Living paycheck to paycheck
The title of this entry has been the story of my life for longer than I care to admit, but as it turns out, this particular form of misery loves company. I was watching the news last night and they did a piece on Wal-Mart's own sales tracking.
The chain has long tracked when people buy products during the month, and predictably, more people buy products during the first and the 15th of the month -- as a lot of people get paid on the first and the 15th. From the 11th to the 15th, sales drop, then they pick up again.
And the drop from the 11th to the 15th indicates that people are waiting for their next paycheck before they buy anything else. Now here's the interesting thing: Apparently the trend *this* year is that sales before the 15th don't so much drop as plummet precipitously.
These are folks that are using Wal-Mart much like my wife and I do -- they're buying drygoods, detergent, snacks, toiletries -- things you use over and over again. They're not, by and large, getting a lot of clothes, electronics, bikes, toys and the other stuff that Wal-Mart sells.
Why the difference? The thesis of the news report is that people are increasingly living paycheck to paycheck, and the more pronounced drop indicates that *more* people than ever before are running out of money before their next paycheck.
It's a depressing trend, but it's something to consider at a time when a lot of people are rushing out to buy shit that they don't need and other people don't need because they're compelled to by tradition and by some unbelievably great deals that they think they can't live without.
I'm just happy to know that we're not alone out there -- for a while I was feeling like a complete retard at money management. It doesn't totally assuage my concern, but at least it lets me know that there are lots of other folks that are having similar problems.
Comments
None of this particularly surprises me. I think I am reasonably decent at money management, and yet most of the people I know (including myself sometimes) spend at least a good part of their time figuring out how to stretch one paycheck to reach the next. And plastic, although I use it..is an instrument of the devil, I sometimes think.
Simplifying seems to be the thing to do. But in such a consumerist society, I honestly don't know where to begin.
Posted by: suellen | November 28, 2003 10:34 PM
I don't shop at Wal-Mart, as I think they are to retail what MS and Dell are to the PC world. Even though I've been on a weekly unemployment check for over a year. Fortunately, I found a good seasonal job, though I'll have to start looking again in January.
Posted by: Alphax | November 29, 2003 03:39 PM
My feelings on Wal-Mart are mixed. We go there to buy bulk items and stuff that is more inexpensive than we can get it at the grocery store. Bonnie drinks Slim-Fast shakes, for example, and they'll often have sales that undercut Stop & Shop.
I've heard all the complaints about the "walmartization of America" and all that, and I really can't get too hung up on philosophical ramifications of spending my cash there instead of going to smaller independent stores. The bottom line is that I have to stretch my dollar as far as I can to provide for my family. If Wal-Mart or any other massive conglomerate can do that, they'll get my cash. Heck, I've even bought fine jewelry there for my wife.
On the other hand, there's a lot of stuff there that I'm not particularly impressed with. Their clothes, for example, with few exceptions are pretty poorly made. And many of the smaller brands of electronics and appliances they sell are second-rate crap from the Pacific rim that falls apart quickly, so you have to be careful with that, too.
To that end, I prefer other chains like Target, or even K-Mart. Lord, I love Target. But as a place to get diapers or laundry detergent, I'm happy that Wal-Mart is around.
Posted by: flargh | November 30, 2003 11:32 AM