freaking way i can use up all this makeup anyway. Since im not a mua nor do i share.. i've already had dozens of lipsticks, lipglosses,and eyeliners go rancid... now thats a huge waste of money!!!

 

[zzoester]

At this point in time, I am only purchasing necessities when it comes to cosmetics. Granted, my definition of "necessities" is much more extravagant than the average person. But honestly, I used to buy what I wanted to when I wanted and I have stopped doing that. In fact, MAC is one of the only things I buy for full price. Everything else like clothing, shoes, drugstore products, nail polish, hair products, etc. are purchased on sale or clearance. Period. I don't allow myself any exceptions to this, at least for now.

I am fortunate that I have a great job and I love the firm I work for. I've seen people get laid off (at my company, as well as elsewhere) and I feel very blessed to have my job. Professionally, I feel like things are at a stand still until the economy recovers so I'll just continue hanging in there and focus on the day to day instead of being overly ambitious about my own personal career track or advancement. You can't really be selfish in this climate. My husband was just laid off a week ago. We'll make it work because we have to, but it's not fun.

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Septemba That's very sad and it says so much. (re the crime) I haven't been personally hit and my fiance's business hasn't either owing to some precautions but I have friends who have been forced to take 40% pay cuts to keep their jobs and take on night jobs after just having a baby. When I flick through my local paper there are minimal jobs and barely any houses up for rent.

I feel really bad for a friend of mines who is just a few months older than me because at this moment she can't finish school and can't get a job either and is forced to be on cash assistance in order to support her daughter.

I have had the worst time finding a job. A lot of the places I've turned applications in, the managers there have told me that the girls who have jobs there already some of them aren't even getting many hours or any at all even.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alibi Thats exactly what I feel, lately I became way more indifferent to buying new make-up, I already have enough! I will use what I have and then only buy new stuff when old is over. Its great for me I started feeling like this especially in the current economy situation, cause I gotta be saving money up!

Your lucky! I don't feel that I have enough makeup and I really don't lol.


Quote:

Originally Posted by xxManBeaterxx Im doing internship at a pharmacy and im seeing more people opting for generic brands than name brands, the cost difference between the two is huge. I even had a this woman come in and ask if she could only get 2 weeks of her 2 month prescription filled, i thought that was very sad. I know a lot of the older people are struggling since they need the most healthcare with very little income. At the University i do reasearch on HIV immunology and we have no budget to do anything significant... well i'm basically getting paid to go on specktra because we cant do anything. And they are talking about a 4 day furlough which is a 20% pay cut which is well over $1,000 pay cut for me goodbye luxury. But as everyone keeps telling me its better than getting laid off. I guess its time for another part time job As far as my MAC addiction goes... With the exception of hello kitty and BBR, i only buy 3-5 things from each huge collection. The other collections i limit myself to 1 such as the creamsheens or tendertones. Theres no freaking way i can use up all this makeup anyway. Since im not a mua nor do i share.. i've already had dozens of lipsticks, lipglosses,and eyeliners go rancid... now thats a huge waste of money!!!

That's so sad

! But my family and I are such a sickly bunch and we're constantly going to the pharmacy to get prescriptions filled. And yes the price difference between name brand and generic medications is ENORMOUS. Even for some generics, if you had to pay out of pocket it is really expensive.

I'm really thankful for the $4 prescription medications that Giant Eagle, Walmart, and Walgreens (although you need to purchase a full year membership which is like $13 I think in order to get that $4 on eligible medications) has. Because there are people out there that either have no insurance or crappy insurance and would be spending so much money on medication. I think that at this moment these places have between 400 to 500 different medications that fall under the $4 plan, hopefully they'll eventually add more generics.

I'm not able to go full out crazy on collections either. I mean I wish I could lol. I just buy the things that I like and find that aren't dupable and that I really will end up using. I won't lie though, I do get suckered into buying a lot of the special packaged LE items just cause they look pretty. I still have an Alpha Girl BP laying around in my storage because I loved the hot pink compact it came in. Bad me!

