Have you seen the Wal-Mart ads on television that say how much you can save if you buy something at Wal-Mart versus going out to get it like saving so much by making breakfast at home versus going out to buy it? There is truth to that, but you have to remember that many of us don’t end up needing to go out for breakfast and in most multi-child households, cereal is the norm.

We all have to decipher between needs and wants in order to save money at the grocery store. Deciding to buy a box of cereal or going out every morning to buy breakfast is easy to decipher between.

Then there are times when we have to try really hard to decipher between the two. The easiest way to separate the two is to make a list to take to the store. This way you can see what you need and you can sit back and look at the list and get rid of anything that you might not need or that you can tell you simply want.

Sometimes we turn wants into needs at the grocery store and we can’t fall into that budget busting habit. If you go without a grocery list and say you want cookies, then you’ll need milk to go with them (This isn’t the best example, but you can understand what I mean). When you end up turning wants into needs, you will always leave the store paying more than you ever intended.

The only person who can tell you what is a need and what is a want is ultimately up to you. You can’t expect anyone else to tell you what you need, as we all have different needs with the exception of basics like water, food and shelter.

None of this means that you have to give up the things you want to save money, just cut back.

Do you remember when shopping on the internet was scary and mostly a really sketchy thing to do? I do. But now, shopping for just about anything on the internet has become not only acceptable and safe but (for the most part) much less expensive than shopping for things in stores.

I’ll give a good example for clothing purchases. I recently stopped into a store, that I typically shop at on the internet, but was with a friend of mine at a mall, and saw a pair of blue jeans that I had to have. Well, instead of buying them on site, I went to the retailer’s website on my cell phone, only to find out the jeans were discounted on the website and were only 2/3 of the price the store wanted. I was amazed.

This kind of thing happens all the time. You don’t have to be at a store in the mall to notice price difference between a retailer and its website. For example, if you want an item from Wal-Mart that isn’t food or things like toothpaste, they are typically cheaper on the Walmart.com website and the store offers free site-to-store shipping. One thing that kind of irritates me though is that the store will not accept the internet price in store.

There is also a lot more selection when it comes to shopping on the internet. Sometimes Bryce and I shop at Old Navy for our clothes because they are stylish and inexpensive, not to mention our kids like the clothes too. The problem is when we go to the store, it usually looks like it has been hit by a train. Everything is scattered all over the place, and the clearance section is particularly bad. But because Old Navy’s sizes are usually the same no matter what style you’re getting, we can shop for the clothes on the internet now. We usually save a bit of money there too because we’re actually able to find clothes that fit and we like in the clearance section.

When we’re shopping online, we don’t have to make the journey all the way across town to get to the store either, so we can save that money and save it, or spend it on something that we need like groceries.

These days, you can buy anything on the internet (and usually for cheaper too). While I wouldn’t buy it right now, Amazon sells groceries on its website. If you look, it is kind of like Costco.

The local Dollar Tree store may not be the first thing that comes to mind when I say “the place to be,” but it has really become a favorite spot of mine (and some of my frugal friends) when we’re looking for something that is inexpensive and we need it in a hurry.

The dollar store can typically save time and money for those on a budget, and for a lot of us even when we have money, time isn’t necessarily something we have to spare. I say that because it will only take five minutes to run into the “everything’s a dollar store” to get something that would take you at least half an hour to get from Target or Wal-Mart.

I personally think that the best time to go to the Dollar store over another store is when you are throwing a party like a wedding or baby shower.

Recently, I wanted to throw a friend of mine a baby shower. All the decorations for the shower came from the dollar store. It might sound like a “cheap” thing for a friend to do, but when it comes to streamers, balloons, and other cheap novelties, is there really a difference between what you will get at the dollar store for a buck and what you will get from Target for three? For $30 I was able to decorate my house, wrap her gifts from us, and also buy the ingredients to make the food (I didn’t buy the cake mix and stuff at the dollar store though). The best part is that everything turned out great.

I have found some pretty interesting things at the dollar store like name brand makeup, glass picture frames, drinking glasses, and dog toys. I think I’ve purchased all the cutting boards in my house from the dollar store.

