What Are We Still Spending On?

The downturn has forced everyone to give something up, whether frivolous or substantial.

Sacrfice isn’t necessarily bad. When we’re forced to make choices, we end up reflecting on what’s most important to us and why. We may relinquish unhealthy things: I have one friend who’s not smoking anymore. And when I asked one fashionable man what he was giving up in the recession, he though for a moment, then said, “Complaining.”

Here at Recessionwire, we’ve done Recession Concessions, an occasional series about what people are giving up—and what they’re insisting on keeping. One woman has been indulging in Starbucks even as everything else goes out the door. For me, it was the cleaning lady (HBO, dry cleaning and clothes got the ax). Now ShopDebtFree.com, a debt-free (i.e., cash-only) shopping mall, has released a consumer survey on on what people are still spending on, even as the downturn has forced them to cut back. This isn’t about rent or health care, but the less necessary expenses. Turns out, massages are out, but pets are in. Almost half of the 1,200 respondents are still going to restaurants, and 33 percent are still traveling. But that’s just a sign of how much we’ve all pared back–it means 67 percent are not…

Laid-Off & Looking: Is It OK to Be a Gold-Digger?

In early January 2009, I figured it was time for my guy to meet my mom. It had been seven months and she was beginning to think that I had something to hide. (I didn’t, but before him, I’d been single for six years. I put this relationship at a speed somewhere between frozen turtle and crawling backwards.) He picked out a nice seafood restaurant and I’m pretty sure (from what I haven’t blocked out) that I spent a good deal of the evening wishing for more Tanqueray (as I was cut off… evil people in this world).

Everything was going pretty well until my mother (whom I love—with clenched teeth) brought up a very touchy topic for me. She asked him if his family would think that I’m a gold digger (or GD). She asked him that, upon their first meeting, at dinner, while I was trapped in a booth with an empty tumbler. I don’t recall the rest of the evening. I simply remember being embarrassed.

I won’t lie, I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about how his daughter would feel about a less-than-wealthy woman (9 years her senior) hanging out with her not-close-to-broke dad…

Recession Briefing 7.31: Office Romance Down

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

“People just aren’t having [you know what] in the office any more,” a Wall Street HR person said. “It’s like the crash dampened their hormones.” (Business Insider)

New-car shoppers appear to have already snapped up all the $1 billion that Congress appropriated for the “cash for clunkers” program, leading the Transportation Department to tell auto dealers Thursday night to stop offering the rebates. (New York Times)

Millions of Americans are making dramatic career turnabouts in the recession as some industries shed jobs which analysts say likely won’t return for years, if ever. (USA Today)…Also

Screwed: 982 at Ormet Corp.

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s total: 1,760

982 employees at Ormet Corp. in Ohio were given notice this week they could soon be out of work…The American Automobile Association plans to lay off 322 employees…Clarcor will lay off 150 workers at its Rockford, Ill., plant…100-plus people at Shorewood Packaging in Newport News, Va. will lose their jobs by September…Saint-Gobain ceramics in West Virginia is canning 70 workers…MeadWestvaco plans to lay off 45 workers in the next two months and 25 more by the end of the year…

Budget Living Tips from Celebrities

We want to look like them, dress like them, travel like them, but there are plenty of celebrity habits you don’t want to follow–especially in a recession. Jennifer Lopez reportedly doesn’t let her children wear an outfit twice, and some of the getups cost more than $1,000. Celine Dion used 6.5 million gallons of water at her Florida home a couple of years ago. And Lindsay Lohan—well, we advise you not to emulate her in any economy.

But some celebs have budget-friendly advice to share. After all, many of them were broke once too. It’s hard for mere mortals to follow the most common penny-pinching practice–get stuff given to you for free–but these are some savvy tips.

Brad Pitt: Luxury Bedding for Less
You always knew Brad would be good in—oops, I meant on—bed…

Love in the Time of Layoff: 10 Things Not to Say to Your Laid-Off Man

In case you hadn’t heard, the economy is in worse shape than Artie Lange. So it shouldn’t come as a total shock if your boyfriend, husband, or dude-you’re-kinda-seeing-but-don’t-know-what-to-call-him gets a pink memo.

Ease the pain by avoiding the following NSFAGWOOW (Not Safe For A Guy Who’s Out Of Work) phrases. That way you won’t make things worse for a guy who’s already had a horrible week ego-wise.

10. “Oh my god! What are we gonna do?”
For starters, let’s not freak out. Right now your guy needs support, not another fire to put out, and losing your cool is only going to make things worse…

Recession Briefing 7.30: Downturn Crushing California Wine

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

The effect of the recession on the California wine industry has been brutal. Wine is a cash-flow business, and all along the pipeline, from farm to production to sales, cash is not flowing. (New York Times/The Pour)

The unusual new faces of joblessness in this groundbreaking recession are those of older white men cut loose from employment at the peak of their earning power and work experience. (USA Today)

More than 90 percent of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas saw their unemployment rates climb in June from the previous month. (Associated Press)

Screwed: 1,800 at Ashland Inc.

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 2,222

Ashland Inc. plans to cut 1,800 positions by the end of the 2010 fiscal year… In another round of layoffs, Power-One Inc. has let go off 300 employees… True Textile plant lays off 84 workers in Elkin, North Carolina… OCI Chemical Corp. is laying off 38 workers from its soda ash plant in Wyoming…

10 Deals for Back to School

There are lots of ways to cut back on your back to school budget — you might, for instance, do a full inventory of any pencils and scissors you have in the house. But if you do have to get to the store for some missing items, you’ll find lots of retailers are eager for your business. According to the National Retail Federation, back to school spending is expected to fall by 7.7 percent this season, while more parents report plans to purchase hand-me-downs at secondhand stores (though they’re also expected to increase spending on electronics, like laptops, by 11 percent).

The big chains are doing all they can to encourage you to buy from them at any price. And the government hopes to help, too, as several states are offering “tax holidays” for back to school shopping (see a list of states and dates here). We’ve compiled a list of some of the best deals out there…

Is Texas Leading the Downturnaround?

Six metropolitan areas in Texas are seeing the recession slow, say the brains over at Dismal Scientist. So if you live in Wichita Falls, Houston, McAllen, Fort Worth, Austin, San Angelo or San Antonio, it’s time to—well, we’re not sure what, but you’ll think of something.

According to the study, which looks at regions’ economies over the past six months, Texas has more cities that are in “moderating recession” than any other state. Almost everyone else is still in the dumps. (But not you, Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine!)

Why Texas? The energy industry, for one. Plus the lack of a housing bubble. The Brookings Institution, which also has been tracking the recession’s effect on local areas, says Texas…