This Associated Press article says that women are more likely to buy cheapie cough syrup or generic eggs than purchase bargain cosmetics or cut-rate food for their pets. Uh, yes. I’m one for frugality, but more like the "shop in moderation" variety. I still wear MAC make up, I just recycle old tubes so I can get some of the lipstick for free. I don’t buy generic deodorant, but you will find store-brand eggs in my house. If I had a dog, I know I would try to find a way to feed it the best food. Who knew that it’s genetic? heheh
According to the article:
…shoppers are opting
for cheaper brands across many product categories, including
over-the-counter medications, eggs and milk.
But they’re more reluctant to switch to less-expensive pet food as well as cosmetics, personal-care items and toilet paper.
”People are trying to save money, but they are being selective about
it,” said Lisa Lee Freeman, editor-in-chief of ShopSmart.
I think the editor-in-chief of ShopSmart has been reading The Frugalista Files! LOL
Does frugality have its limits? Are you a selective frugalist? Does your pet eat high-end food? Where do you splurge? Where do you spend?
Casinos are getting crappy revenue in this soft economy. I never thought gambling would suffer. If that’s not recession proof, what is anymore? What are people doing for their bachelor and bachelorette parties?
According to the NY Post article:
Las Vegas and Atlantic City are suffering as they sit in the midst
of a perfect storm. Many of the high rollers from Asia who had fueled
big receipts at the major casinos have disappeared. They have started
to feel the pinch as their once-raging Asian economies are now
suffering major setbacks as economic slowdowns have brought their stock
markets down to two-year lows…
High gas prices also contributed to the downturn in Atlantic City
and Las Vegas. The cost of filling up the tank was just too much for
many gamblers who chose to stay home instead. The decrease in flights
to and from Las Vegas also hurt the usually bustling gaming town.
It’s like the multiplier effect.
Do you gamble? Have you been to Sin City? Have you cut back your travel because of the economy?
The
Athlete’s Foot is giving registered voters a 20-percent discount
through October 4. The Vote for Kicks campaign is hosted exclusively by the Plantation store, 3941 W. Broward Blvd. The store will support the
campaign with onsite registration opportunities, voting machine demonstrations
and a fall fashion show hosted by NiFlame Fashions.
Customers who show their voter registration card in the West
Broward Boulevard store will receive a 20-percent discount on their purchases.
Customers who have not yet registered to vote will have an opportunity to fill
out the appropriate registration paperwork, which can be submitted through an
in-store Broward County Election Board drop box. Once the voter registration
paperwork has been completed customers will be eligible to receive the 20
percent discount.
Kashi is offering a free oatmeal cookie. Click here to sign up.
Watch out Lil’ Wayne! Capitalizing on being broke, television personality Ed McMahon is rapping in free credit report commercials. Get it, Ed! I know some starving actors or rappers may be miffed, but Ed’s been in the game a long time. A house in foreclosure and credit card bills can’t hold him back. Can Latrell Sprewell get some air time, too?
Do you think McMahon will have a killer flow? Should he get signed by a record label? Is 1980s rapper Special Ed bitter that McMahon is getting airtime?
A shower suit is a business suit you can clean in the shower and it’s all the rage in Japan. The
suit can be sprayed in a warm shower for three to four minutes and drip
dries within a few hours at room temperature. If hung properly, no
ironing is needed.
Konaka,
the Japanese company that sells the suit, has more than 300 stores and
is targeting job-hunting students and young business people who live
alone.
Talk about saving on a dry clean bill!. I rarely dry clean anymore. This may be just what a frugalista needs.
Would you trust a suit you can clean in the shower? Do you dry clean? Are you a washing machine queen? Is a shower clean suit frugal genius or just freaky? Dude in the picture is kinda stylin’!
Hot soul singer Jazmine Sullivan is performing for free Thursday at the Delano. Your fav Frugalista will be in the house. Get your name on the list.
Here’s her notable song.
On
Thursday, September 25th from 5 to 8 p.m., Cold Stone Creamery guests will be treated to
a 3 oz. serving of two new
flavors, Nutter Butter® and Marshmallow.
To
find out more about getting FREE ice cream or to find the Cold Stone
Creamery location nearest you, log on to http://www.coldstonecreamery.com.
Talk about recession proof. The folks at Campbell’s Soup, Kellogg and Kraft are having a kick-butt year. Why? Folks are eating at home more and chowing down on canned soup and Ramen noodles. Call it The Frugalista effect. heheheh.
From the article:
Campbell Soup’s sales rose 13% in the most recent quarter, a phenomenon
CEO Douglas Conant said was aided partly by strapped consumers
embracing condensed soup as an inexpensive meal alternative. Kellogg
Co.’s second-quarter sales climbed 11% to $3.3 billion, a rise CEO
David Mackay told analysts was due to "a reduction [by consumers] in
out-of-home consumption."
General Mills saw U.S. sales increase 14% in its most recent quarter,
reported last week, and Kraft Foods, which replaced American
International Group on the Dow last week, reported a second-quarter
sales jump of 21% to $11.2 billion. "The fact that people are eating at
home more is certainly a positive," said CEO Irene Rosenfeld.
The down side for the companies is that ingredient prices went up. While they turned a profit, the increase wasn’t as great as it would have been if prices were more stable.
So tell me, are you a Campbell’s kid? A Ramen raven? You can ‘fess up. Are you eating packaged foods more? How is your blood pressure?
P.S. This is my second image of an Andy Warhol piece of art. Yesterday’s dollar signs were by Andy, also. If you can’t afford to buy it, just download it! Frugalista Law!
Hello Frugalistas! Recently, I moderated a panel on "Dollars and Sense" at a National Coalition of 100 Black Women conference. One of the panelists suggested that we spend three hours per week on financial matters. At first, that seemed like a long time. Borderline obsessive. After I thought about it, it’s not.
I took a Friday off work recently to handle personal business. For much of the morning, I played financial CEO. I handled mileage expenses from my job. I had some medical bills. THREE different medical billing agencies billed me. I had to make sure I didn’t get ripped off and that those were paid. Insurance companies are NO fun. Trust me on that. Also, I combed the Internet, looking around for a lower rate credit card and found one with a zero percent APR for a year. Also, I needed to deposit a money order at the bank. Whew!
Those activities took up a substantial amount of time. Afterward, I felt like I had a clearer financial picture of my money. I don’t think I’ll spend another three hours at one time doing my bills. But I do think I will try to spend about 30 minutes per weekday on my personal finance. The other day, I called my company’s benefit resource center to find out how much pension I would have at retirement.
One way to feel better about your finances is to confront them. Regularly. We spend time with friends, family, hairstylists and coworkers. But do we spend enough time with our money? Our money takes care of us, too.
How much time a week to do you spend on money matters? Is three hours a week too much?