I would really suggest for anyone trying to save here and there to check it out if you haven’t already. The stores really do have a lot more than plastic bins and off brand toothpaste. They have actual items that you can use.

Again, the key to being frugal here is to make sure that you actually use these items instead of just deciding that you need it while you’re there. Even a list for things that you need at the Dollar Tree can actually help you save a couple of dollars here and there.

Sometimes people do things that don’t necessarily make a lot of sense. Sometimes we put ourselves in the way of large crowds that will likely crush us or screaming teenagers that will make our ears bleed (New Moon is coming out tomorrow and for some reason or another I really want to go see it TOMORROW instead of waiting). Why do we do it?

Of course, this time of year has people thinking about Black Friday specials and sales. Because I am in the market for a laptop this year, I will likely be found camped outside one of the Best Buys within 2 hours of my house for the Sony Vaio that is going to be on sale that day. I have never camped outside a store for hours and hours for one of the big ticket items like this.

However, the crowds will form every single year regardless of what is on sale or what kind of tragedies happen the year before (last year the crowd of people at a Wal-Mart in New York trampled one of the employees to death and injured others). I have been in line before two years ago waiting for a Nintendo Wii and had a man walk into the store just because there was a crowd. He didn’t know what was on sale or why the people were there, but he stood in line as well.

There are going to be some measures that stores like Wal-Mart will be taking this year to try to hopefully make sure that people aren’t killing each other this year, but I’m just not looking forward to the fight for the laptops.

Then again, I know exactly why people will be camped outside some Best Buy stores DAYS before Black Friday…To save money. There are plenty of people out there with loads of time and little money who still want to buy Christmas gifts. The laptop I am after is selling for $399 or $479 with a blu-ray player. Anywhere around the internet, just with a brief search the NW series from Sony often costs around $700. I think I can stand in line for a few hours to save that much money, but I think the one thing that I’m worried about is that I’ll miss out on it.

I have, in the past, always gone to Wal-Mart on Black Friday to “people watch”. There is something strangely entertaining about watching people rip open plastic and push and shove people out of the way to get some towels, sheets, or a Barbie doll. Last year, I saw madness for EVERYTHING that the store had on sale. I didn’t ever think I would see people hurt each other over fake Christmas Trees, but it happened.

Overall, I believe that Black Friday is more about the frenzy than sales. If you follow some of the “deal” websites on the internet, then you can see that there are places throughout the year when you can find GREAT deals on things that are offered on Black Friday.

Are you going to slow down on spending this year?

Question:

Christmas and the rest of the holiday season is just around the corner. Do you plan on spending less this year than last year?

Answer:

I am likely not going to be buying as much this year as last year. I was considering giving family members cookie tins rather than gifts they may or may not like. I also find that homemade cookies are a bit more thoughtful than a cheap gift set of bath fizzies from Target or Wal-Mart could be. I am investing my time into the cookies rather than mindlessly shopping for a “coverall” gift.

In the small town where I was relocated to my junior year of high school, there was a record store. At first it was a Sam Goody store, but then it became a FYE. Now it may likely become another hole in the wall, like the millions of other strip mall stores that have gone out of business over the past year or so.

Trans World Entertainment said that it will close 125 FYE stores by the end of the holiday season. The one area that it said it would spare is the Albany, New York area.

The company has not released a list of the stores that are scheduled to close.

I will say that if the store in the town I’m talking about closes, it is a pretty sad day for me. That was the store I purchased my first Flickerstick CD in (and while they are no where near the most famous band ever, they are still my favorite, 10 years later. This is also the store I bought my first Maroon5 CD in, before Harder to Breathe was a huge hit on the radio). If that FYE store goes out of business, there are a lot of memories that will go with the store.

565 stores will remain on the Trans World list. However, most of the stores will likely run at bare minimum like most of the stores do these days. It is hard for a record shop to compete with a store like Wal-Mart or, in bigger towns, Best Buy, Hot Topic, etc.

The only reason I think that Hot Topic is a competitor is because of the merchandise that the store carries.

I hope that Trans World can recover its losses and not have to close so many stores. It really sucks to see a lot of record stores closing. Where else can you by albums by bands that don’t exist outside top 40 radio?  A lot of independent record stores have also had to close thier doors over the past few years due to the serious decline in record sales.

