Tuff times ahead ..

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rayinpenn

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With the heat I have shifted my exercise walk earlier so the tail end of it coincides with rush hour. Walking for exercise in the morning is a joy, the podcast playing in my ears keeps me company - the hour and something goes fast. This morning a fox crossed the road in front of me with a large critter of some sort hanging from its mouth. I have seen them hunting in the fields but never saw evidence of success until today.

The last stretch of my walk brings me past one of those Dunkin donut gas station combinations. It was a regular gas station for many years then sat idle for a few years and finally this place opened. I’ve never seen many customers there- this morning surprisingly busy. I find the place to be too pricey. I think I’ve bought a gallon of gas there for the lawn equipment. Over $2.00 for a cup of plain old Joe; Carolyn reminds me that many drink flavored and other more expensive concoctions. The price of a danish or donut seems exorbitant. Day after day it adds up but I’ll not bore you with the latte factor as it is well known and angers those who indulge.

Truthfully seeing the lines disturbes me- I believe if ever there was a time to be frugal it is now. The virus is on the rise, 50% of all closed restaurants are likely to not reopen and my buddies still in the corporate world talk of more layoffs. For those already stretched seems like it won’t get better.

Yeah it is a very negative vision but I just can’t help it. Am I alone?
I’ll stick to my home made coffee...
 
Me too. Make it every day cup by cup in my Jura ENA Micro 1. With fresh roasted beans, a dab of half & half and a quarter teaspoon of sugar.

Bliss.
 
It's just not in some people's nature to be frugal, regardless what is going on in the world or in their lives.
 
It certainly is not in my nature at age over 65 with covid exponential and I'm thinkin' I could be dead easy in 5 years.

Blow that dough while you live!
 
Maybe they are frugal and this is their one treat item. Can’t judge a book by its cover.
 
Yeah, 2 bucks a cup is cheaper than starbucks.
 
Rayinpenn, I concur, I think even with a vaccine or improved covid treatment therapy, it is going to be a slow climb back to <5% unemployment. The stock market and economy are being artificially shored up by the government and that is not going to last forever. Chickens will come home to roost, sooner or later and I am keeping my powder dry.
 
Wake-Up Wrap (Bacon, Ham, or Sausage) and Medium Coffee $3.46 + tax. Grab a big stack of napkins...

Do people park at the pump and leave the car while it's filling? Now that's annoying!
 
I don't really disagree with your sentiments, but.....

You can't BOTH lament that 50% of restaurants may never re-open AND complain when you see people patronize them!
 
rayinpenn said:
Truthfully seeing the lines disturbes me- I believe if ever there was a time to be frugal it is now. The virus is on the rise, 50% of all closed restaurants are likely to not reopen and my buddies still in the corporate world talk of more layoffs. For those already stretched seems like it won’t get better.

Yeah it is a very negative vision but I just can’t help it. Am I alone?
I’ll stick to my home made coffee...
Click to expand...
One of the advantages to being retired, is that we don't have to worry about getting laid off. I don't feel any need to cut back, and so I can continue to spend at local small businesses and help them to stay solvent.

That said, I don't like Starbucks or other commercial coffees. I am used to my own coffee so I have seldom bought it elsewhere. But we do eat lunch out every day as we always did, at our usual inexpensive mom-n-pop Italian place.

As for those people that you saw in line who maybe aren't retired, well, it's their decision, not ours. If they feel they can afford it, then good! More power to 'em.
 
I know we have largely been missing our restaurant eating, the curbside takeout just does not have the same atmosphere, and forget about a milkshake or banana split after the meal.

I can understand how folks might want to stop somewhere and get a doughnut (sounds good to me) after months of lacking treats.

Just recently I started ordering ice-cream with our grocery curbside pick up. It actually was frozen hard when I got home.

It was SO NICE, to have a desert after supper !

I might just have to head over to a doughnut shop around here :D
 
W2R said:
One of the advantages to being retired, is that we don't have to worry about getting laid off. I don't feel any need to cut back, and so I can continue to spend at local small businesses and help them to stay solvent.

That said, I don't like Starbucks or other commercial coffees. I am used to my own coffee so I have seldom bought it elsewhere. But we do eat lunch out every day as we always did, at our usual inexpensive mom-n-pop Italian place.

As for those people that you saw in line who maybe aren't retired, well, it's their decision, not ours. If they feel they can afford it, then good! More power to 'em.
Click to expand...

I agree. My income really hasn't gone down (modest pension and near max SS have not changed - well SS has gone up a bit this year.) I don't know that I feel a responsibility to "spend" to help merchants, but it has occurred to me that IS the way much of our economy works. If we ALL "keep our powder dry" there may be no place to spend it when we decide to loosen the purse strings. Locally, we are just now seeing dozens of places closing their doors for good. They were shut down but were hanging on. Many have now given up.

