8 Recession Road Trip Games

Even with the emergence of the “staycation,” many families will be hitting the road this Labor Day. So after the Harry Potter series ends on the DVD player, we suggest some timely car games to keep the fun rolling along. Print this guide and take it with you.

Spot a Sign
This one’s easy. In the wake of mortgage defaults and foreclosure-o-rama, for-sale signs dot the landscape like a new mutant weed. In a twist on “punch Buggy” or “slug a bug”—in which you punch the person next to you when you spot a VW Beetle—tag (we prefer it to a punch) the person next to you to signal you spotted a for-sale sign first…

The Recession Will End… When Staycations Are a Thing of the Past

Says who: Staycationers – those who have had to cut back on their normal vacation plans to far-flung destinations and chosen instead to spend their time off in their own backyards.

Why it might be false: Just because staycations are said to be the summer’s hot thing doesn’t mean that everyone’s doing them. In fact, cruises, campgrounds and destination spas are experiencing surges in traffic. Priceline.com’s recent 35% second-quarter profit increase contradicts the idea that staycations are dominating “time off time” and underlines that there are some great deals on the market. Even if staycationers aren’t spending a lot of dough on transportation or accommodations, they are still spending money and bolstering the local economies. In short, they aren’t as damaging to the economy as other spending cutbacks might be (like, say, on buying homes)…

Recession Briefing 7.6

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

Vice-President Joe Biden yesterday admitted that the Obama Administration “misread” the economy earlier this year. (ABC News)

As galleries close and art nonprofits suffer from cutbacks in funding and the loss of support from private institutions, the recession is adding new meaning to “struggling artist.” (Gotham Gazette)

Tens of thousands of laid-off workers have turned to retraining as a lifeline. Yet for all the popularity of these government-financed programs, there are questions about whether they actually work. (New York Times)

The collapse in home prices is finally beginning to hit the country’s wealthiest neighborhoods. (ABC News)…