Have you “cheaped out” during the recession?

Question:

Since the recession has started (or rather, since you have felt it in your own wallet) have you been purchasing items that are cheaper than what you normally purchase that may have the same use?

Answer:

In a short answer, yes. I have been buying makeup that isn’t as “name brand” as usual. While my friend has a collection of MAC that is growing, I am using NYX and other drugstore makeup brands. I am also extending the savings onto grocery products. I have been trying more and more “Great Value” products from Wal-Mart. They really aren’t that bad. Of course, I have said over and over that my favorite generic is the Kroger brands. The Kroger Spaghetti sauce is my favorite…it’s better than any of the national brands in my opinion and 50 cents cheaper on average.

Upbeat shoppers led to an increase in retail stores’ increase in sales for October. Some say that the shoppers were enticed by signs of an improving economy and getting a head start on holiday shopping.

Retail numbers were up across the board; with stores like Costco doing well as well as designer brands. The stores that did the best were Costco Wholesale (which operates T.J. Maxx as well as Marshalls), Saks, and Nordstrom. One of the stores that one would think would do well when consumers go back to spending would be Wal-Mart, but the store doesn’t issue monthly sales reports anymore so finding out how it did simply isn’t possible. The next report from it will be the fourth quarter report, which will not only tell about October’s sales but also November and December.

According to MSNBC, the reason that business was up for October had something to do with the cool weather and people’s need for cold weather clothes. Early holiday discounts also brought in the shoppers and it seemed like people were a bit less reluctant to purchase items.

Sales figures are up from October 2008. However, when looking at October 2008′s sales figures, consumer spending simply dropped off. With a bit more optimism about the economy, there is more spending now than there was then, and it will likely continue through the holiday season if the economic conditions continue to improve.

Source

Raking leaves, pumpkin pie, scarves; all of these remind me of Fall. One other thing that reminds me of Fall is the consumer driven Black Friday holiday. Wal-Mart is actually one of my favorite places to go on Black Friday, not because I want a big ticket item, but because it is so fun to people-watch at Wal-Mart (the store I shop at is in a small town).

This year, Wal-Mart wants to completely corner the retail market; on everything form big screen televisions to turkey.

Turkeys are going on sale across the country at Wal-Mart for 40 cents per pound beginning November 4th. According to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation, that is 1/3 of last year’s turkey price. Along with turkey, Wal-Mart will be reducing prices on canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and red potatoes. You may also be able to find deals on rolls and pumpkin cake. The goal is to have a $20 meal that can serve eight people.

Another thing that the retailer is doing is having smaller sales during some weekends until Christmas where you can get big discounts on big ticket items. This weekend, you can buy a HP laptop for $300 and a 42″ Sharp LCD TV for $500. While the laptop is not exactly the best on the market, you can get a 15.6″ laptop for the same price that many people are paying for netbooks, and I promise that the HP will out perform any of the netbooks that Wal-Mart has.

Wal-Mart, although it is a huge company, has had its stock slip 11% this year. Even after it announced the price drops earlier, the stock still slid a bit. What really matters is after the holiday season when all the retailers will tally up how they did.

There aren’t too many Black Friday ads out as of today, not a lot that have leaked anyway. The rumors are going around, however, that this year will have decent sales to get people to come in and spend money. The retail stores really need for people to spend a lot of money this year (even though this will likely be another bad Christmas season).

If you have gone to the grocery store recently and wanted to pick up a few Cokes you may have noticed the prices of Coca Cola products are outrageous. This is one of my reasons why I stopped drinking soda, but this is also why Coca Cola has posted a profit growth of 15% for the third quarter.

The Atlanta based company reported a net income of $247 million and earnings equaling out to 50 centers per share. This is up from the third quarter 2008, when the company posted a net income of $214 million and an earnings of 44 cents per share.

Of course the company is going to be posting higher profits this year, the cost of a 12 pack of any Coke product has jumped from $3 to $4.50 at my local Wal-Mart. This week you can find them on sale at Walgreens for 4 12 packs for $10, that is the cheapest I have seen Coke products for in months. Even in the 24 pack cases that are sold at Wal-Mart, they have been around $7 for a while.

