Love Letters from the Recession

We get a lot of mail at Recessionwire, but this one, clearly intended for another recipient, caught our eye. With Valentine’s Day upon us, we thought we’d share:

Dear XXXX-

I want to read you a love poem, one of my favorite poems; a poem by the late poet William Carlos Williams. The poem is called This is Just to Say (1934):

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast…

A Romantic Meal, the Recession-Friendly Way

Oysters may be an aphrodisiac and truffles might seem romantic, but there’s nothing sexier than offering to cook your date a simple meal at home.

Especially on Valentine’s Day, when the hottest restaurants in town are all packed to the brim and serving predictable prix fixe menus, a candlelit dinner at your own table can be just what Cupid ordered.

Whether you’re looking to save money or show off your skills in the kitchen, we have put together a super-simple, recession-friendly Valentine’s menu that anyone can cook at home…

7 Tips for Living with the Unemployed

The economy is supposedly in recovery, but layoffs are still prominent in virtually every industry. Many more people than usual can relate to a phenomenon usually restricted to the over-60 set: living with an unemployed spouse.

While being laid off and entering into retirement are far from the same, they both often leave one half of a couple with extra time on their hands, and plenty of pent-up energy that their significant other, coming home after a long day at work, can’t handle.Read: 4 Reasons To Date The Unemployed

WSJ.com recently wrote an article that shared a few words of wisdom on how to deal with this situation. Here are a few of their tips, plus some of our own…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Truisms from Our Time

Okay all you lovers out there, so what do you know about dating, living and loving in the recession? Budgets for lavish dates and gifts have shrunk; long-term plans for established relationships have been somewhat downsized; and we’re all perhaps a little more deliberate in our dating than we were in the boom times. Things have changed–not least in the way you appreciate your mate. Below, some of the new realities that have emerged in these tough times:

You don’t need to spend a lot to get a lot. In a guest post, “Funky Brown Chick” Twanna A. Hines wrote about getting laid without laying out too much for it. Try renting porn flicks, buy sex toys, and try mixing it up by getting out of town on the cheap.

There are countless options for romantic dates on a budget…

Dating on a Dime

Let’s face it: The economy may be improving, but blast that lagging economic indicator—unemployment is around to stay, at least for a little bit. And while you may have plenty of time on your hands, the reality is that, more likely than not, your pockets will be a little bit emptier than desired.

Never fear, necessity is the mother of invention! And there are plenty of ways you can save money on a date (without looking like a cheap skate). Clever, low-cost date ideas will get you out and about in the world with your sweetheart and allow you to get to know each other better than any fancy-schmancy dinner could ever facilitate…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Surviving a Split

Getting laid off by your boss is one thing, but downsized in your relationship? Often, that’s harder.

Jessica did not see it coming. According to the celebrity press, Ms. Simpson and Tony Romo had locked it down. He had won over her finicky dad and the rest of her posse. They ignored the hounding press and developed their own happy hideaway. But July 9, Romo called it quits, leaving Jessica “sad, mad, and confused.”

Getting dumped always sucks, no matter what else is going on in your life, or in the world. And recessions are no barrier against divorce and separation. Just ask Jon and Kate, or Amy Winehouse (well, not the best example), or Timothy Hutton, who is splitting with his wife of nine years…

Recession Briefing 7.9

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

“Our first stimulus bill … was sort of like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having also a bunch of candy mixed in,” said Warren Buffett, backing the idea of another stimulus package. (ABC News)

While parents may scrimp on their own clothing allowances during the recession, they won’t on their baby’s, making basic baby apparel one of the most defensive discretionary consumer categories in the economic downturn. (Wall Street Journal)

The free and cheap daytime activities at Seattle’s Recession Camp are designed to bring summer camp-style socializing to unemployed adults. (KOMO News)

In this climate it isn’t difficult to imagine that some museums are looking to the works on their walls (or more likely in the their collection vaults) as a possible solution to to their financial problems. Should they? (Chicago Now)…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Bankers Are to 2007 as ________ Are to 2009

Last week we found ourselves on a two woman bar tour, consisting of just ourselves. We were flitting between two groups of guys, one group was at Spitzer’s and another across the street at ‘inoteca. After a glass of wine and some assorted cheeses at ‘inoteca, we would dash to Spitzer’s to chow on truffle mac and cheese with some Aussies. Had we not been so amused by our own antics, we would have gone home pleading a ‘breakfast meeting,’ well that and the cutie in a suit stationed in the doorway of Spitzer’s, who had been frantically blackberrying for the better part of an hour. So stoic was his demeanor that we just had to dub him the Downtown Centurion. One of us and we won’t say who (we do write for Dating a Banker Anonymous) was about to make her fourth entrance of the night when the Downtown Centurion deigned to speak to her. She had taken to switching up her hair and taking off her leather jacket that was “totally giving her street cred” every time she switched locations.

Downtown Centurion: You forgot to take your hair down.

DABA Girl (smooth): Huh?

Downtown Centurion (eyes still on BlackBerry): You’ve been taking your hair down and putting your jacket on every time, you come in. Don’t mess up your flow now. Although personally, I’d be interested in seeing the jacket off and hair down combo, but maybe you’re saving that for later?…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Cheap Date

Twice, my friend Susan (I have changed some names and identifiers) found herself covering for a date who was short on cash. On the first date. At the end of one of them, there was even a humiliating walk to an ATM machine, where he handed her precisely his half and thanked her for a nice evening. Susan was mortified.

I would be too, and obviously so should those guys. Being cheap (or disorganized) is not unusual in the annals of dating, but it seems like some people are using the recession as cover for skimping out…

Recession-proof Romance

Fancy being swept away by a billionaire? Harlequin is happy to oblige.

Last week while waiting for the subway, I was assaulted.

The attack was purely visual. An onslaught of cheesy posters promoting bodice-rippers wallpapered my train stop. Before I averted my eyes, I saw that the posters were ads for the latest Lifetime movie-of-the-week series, a collection of Nora Roberts romance novels brought to life on the small screen.

Over four million viewers tuned in to the first of the series “Northern Lights” two Saturdays ago, topping Lifetime’s list of 2009 movie premiere ratings. The project stars LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, (who, according to tabloid reports, had an affair during the shoot). Whatever the real temptation of this Lifetime series, the cable network might be on to a recessionary trend. Sales of Harlequin novels are on the upswing—for the fourth quarter of 2008, the publisher reported a rise of at least $3 million. Despite the recession, romance titles as a whole have seen a steady increase in sales, according to Borders Books and Music…