Is the Worst Over?

So far, indications are that sales were strong for Black Friday, the stock market has been going up all week, and gas prices seem to be steadying so are we over the worst of this financial crisis?

While not normally a pessimistic person, this seems to quick and easy to be a long term fix.  One weekend of strong sales will not fix the entire economy.  One weekend of strong sales will not make up for the thousands of people who have lost their jobs over the past two months.

I went out to a few stores on Black Friday like any woman in need of a shopping fix at prices that won’t crush my budget, however, while I saw spending, most stores were selling only their holiday bonus items.  The items that are marked down to uneblievable prices to lure shoppers into the store in hopes that they would impulse shop as well.  However, to my surprise, these specials were not selling out.  At Wal-Mart, there were several sale items that lasted until 11:00 AM, however, when my husband and I were there at 10:30 AM, there were still some of these items available.  In past years these would have been gone by 8:00 AM.

We also stopped by the Midnight Madness at the local outlet malls for a free pair of pajamas and some early discounts.  While the mall parking lot was so full that people were making their own parking spaces in the grass, there were surprisingly few bags in people’s hands as they walked through the outlet.  Rather than becoming a shopping frenzy, this special looked like any day at the mall with people walking around and hanging out.  Yes some stores had huge lines to get into the stores, but there were very few people exiting with shopping bags in their hands.

This Christmas is going to be all about priorities.  People will find the money to spend or put on their credit cards for what is most important to them.  However, in January when the bills come rolling around to pay for this stuff, I have a feeling that the market will not be as happy as it has been this week.

If you were wise this weekend, you didn’t use your credit cards for things you don’t need because those purchases will have to be paid sometime.