# Epidemic of store/restaurant closings in the news. How have your spending habits changed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2017, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642 "2017-05-29T11:27:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/21 "2017-06-02T12:27:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There have been warnings for the better part of a decade that keeping peoples’ wages low would have a knock-on effect. There it is. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > The middle class simply isn’t anymore. It’s in freefall. That’s where the bulk of consumer retail happens. If we finish converting most of Ordinary America into quasi working poor we’re going to see a plague across the land as bad as the Dust Bowl. But it’ll be a man-made plague of dead retail, not a nature-made plague of dead crops and dead farms. I wonder if corporations’ downsizing is now eating into their collective customer base, and undercutting their own survival. If this is happening, it seems like a dangerous feedback loop. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Living where I do I see people far richer than me every day, The folks with 2 Rolls in the garage here and 2 more at their summer home up North. To all indications those people are doing very nicely, thank you. Talking to the staff at restaurants and stores catering to that crowd they’re all partying and spending like there’s no tomorrow. The present system is working for them just fine. > > I also see plenty of working poor just on the other side of the tracks. Folks driving ratty 1990s GMs & Nissans. Those people are in deep shit and it’s getting worse. I see this as well, but mostly the first part. In our part of Texas it’s mainly “future’s so bright we gotta wear shades”. But we drove through a LOT of small town America on our last RV trip\* and many places were looking pretty grim (at least in the Midwest). After a few days, we realized almost every small town had a deserted or boarded up business/manufacturing area, and the only place thriving was either Wal Mart or the dollar store. \*Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, S Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, & New Mexico. (I’d bet New Mexico was the worst off) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/22 "2017-06-02T18:58:04Z")
We probably eat out only about half as often as we used to, but that is likely a function of age (79 and 80). In the last ten years, my wife has started doing most shopping online. Most books are e-books (unless we know they have illustrations–and I wish reviewers would warn us). On the other had, the stove stopped working about 10 days ago and the dishwasher really needed replacing and we went to Sears last Saturday. They had an appliance sale and we bought one of each. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/23 "2017-06-02T20:03:56Z")
We have a $1300.00 childcare bill to pay every month, but other than that I think we get out about as much as my parents did at our age. We do good amount of online shopping now. Mostly for gifts and odd things. I used to go to the mall once or twice a year around the holidays and now I never do. I still go to the hardware store for projects and such. Our house has gained around 100g’s in value with a good amount of investment and sweat equity. Barring any unforeseen events we are working our hardest and are at our poorest, but that’s more a function of our life situation then any bigger picture change. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/24 "2017-06-02T20:57:37Z")
Movies: I stay way from them in the summer because teenagers are annoying. I;m off when most people are at work. So I’d usually go on a Thursday afternoon and basically have the whole theater to myself. Which was quite nice. That said though, I’ve recently upgraded my entertainment system. I doubt I’ll be going to the movies anytime soon. Restaurants: There have been a lot of “Foodie” type places opening up in my neck of the woods. I’m a big fan and go on a weekly basis. Shopping is done mostly online. Except for food or clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/25 "2017-06-02T21:33:53Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > 1. We’ve quit going to movies. The combination of streaming, cheap flatscreen TVs, ridiculous refreshment prices, and annoying crowd behavior has driven me away. Not quit, but heavily curtailed. Not really the price, as I don’t eat concession food and once in a month for a movie ticket is not that expensive. But that 3d fad, combined with the reserved seating, I pick and choose which movie I need to see on a big screen. > [@pullin](#): > > 1. We almost never eat out anymore. The hassle has outpaced the pleasure for us. We’ve added to our kitchen(s) and our skill, such that we can approximate most restaurant dinners without the hassle and the exorbitant price of drinks. We can also have that 3rd (or 4th) glass of wine without worry, and I don’t have to tip. Smoking no longer allowed for the present, and being on the wrong side of the age spectrum to be going to what ever club might still actually be running. No one seems to be catering to a niche that might actually have money to spend, rather they cater to kids that preload six drinks or more, before going into the clubs, and buy one drink. So basically going out on a weekend night is a memory. > [@pullin](#): > > 1. Shopping is mostly online now. Our local mall has been the scene of two BLM (or related) disturbances and two murders, so my enthusiasm for “going into town” to shop is pretty low. I’ve also grown weary of retailers adopting “causes” and hassling me for contributions at checkout. (“Would you like to contribute, or show everyone in line you don’t care about wounded veteran firefighters?”) Rarely order online, but tend to go to thrift shops before the mall. > [@pullin](#): > > 1. Outings and trips have changed as well. Almost all our journeys are short outings on the boat, or longer ones in the RV. We visit lots of monuments, parks and quiet shorelines but rarely venture into towns, even on vacation. I guess we’re outliers as far as the auto sales meltdown, as we’re driving more miles than ever. Long winters in Canada, so I am hoping to get out more this summer, decided that I could care less if customers requirements require mandatory overtime. > [@pullin](#): > > Regarding the enormous changes in the retail landscape, how have your spending habits changed? Our were not planned boycotts, but gradual matters of convenience. I’m curious what has changed for other dopers. Only that getting older means I no longer buy clothes on a regular basis, for clubbing and what not. I’m looking for jeans that last ten years or more. Cost of beer at the bar, I am not even gonna stop in for a quick pint. Heard a commercial on the radio up here, that a case of beer (24) is only 50 dollars, concidering that back in the 80’s, 20 bucks was a night out, smokes, beer , cab ride home. After talking with some of the kids, seems this is very boring decade to live in for them. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/26 "2017-06-02T23:36:29Z")
I rarely go out to movies nowadays, but I do go to the live theater a lot. Maybe once a month on average. That’s something that can’t be replicated at home. I guess I’m one of those arty types someone mentioned earlier. I went into the city to go to museums three times this month. I do buy a lot on line, though I just went to Costco to buy toilet paper and some groceries. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/27 "2017-06-03T02:49:17Z")
Still go to movies, we’re just way pickier about the movie, the venue, and the showtime. On that note, our local mega plexes have adopted (officially anyway) anti-nuisance policies. So far, so good on that score. YMMV We eat out several times a month, but again, we’re much more choosy about the place–tend to go to the newer, independent, local places. We tend to regard dining as partly sustenance and partly entertainment, so we don’t mind spendy places–sometimes. Shopping has been forever changed by Amazon and the likes, although we still use Costco. That’s unsurprising. We still do groceries and clothes locally. (again, picky) ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/28 "2017-06-04T05:46:35Z")
I was doing most of my shopping online 10+ years ago and I’ve never liked to go out to movies or really spend money going out to eat when I can cook better at home. So, not much really. Some of it’s a choice, some of it is that my monthly grocery cost is more than some people make working fulltime and I can’t justify dropping 100 bucks or more to see a movie or something else that gives me zero enjoyment. Most of my going out is for my kids, though that’s been the case the entire time I’ve been a parent. The occasional kid/family movie, back to school shopping (kids can’t try on shoes online, etc), outdoor activities, specialty shopping. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642/29 "2017-06-04T13:10:24Z")
FWIW, Our activities haven’t changed in the last few years. We still go out to restaurants, go to the “mall”, buy some things over the internet but not a lot, we just went to the movies yesterday. Our local traditional mall is all but abandoned. However, this was caused by a brand new mall being built in the same town and drawing all the stores over to it. Since the new mall dispenses with the indoors-it is just a big collection of strip malls-the rent is cheaper. We go there when we have a specific place to go. Comparison shopping isn’t a goal there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epidemic-of-store-restaurant-closings-in-the-news-how-have-your-spending-habits-changed/787642.md?page=1)