More people are awakening....

[Michigan11]

I just arrived in Florida a day ago, and was grabbing a beer and some food, and a bartender(female) in her 50's was telling me how she had some friends that were telling her how the dollar is doomed. Her friends moved to South America recently, after selling all their stocks and exchanging their dollars for tangible assets, including gold. She is going to visit them soon and if it were possible she would sell her house and get gold. She was saying how the dollar is just printed like confetti and that we are all screwed. Makes me really think when I'm hearing this being spoken of more often.

Another guy, who had a trucking business, 200 trucks, he sold a few years ago, believes the economy is actually in the process of collapsing right now.

Stores down here are open, with hardly anyone in them. The traffic is nothing compared to the last year I was down here. My business contacts down here are confirming what I see, their store sales have slowed drastically.

I drove down here, and the traffic was very light, not many semi's or I should say very very few.

What are you guys hearing?

 

[Uriel999]

Florida is rough right now, I'm still on vacation in virginia and it is still thriving.

 

[Josh_LA]

Florida is rough right now, I'm still on vacation in virginia and it is still thriving.

ha! does anybody remember the 20/20 special they did on "flipping" houses 4 years ago?

The focus was on Miami and California!

 

[MrNick]

I'm in Central Florida and in my small town its no too bad yet, but in Orlando it is. My favorite mall I go to the "Mall at Millenia" is usually packed no matter what day it is, but I went a few weeks ago on a Friday night and there weren't many people. I was shocked to see it that slow on a Friday.

 

[tonesforjonesbones]

My Florida town is graveyard dead. tones

 

[tonesforjonesbones]

All of our Blockbusters closing. tones

 

[hope7134]

In outside sales and I sell business signs nationally to small biz owners, the people are in their foxholes and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

[danberkeley]

My Florida town is graveyard dead. tones

There's a bunch of dead bodies everywhere?

 

[zach]

The roads in my area suck worse than usual, and some of the smaller stores are closing still.

Walmart still carries less stuff, and what it does carry, sucks.

 

[The Grinning Maniac]

My jewelry teacher has her own business and last year, was shipping about six packages a week to customers here and abroad. As of recently, it's about two per week...if she's lucky.

Early in the summer I was selling some of my old things to make some extra money. Recently, nothing I've put up for sale has moved at all. Jewelry, collectables, video games, etc.

 

[MrNick]

There's a bunch of dead bodies everywhere?

It is Florida, where old people go to die.

 

[haigh]

Blockbuster

All of our Blockbusters closing. tones

Blockbusters up in the Northeast are closing too but it is Netflix who gets the credit not the incompetent pilots flying our banking/monetary system.

 

[entropy]

My mother lives in SW FL and a good friend lives there as well. I left 12 years ago. My friend, Rob, owns a small business (construction related). I talked to him over the holidays and his report is GRIM. He had 20 employees and more work then he could take back in 06 and early 07. He now has 1 employee and work is scarce. Told me of many families losing jobs, lots of people struggling to pay for the basics.

Florida has always been a low wage state. Retirees are notoriously cheap and the economy in SW FL is based on servicing them and tourism, not much else. The housing bubble created a lot of decent paying jobs, but that is now GONE. He is planning on leaving the state.

My mother reports the same thing, many young families in very dire financial straights. Food banks are overwhelmed. She says it is all very sobering to see these families struggling with no end in sight.

 

[Ozwest]

Great thread.

Saddened.

 

[MrNick]

This is making me sad, seeing as how I'm in college in Florida and will probably have a hard time finding a good job once I graduate. I wasted 40,000 dollars in the last 2 years, know my eyes are opened and it's probably too late.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

The roads in my area suck worse than usual, and some of the smaller stores are closing still.

Walmart still carries less stuff, and what it does carry, sucks.

We had a big discussion this weekend between 12 of us and the "NEW" sales gimmicks of retailers/goods:

point's brought out...

just about all grocery stores have reduced the quantity, quality, and repackaging to an equal price.

notables: Laundry detergent loads down to half or potency cut down to half.

packaged foods 10-30% LESS volume/weight


SO when we talk about the dollar buying LESS & LESS... it's a double whammy.

How long will resalers get away with cutting & cutting product out of packages?

Earnings will take a major downturn in RETAILERS for 2009.

 

[Ozwest]

We had a big discussion this weekend between 12 of us and the "NEW" sales gimmicks of retailers/goods:

point's brought out...

just about all grocery stores have reduced the quantity, quality, and repackaging to an equal price.

notables: Laundry detergent loads down to half or potency cut down to half.

packaged foods 10-30% LESS volume/weight


SO when we talk about the dollar buying LESS & LESS... it's a double whammy.

How long will resalers get away with cutting & cutting product out of packages?

Earnings will take a major downturn in RETAILERS for 2009.

That's the tragedy. The backbone of the economy is sacrificed on behalf of bloated Lamborghini driving arrogant shits.

God bless America and its hard working folk.

 

[Mister Grieves]

This is making me sad, seeing as how I'm in college in Florida and will probably have a hard time finding a good job once I graduate. I wasted 40,000 dollars in the last 2 years, know my eyes are opened and it's probably too late.

It's not too late for any of us. Our numbers grow every day, maybe not as quickly as they should, but increasing nonetheless.

 

[ghengis86]

We had a big discussion this weekend between 12 of us and the "NEW" sales gimmicks of retailers/goods:

point's brought out...

just about all grocery stores have reduced the quantity, quality, and repackaging to an equal price.

notables: Laundry detergent loads down to half or potency cut down to half.

packaged foods 10-30% LESS volume/weight


SO when we talk about the dollar buying LESS & LESS... it's a double whammy.

How long will resalers get away with cutting & cutting product out of packages?

Earnings will take a major downturn in RETAILERS for 2009.

aren't almost all laundry detergents going to the 2x? walmart only carries double strength detergent, and most laundry detergents on the shelf are 2x. they are reducing the total amount of loads one can do though: 100 loads of the old 1x was not cut in half to 50 loads of the 2x. they doubled the strength, but now one bottle does 45 loads, not 50.

all products are moving to lower amount of product or uses per volume/package.

 

[FreeMama]

I make my own laundry detergent, hand soap, cleaners, and I cloth diaper my kids. It is better for the ground, to breathe in no chemicals, need less trash service, and smells better. I save thousands per year

$3000 per kid in diapers and wipes alone

Nothing quite like a lazy afternoon of hanging cute multi colored Fuzzibunz in the sun, then stacking and folding them in OCD fashion

Their toys are handmade or natural heirloom wooden toys. . . hate all that lead China plastic tacky crap anyway.

Grow my own organic food, dehydrate and canning, and we hunt Dry my own herbs for medicine and cooking and teas.

I was a 100% raw foodist for awhile even so food shortages don't scare me I can eat out of my back yard it is one big giant organic SALAD mmm! Dandelion is awesome. Make a good dressing, go fishing and throw that on top

Break the grip of that nasty stuff and give your body a break. I don't eat much packaged crap anyway I cook from scratch.

I sew my own clothes and they kick ass or I repair what I've got. I crochet my own scarves and hats, and sell them with handdyed wool right off the sheep.

Been living this way for awhile now. . . I like life nice and simple. Trees. Air.

I tried on the city life. It sucked.

I think people are awakening too. . . but maybe in some place DEEP within us we subconsciously want a simpler life. More time. . . to sit back and relax and watch a sunset in the quiet like days long ago

Maybe it is just me. . . but I LOVE having LESS!