This was one of my reasons why I should definitely stop drinking sodas; it was getting to be a very expensive habit and since it is the only thing that I had to have to avoid negative side effects (those awful caffeine withdrawal headaches that would happen after I decided to not have a Diet Coke before noon), I decided it would have to stop.

Wal-Mart is getting in on the prepaid craze. With AT&T offering a unlimited talk and text plan for $60 per month, someone had to come around and step up their game.

Wal-Mart is starting up it’s own “Straight Talk” service that will ride off of TracFone’s service. The service starts at just $30 per month and a user can get unlimited talk, text AND DATA for $45 per month.

The service goes on sale starting October 18th. It will offer not only nationwide coverage, but it will also offer unlimited 411 usage.

Of course, like most other prepaid carriers, the phone options will be quite limited. You won’t see any cutting edge phones avaiable for purchase on any of these types of services. That probably has something to do with how cheap the plans plus data are. If everyone had an iPhone or another more advanced phone on the plan, then it would eat data and Wal-Mart would likely be losing money. However, with the not-as-advanced phones, these are great options for text-happy teenagers.

With prepaid plans like these popping up, I can definitely see post paid plans taking a hit. These aren’t just regional plans, they are nationwide plans with great coverage. For example AT&T is one of the only carriers that have coverage at my parent’s house in rural Mississippi. I was completely in the dark when I had T-Mobile and went to visit them.

I would like to see more competition with post-paid plans because that’s where the more desirable phones are. That’s what I’m after in the end…I want good coverage and a great phone for a reasonable price. That’s why I’m with Sprint. The price really overcame the company’s phone selection and the coverage is awesome when compared to the T-Mobile phone I had previously.

Would you switch from your post paid plan to a prepaid plan to get in on the deals? How about you prepaid plan people…How do you like your service? How much does a more advanced phone matter to you?

I haven’t used a check at a grocery store in years. I have always used a credit or debit card when I’m out because it’s 1) faster and 2) more convenient. Chris and I have a collection of checks built up just so we can send off our cable, electricity, and gas bill every month but other than that, we never use checks.

There are more frustrating things that go on at the grocery store, but when you’re stuck behind someone who is writing a check it can also be quite irritating, especially if you only have a few items and you have your card ready. Of course, incidents like that have really become less frequent than a few years ago, but every now and then you will get the person who wants to write a check.

Really, when you think about it, writing a check at stores like Wal-Mart have become a moot point. After all, when you write a check, even if you fill the whole thing out and waste everyone’s time, the store runs the check like a debit card. It is electronic now and this way the stores are protecting themselves somewhat from check fraud.

I get annoyed when I see someone pull out a check book at the very end of their grocery store trip. Once everything is rung up and it’s time to pay is NOT the time to look for your checkbook in your gigantic purse; if you’re going to go ahead and pay with a check, perhaps you should have it ready before the entire order is finished. It’s not a surprise that you have to pay at the end. /end rant

I wish stores would ban checks for a number of reasons. I know that there are a few arguments in favor of check writing, like it is easier to keep up with your bank balance when you write a check. However, even that argument is somewhat flawed because you may record a deposit in your check book, but now banks are depositing checks whenever they want to and not necessarily in the order that you actually put them in the bank.

Blockbuster is one of those businesses that has been greatly unable to find its place in the digital age. There was once a time when people would have memberships to the rental store and need to go to a store and rent something instead of using NetFlix and ordering it over the internet or running to a RedBox to get the newest releases on DVD.

Blockbuster, obviously, hasn’t been performing well and in a statement released yesterday says that the ailing movie rental company will be closing nearly 1,000 stores to help cut costs. This is double the amount that it originally intended to close from a prior statement.

So, other than the obvious, what’s wrong with Blockbuster? Well, in my opinion, the main weakness of this company is its lack of diversification. The lack of diversification in its product offerings has left it trailing the newcomers to the business and it has had to try and keep up. Blockbuster offers nothing except movie and video game rentals. Sure, you could go to the store to pick up a 20 ounce Coke and a bag of popcorn, but why?

