Economy Slowed to a Near Crawl in 4th Quarter (credit, buy, company)

[carrot juice]

In the news: the economy slowed to a near crawl in the last quarter of 2007. The housing crunch and credit bust is taking a toll on all of us.

How are others feeling it? My business has slowed considerably, and it's a real concern for me. I've been very depressed having little to no income. I can't keep up with the rising health care costs, rent, and inflation.

[gardener34]

I know the gas prices are causing difficulties for us. As for most.

[carrot juice]

I've noticed that costs of other things are creeping up as well. Does anyone else see this? What sort of things are people giving up? For me, I have to think twice about long drives. I have to buy clothes on sale. Food is very expensive, and I realize that I need to cut way back on grocery shopping.

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[tallrick]

I am hoping that a weak economy causes property values to crash. I spend more for property tax than anything else!

[01Snake]

Is an extra $5 bucks more to fill up really putting that big of a dent in your wallet?

[CouponJack]

Originally Posted by carrot juice

I've noticed that costs of other things are creeping up as well. Does anyone else see this? What sort of things are people giving up? For me, I have to think twice about long drives. I have to buy clothes on sale. Food is very expensive, and I realize that I need to cut way back on grocery shopping.

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It hasn't changed my lifestyle.

I've always lived below my means. Always buy stuff on sale. Cut coupons. Pay myself first....

[FarNorthDallas]

I've noticed grocery store items going up 20-25% in one jump. Examples - Cat food cans went from $.45 to $.65 in one jump. Can soup went from $1.00 to $1.25 in one jump. Just in the last 2 weeks.

[carrot juice]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I am hoping that a weak economy causes property values to crash. I spend more for property tax than anything else!

Yeah, isn't that crazy? The housing boom has caused property taxes for so many people to go through the roof. In the area I'm in, it's property taxes and heating oil, and they've pushed up the rents, too.

[carrot juice]

Originally Posted by 01Snake

Is an extra $5 bucks more to fill up really putting that big of a dent in your wallet?

For the car, it's a lot more than that. In terms of heating oil, people pay $500 a month just to keep their houses warm.

[John23]

I don't know why the media pays so much attention to Bernanke, Bush when it comes to the economy. They all say, things are fine, there's no recession.

That's like asking David Stern about the state of the NBA or someone else in charge of a league or company, of course they'll be biased. I think it could be a very nasty recession, there have been so many excesses built up over the last 10-15 years. How do you reduce those kinds of excesses without a hard recession at some point?