Crunch Creep

10:16 UK time, Wednesday, 30 July 2008

Forget the decline in mortgage loans, rising inflation and sliding consumer confidence, for the real impact of the credit crunch consider this: tupperware sales are up, takeaways down.

That's according to Sainsbury's - one of many organisations to draw a direct link between trends under its roof and the consternation in the wider financial world.

Almost a year after the financial markets started to witness a squeeze on the one commodity that for insiders had begun to assume mythical properties of inexhaustability - cash - hardly any aspect of life seems to have been left untouched by the growing tendrils of the downturn.

So, true to its name, the Monitor is launching a regular watch on unlikely, sometimes highly doubtful, reported effects of the credit crunch. And it's appealing for your help - if you see a trend, however small and seemingly insignificant, being hitched up to the credit crunch bandwagon, and frankly the whole set up strikes you as a bit odd, send it in using the COMMENTS button below this post, preferably with a URL linking to where you saw it.

Of course, the Crunch has given way to an array of gloomy financial conditions in recent months - but, maybe because of its alliterative appeal, the phrase "credit crunch" has morphed into a catch-all phrase for the financial slowdown. Among the more eyebrow-raising events recently laid at its door, are the following:

Middle class children are becoming more withdrawn as their families struggle to cope with the financial squeeze (Times Educational Supplement (25 July)
The obsession with celebrity is slowing as wealth exerts less fascination; fiddling work expenses is becoming "tacky"; divorce rates among the very wealthy are growing; English holidays and allotments are enjoying a surge in popularity (Independent, 22 July)
More pets are being dumped (Bournemouth Echo, 25 July)
Sales of lipstick and fake tan are up by more than a half on last year (Observer, 26 July)
Wooden toys, teddy bears and spinning tops are putting on sales at Hamleys as people seek to buy "things that last longer" Times, 19 July)
Beer sales are down to levels last seen in the Great Depression (Daily Mirror, 28 July)

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1. At 11:37am on 30 Jul 2008, C1_Backload wrote:
A local shop is selling Pasta Making machines.... how much can you save by making your own?????

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2. At 12:25pm on 30 Jul 2008, SimonRooke wrote:
Ofcom fines up at record levels.

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3. At 12:30pm on 30 Jul 2008, vixmixrx wrote:
I was looking for a motorbike and the owner of the shop tells me that sales of 125 bikes and mopeds are booming. He can hardly keep up with demand. More and more customers are telling him that they are getting rid of their "other car"

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4. At 12:32pm on 30 Jul 2008, MRDubya79 wrote:
I've seen a number of trends rise through observing my own behaviour, my family, friends, colleagues, and of course reading news. Such as...

#Growing your own vegetables.
#Keeping livestock, mainly chickens.
#Shopping at markets/stalls for other sundries and clothes.
#Taking lunch to work.
#Repairing personal items rahter than replacing.
#Performing your own car maintenance.
#Doing your own work on or around the house.
#Using Aucitions more be it local or electronic.
#Using alternative transport such as mopeds, bicycles or just walking.
#Moving onto Pay as Go contracts for various services.
#Changing Direct Debits to Standing Orders.
#Moonlighting or just changing jobs for greater pay.

The list is almost endless, and just about most of those I've done myself.

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5. At 12:48pm on 30 Jul 2008, lerjulian wrote:
To C1_Backload - i don't think you save any money making your own pasta. it's very labour intensive when done on a small scale .....

... but the taste is incredible - especially when you don't skimp on the egg yolks ;)

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6. At 1:21pm on 30 Jul 2008, HannaH_S_1 wrote:
On Aston Villa's VitalFootball forums the credit crunch is being blamed for Villa being useless at football!

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7. At 1:36pm on 30 Jul 2008, AnalyticZeitgeist wrote:
Almost related;

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-needs-inflation-targeting-when-we.html

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8. At 1:43pm on 30 Jul 2008, tcooked wrote:
Purveyors of seed must be rubbing their hands with glee.
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/22/foodanddrink.food

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9. At 3:07pm on 30 Jul 2008, EngineeredSunshine wrote:
More people going to the gym.....?

My gym has been packed in recent weeks. I know that I am going more because:

- I am committed to spending that money every month anyway, so I might as well use it

and

- Its cheaper (for the above reason) than going to the cinema to kill an evening or two during the week.

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10. At 3:44pm on 30 Jul 2008, TadpoleThe1st wrote:
I can back up the daily mirror's comments re the beer. I work in the alcohol industry and it's appalling - 4 pubs a day are closing on average according to trade journals whilst our own company is experiencing drops even more than those citied by the Mirror.

It's not just the credit crunch though, the smoking ban, housing market, consumer spending and increases in beer prices (tax and also raw material price increase) have all combined to hit us hard.

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11. At 3:58pm on 30 Jul 2008, TadpoleThe1st wrote:
Aldi's exploding across the world - http://business.theage.com.au/business/aldis-simple-recipe-for-success-20080725-3l48.html - 172 in Australia opened in the past 10 years with a further 28 in the next 6 months is just one example - the Washington Post had an article about their prices in last Thursday's newspaper.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/shoptoit/2008/07/cool_store_profile_aldi.html

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12. At 4:04pm on 30 Jul 2008, lordBeddGelert wrote:
Are you sure you actually mean 'tupperware' ?