Another problem is that time and time again, customers leave the store unhappy because the store never has the movie they were looking for in stock. I don’t know how many times I’ve walked into a Blockbuster and been disappointed when I went to pick up a copy of whatever New Release I wanted at the time only to find an entire wall of stock outs.

Then, DVD’s have gotten so inexpensive that it actually costs more to rent some movies than it does to buy the movie. As much as I don’t want to admit it, three years ago I was able to buy Austin Powers for $3.50 brand new from Wal-Mart (I know this because it is still in the shrink wrap and has a price tag on it). To rent it from Blockbuster would be closer to $5 after tax.

Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer and with that title it has a lot of room to demand certain things from its suppliers. The retail giant is now demanding that suppliers measure the environmental cost of making their products so it can calculate and post an eco-rating for the items.

While it is quite an ambitious project, it will likely cause other retailers and companies to redesign products in the future to be more environmentally conscious. Those environmentally conscious shoppers won’t likely see the eco ratings on products for many years, but the fact that Wal-Mart is taking an initiative is likely to still stir the competition.

In the first phase of the program, Wal-Mart will give suppliers a 12 question quiz about things like water usage. There are currently 12 universities working to create this quiz and gather scientific data.

The move coincides with Congress talking about possibly putting environmental labels on items. However, getting Wal-Mart to do it before it even hits the floor would get it done in a much faster manner.

Retail industry consultant Burt P. Flickinger III said he applauds the program but worries how it will affect suppliers. New labeling and product redesign can increase a product’s cost by 1 percent to 3 percent, he said.

“Suppliers are going to have to absorb the cost increases,” he said.

Flickinger also said the new ratings will add value in environmentally conscious regions like California and New England. But shoppers in other areas who focus more keenly on low prices may not appreciate it as much.

Wal-Mart has been seen as a corporate bully in the past to get things done their way, and it hasn’t always been in the best interest of the consumer, but with the retailer looking to get suppliers to do this, then not only is is good for the consumer, but it’s good for the environment.

Source

All across the country as big-box retailers, and many smaller ones, close their doors for good, they are leaving behind their empty store buildings and the building owners are having a really hard time trying to fill the empty walls.

Stores like the Home Depot in Bismark, North Dakota have left very little room for new potential buyers due to the very customized warehouse style building meant for the retailer.

So as more stores close their doors, many residents are having do deal with giant empty shells of what used to be stores, which are an eyesore, as well as the lost jobs and tax revenue.

Some buyers are finding ways to make the buildings usable. If you look at one in Minnesota, it became a Spam Museum, another in Texas, a indoor go-cart track. In Mississippi, an old Wal-Mart became a church. While less tax revenue is generated from the stores, at least there is some kind of tax benefit to be had as well as the fact that the building isn’t just sitting empty in the city.

The worst offenders are the big-box retailers that have gone into bankruptcy like Circuit City and Linens-N-Things. These retailers often had pretty large stores, and the look of Circuit City stores were often very customized for their company.

Some of the empty buildings have been converted for other uses, but some future tenants can be limited by the retail chain that once owned the building. Former retailers can sign leases that can keep competitors from moving into the building and are willing to pay for an empty building for longer than necessary.

“We are handing in excess of 2,000 locations for some 50-odd retailers, said Michael Burden, a principal with Excess Space Retail. “The square footage is in the tens of millions.”

Home Depot, for example, closed 15 underperforming stores last year, and 41 its smaller home improvement brands, including Expo Design Centers and YardBIRDS.

“The goal is to sell or lease the property as quickly as possible,” said Ron DeFeo, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based Home Depot. “The last thing we want is to see an empty store in a community — it’s a difficult enough decision to close a store in the community.”

In Frankfort, Ky., an empty Home Depot is adjacent to a sign welcoming visitors to the city.

Focusing on the positive, Phil Kerrick, economic development director for the city and Franklin County, says, “It’s a great building, in good shape and in a good location.”

Frankfort, Kentucky’s capital city, has dealt with vacant big box space before, when Lowe’s Cos. moved into a bigger box in town. The building was converted to a state office building.

As a sign of the times, in my city, an old Goody’s Family Clothing store was converted into a Goodwill drop off and retail location.

