Will the Recession Doom the Last Sunday Blue Laws? Interesting… I was just thinking over the weekend, that since Westfield mall is cutting back mall hours, that it might also work to go back to stores having limited hours on Sundays. I remember as a child that downtown stores were not open on Sundays generally, except once a month for a special sale. Reducing the number of hours that people work is one way to save. 

Sunday Blue laws are still in effect in some areas that ban the sale of liquor on Sundays. 

“States realize that consumers will migrate to a place where they can buy what they want. And whatever their reasons are for not wanting to sell on Sunday, these states realize they’re paying a price for it in foregone tax revenues. So once the economy goes bad, then the cost of their policies are apparent to them.” – David Laband

Being able to shop and buy what you want when you want is a great thing – otherwise there wouldn’t be 24 hour grocery stores, but if the post office wants to reduce the number of days it offers home delivery, then why stores reducing their hours could not be far behind. When business is good, hours increase. When it is bad – they decrease… Some restaurants do this – they may close early depending on how many customers they have at a certain hour.

Reducing the hours that stores are open will work in various ways. If a store doesn’t have much direct competition and closes because of lack of business then no one really suffers, except the odd customers or two who needs something during off peak hours. If there is more competition in the area and one store remains open because their competitor does, yet both don’t really reap profits, then they may both end up being losers and the stores could ultimately close.

France has some opposition to Sunday shopping. It would increase revenue, but much like the blue laws, French Sunday shopping opponents believe that having the shops open on Sundays would make a move toward the seven day workweek.

I don’t know many people who only have Sunday to do their shopping. Even when major stores like department stores were closed on Sundays there were still drug stores, grocery stores and restaurants open. Sunday was reserved for family time.

Actually who spends quality time shopping? Hardly anyone is going shopping anymore to buy things that they don’t need. In order to preserve the choices that we have as consumers, having a store with fewer hours would be a good thing because then that could mean that more stores will still be in business.

President Obama told the nation’s mayors on Friday that he would hold them accountable for how they spend the money in his $787 billion economic stimulus package, which he described as “a true partnership” between the federal government and cities that have been too long neglected by Washington.

“I want to be clear about this: We cannot tolerate business as usual — not in Washington, not in our state capitols, not in America’s cities and towns,” Mr. Obama told a gathering of the United States Conference of Mayors. He said he was putting them “on notice” that if they propose a wasteful project, “I will call them out on it.”

The president is talking tough about spending the money wisely. This is great. If local leaders know that they will be called out about their spending (and if it could affect future funding), this might make a difference.

Having a leader who is not advocating spending with reckless abandon, which is what got us into this mess initially sounds good. Now if the local leaders actually believe this threat and don’t get caught up with their local power struggles, Americans will be better off.

See where the money is going and track the progress at Recovery.gov.

Deflation. What does it mean? We all know that inflation is something we don’t like but could deflation be bad as well?

Of course we are accustomed to high prices. Discount stores generally have lower prices on items than the corner store or the convenience store. If prices decrease how can that be bad?

Consumer prices are decreasing because people do not have any money and are buying less. In order to get people to buy things retailers decrease the price. Unfortunately when the prices decrease below the cost of manufacturing, this is more than a loss leader this is deflation and can ultimately be bad for the economy in the long run.

If prices fall below the cost it takes to produce products, businesses will likely have to cut production and slash payrolls. Rising unemployment would cut demand even further, sending the economy into a vicious circle.

Deflation usually represents a system-wide contraction in demand, with consumers waiting on the sidelines as they wait for prices to decline even further.

Deflation isn’t here yet and the solution isn’t to buy more things. Inflation is settling and prices are returning to normal levels. This is definitely something that is important so that necessities are affordable. The only area where prices are really falling are at the gas pump and in housing. Food is still expensive but there is still a demand for food.

Low prices don’t necessarily mean that there is deflation occurring. This may mean that there is less profit that companies will make and make them more competetive.

Why is it always an assumption that people will be paying for things with credit cards? I went to Best Buy and bought a replacement universal remote for my parents for Halloween. In the store I said that I had a rewards card which they swiped – not very busy two people helping me pick out a remote I had already chosen at home. Anyway… I was told to swipe my card when I was ready. I didn’t say I was paying with a credit card, I wasn’t asked at all. I said. I’m paying with cash. You would have thought that I had a couple of guys carrying hundreds behind me for a purchase that was $22. “Cash, oh, cash!”

Yes cash. Why is it that when I pay for things with cash increasingly I feel as though I am a pariah? I choose to use cash for most purchases because it makes it easier for me to keep track of spending, plain and simple. I only use credit cards for the times when I want to have an additional paper trail or don’t want to carry around a lot of cash for the purchase.

Another reason I paid cash is that the seemingly small amount could be something I would forget about when it came time to pay the bill. Not that I spend that close to my balance in my checking account, it is… I had the cash and could pay for the item with cash – they why not. Conversely, if I charged several “small purchases” of less than $25 each over the course of a month I may be spending an additional $125 or more by making mindless purchases. In a year, which could be an additional $1500 that I spent on small things. Using cash, I would be more likely to think about what I want to spend my money on. If I were buying something for a few hundred dollars I would definitely want to use a credit card because I wouldn’t want to carry around that much cash. Besides, I would not forget about a purchase that large.

Cash is my friend and keeps my budget on track.

Some of the tips that are available to small business leaders about surviving a recession can really apply to our own personal finances.

If you run leaner than in previous years then you will have a chance to survive. Over the weekend, The Crain’s Small Business Report and one of the small business tips for a small business owner was that you could run leaner in order to survive a recession.

Keep inventory down. Instead of buying extra items just because you can for non necessities or things that may not hold up well before you use them, buy only a limited amount. Stock up on soap toilet paper or detergent. Don’t stock up on ice cream or cereal.

Call in favors. Let’s say a friend owes you a favor and you need help doing something ask the friend for help. Or if a friend owes you money and you need something done, work out a deal to have the person repay you as a service/trade.

Ask people to repay their debts. Money isn’t tight for everyone and if you have loaned money to someone in the past and you are need, ask for a loan repayment. You may not get it but you could call in a favor. This can be a touchy situation if people are having difficulty with money themselves.

Also, purchase less or decide that you want to put off buying non necessities until later. Even though you can afford the purchase – really without going into debt or diverting money from savings or investments. This doesn’t relate to inventory but more like upgrades to your home or cell phone or MP3 player.

If you wanted to add something to your home, and you are unsure of the current economy in your area, then hold off on the purchase and hold on to your cash.