Businesses That Flourish In Downturn
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Do you know what type of business that flourish in downturn? In fact, this type of business seems to be flourished during the economic slump.
I am talking about the repair business. As people tighten their belts during the slump time, they will go for repairing rather than replacement as it is much cheaper to go along this option. It is indeed one great way to cut spending and help us pull through the recession that we are currently experiencing.
For most of us, the consumers, getting our bags, shoes, car, electrical appliances and items around the house fixed can help in bringing our expenses down but also it can also bring immense self satisfaction especially when we are fixing the damaged goods ourselves (DIY). Aside from that, we are contributing to the environment as we are generating less waste and demand for more new goods.
Fixing certain things such as your long owned car can also bring out sentimental value towards the concerned item. This feeling is indeed something that money cannot buy.
Don't be surprised that fixing can also make the goods last a long time.For example, by getting an extra sole for a pair of shoes, its usefulness lifetime can be greatly extended. For most of us with lots of clothing or want to preserve certain clothing that passes down to us by our parents, we can look for a tailor to get them altered.
With the tumbling of giant motor car companies ( I hope that won't be more to come), it signifies that less and less people are getting new cars. This simply means that they are keeping and using their present aging cars. Even if the economy is down, we still need to travel to work and do our shopping chores. So I guess that is the reason I see so many smiling faces on those car repair owners around town as they must enjoying booming business due to the downturn.
But the same good demand cannot be said on the cellphone and pc repair business. It seems that people would like to get a cheaper new phone when their current cellphones are faulty. Guess that cell phone nowadays are so cheap that it does not justify to get them repaired. Aside from that, the short warranty period that given after the repair job does not encourage us to go for such option. As for pc, the prices has come down so steeply that it is wiser to get a new one rather than spend money to repair the once high performance pc that we own.
Maybe the second hand businesses are also thriving in this bad times. For the lower and middle income groups, they might want to trade in or sell off their audio visual equipments such as Hi-Fi or mini compo before getting a replacement unit. Some of them may also go for a second hand unit instead of getting a brand new unit.
Of course, the best thing during this bad time is not to buy things but come on, we are humans and we DO have some basic needs! Life is short and why not make the best deal in getting our basic needs met?
Posted byLeoCW at 12:13 AM 0 comments
Purchasing Items The Cheapest Way!
Friday, April 17, 2009
In the financial and economic downturn, I guess most of us will only wait for a SALE in the local hypermarkets and stores to purchase our clothes and other big ticket items.
Some of you may argue why we need to buy a compo or even a television at this bad times. Well, let say your TV is broken and can't be fixed or the cost of fixing doesn't justified the cost, I am sure that you would want to get your family a new audio visual entertainment unit. After all, enjoying your entertainment at home is a lot more cheaper than going out to meet our entertainment needs.
It may be cheaper when we get our stuff during a sale but have you ever thought of going into one of those warehouse year end or clearance sale? If you have a chance to go for such an event, please sure to drop by at the company that conducts such a sale as the discount that you get there will be a lot cheaper than those that are offered in your local store. The caution here is you must select and inspect your intended purchase goods carefully as usually items sold under a warehouse sale rarely can be exchanged or even bear no warranty at all.
The units sold during such a sale are so cheap as they may be DEMO units or suffer some minor physical appearance defects. Some of them may be old models that are going to be cleared.
Scurrying the net for cheap offers is another way to get bargain price for your stuff. However, most of the time, the good offered through the net especially through sites such as eBay can't be inspected before hand. And that's may deter most people from getting big ticket items from such a site even though they are so cheap. Well, we can't have the best in everything, can we?
Posted byLeoCW at 5:55 AM 0 comments
Get A Debit Card!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The convenience of the plastic cards in purchasing things makes us almost can't do without them. All we need to do in buying things is just to swap and sign our names on those dotted line in the receipt. Plus the added sense of security that we feel in which we don't have to carry a large sum of cash around in our pockets further fuels the prolific issuance of the plastic cards especially credit cards.
Not to mention also the fact that we don't have to rush to the nearest ATM machines when we want to get something which is on SALE makes most of us wonder how one can live by without having at least one credit card. But beware, hidden behind such convenience and advantages in owning a credit card is that one can incur a large amount of debt in one's spending.
Since it is so convenient to buy things and without "suffering" and feeling the REAL amount of money that we paid when purchasing items especially large ticket items, it is very easy to get carried away with impulse buying and endless buying sprees.
It is only when we receive the credit card statement at the end of the month that makes us ponder whether we really buy all those stuffs that are listed there. As the sum is so enormous, most of us will end up paying the minimum amount; promising ourselves that we will control spendings in the days to come. There are also some of us who can't even make the card minimum payment and resort to using another credit card to meet the minimum payment required in a concerned card.
Credit card is a very convenient tool invented in replacement of using cash to buy things but it requires a great deal of self discipline and control. Hmm, how many of us can really exercise that all the times? Since we are only human, and we might overspend at times and controlled by our emotions rather logic when we see something we desire to have, it is no wonder that most of us chalk up an exorbitant amount of payment in our credit card spending.
Why not get a debit card for a change? With a debit card, we not only able to enjoy the convenience of the plastic card and its benefits, but also the GUARDIAN ANGEL in the debit card will ensure that we don't go over the limits in our spending. You see, the moment there is no insufficient amount of money in our debit card account, all those purchases that we made will be nullified. It is better to have things this way rather than feeling gloomy and devastated when the card statement arrived !
Posted byLeoCW at 6:21 AM 0 comments
Have You Ever Considered Store Brand ?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Most of us will be loyal to certain national brand names that we have grown accustomed to in our shopping sprees. It might be due to one's personal preference and satisfaction that makes the brands turn up as one choice of a product.
Well, in good times, I guess that we don't mind paying a little bit more for our groceries as we could afford to spend a little more on our spending.
However, in this downturn, every penny saved is every penny earned! We all know that store brands are definitely cheaper than national branded names but unfortunately, many of us share the perception that since they are cheaper, they must be inferior in qualities as price and quality goes hand in hand.
Out of curiosity and of course I want to save a bit in my grocery bill, I purchased a few toiletries products that bear the store brand name of the local store that I frequent weekly. To my surprise, I must say that the quality of these products fare equal, if not better, than those of the usual more costly products that I used to buy. They clean the same way and produce the same amount of bubble and give the same cleanliness as those costly brands.
How I hope that I could switch to store brands earlier on as I normally ignore these products in my earlier shopping times. But not anymore. From now onwards, I won't hesitate to try any store brand products that I come across. Imagine paying 20% to 30% for the products that can do the same thing for your household. If this is not smart spending, I don't know what it is!
That being said, what are you waiting for? Give yourself a try on those reasonable price store brand products and I am sure that you won't regret your decision. I guess you will be satisfied not only in the amount of money that you save but also on the quality level that they delivered. If indeed they are of inferior quality, surely you won't see them present in the store shelves!
Posted byLeoCW at 5:38 AM 0 comments