When someone brings up Wal-Mart in conversation, what do you immediately think? Some people probably have memories of cheap clothes and off brand food items, or even low quality items. The truth is, even with a negative image of Wal-Mart in our minds, we still shop there and its competition has definitely taken notice.

Other companies like Target and even Family Dollar Stores have started implementing some of the same practices Wal-Mart has had for years. If you’ve noticed, there have been more and more “Super Target” stores popping up that sell grocery items just like Wal-Mart. Now, in my opinion, the offerings from Target are a bit more high quality and definitely less “everyday” like Archer Farm’s foods.

One of the main reasons why Target didn’t start this policy in the past is because retail items such as clothing have a higher profit margin than food items. However, it is seen now that if you can get a customer in the door with food items, then perhaps they will also start purchasing the other items with the higher profit margins at your store as well.

Target was once known for its inexpensive, yet stylish, clothing. Wal-Mart has since followed suit introducing the clothing lines George and even getting clothing maker L.E.I. to start making juniors clothing for the stores. So, once Wal-Mart has the customer in the door, then that customer is more likely to buy an item from the LEI brand than Merona or a Target brand.

However, from now on I will be doing all of my shopping for fresh items such as produce and meats from stores other than Wal-Mart. The last few times I have purchased either of these from a local Wal-Mart, they spoiled well before their time. On Wednesay June 3, I stopped by the nearest Wal-Mart to pick up some treats for my dog’s birthday and I noticed that seedless watermelons were on sale. I picked one up because my husband and I both like watermelon. Later that night, we went to cut it open and it was completely spoiled and waterlogged. The weekend of Memorial Day a similar situation happened with sirloin steak from Wal-Mart; when we went to cook the steaks before the use by date, they were also ruined. That time, I got sick from the food, even after cooking it until it was “well-done.”

The watermelon situation was the final incident, I will be buying those items, at a premium, from my local Kroger store or from a farmer’s market.

When someone brings up Wal-Mart in conversation, what do you immediately think? Some people probably have memories of cheap clothes and off brand food items, or even low quality items. The truth is, even with a negative image of Wal-Mart in our minds, we still shop there and its competition has definitely taken notice.

Other companies like Target and even Family Dollar Stores have started implementing some of the same practices Wal-Mart has had for years. If you’ve noticed, there have been more and more “Super Target” stores popping up that sell grocery items just like Wal-Mart. Now, in my opinion, the offerings from Target are a bit more high quality and definitely less “everyday” like Archer Farm’s foods.

One of the main reasons why Target didn’t start this policy in the past is because retail items such as clothing have a higher profit margin than food items. However, it is seen now that if you can get a customer in the door with food items, then perhaps they will also start purchasing the other items with the higher profit margins at your store as well.

Target was once known for its inexpensive, yet stylish, clothing. Wal-Mart has since followed suit introducing the clothing lines George and even getting clothing maker L.E.I. to start making juniors clothing for the stores. So, once Wal-Mart has the customer in the door, then that customer is more likely to buy an item from the LEI brand than Merona or a Target brand.

However, from now on I will be doing all of my shopping for fresh items such as produce and meats from stores other than Wal-Mart. The last few times I have purchased either of these from a local Wal-Mart, they spoiled well before their time. On Wednesay June 3, I stopped by the nearest Wal-Mart to pick up some treats for my dog’s birthday and I noticed that seedless watermelons were on sale. I picked one up because my husband and I both like watermelon. Later that night, we went to cut it open and it was completely spoiled and waterlogged. The weekend of Memorial Day a similar situation happened with sirloin steak from Wal-Mart; when we went to cook the steaks before the use by date, they were also ruined. That time, I got sick from the food, even after cooking it until it was “well-done.”

The watermelon situation was the final incident, I will be buying those items, at a premium, from my local Kroger store or from a farmer’s market.

Consumer confidence is one of those leading economic indicators mentioned in yesterday’s A Lesson in Recession, and it is rising! Despite jobless numbers that consumers have cared so much about that also causes money issues, combined with low home prices, consumer confidence is on the rise. The humorous thing is that it has not increased actual spending yet. “Consumers are not likely to spend just because they think things will get better,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia. “They will actually have to see them get better.”

