The Chronic Consumer

Black Friday 2008 is just a couple days away, but forecasters are predicting that overall sales volume will be very low thanks to the general state of the economy. So even though retailers are trying to entice consumers to spend by slashing prices on everything from Macbooks to Plum trees, it’s doubtful that people are going to open their wallets very much this holiday season.

Personally, my family has taken a bit of a hit in terms of lost overtime wages at work, as well as general uncertainty about the future of my husband’s company (which is in the automotive industry). So we’re going to be very careful about Christmas shopping and are imposing a $50 limit on gifts for immediate family members. Moreover, we’re not going to go to as many parties as we usually do in order to save money on outfits, gift exchanges, alcohol, etc.

We haven’t made a practice out of inundating our son with Christmas presents, so I doubt that he’ll even know the difference. As long as he gets that one new Pokemon Nintendo DS game that he wants, I’m sure he’ll be happy!