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzoester At this point in time, I am only purchasing necessities when it comes to cosmetics. Granted, my definition of "necessities" is much more extravagant than the average person. But honestly, I used to buy what I wanted to when I wanted and I have stopped doing that. In fact, MAC is one of the only things I buy for full price. Everything else like clothing, shoes, drugstore products, nail polish, hair products, etc. are purchased on sale or clearance. Period. I don't allow myself any exceptions to this, at least for now. I am fortunate that I have a great job and I love the firm I work for. I've seen people get laid off (at my company, as well as elsewhere) and I feel very blessed to have my job. Professionally, I feel like things are at a stand still until the economy recovers so I'll just continue hanging in there and focus on the day to day instead of being overly ambitious about my own personal career track or advancement. You can't really be selfish in this climate. My husband was just laid off a week ago. We'll make it work because we have to, but it's not fun.

MAC is the only thing I buy full priced really too. In fact its almost the ONLY thing I buy these days with whatever money I get. Even when I had a job and was making money it was still that way. I will though occasionally allow myself to buy other things like shoes, clothes, etc but only if the price is right and if I truly need them.

 

[LMD84]

my work has been really busy. the company as a whole was 90% up on xmas 2007 which i'd say was bloody amazing. every week i have been smashing through my targets (not small ones either). we've had various people putting tv's and things on buy now pay laters and most are accepted which surprises me.

only now is the store going quiet (which it usually does in feb time) but in march/april we have new products coming out so will get busy again because people always seem to want the latest gadget!!

my personal spending is ok. i don't go out much spending money because i don't have many friends that have time to see me or live near me (yes i'm a loser i know) so i spend my money on make up, hair stuff, clothing (when i need it) and treating my hubby and kitties! i've also saved money and put down a deposit for our 2010 hoiliday (florida! yayness!) and we're going to paris this year (already paid for).

so as long as nothing major happens and nobody wants any tv's anymore i should be ok!

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMD84 my work has been really busy. the company as a whole was 90% up on xmas 2007 which i'd say was bloody amazing. every week i have been smashing through my targets (not small ones either). we've had various people putting tv's and things on buy now pay laters and most are accepted which surprises me. only now is the store going quiet (which it usually does in feb time) but in march/april we have new products coming out so will get busy again because people always seem to want the latest gadget!! my personal spending is ok. i don't go out much spending money because i don't have many friends that have time to see me or live near me (yes i'm a loser i know) so i spend my money on make up, hair stuff, clothing (when i need it) and treating my hubby and kitties! i've also saved money and put down a deposit for our 2010 hoiliday (florida! yayness!) and we're going to paris this year (already paid for). so as long as nothing major happens and nobody wants any tv's anymore i should be ok!

I thought I was the only one! Everyone seems to be social social. But my friends live far away from me too and not many of us drive. Plus a lot of us have been drifting apart for different reasons. So I don't get to spend money on going out to places like the movies. Which is a good and bad thing I guess lol. Gives me more MAC dough!

 

[LMD84]

yeah i sometimes get sad that i don't go out much anymore! but when i left uni all my friends moved to london and i stayed in lincoln whihc is 3 hours away. and because we all work full time and half of us don't drive we only see each other every 3 months or so. my workmates are all guys so we sometimes go to movies but can't really have a girls night out with them!!

my 2 female friends that do live locally dont go out much either because one is pregnant and the other is lazy! that said mrs lazy and me are going dancing and drinking on sat 28th feb and i'm very excited!

but yes you're not the only one!!

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMD84 yeah i sometimes get sad that i don't go out much anymore! but when i left uni all my friends moved to london and i stayed in lincoln whihc is 3 hours away. and because we all work full time and half of us don't drive we only see each other every 3 months or so. my workmates are all guys so we sometimes go to movies but can't really have a girls night out with them!! my 2 female friends that do live locally dont go out much either because one is pregnant and the other is lazy! that said mrs lazy and me are going dancing and drinking on sat 28th feb and i'm very excited! but yes you're not the only one!!

Yeah me and my friends well most of us are in that transition stage of still being kids and growing up. Some of them have jobs now and attend school and everything while me on the other hand have absolutely nothing going on so far (thanks you crappy economy!). So I guess we just lost base since we don't have that much in common now and there always busy. It makes me kinda sad too especially when I am finally in the mood to be around someone and have fun. But hey it's life and a part of growing up. I guess having all the ME time won't hurt either, I've realized a lot of things about myself and just life in general.

I hope you have fun! I recently got in touch with a girl who I haven't hung out with in over a year and before that we would hang out all the time despite the distance. Things went very well and I'm hoping that we'll be close again and have a good friendship that'll last.