To best describe the economy’s current challenges, a closely monitored housing index released Tuesday showed home prices fell at the sharpest rate ever in the first quarter, though the drop-off was worse as a combined figure at the beginning of the quarter. Americans are also fighting an unemployment rate that’s expected to climb to 9.2 percent by the end of the month, up from 8.9 percent, as companies lay off more workers.

What you are likely seeing here is that the normal Macy’s shopper is okay with getting her jeans from Wal-Mart. People who have never looked at a coupon in their lives are now considering even clipping a few. Consumer confidence is up, but the amount being spent does not reflect it because people finally understand the concept of conservation. The fear is that this conservation is at the wrong time. When consumer confidence goes up, we hope that people will buy the price inflated Guess jeans or something instead of being okay with Wrangler from Wal-Mart. More money circulating through the economy, even if it is from inflated designer prices, is the key here, and for the first time in a long time we are just not seeing it.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index’s 14.1-point surge to 54.9, following another big gain in April, is encouraging. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting 42.3. Just a few months ago, in February, confidence levels had hit a new historic low of 25.3. May’s confidence level is the highest since eight months ago when it was 61.4. The levels are also closer to the 58.1 we had just last May before the recession began, though this is still far from healthy. A reading above 90 means the economy is on solid footing. The Consumer Confidence Index is determined by a mail survey of a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households from May 1 to May 19.

The consumer confidence report offered encouraging news to merchants and customers, after confidence plummeted to historic lows late last year causing so many retail establishments to run into so many problems and discouraging spending. Consumer confidence sank to a measly 38.8 in October after the recession began, when we were still arguing about what to call it, at that time lowest level since The Conference Board started tracking the data. It has fallen even lower since then. Thankfully, the recent two-month stock rally has helped spur dramatic rebounds in April and May, restoring a sense of strength that may bring us out of the recession quicker than expected.

Retail giant Wal-Mart has settled with U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA for short, following being cited for the death of a temporary worker during a stampede at a Black Friday deal at a Long Island, New York store.

Jdimytai Damour lost his life on November 28, 2008 after he was crushed after being trampled by shoppers looking for deals after Thanksgiving.

OSHA cited Wal-Mart for inadequate crowd control at the Long Island store. Wal-Mart was slapped with a small $7,000 fine. Sadly, that is about how much the store makes in about 18 seconds.

The crowd was unruly and numerous. It was estimated that 2,000 people showed up for the sales that day. They broke down the doors to the store and trampled Damour. Eleven others were injured in the stampede.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said that the company disagrees with the citation.

“There is no OSHA retail industry guidance that would have alerted us to this type of unforeseeable hazard. We expect to resolve this matter in a constructive manner that fosters the safety and well being of our associates,” said Moore.

The citation is nothing more than a blemish to Wal-Mart’s record. $7,000 is a tiny, insignificant fine when compared to the company’s earnings (which were $3 billion in the past quarter). With the news about the stampede, and Wal-Mart facing this public relations nightmare, the store agreed to pay somewhere around $2 million to improve safety at New York stores. Wal-Mart also agreed to start a $400,000 fund for those injured in the stampede.

Wal-Mart has also agreed to begin improving security at events such as post Thanksgiving Day sales.

I personally do not feel as though the citation from OSHA was enough. However, I do understand that it was the maximum fine that they could rule. I also don’t like that Wal-Mart isn’t just keeping its spokes “mouth” shut regarding the fine. I don’t honestly feel that anyone cares that the company doesn’t agree with the fine.

I know that Wal-Mart is facing a public relations nightmare at this point. There has been so much negative publicity surrounding the company and its lack of crowd management, however, it is not the only entity to blame for this situation.

What about the thousands of people who were so careless that they trampled a man to death and injured eleven others, one of whom was pregnant?

The attorney general was considering a criminal case against Wal-Mart, but not even citing those people who were at the store is ok? To me, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If they can figure out who is using credit cards at a cash register with video cameras, they can see who is entering the store too.

5.1 million jobs were lost nationwide since the recession began, everywhere from technological corporations like Northrup Grumman to fast food chains like McDonald’s. With the current unemployment rate the highest it has been since your dad used to pack his lunch and head off to the steel mill during the Carter administration, it is easy to become one of those “discouraged workers” they talk about that do not factor into the unemployment rate.