Full disclosure, I've spent almost NOTHING since Covid 19 hit - mostly because we just have not gone anyplace (My car has 125 miles on my last tank of gas - purchased - I think - in early March.)

By the way, I'm making NO value judgments. We all have to play it the way we see it. I'm only suggesting that maybe we need to look at a "bigger picture." Especially in the age of Covid, YMMV.
 
Out-to-Lunch said:
I don't really disagree with your sentiments, but.....

You can't BOTH lament that 50% of restaurants may never re-open AND complain when you see people patronize them!
Click to expand...


Sure I can, why? Because restaurants are just the tip of the iceberg I used them as an example because there’s a cute little breakfast and lunch place next door to the donut shop. They’ve set up a big open air tent with tables and people are dining al fresco. That can only last until September, what then?

When I took my car in for that dent repair they were slow - empty really with less staff about. why? no ones driving. Renting cars, getting repairs, pretty much everything has slowed to a crawl. I guarantee the shore town aren’t going to have good years. Short term rentals are not allowed - Why hire 2 waiters/waitresses when one will do. It’s all tied together.

Let’s look at other little things - My haircuts that the Mrs now does- $12 that shop won’t have and $3 tip missing from the cutters pocket. I feel for them I’ve been going to that shop for over a decade.. but IMHO it isn’t worth the risk.

I guess it boils down to “the calm before the storm” as travelover so aptly put it.
 
I see so many people in line at StarBux when I walk into Kroger, I can't believe there is that much demand for a double mocha, latte with two pumps of caramel, at 3 in the afternoon....buy a danish to go with it for an afternoon snack, and you have blown $10, but people don't see that. These are the same folks that always wear designer clothes, and go out for lunch in their new $60,000 truck.

I am one of the very few who still packs a lunch, and eats leftovers. I drink ice water all day with an occasional soda, or beer that came from my fridge.
 
People who line up for $5 coffee and drive an expensive car or truck appear misguided to me. But that behavior is (was) a large driver of the U.S. economy.

IMO, those consumers are acting upon their Hope that things will get better. It might be an illusion, and they slip further into "forever" debt. Or their image is enhanced among peers, and they will find better job by fitting into a higher peer group.

The cost of designer coffee is still cheaper than a drug habit. A morning ritual like this makes the buyer feel really satisfied. But as has been repeated, there is better use of $5-10 spent on discretionary coffee.

As I grow older what others have and do is important to me only when the behavior negatively impacts our life.
 
target2019 said:
People who line up for $5 coffee and drive an expensive car or truck appear misguided to me. But that behavior is (was) a large driver of the U.S. economy.

IMO, those consumers are acting upon their Hope that things will get better. It might be an illusion, and they slip further into "forever" debt. Or their image is enhanced among peers, and they will find better job by fitting into a higher peer group.

The cost of designer coffee is still cheaper than a drug habit. A morning ritual like this makes the buyer feel really satisfied. But as has been repeated, there is better use of $5-10 spent on discretionary coffee.

As I grow older what others have and do is important to me only when the behavior negatively impacts our life.
Click to expand...


+1
I also believe that if the economy is 70% consumption driven then I actually want people to continue these habits. They need to keep spending, having to work and paying into ss etc to help keep it solvent.
 
I think we all chose our poison. A cup of coffee out is a small indulgence for me every so often, much missed because of Covid. Some people buy expensive food; designer clothes; alcohol. I don't. But if I wanted to I would. On the other hand I spend way too much fixing up "this old house." Different strokes!
 
finnski1 said:
+1
I also believe that if the economy is 70% consumption driven then I actually want people to continue these habits. They need to keep spending, having to work and paying into ss etc to help keep it solvent.
Click to expand...
I see it as potentially a good thing. But it seems we're having too much risky behavior, in the health sense.
 
You don't know, really. As others have noted, most people are spending less on gas, travel and eating inside restaurants. If you have a steady income, either from retirement or employment, there's room for a latte or two. I'm stashing money in my grandchildren's 529 accounts and giving more to charity, but last month when visiting DS and his family I took the two girls to Starbucks 3 times. They love the cake pops and this time they had unicorn cake pops. This is apparently a Big Thing. We enjoyed the snacks back in the car rather than dine in.

I'm doing what I can to support businesses without risking my health or my finances.

rayinpenn said:
When I took my car in for that dent repair they were slow - empty really with less staff about. why? no one's driving. Renting cars, getting repairs, pretty much everything has slowed to a crawl.
Click to expand...

Some things seem to vary by region. On the way up to visit DS and DDIL in IA, my car developed transmission problems. I took it to the dealership near them where DDIL used to work and where they'd done work on occasion before. Brought it in Friday AM and they weren't able to get to it till the following Tuesday because that was their first open appointment. It was early June- maybe people were just starting to get out on the road again and having deferred maintenance done?
 
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