Flashing Recession: Brown-Bagging-It, Plunging Demand for Exotic Dancers and Holding-Off on Calling Your Psychic

 Survivors find the right data points to retrieve and then connect the dots. 

In this volatile economy, which is hard to figure out, the smart thing to do is to get granular in spotting and figuring out what's signaling what. Then, make decisions.

The Wall Street Journal does a bit of that for you. It fingers bringing-your-lunch-to-work as an indicator of how people are experiencing the current economy. It mentions that not too long ago a lawyer in Buffalo, New York was ponying up about $500 a month to do lunch in local dining spots. Now there's the old brown-bagging it as in the days before the Post-WWII economy caught fire. I recall mom packing lunches for all of us, ranging from dad to myself and two siblings. Later when she tired of worrying about waxy floor build-up and went to work a bag of whatever went with her for lunch.

Another light flashing red is that the demand for exotic dancers is down.

A third is that falloff in the once booming psychic business. Psychics were muscling out therapists in the search for clarity. That was then.

In this mid-sized city three shops have closed down and a fourth seems to have slow traffic. One of my multiple forms of earning income is providing tarot readings. My phone line rings one-fifth less than three years ago when I added that service to the menu. Bookings for readings at house parties are down about 22%.

With two days of Dow carnage, it's predictable there will be a crossing of the line: More will decide that for them the recession has begun. Since America runs on a consumer economy, that pause in spending will darken things further.

Staying marketable. Complimentary consultation with Intuitive Coach Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).