This is surely only sold by agents, and not by Sainsburys ??

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13. At 4:11pm on 30 Jul 2008, clickem wrote:
Spurious price rises blamed on the credit crunch are on the up.

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14. At 4:57pm on 30 Jul 2008, Candace9839 wrote:
Coupons are back in fashion. I was at first surprised to have people peering over my shoulder at the supermarket and at sporting goods stores. Now I ask if they want this or that one because I am not going to use it, and they are over the moon.

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15. At 5:00pm on 30 Jul 2008, Candace9839 wrote:
More people are working from home one day a week. Saves on gas and we are able to be there for house related repairs.

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16. At 5:02pm on 30 Jul 2008, Candace9839 wrote:
There are more bicycles on the road and more bicycle lanes are appearing in the city.

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17. At 5:18pm on 30 Jul 2008, pinkfloydareace wrote:
People are buying more kitchen/cooking items such as cake tins, mixing bowls, chopping boards, yoghurt makers, decent set of saucepans etc

I have never seen shops such as Lakeland and kitchenshops being so popular.

I have been to Wilkinsons and seen gaps in the cooking aisle.

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18. At 6:04pm on 30 Jul 2008, pinkfloydareace wrote:
Ten years ago, people chucked out kitchen equipment such as food processors, slow cookers, yoghurt makers etc

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19. At 6:45pm on 30 Jul 2008, EnglishMsG wrote:
Two signs of the times in Gainesville, Florida:
The local allotments are all taken and the city council is trying to find more land to use; and several restaurants have closed, citing rising food prices and fewer clients.

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20. At 10:26pm on 30 Jul 2008, AustralianSusan wrote:
Starbucks in Australia are closing three quarters of their branches - people no longer want to spend too much on a pint of hot milk with flavouring

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21. At 02:00am on 31 Jul 2008, Bear_in_the_Bull wrote:
Save money the easy way:

Grow your own spaghetti - look - the BBC tells you how ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819261.stm

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22. At 02:55am on 31 Jul 2008, littleDickie wrote:
Indeed grow our own...

But what about brown cows producing chocolate milk, and the egg touted as having crossed the road in company with a chicken would be which hue?

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23. At 09:49am on 31 Jul 2008, abbotofmelrose wrote:
Definately many more cars parked at the side of the road with 'For Sale' posted on them.
Not many seem to be selling. Also, plenty of them seem to be 4x4's

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24. At 10:37am on 31 Jul 2008, November-Juliet wrote:
Jeremy Clarkon's review in the Sunday Times referred to the (non-festival related) rise in sales of tents and camping gear and decline in foreign holidays this summer.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article4396184.ece

Although I suppose this was tempered by the fact that the review was for a 4x4!

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25. At 11:02am on 31 Jul 2008, The Dangle Formerly Known as Sir - (CCFC - Social Events Officer) wrote:
Definatley noticed more people making their own lunch for work (myself included), which I have noticed saves a fortune!! Stupid to have not done it before.

More people are riding their bikes for short journies to save on petrol costs.

People want to clean the car themselves, rather than pay some one or something to do it for them.

People buying 'value' products also.

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26. At 12:33pm on 31 Jul 2008, clarcombe wrote:
I have even seen newspapers reusing the same stories day in day out.

And its funny how more pop bands are now producing cover versions to save on ink and paper

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27. At 3:25pm on 31 Jul 2008, rhyswynne wrote:
An odd thing I've found out - a certain 4 fingered popular snack which is named build it yourself feline is now more expensive than the larger, chunkier 1 finger variety.

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28. At 4:18pm on 31 Jul 2008, Amy S wrote:
There are 91% more cyclists in London now than in 2000

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29. At 12:18pm on 01 Aug 2008, You_Know_its_true wrote:
The government has also been doing its bit - good re-announcing of spending commitments and success stories; organic burial of bad news; not to mention doing away with all that paper-based democracy nonsense!

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30. At 00:27am on 03 Aug 2008, Dennis_Junior wrote:
That is not good, when tupperware sales are up and take-outs are down...

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31. At 10:23am on 04 Aug 2008, NorfolkAmy wrote:
Lakeland are selling Soda Streams, a blast from the past!

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32. At 12:30pm on 06 Aug 2008, Therapeutic wrote:
From BBC News/Wales

Abandoned pets charity blames credit crunch

The credit crunch is resulting in hundreds of pets being made homeless, claims an animal charity.

Powys Animal Welfare Trust said the number of abandoned cats and dogs in its care had doubled to over 400 since 2006 and it was struggling to cope.

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33. At 3:43pm on 06 Aug 2008, itsalldoomitellyou wrote:
Hair loss, apparently....

http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=40750

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34. At 09:29am on 17 Jan 2009, rjweng wrote:
As an animal lover, I really pity the increasing amount of homeless animals.

Blu Ray Player lover.

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