As of the middle of April, some Fortune 100 companies have over 150 openings. Yes, a lot of big companies are cutting their work forces. In fact, some of the companies that are hiring are also cutting jobs at the same time. The point is not that they can hire. It’s what they can hire. After a good look at the top 100 of this year’s Fortune 500 list, at least 28 are hiring with at least 150 job openings.

Wal-Mart is hiring to fill new locations. They are hiring executives in their Bentonville, Arkansas office, local store managers, human resource managers, pharmacists, local customer service associates, and cashiers. Look for a “Super Wal-Mart” or a brand new Wal-Mart that just opened.

Okay, this one sounds a little hokey based on the article just posted here yesterday about Hewlett-Packard cutting manufacturing jobs, but during those cuts, HP is also hiring. They are looking for information technology (IT) professionals, human resource managers, research and development executives, marketing professionals, financiers and administrators. The key here is that they are trying to cut back on manufacturing payroll because sales are down. They are hiring for higher level and development jobs because they understand that in the ever changing technology field, they need the best college educated professionals to help their planning move forward. When the recession is ending, they want to come out on top of the computer business with some of the best products and services to blow their competition right out of the way. If you put in a résumé and get that job, you are looking at a long-term job that will help HP come back on top and ensure job security until you are telling your grandchildren stories about that old recession of 2008.

Positions are available with Bank of America in several areas including consumer banking, small business banking, credit cards, home loans, global banking, wealth management, technology, human resources, finance, communications, marketing and administration. Now that they are in much better shape, the job offers are out there again. They are expanding, hoping they can raise even more business capital and come out ahead in the banking game and do it early.

State Farm Insurance is hiring new insurance agents. There are positions in a variety of areas including claims and underwriting, finance, accounting and legal. The company aims to add 800 to 1000 new agent positions across the country, specifically in the Northeast, Texas and California.

Other companies hiring for similar positions include Wellpoint, Boeing, Microsoft, MetLife, UPS, Medco Health Solutions, Lowe’s, Time Warner, Sears, Supervalu, Johnson Controls, GMAC, Comcast Cable, Northrup Grumman, Coca-Cola, New York Life Insurance, Aetna, Motorola, Abbott Laboratories, General Dynamics, Prudential Financial, Humana, Liberty Mutual, and HCA. Interestingly enough, a lot of the areas that companies are hiring in correlate perfectly with an article that I wrote earlier this month. See The Most Financially Productive Areas to Live for more on that.

Anyway, today the Consumerist had a story about a man whose wife went to Wal-Mart in Las Vegas. When she came out she found a note on her windshield, handwritten, that said “Please call me about your car” and there was a number left on the paper.

Well, it was simply an awful way to get the woman to try to trade in her car for a new Dodge or Chrysler.

This is just an awful way to attempt to bring in new customers. If I got a flyer on my car that said that and it turned out to be just a way to advertise, I would never go to that dealership.

Source: The Consumerist “Dirty Tricks: Desperate Chrysler Dealership Resorts to Stupid Scare Tactics…”

As well as changing the design of packaging to be consistent across the store, the retail giant plans on introducing almost 100 new products to compete with popular national brands. It plans to start producing new flavors of fat-free ice cream and thin crust pizza as well as many other items.

There has been an increase in store brand sales since the beginning of the recession. As families try to save money, it becomes easier for them to buy a similar store brand item for (sometimes) much less than the price of a national brand.

Store brands also take advantage of national brand marketing because it is so easy for Wal-Mart to put its own items directly next to national brands and have consumers see both prices side by side.

The discount retailer, which has more than 1.4 million employees, said the amount it pays will depend on how many claims are submitted by eligible workers and could range from $352 million to $640 million. – AP

Wal Mart has been trying to clean up its image and hopefully it will pay off. It is trying to get customers (and potential customers) to see its stores as a bit higher quality than in the past. It says that part of the clean up is to finalize these lawsuits.

The happy ending to the story is that when Target heard about this story, they contacted him and told him that he could trade in his Wal-Mart cards for Target cards and pass them out at their store.