The mall was packed today

**cschin4** · 09-16-2007, 05:08 AM

I rarely go to the mall, but when I do it is always packed. I am amazed at how people love to shop. And, it is even more amazing when it is a beautiful summer day and so many people would rather spend the day there. And, in addition to the mall, store after store after store seems to be popping up all around the mall as well. And, I assume they are making money or they wouldn't be there.

**humandraydel** · 09-16-2007, 05:25 AM

Best Buy was packed last night too. It could have had something to do with the interest free financing for 3 years.....I know that almost convinced me to buy a plasma TV!

**Joan.of.the.Arch** · 09-16-2007, 06:28 AM

Yeah, it looks to me as though many folks are still out there spending fearlessly. Jobs aren't really down, are they? Credit cards are probably still making a lot of the retail spending more acceptable and comfortable, even as people say they are noticing upward creep in food and fuel (including for the home) prices. I do think that "retail therapy" and shopping for entertainment is real, too. Here and there, real estate is slowing and that my perception is that people are fearing the effects of that.

Replacing clothing due to growth-- My parents got off easy with clothing needing replacing because by age 11 I had finished growing. I remember still having 2 shirts at age 27 that I had gotten in the summer I turned 12! Still wore them, too. Even the males in my birth family finished their growth earlier than most, and this carried down to my son, too. He grew only 1/4 inch from age 13 to 19.

**Pupart** · 09-16-2007, 06:50 AM

These shoppers are keeping the economy going....
I'm not one of them though.. no malls for me !
My spending is carefully planned. That's just the way I like it!

**gackle** · 09-16-2007, 11:20 AM

Our current national debt as of 9/13/07 is $9,016,288,006,279.21. We are a nation that lives on debt. The increase in foreclosures is a symptom of this. I fear that it's going to catch up with us as a nation and economy pretty soon. All the more reason to get out of debt now.

**rob62521** · 09-19-2007, 04:05 AM

I see the feds lowered the interest rate and the news said that should bring relief to some of the homeowners who were in risk -- probably the ones who shouldn't have bought in the first place.

Yep, our mall is almost always packed on the weekends too. For a town that is not doing very well economically, we have our shoppers.

**simpleyme** · 09-19-2007, 05:54 AM

DH coworker is going through dire financial hardships of his own making ( cashing out equity, financing new expensive cars ,running up credit cards, not paying basic utilities, and of course a new fancy cell phone for every family member )

he already made a agreement with his bank as he was in default on his loan he did not meet that agreement and had to go back in and talk with them again

he asked my DH what we would do ,my DH of course said we would pay the mortgage and pay it on time ,then DH introduced him to the concept of paying your mortgage FIRST ,then use the rest on other things (preferably bills)

so he went home and his wife wanted to go to the mall and get some stuff ,he told her they need to save money for their payment ,and she says" we have always had financial troubles and we always will ,lets go to the mall" and they did

my DH was aghast that she would do that ,but I think coworker has no credibility with his wife when it comes to money and she wants to go shopping ,and had she not spent the money on herself it would have been frittered away elsewhere and the bills not been paid anyway

the only time I go to the mall is to take my tween to Claires,she loves that place ;-)

**disneysteve** · 09-19-2007, 07:42 AM

Originally posted by simpleyme View Post

she says" we have always had financial troubles and we always will ,lets go to the mall"

With that mindset, of course they'll always have financial troubles.

Just like all the folks who say they will always have a car payment. They just don't see anything else as a possibility. When I tell some people I haven't had a car payment for over 5 years, they think I'm nuts.

**poundwise** · 09-19-2007, 08:18 AM

Since when is consumer spending related to people's ability to afford something?

**DebbieL** · 09-19-2007, 09:05 AM

I think it may be slightly different in Canada. The majority of people that I know don't have car payments (some do of course). I have never heard anyone say that they'll always have a car payment. I certainly don't get that attitude if I say I don't have one. I will never go into debt for a vehicle again (I only did it once, and that was enough for me). My parents have never gone in debt for a vehicle (or anything else besides their house - which has been paid off since about 1977). My older sister has never gone into debt for a car (and has only ever bought one and it was used - and she's 47). I've been driving my most recent car for 5 years now, and plan to drive the tires right off of it. I will then replace it with something used. Actually I think I'm the only one in my immediate family who has ever gone into debt for a car (I come from a family of 5 siblings).

**My English Castle** · 09-19-2007, 09:51 AM

clothes and shoes and all that

I know a lot of women (sometimes even me!) feel that they have to have at least a little bit of new fall fashion to update all those winter clothes we in the Midwest wear for 9 months. I'm not a big shopper, loving yard and garage and estate sales better than the mall, but even I'm tempted by shoes and sweaters this time of year.

But I think I've reached the age where mostly I dislike the mall. It either makes me feel dissatisfied or angry--and is certainly not the cure-all I believed it to be when I was 20!

**rob62521** · 09-21-2007, 03:47 PM

I think the mall has become a place where people go not to just shop, but to amuse themselves. It's easier for many to browse and succumb to the temptations of advertisers, plus there is always the chance to see and be seen. Our mall isn't the biggest, but they are pretty smart -- they built a child play area for the little guys so parents sit and watch their kids play -- keeps them in the mall even longer.

**disneysteve** · 09-21-2007, 05:38 PM

Originally posted by rob62521 View Post

I think the mall has become a place where people go not to just shop, but to amuse themselves.

Actually, I think this has always been true. I'm 43 and I remember going to the mall as a kid as something to do on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. We'd walk around, have lunch, do a little shopping, play in the arcade, etc. But the mall wasn't the upscale monstrosity it is now. Stores were more basic and affordable to the average consumer, stocked with items we actually needed. Now, the malls are packed with upscale stores, expensive items and far fewer necessity items.

**Joan.of.the.Arch** · 09-21-2007, 07:53 PM

I'm 48 and used to ride my bike 5 miles to go to the mall when I was 13 and 14. I rarely even had money to spend. In the mall back then there were some lower end stores such as a Woolco "dime store." It was a place where you could buy a lot of practical items such as a spool of thread, a package of notebook paper for school, insoles for your shoes, plain metal bookends for your shelves. One could even eat a burger or grilled cheese sandwich in their old fashioned diner area. I haven't seen anything like that in a mall in a long time. Some malls around here have those $1 import stores, but their stock tends to be really inferior but at least only geared to the decorative rather than the functional, in my opinion. The mall dollar stores seem different than the non-mall dollar stores.

The mall was packed today