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My uncommon economic indicator is that I am actually looking forward to being on jury duty!

I live in western NJ a few miles from Easton, PA. I drive Rt 78 interstate to work in central Jersey. A couple of years ago traffic was so heavy with commuters driving from PA or western NJ to their jobs in NYC that it was often stop and go at rush hour. Lately traffic is so light that the average speed seems to be 75 -80 mph.

I Live in New Brunswick NJ which is a SMALL City and the home of Rutgers (so lots of students live there) ..I noted the proliferation of studesnts (my Bf happens to work at one of their college radio stations) Basement Shows where to get in there is not admnission fees ... a few years back one will rarely hear about them cos NB police dept had controled them but now they are everywhere!!

I have noticed an alarming increase in the number of young women wearing leggings. At first I thought it might be a terrible new fashion trend, but perhaps they just can't afford pants or skirts?

I know that the value of a "bit" these days is now up to $11.50. That's because I got a shave and a haircut yesterday for $23 at Ray's barbershop in Inwood.

We ordered a few gallons of paint yesterday--we figure we're going to be spending a lot of time at home this winter and it's been almost 7 years. The happiness--almost gratitude--of the owner of the store where we bought was very telling to me.

What I've noticed recently: A dramatic rise in car break-ins, fewer people in restaurants, more pan-handlers, more guys hanging out in the park during the day.

Personally, less take-out/delivery, being more careful about spending on extras, more laundry - less of having shirts done for us, more hand-me-downs for the kids, buying generic items more than namebrand foods, and I switched my prescriptions to generic...major savings (although the results have yet to be seen).

Buying alcohol because of economies of scale. A half gallon handle of Vodka or Cognac is less expensive proportionally than the smaller average sized handles. Lasts Longer also.

i'm getting mugged more (kidding)
good takeout containers (the reusable tupperware types) have been replaces by cheaper styrofoam

Peter Olsen makes a good point. And yet my drug packets observation (see post #4) has never been wrong.

We're using our Diner's Deck more when we go out to eat. Every card is worth $10 at the restaurant it recommends, so we love it.

I think this kind of anecdotal speculation about how people are changing their habits because of the economy is feeding a mild hysteria. Not that times aren't tough or that people aren't feeling the squeeze – but people see what they want, or expect, to see to some extent. And then we draw connections to the current context. We try to connect the dots and form some sort of narrative that conforms to our expectation. But the things we observe (and things we wouldn't even pay attention to under different circumstances) could be attributable to any number of causes, unrelated to the economic climate. And since the economy is so sensitive to our perceptions and consequent actions – I think this can only making things worse.

I actually DID just paint my apartment grey - a Nantucket grey but grey nonetheless.

I did, however, just buy a fancy new Persian rug.

But I also bought a bag of potatoes to "make stew" - as if somehow I'd been transported to 1980s Russia...

Some of this doesn't sound like such bad news. Plastic yard ornaments are a product of our wasteful culture - economically and environmentally.

As someone who has always struggled financially, I think it has always been harder to live in so-called "good economies" --- and I think the same thing is true for many low-income people. The biggest issue I've dealt with my adult life has been gentrification. The types of businesses that seem to be suffering the most are the ones that cater to the yuppies. The bodega, the laundromat, etc, probably are going to get the same business in any economy. The botique may have to go, and I'll be happy about that. Hopefully fewer middle to upper income people will try to compete for housing in low-income neighborhoods.

Pomme de Terre is delicious!! highly recommended.

I live in one of those embarrassingly fancy white glove apartment buildings in midtown. We have always done our own laundry in the building laundry room - which is the exception not the rule here. When we moved in, it used to be that the best time to use the laundry was in the evenings, because during the day the machines were all in use by people who I guess were the daytime house staff working in other apartments in the building. Now the laundry room is almost empty during the day and hopelessly crowded at night and on weekends. I guess people are doing their own laundry - and sadly perhaps that some day staff have lost jobs...

i have been using my amex to gauge my expensive. So the breakdown is easily discernable. for instance, my groceries would be $150 a month, but my take out would be $250 a month. From that, I am able to control my expensives more accurately.

here's my indicator: in the last few years, new construction in williamsburg and greenpoint brooklyn went from demolition to shiny new condos in a matter of months.

now there are scores of unfinished buildings which have been sitting around for months, half-gutted warehouses, empty buildings with scaffolding around them, and fenced-off holes in the ground which have been sitting inactive for months.

I've lived in a sleepy corner of Greenwich Village for nearly 15 years and I've noticed that when the economy takes a downward turn, the number of tiny plastic drug bags on the sidewalk increases and late at night there are noticeably more people, likely not residents of the neighborhood, sitting on stoops, drinking, and smoking pot and crack. It's a very reliable indicator.

When I moved to my New Jersey neighborhood from New York 3 years ago, I was stunned at my neighborhood tradition where many homeowners wildly decorating front lawns for every holiday from Halloween to Christmas. Starting on Oct. 1, orange lights and enormous, blown-up pumpkins appeared on lawns throughout the neighorborhood. Then, giant inflated turkeys popped up in November. And finally, giant snowmen and santas (and even Grinches) appeared for Christmas.

This year, I noticed how fewer than half the homes followed this tradition. Most lawns are bare or have only lights. I used to poke a little fun at the overblown decorations. Now I miss them, and feel a loss that so many are gone.

Greedy landlords who raised their rents to ridiculous levels so the mom and pop shop tenants couldn't afford them in a million years...... the spaces are empty for months on end. Greedy landlords have bad karma. Also, Marc Jacobs advertising 70% off his ridiculously priced ugly shoes.

I know someone in the business of selling boxes and packaging. Apparently the orders he receives are an accurate indicator of industrial production which will be reported 3-6 months hence. Independent long-haul truckers are a similar indicator. Just ask them at an interstate rest stop.