 

[florabundance]

My dad is a contractor (sp?)/telecomms engineer and there have been no contracts since September 08..so effectively he has been out of work since then. And that is a high paying job.
My mum works a basic office job for a computer company. So, yeah, that's our only source of income and it most definitely has effected buying make up

and other superficial little luxuries i've become accustomed to.

 

[LMD84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by X4biddenxLustX I hope you have fun! I recently got in touch with a girl who I haven't hung out with in over a year and before that we would hang out all the time despite the distance. Things went very well and I'm hoping that we'll be close again and have a good friendship that'll last.

i hope i have fun too! we're going to a nice cocktail bar to get tipsy and for nibbles and then onto a wine bar and then to a club to dance the night away!!

fingers crossed that you meet up with this girl again! it's great when you get back in contact with people but even better if you actually meet up again and form another bond. maybe you can turn her into a mac addict too! that's the one thing i'm sad about... only having my hubby to go to the mac store with me!! it's not like he can try it on with me... well he could but i don't think it's his cup of tea!

 

[User93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by X4biddenxLustX Your lucky! I don't feel that I have enough makeup and I really don't lol. .

Hehe, well, you can never feel enough of MAC, right? I dont have THAT much, I just wear very simple make-up every day

Its hard to give up MAC, but for me MAC is even more expensive than in USA due to taxes... And MAC is my biggest splurge now! So I dont have much choice

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMD84 i hope i have fun too! we're going to a nice cocktail bar to get tipsy and for nibbles and then onto a wine bar and then to a club to dance the night away!! fingers crossed that you meet up with this girl again! it's great when you get back in contact with people but even better if you actually meet up again and form another bond. maybe you can turn her into a mac addict too! that's the one thing i'm sad about... only having my hubby to go to the mac store with me!! it's not like he can try it on with me... well he could but i don't think it's his cup of tea!

I hope so too! We use to have soooo much fun! But the kind of fun that was bad, but she now lives on her own and she seems soo much more responsible now. It's like she grew up too but is still sort of like a kid, just like me

.

And omg about the whole MAC addict thing, the girl is getting into MAC too! I took her to my MAC counter and had her help me decided if I should get the She Loves Candy l/g or the Tahitian Sand BP, I ended up getting the l/g. But she said that she had just went to get her makeup done the week before at another MAC counter. Ahhh, it's gonna be nice having someone to have MAC time with!

 

[Chikky]

Nope, the place I work is actually busier this year than last. Though, vanity is the last thing to go, sadly...

But where I live is nice, it's not as noticeable about the economy yet because it's not a huge money place; not rich or a big city. It's nice, but not a rich area, so we're all kinda missing the economy crashing more than other places. Though I do know alot of places around here that are getting their butts whooped.

 

[X4biddenxLustX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chikky Nope, the place I work is actually busier this year than last. Though, vanity is the last thing to go, sadly... But where I live is nice, it's not as noticeable about the economy yet because it's not a huge money place; not rich or a big city. It's nice, but not a rich area, so we're all kinda missing the economy crashing more than other places. Though I do know alot of places around here that are getting their butts whooped.

Your lucky then, I'm watching my area crash and burn economically

.

 

[vocaltest]

Nope. My work has been busier, actually. I work in a hairdressing salon and usually January and February are the quiestest months of the year, but we've had the busiest Jan and Feb in five years. However, I know a lot of hairdressing salons in my county have gone under recently. We're pretty fortunate.

Today I went to Ikea, and where it is is amidst a HUGE retail park, and the queues to get into it were just enormous. Same with Ikea. My mum said 'I thought there was a credit crunch'. I still see people spending enormous amounts of money if I go out shopping. One of my friends is Supervisor at HMV and he said their sales have been greatly recently. But then again... you could argue that in times like these, people treat themselves to little things. And to make it make-up related, I read a MINTEL report on make-up for one of my assignments, and interestingly it said that make-up will never really suffer even in times of economic unrest as most women see it as a necessity.

I remember asking my Dad, a very highly experienced accountant with 40+ years experience, a few months back if the economy was as bad as everyone was saying. The way he analysed it for my dumb brain to understand (haha) made sense but I doubt it still holds true as it wasn't confirmed at this point whether the UK was in recession, which it is now. He said to me, 'if you were paid half a penny less per hour at your job, would it affect you?' and I said no, probably not, and he said thats whats going on. He also said 'if you imagine a bomb went off down the road, everybody would run, but in reality it would only affect a small amount of people, thats what is going on'. Like I said, I don't know if it still holds true, but I love simple analogys like that

haha.