Personal finance news in a nutshell: Profiting from necessary evils

I don't mess with stocks. Glad yours are doing well.

The only stock I own is for a dometic utility company that has been around a long time....It is worth more now than when the stock was given to me by my mom 12 years ago, but less than at its peak just a few years ago.....I don't touch it nor the dividends and they have been sitting there reinvesting themselves for 12 years....

Alcohol sales do unfortunately go up during tougher economic times. They are already doing so, at least in the store that my better half manages and you are right, most of it is domestic labels.

I read an interesting article about frugality and all that in US News and World Report this morning.... A new frugality could remake the U.S. economy—and American life

Good article Cybergwen....

We got rid of our credit cards about 6 years ago. The only "credit" cards we use are our check/debit cards issued by our bank. This way we ensure that we don't spend when there is no $$$ in our accounts.

It took us a while to pay down the cards and we will never get caught in that trap again....and what is ironic is that the charges to the cards were necessary at the time and not just "exercising our rights to 'consumerism'" ;-)

So true Cybergwen.

Nice to see that you've been using the old compound interest trick Sonia. Great to hear you've been able to make steady gains (other than those accounting for a stock market readjustment) that way.

Yes, I've read that during economic hardships, the place to put your money is in alcohol, ciggs & gambling. I just have no idea how to even buy a stock. Investing is one place where I really lack!

Great link Cybergwen. One quote in the piece really stood out for me: Consumers were "so glutted on everything that they had acquired and all the time that was robbed from them...that they almost saw this [downturn] as a great opportunity to stop," says Faith Popcorn, chief executive of her eponymous consultancy.

So true! The article is a well-written piece providing a great overview of the American consumer outlook today.

Actually Michelle K., according to the article I linked to in my post, gambling is down. A few casinos are going through bankruptcy proceedings as well. That's counterintuitive to previous downturns, from what I understand, but it's a good thing in my book. At least if people are spending on the other "necessary evils," they're assured they'll get something tangible for their money.

I enjoyed Practically Posh!

Right on April H.

P.S. If you post a comment on my review, Book Contest: "Practically Posh" is Practically Perky, you'll be eligible to win your very own copy of the new book "Practically Posh."

Kool.

Good for you

very interesting info

Nope - its the weak dollar, makes american products cheap.

Sales of domestic beer are down, at least if you listen to BUD and TAP.
Its distilled spirits and craft brews that are the best sellers right now.

Gaming is down bvecause air travel is down.

Gaming stocks are almost an exact hedge to energy.

I was hoping that you'd come out for this one Pat! Great perspective on domestic beer sales. Indeed, local micro brews are doing well here -- they're more expensive than Bud, but less expensive than any of the imports, and they give that "I'm drinking a good beer" sense of luxury.

But even the mainstream brewers, like Bud and Miller, are rolling out their own craft-beer lines. I wonder if this won't be like Frito Lay, which swooped in and bought out the regional craft-chip manufacturers to create a dominate (though more pedestrian) national potato and corn chip brand.

RE: Gaming stocks are almost an exact hedge to energy.

Good to know!!! I guess, from the consumer standpoint, if you don't have air conditioning or lights, you might as well head out to cool casino to gamble and get free drinks....

It helps my business.

I used to own and operate a liquor store. It took the place of our former gift shop. I found it to be recession proof. When things are good, people drink to celebrate. When things are bad, they drink to drown their sorrows.
The times of the year dictate their purchases. Light colored alcohol in warm weather, as that variety blends better with the more fruity or frozen drinks. Dark liquors are more for winter warmers.
White or rose wine are chilled to be served, therefore they tend to be for warm weather. Red, dark or dry wine is served at room temperature, so they are more for cooler weather.
However, there are many people who buy a 6-pack or more of beer every day, no matter what time of year it is. Those are creatures of habit and will never change.
People seem to smoke more when the economy is bad.

Your perspective is so valuable here LaRue. The take-home for the investor? That's for them to decide. I tell you what though, I'll be researching dark liquor and red wine producers to add to my winter portfolio, for sure!

I checked out "your business" Ron B.. It's at http://www.21stcare.com/. Sobering indeed!

You've talked me into getting that book! I don't know whether to feel happy or depressed about the fact that we just talked to our financial advisor for one of our retirement funds, one that has a company match (a small match but hey..any match is better than none, right?) In any case, turns out that if we change our portfolio to a more conservative one, we'll end up with more guaranteed funds at retirement than leaving it alone.

Due to our ages, we are playing it safe. The fund lost $2000 in the last year and that makes me jittery. So we are not keeping the stock options that might pay off eventually (sigh). However, we have risk in other investments elsewhere so I'm not feeling too upset about it. The fund is our conservative hedge. It is amazing what putting aside $500 a month can do in only a few years when there is a company match! Shocking, even, how quickly the savings can add up.

Even so, I think we'll be living the glam life on a tight budget in years to come. We are used to saving money. Also, it doesn't hurt that the eggplants in my garden have decided to produce a bumper crop. We've been eating some variation of eggplant casserole or stir fry or parmigiana several times a week, very filling. I even froze some.

We are also getting longterm health care insurance. I was on the fence about that but some recent scares with elderly family members and some number crunching of "worst case scenairios" made me realize that having longterm health care insurance could keep some people from going bankrupt and even pass on some money to future generations. It'd also help keep the health care burden from being passed on to our children or other taxpayers. So I'm biting the bullet and getting some. Hope it helps.

I guess investing in domestic beers would be a good investment at this time. Never would have thought about investing in something I wouldn't personally touch, but it makes sense.

RE: (a small match but hey..any match is better than none, right?)

So true Jo C. Sounds like you've been able to sock quite a bit away, relatively painlessly too! It's a good idea to have a conservative hedge, especially with funds you plan to use for your retirement. Oh, and congrats on the eggplant harvest! What a bounty!

I'm a fan of long-term care insurance myself. I haven't looked at the numbers myself, but do know that it's fairly cheap -- and worlds cheaper than having to pay $7,000 per month cash-out-of-pocket for some of the places my grandmother is looking at down in California.

P.S. That's what we're here for Rae M. ; )