Please Don't Leave Children Unattended

If we are in a recession, then why did I look for a parking spot at the mall today for 15 minutes? I understand that people love to shop, such as myself. But how many shopaholics are there in this world? Aren't we suppose to be saving money, rather than running to the mall early on a Saturday morning to spend our weeks' earnings?

As I entered the mall, I started to understand why the parking lot was so crowded. I felt like I was in an episode of Romper Room. There were children everywhere, running around and playing hide and seek with one another. I was searching through the racks and all of a sudden a child popped out of the hangers of jeans.

I know having a child is hard, but for god sakes' people, get a hold of your children. If you don't, chances are you are going to drive the only shopaholics left in this world out of the mall, bagless.

PS- I got my Britney tickets =)

The Sweetest Thing

No matter what is going in the world around us, it is always nice to slow down and spend time with some friends. It has been surveyed in countless women's magazines that most women are not willing to give up dining with friends when trying to save money.

Women need something to look forward when going through a tough work week and having money worries. Grabbing a cocktail at the end of a long school day with girlfriends is sometimes the perfect solution to forgetting about every day stress.

"Mmm, I needed this," Michelle Forester says as she sipped her Flirtini last night. Michelle and I got together for dinner and drinks last night, after having exhausting weeks at school and each of our jobs. It's nice to catch up with her, laugh, and talk over drinking a delicious cocktail. We both agree that even though times are tough, we let it leave our brains for the time being, enjoy ourselves and not worry about the money we are about to spend.

Although it is not necessary to go out to a bar in Boston every weekend and spend $100 for a night, it is nice to have a quiet dinner with friends and reflect on the weeks' happenings. Over the summer, it was normal to go most nights. We even took trips to LA and Vegas without worrying about the insane amounts of money we were spending. All that we cared about was spotting celebs and finding the nearest In-N-Out Burger.

Now that we have gotten that out of our systems, we can start to save our money accordingly to invest in moving into an apartment, now that we are about to be "in the real world". But no matter what, Vegas or not, we will continue to have ritual girls night out dinners, whether they be at the Captial Grille or Panera Bread. You can't put a price on friendship, girl talk, and fabulous nights out.

Britney: The rip off of the year!

Sometimes I wonder how prices on certain things continue to soar during this economic downfall. Don't judge me when I say this, but I have desperately been trying to find Britney Spears tickets for the concert in March. I know its ridiculous but it's my guilty pleasure.

I can remember when the face value of a ticket was $60. Then, it creeped up to $90. Now, the face value for the price of a Britney ticket is $150, if you want to sit anywhere in which she doesn't look like an ant from your seat. Because they are all sold out, I am forced to get tickets off of either a scalper website or craigslist, which the idea of meeting up with a perfect stranger still scares me.

I am probably going to pay between $250-300 for a ticket. I have to go to her comeback tour no matter how much of a trainwreck she was in the past. But I still wonder, how can ticket prices be so high when this type of concert attracts mainly teens with no money? Oh, thats right...their parents will pay. Unfortunetly for me, I will have to give up buying shoes for a couple of weeks to go.

Oh well. I KNOW this is insane, but it's Britney, bitch!

The Weekend Is Coming...

Well, its Wednesday so now my thoughts are turning to the weekend. What will I do this weekend? Who will I go out with? But most importantly... what will I wear?

As I sit here, I'm trying to think about the last time I bought a new pair of shoes. It was December. That is far too long for me. It is nearing the end of February, and although I have countless Lowell parking tickets to pay before the month is up and also a funny noise coming from my car, my thoughts are on new shoes.

How is this even possible, some of you may ask? Sure, I have a lot of shoes. But some are open toed and it is just not acceptable to pull them out of the closet yet. It is very likely that I will find myself in the Macy's shoe department this weekend, credit card in hand, and my eye on a fabulous new pair of Jessica Simpsons.

Hey, at least I'm not obsessed with buying Manolos...Jessica Simpson shoes are priced decently enough for a waitress with parking tickets and car problems to afford. I know my desire for a new pair of heels won't budge until I finally purchase them...asap.

The Recession and Casual Dining

The recession that America is facing today raises many questions about how lives are affected both personally and in the work place. Retail stores and casual dining have been significantly hit by the recession. This is mainly because with so many of these restaurants around and the quality of food the same, people are beginning to branch out to other types of restaurants. Employees at a local TGI Fridays are being hit hard by the recession.

“The recession is definitely going to get worse before it gets better,” says Sue Buckley, the server manager at Fridays. One of the many jobs Sue is in charge of at Fridays is the server schedule, which she says she has had to make changes to. Lately, scattered timing has begun because of later business. Sue has also had to schedule less people on the floor and make earlier cuts to ensure that everyone can make as much money as possible.

Also, at once it was OK for a server to work overtime. Now Sue must make sure that no server goes over 40 hours a week. When asked whether or not the recession has effected business, Sue replied with, “Yes. Sales are already down. A usual Saturday night would pull in $16,000. Now, we average out between $12-14,000. Managers are now taking 5-6 shifts in the kitchen to save money”.


Bartenders at TGI Fridays are usually the ones who see the most money. Bojan Gavric has been a bartender for about two years. He works four days a week, and although he has not seen a decline in his amount of shifts, he has definitely seen a decline in business.

“People don’t have money so they cut out things they don’t need, such as going out to a bar and drinking”, says Gavric. Gavric currently owns his own condo and finds himself worrying about his ability to pay for it on his own in the next year. He says that living on his own is “very difficult due to the fact that my job is not something stable and secure. I could make good money one week, and the next make nothing. And my bills are always constant, always there”.


Servers at TGI Fridays are also experiencing a hard dose of reality from the recession. Megan Hand is 22 years old, lives in her own apartment, loves to shop and is currently feeling the heat from the decline in business.

When asked how the decline in business has affected her, Megan responded, “I have to be more careful about my expenses. I can’t impulsively buy anymore. Every dollar counts. The less money people have, the less they’re willing to give away”.

Megan also commented on the large number of coupons she has been receiving from customers. Fridays has been sending out lots of coupons to keep people coming back for a low price. Megan is trying to make the best out of the situation by “being wise about my spending habits. Less shoe shopping! Sadly, I cannot contribute to Jessica Simpson’s bank account right now. I have to save money and prepare financially for the future”.


Chad Williams, age 23, is also a server at Fridays and has seen dramatic effects. He has had to work more hours and not necessarily make more. He lives in Methuen, goes to school in Worcester and works in Woburn, and traveling to these three locations on a daily basis have made it difficult to save extra money.

Chad has noticed tip and check averages have decreased. “Peoples attitudes and dispositions are not as pleasant as usual”, says Chad.

These four employees of Fridays all have one thing in common. They are all hopeful for the future. They are well prepared for the future and know what they must do when the worst of it comes. In the meantime, servers should stay positive, save as much as possible, and know that things will begin to change eventually.

How Does a Shopaholic Survive a Recession?

Sarah Jessica Parker was recently quoted by E! News saying that if Carrie Bradshaw, her Sex and The City character, were around in this recession, she would "end up in a hospital". I think that many shopaholics can relate to this statement.

I am a waitress, student, and a shopaholic. These three things do not go well together. The recession has had a big impact on everything. Casual dining has suffered, and it so happens that the restaurant I work for is considered casual dining. It is rare to have a wait for tables lately at work. Less tables equals less pairs of shoes, which has been hard for me to deal with.

During this recession, it seems almost impossible to go to school full time, work five days a week, and pay down credit card debt. As I write this in class, I have to rush to work now. The five hours I'm about to work will probably buy me a new pair of shoes. More to come...