Europe is in a recession. The US is in a recession. Japan is experiencing money woes as well. What’s a bright side to this?

Americans are spending less on paper products, soap and accessories, conserving gas but are buying more Spam. 

Spam “seems to do well when hard times hit,” said Dan Bartel, business agent for the union local. “We’ll probably see Spam lines instead of soup lines.”

Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of thrifty grocery items that are selling steadily.

The Hormel company has increased their production of Spam because the inexpensive canned meat product has become popular once again. Inexpensive foods may not be chic but they are filling and will definitely serve a purpose.

Items that were once considered recession proof have not proven to be recession proof this time around. Gambling, cable and coffee drinks. Instead of spending extra on taking a day trip to the casino or watching a movie on cable, people are keeping the money in their pockets. Splurging once in a while to buy a coffee drink from Starbucks isn’t happening either. At the same time gas prices decreased, food prices didn’t budge. Also as the weather is getting cooler it is important to have some heat at home. Home heating may not face drastic increases but you still need some form of heat just to keep your pipes from freezing.

“Consumers are aggressively cutting back,” said Scott Hoyt, director of consumer economics with Moody ’s Economy.com. “They’re not even taking the savings from lower gas prices and spending it in stores.”

Recession? Depression?

Fears of an extended recession has made many people very anxious about their spending. We are not alone. A quick Google News search of recession yields recession talk from Italy, Hong Kong, Europe. Gas prices have taken their toll on wallets but now that gas is decreasing people aren’t reallocating those funds into different areas. Groceries are still expensive. Jobless claims are up but this only includes those who have received unemployment benefits, and only lists those who have been unemployed for the previous six months. If you didn’t receive benefits, or have been searching for employment for a while, then you probably aren’t included in the jobless rate.

If you have not been to a store, or better yet, if you have been to a store or a restaurant, you will truly understand the recent reporting that retail sales report a drop. For people who have been paring down their spending because of credit problems or unemployment then this should be no surprise.

The lack of spending is also taking its toll on charities. Since there are more people who need to use the services that some charities provide. People who need to feed their families, pay for heating bills and job seekers need help but these are more up front concerns. Programs like domestic violence, training programs, and family services have not gone away everyone is facing problems with money. Take a little and help out someone in need – even if you only donate a few coins this will really help people this year.

Don’t forgo fresh fruits and vegetables when shopping. Fresh is best and may cost more but in the long run, for health reasons, if you decide to skip fresh fruits and vegetables you will be doing a disservice to your diet and health. 

To maximize your budget:

• Buy only the fruits and vegetables that are on sale
• Shop at a fruit/vegetable market – often the quality and price are much better
• Look for fruits and vegetables that are slightly bruised, often they are packaged for quick sale
• If you buy packaged greens on the sell by date they are generally discounted, this is a great deal if you use them the same day
• Try different varieties of fruits (applies, oranges, plums) Some of the standard varietals have been overshadowed by newer ones – look at Red and Golden Delicious apples instead of Braeburn 

Competition is a great thing. A couple of years ago, the post office was not as competitive when shipping packages. Now, it may be time to reconsider the United States Postal Service. 

Planing to send packages to friends and family this Christmas? Before you buy boxes, check the Postal System site to see if they have any boxes that would suit your needs. The added benefit of these boxes is that they are shipped to your house for free. Also, if you prepay for domestic shipping online by using Click-N-Ship you get a discount.

That’s not all, you can also request a free pickup. Need mailing tubes, forms, or other packaging supplies for things you may want to sell on eBay or for your burgeoning cottage industry? Ship them through the USPS and you can even get package confirmation.

This holiday season, waiting in line at that post office doesn’t have to be a dreadful experience.

If you prepay for shipping, you can schedule a pickup and avoid the hassles of waiting in line.

It’s not as easy to get a second job or even a job period now, so what can you do to get some extra cash for Christmas or to pay off some bills?

You could do some surveys or sign up for a point program to earn gift cards and other items that could be used for gifts. While these are very nice and you can earn great products and gift cards. What about making a little money on the side by working for cash by babysitting someone or dog sitting for a few friends.

Sell a few items you have that are useable and new. I have a couple of things I bought as prizes for kids and they were left over. Instead of just tossing them or giving them away I could sell them on eBay.

If you have the skills to copy edit or fix things or even if you serve as a personal shopper for one or several people it may be worth it for a couple hours of work to make $50. If you are bidding for a freelance project, you want to remain competitive and not price yourself too cheap otherwise if you do, then you may have a difficult time increasing your prices for the same customer in the future and you might get too much work for such a low price. If you quote a friend a special price, let the friend know that you gave him/.her a special price because they are a friend and tell them what you standard rates are.

Sign up to do some freelance work – work on a PR campaign for a couple of months or on weekends.

Sell some books, dvds or cds to a resale shop. You may not get a lot, but the amount that you get may be enough to buy you dinner.

Throw a party – arrange a seminar or a class where the attendees will get something out of what you are teaching such as demonstrating how to do something.

Cleaning and organizing more your thing? Offer your services as a cleaner or organizer. For this you may want to see what you are dealing with before you make a quote.

Most of these opportunities will allow you to make some quick cash, generally tax-free.