November 24, 2006

HousingPanic Stupid Question of the Day


Will you spend less this Christmas than last year?

Will debt-loaded Americans?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Americans will spend until they can't anymore

Blogger said...

Crack Friday is underway, get out there and buy those plasma's...

YoungExec2B said...

I'll certainly be spending more.

Last year, I was cooped up in a short-term rental waiting for my house to close (only used about 70% of my purchasing power, no crazy loans, making extra payments, hope to be mortgage-free in 6 years). So Christmas was sort of dull.

This year:

1) New baby.
2) Sister-in-law moving in.
3) New house to decorate.
4) 15% raise.

Bill said...

with the dollar at 83:62 we will all be spending more for less.

Anonymous said...

Just got back from Black Friday shopping with the wife. She has one fabric store that she shops regularly, opened at 6 am, she was done by 8 am. Quick stop at mickey D's for cheap breakfast and we were homeward bound.
While she was in buying needles and thread, I walked around the other side of the mall to circuit city. Total mad house, and the greeter informs me that they opened at 5 am. Endless lines behind every cashier. Next mall down the road had a toys r us and best buys.
Jamned lots, can only imagine what its like inside.
Shop till you drop, for tomorrow we die.

Anonymous said...

Probably not - just saw a spot on the Today show - live report from King of Prussia mall (PA), one of the largest malls on the east coast, near me. Mob scene. As a previous poster said, they'll shop until they can't, then they won't. The catalyst for their inability to continue? It's been chewed over forever but take yer pick - financial infarction, ecological seizure, peak oil, Keystone cops government, whatever.

Anonymous said...

Sum total spending for xmas - $0. I have spent years weaning my family off xmas. I hate xmas. xmas is a time to feel bad if you can't buy presents and have no money. xmas is a time of depression and suicide. xuck fmas.

Paul E. Math said...

I'll probably spend what I always spend. My brothers and I pool resources to get gifts for our parents and we pool resources for gifts for each other. We keep it pretty reasonable: a nice shirt or some sporting gear for the brothers and father, mom always asks for something ridiculously cheap like a calendar or some slippers.

It's the parents who are a little more lavish in their spending maybe not this year since the old man just bought a new car and 3 1/4 sections of farmland up north.

The rest of north america will max themselves out, as usual. But without the home equity increases they had enjoyed in previous years that max will be just a little bit lower this year.

Next year should be interesting.

Anonymous said...

I splurged and bought a little MYY and DOG. Of course, the wife and her friends went out for an all day excursion, so I guess I'm spending more.

How many people have the joy of 3 or 4 christmas days? I don't mind one, but by the middle of January it's a little sickening.

Metroplexual said...

Festivus for the rest of us.

Bill said...

i`ll second that buzzkill. xuck fmas :)
its all just noise to get people all worked up in frenzy to move more garbage.

----------

I'll third that! I did not even leave the house..enjoying my day off to relax, and take my family out for a nice dinner..the MSM kills me all them dam fools running into best buy ..THINKING!! they are getting some sort of deal before the rest of us....stupid fools..buy your crap and ill stay at home and watch my silver and gold make me money all while doing nothing but typing on a key board..(sip's beer)! good day!

Anonymous said...

I'm not in any debt whatsoever, but I will be spending considerably less this year.

Anonymous said...

I never buy any Christmas gifts because it's just too much crass commercialism.

But the real surprise is most people at the office say they are spending less this year.

Anonymous said...

Try

www.deadmalls.com

for some relief

Anonymous said...

Definitely yes, and I already got 90% of my Christmas shopping out of the way by the middle of this month. The Mammoth will not be seen at any mall this holiday season.

There's better things to do with one's free time than spending it elbowing your way through the malls...

Anonymous said...

Oh dear God, the sky really IS falling! Woe is poor little us.

So far, looks like record spending. SO much for the economy tanking.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-11-24T164416Z_01_N24333041_RTRUKOC_0_US-RETAIL-HOLIDAY-BLACKFRIDAY.xml

Anonymous said...

What would women do if they could not SHOP; shop for shoes, purses, cloths, makeup.

Anonymous said...

I went nowhere on Black Friday, haven't gone out on that day in almost thirty years. I don't intend to start, I don't care what the hell the markdowns!
The news showed riots, fights in stores, robberies in lines, shootings in malls. Boy, talk about your Christmas spirit. History will be able to look back and accurately nail the exact peak (and end) of the housing bubble AND the end of Christmas as well.
My God, do we ever need a comeuppance in this country!

Anonymous said...

No plans to spend more, but those take persistant oversite.

Black Friday is a good day to sleep in; you have the day off of work and can recover from a nice evening of Thanksgiving. I see people cut there Thanksgiving short with family so they can stumble out of bed like zombie robots to fight crowds for crappy $20 dvd players for $16.99 and $75 lcd protable dvd players for $69.99, and the like. Then they are too exhausted to enjoy their day off. Sad.

Anonymous said...

Probably spent about the same as last year.
Electronics seem to be priced well, although I expect their prices to drop more after the Christmas selling season.
Retail gets pretty slow after the February 'white' sales (sheets and housewares [never touch the stuff]).

Anonymous said...

Ah Ha! I'm in good company with those who detest Xmas for its crass commercialism. I have no debt and will spend very little. Its not that important to me.

One year, just for shits and giggles, I put this on my answering machine:

"Vell, I yust hate fuckin' chrissmuss, I'm an Ebeneezer tooo... if yoo don' like my message, then fuh-uh-uh-uhck yoo!!"

It lasted till my mother in law called, lolol ;>)

Anonymous said...

I want to spend less EVERY year, but the wife won't have it. Something about our kids having a better life equaling thousand$ in China junk.

So I'll grudgingly spend as little as possible but still way more than I'd like to,

BUYING NEXT YEAR'S GARAGE SALE STUFF!!

Anonymous said...

my family gave up xmas 5 years ago. haven't bought or received a xmas-gift since and don't miss it a bit.

Anonymous said...

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YoungExec2B said...

I don't get the anti-Christmas sentiment. I don't give gifts because I feel obligated to, nor do I spend a fortune on them. I do it because I like people to be happy.

I agree that some people out there could manage their expectations a little better, I'm sure there are a lot of kids begging for PS3s right now that need to get over themselves.

I like giving thoughtful gifts that convey what I feel. Sometimes they cost a bit more, sometimes they don't.

But the highlight is definitely just time spent with friends and family, the dinner and the party.

And I don't know who John Wheeler is.

Anonymous said...

Each year the amount of money spent on ANYTHING just grows. Most people cann't afford to buy all the gifts they want so they pay with their credit cards. And get in debt!